“What is all that, fine thing? Yer in trouble?” Pops looked worried as he leaned over the table and took both Kayla’s and Kate’s hands.
“Sean Senior....” Maureen tried to temper Pops, as he seemed eager to go after whomever they needed.
“My boyos lookin’ out for ye?”
Kayla nodded and made sure Pops wasn’t frightened for them. “Some guy is bothering us, but we have everything under control.”
Pops seemed to know there was more to the story. “Hmm, I’ll let my boyos tell me about it later.”
Errin and Kate hadgonehome yesterday after they’d stayed for another two days. Calum went with them to New Jersey, but he’d said he was considering transferring to Austin. Kayla smiled at the thought. She wondered if he would transfer for her sake or to be close to a certain beautiful police officer with long curly brown hair.
It was Wednesday morning, and Kayla was in a hurry to get into the office. Sighing, she checked the time and pushed the elevator button once again. It usually took five minutes to get to the right floor, and it was already five minutes till nine.
When she looked in the shiny closed doors of the elevator, she caught sight of movement right behind her. Skin crawling, she took a deep breath and looked over her shoulder, but she only saw a clerk sitting behind the reception desk. Two women stood next to her, waiting for the elevators to open up, but they couldn’t have caused the movement behind her.
It had been a while since she acted this skittish. After the attack, she’d never let her guard down and always looked twice across a room before entering, and she would never stand with her back to an entrance.
It made Kayla realize that she was in a good place as she followed the other women into the elevator. She was getting back to her old self with each passing day.
As she arrived at her desk, she opened the drawer for her purse and turned on her computer screen at exactly nine.
When she went inside Donovan’s office, she was greeted with a growl. “Morning, Kayla. Good of you to join us today.”
“Stop right there, buddy. No growling at me, okay? I was right on time. But I will be here tomorrow five minutes before my workday starts. Would that take the scowl from your face?”
He nodded at Kayla and took his seat behind his desk. “Sorry. I’m glad you’re not taking any shit from me.”
Kayla had a soft spot for Donovan. He might be her boss, and although he seemed to be a distant and controlling jerk to others, he resembled her brother Calum, and she could appreciate that side of him. She knew the best way to deal with their moods was to simply draw the line and push back. It always worked with her brother, and she knew she would gain a lot more respect from Donovan by standing up for herself.
“What’s wrong, Donovan?” He wasn’t looking at her. Instead, he typed away on his phone. When she cleared her throat, he looked up.
“Okay, I just got off the phone with my friend in New Jersey. He got some intel that Tom wanted to take some time to take a leave of absence. He wasn’t at work yesterday, but he also wasn’t at home—”
Kayla stood up from her chair. This could not be happening. He might come after her or.... “But if you don’t know where he is.... Kate? Is she safe? Tell me she’s safe.”
“I know she’s safe, Kayla, and so is Errin. My friends are looking out for both of them. Just to be on the safe side, I’ve texted Ronan to pick you up after work and to escort you home. I’m going to check all flights to Austin, see if his name comes up. But he could easily take another route. We have to tread lightly here. I’ve sent a group text so Dec, Cait, and Calum are up to speed as well. Will you call Dunc to ask if he would stay with you tonight? I feel like we’d be better safe than sorry, you know?”