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Mr. Rogers never mentioned spying as one of the ways to be a good neighbor.
Beck
I bet Nationwide is on my side.
Luna
??‍?? You need to work on your dad jokes. I'm embarrassed on Alice's behalf.
Beck
Stop running at night and you won't have to deal with my terrible dad jokes.
Luna
??
I was too pissed to come up with anything cleverer. In a few steps, I entered my office and slammed my phone face down on the desk. “That's enough of you, Beck Bennet.”
CHAPTER9
Beck
It took lessthan five minutes for me to find the footage.
LunafuckingMarks stretching on her stoop at two in the fucking morning. My Steele Security app caught her in the act. It even captured her looking directly into my camera.Smirking.
Now she was just playing dirty.
I shucked off my sheets and scribbled a quick note for the nanny. Mrs. Corbett was healthy again and officially living in the downstairs guest room. She'd moved in two days ago and I heaved a sigh of relief at having another adult on the premises capable of watching Alice. I wouldn’t be missed.
I anticipated this might happen, so I slept in my workout gear. It only took a few seconds to tie my shoelaces and then I was off into the night to follow Luna.
Unlike the woman I was trailing, I wore a high-visibility outfit. It didn’t do much to attract the opposite sex, but it would do a lot to attract the attention of drivers who might otherwise miss me.
Luna should be wearing something equally protective. Although with her and that body, she’d attract creeps like a moth to a flame. That wasn’t her fault. Just a fact.
It only took a couple steps to catch up with her. The woman wore a fucking sports bra and shorts. Sure, it was a balmy eighty degrees with humidity, but seriously? Could she have picked something else?
Headlights flared as a car barreled down the street.
Fuck. My instincts took over. I grabbed Luna’s elbow, tugging her back from the street. Before I knew what was happening, she punched my throat.
“Back off, fucker!” she screamed, lifting her leg to kick me—probably in the groin.
My reflexes returned. I thwarted her next move, but just barely.
“It’s me,” I growled, my register higher than normal. I rubbed my neck once I was certain she wouldn’t try to attack again.
“Beck? What the hell?” She drove her hands through her hair, her ponytail coming loose. Then she planted her hands on her hips, eyes flaring as she put two and two together. “Wait a minute. You followed me? Youactuallyfollowed me? And attacked me, no less. Howdareyou,” she seethed.
Of course she’d spin it like that. This woman could infuriate me like no other. “If you hadn’t noticed, there was a car coming. I just saved your life.”
“Please, I was stopping. This isn’t my first time running in the city. This isn’t even my first time running in the citythis week.”
I scrubbed a hand down my face. “Don’t I fucking know it.”
Suddenly, Luna took off, resuming her run, as if we weren’t just in the middle of a conversation.