The camera that showed the entry way didn’t give her many details, but when the door shut behind him, when she was sure it was only him, she hit the button to open the interior door.
They took security seriously. It only took facing off against the abusive ex of one of the women at their shelter once before a person realized how important it was to have a secure building. The very group who had sent this man were the ones who had set up the double entry door system and the cameras.
The man entered, and for the first time, she realized he wasfartaller than the camera had made him seem. He had a beard and the gait of a someone on alert but not all that worried.
His gaze landed on her, and she took a step backward.
His eyes were a dark green, and some familiarity tugged at her, but she wasn’t sure why.
She wrote it off as the aftereffects of her little morning panic. Everything seemed more dangerous in the wake of it. Her mind was trying to make sense of random bits of information, to find a pattern—nothing else.
“Ms. Kaylor?” He didn’t come closer, didn’t try to shake hands. The men who came here knew better, since the women in such a place didn’t usually want to feel crowded, especially by men who were strong, large and more than a little terrifying.
Sunny nodded, letting him know that was her.
“I got a call saying you were unconscious.”
A woman walked into the hallway farther down and paused, pure fear running across her features at the appearance of the huge, unknown man.
Right.Sunny gestured for the man to follow. “Come on, let’s go into the office.”
He nodded, following without complaint, as if he understood. Best to keep men—especially onesthatsize—out of general view. They tended to cause a stir.
“My friends are on their way, too,” he said once Sunny had closed the door. “They wanted to take a walk around the perimeter, then check the cameras and fences.”
“Of course.” She grabbed the phone on her desk and dialed for the other end of the house, waiting for Gracey to pick up. She relayed the information, asking the other woman to let them in when they finished and show them to the office.
Sunny took a seat behind her desk, then gestured at the chair for the man. “I’m sorry you had to come all this way, Mr.…”
“Connor’s fine. Don’t worry about us coming—it’s what we’re here for. What happened?”
Sunny waved her hand as if it weren’t important. “Nothing.”
“The director falling unconscious to the floor is something.” His voice held an edge of command that made Sunny shift beneath his stern gaze.
“I’m embarrassed to say it, but I let my imagination run away with me. I received a call, and I jumped to conclusions. I’m fine now.”
“A call?”
Sunny nodded and folded her hands in her lap, beneath the desk, where she could wring them without him seeing. “Yes. No one was there. It wasn’t worth panicking, but knowing that doesn’t change how you feel in the moment, you know?”
She tried to downplay it, to pretend it had been a stupid mistake.
It had been.
Still, some unease refused to go away, a fear that told her to be cautious.
Connor lifted his eyebrow. “If you had a woman here, and she got a hang-up like this, what would you do?”
Sunny fidgeted beneath his firm stare. “I’d tell her to relax, but I would also see if I could find out where the call came from.”
“So what are you going to let me do?”
Sunnyreallywanted him to leave. She wanted Connor to accept her apology for causing the issue, to walk out of her office and right out of her life.
But she also couldn’t argue with what he’d said…
He tilted his head, as if pointing out that she hadn’t answered him yet.