Sure enough, there was her car.
“What are you doing, Tori?” he muttered. He parked next to her and then made his way to the elevator.
Most of the lights on their floor were off, with just a couple on where some of the lawyers had stayed to work late.
He made his way back to where the Human Resources office was and spotted the light on. The glass door was closed, but he could see the top of her head over her computer.
What could she possibly be working on?
James took a deep breath, grabbed the door handle, and pulled it open.
“Tori?”
Her head jerked up, and her stricken gaze met his.
“James? What are you doing here?” She shook her head. “How did you even know where I was?”
“Kris could see where you were on some app or something.”
“Crap. I forgot about that.” She glanced beyond him to the other offices on the floor. Almost as if she were looking for someone. “You shouldn’t be here.”
He didn’t miss the slight trembling in her hand or the distress in her eyes.
Whoa.
Something was definitely up.
James’s gut twisted, and the instinct to comfort her kicked in. He stepped fully into the office and closed the door again behind him.
“Tori, you can talk to me.” He crossed the room and crouched down beside her. “What’s going on?”
“I can’t.” Her eyes squinted closed.
“I promise you can.” He took her hand in his and brushed his lips across her knuckles. “Talk to me.”
Her eyes opened again and met his. Her lips parted as if she were going to say something.
Instead, she burst into tears.
Shock ripped through him, leaving him momentarily frozen. Never had he seen her cry. Never even a hint of tears.
He pulled her from the chair and onto his lap on the floor, holding her close. The desk hid them from sight if anyone who was still on the floor were to walk by.
“Come on, Tori. What’s going on?”
“He’s trying to blackmail me.” She sobbed. “And I can’t figure out how to stop him—”
“Who’s blackmailing you?” Shock had his blood thundering through his veins.
“Ryan.” She let loose a bitter laugh. “Apparently, he doesn’t like being rejected and turns to blackmailing women into bed.”
James’s vision went red with rage. His cousin was trying to extort sex from Tori?
The man was as good as dead.
He instinctively rose, ready to hunt Ryan down, but Tori clung to his neck like a terrified child and pulled him back to the floor.
“James, no. Violence won’t solve this.”