Page 10 of Danger and Dominance (Black Fox Security Doms #1)

Hopefully, once she got a job, she could get rid of more and go shopping for new things.

Jennifer had reassured her that everyone on the list could be contacted by Black Fox and the situation would be explained to them so that they could figure out how to pay her.

It was not a long list, but at least it was something.

“Who’s Audrey?” she asked. Whoever she was, David had wanted to talk to her so badly, he’d left the room, despite the fact he’d been hovering literally the entire evening until now.

If he had a girlfriend, maybe she’d been completely misreading the zings of attraction she’d thought she felt between them. Maybe it was all one-sided.

Jennifer shrugged and shook her head—she didn’t know.

“Audrey?” Drew lifted his head from where he’d been looking at something on his phone. “That’s David’s sister. Why?”

“Audrey is opening a bakery,” Mason said, coming back into the room to join them.

“She’s moving to Pittsburgh and opening a bakery on the same street as the firm.

” He ran his hand over his stomach, smoothing the fabric of his shirt down, but the gleam in his eye said he wasn’t thinking about his six-pack but about the baked goods he was going to fill it with.

Claudia clapped her hands together.

“Great! I love Audrey! Maybe she’ll want to come to game night, too.”

Sister. Audrey was his sister.

The relief she felt made Cassidy want to kick herself. Just because she was attracted to him did not mean he was attracted to her, so being relieved he was talking to his sister and not a girlfriend didn’t matter. Especially since he’d been the least welcoming of the entire group.

Yes, he’d been watching her. Yes, he’d been civil.

But he hadn’t exactly been encouraging or trying to make friends with her the way the others had.

She wasn’t taking it too personally, though; he seemed to hold himself apart from everyone.

Maybe because he was the team leader and not just part of the team.

Everyone seemed excited about the prospect of the bakery and of getting to see Audrey again—well, those who already knew her.

Jennifer, Naomi, and Drew were delighted they were finally going to get to meet David’s sister.

Mason was looking forward to both, although more the bakery than meeting David’s sister.

The four of them had apparently only seen her in pictures so far.

It was a nice way to end the evening.

Once Drew and Naomi decided to head out, it was like the signal for a mass exodus.

They’d already cleaned up from dinner, so there wasn’t anything to do except say goodbye.

David was the last to go after making sure she had the phone number for everyone on the team in her new phone.

She’d gotten Naomi’s and Jennifer’s, too.

It was nice having multiple numbers to add to the three she’d started with—Kincaid’s, Patrick’s, and Law’s, her last connections to Stronghold and Marquis.

She’d been reassured that, eventually, she’d be able to call some of her friends, too, but right now, they wanted as few people with a way to contact her as possible.

Her old phone and her old emails were being monitored.

If her ex stole someone’s phone or managed to hack it, he wouldn’t find anything.

Even Kincaid, Patrick, and Law didn’t have her number saved anywhere electronically.

Sometimes, she wondered if it was overkill, but it did make her feel better.

She was scared of Don. Scared of the fact he’d come back.

Scared of the way he hadn’t let her go. She knew the statistics.

She was lucky she had people who were willing to help her, so she was going to do exactly what they told her to.

“Tomorrow, stay home,” David directed her. “Look over the job sheet Jennifer gave you. Just try to relax, okay?”

Cassidy nodded. Relax… now that was something she hadn’t been able to do in a long, long time, but she would like to try. She might even succeed. Being in a totally different city, a totally different state, knowing all the steps they’d taken to erase her trail and keep her location secret…

She could finally breathe a little easier.

Which was the whole point of the move, after all. That and protecting the Stronghold members, who had stepped up to help her even though they didn’t have to. She really hoped Don just let the whole thing go now.

David’s gaze moved over her face, as if he was searching for something in her expression. Her breath caught in her throat, suddenly aware that he was standing closer to her than he had all day, looking down at her with her head tipped back up to meet his gaze. Almost like they were about to kiss.

Which was crazy, of course, and all in her head, but her body didn’t know that and was reacting like he really was about to.

A noise off to the side made her jump, and they both looked over. Kincaid had just come out of the kitchen and was staring at them.

“Have a safe trip home,” David said to him, giving him a nod.

“Thanks.”

Without looking at her again, David turned and walked out the front door.

Which was not at all disappointing. Definitely.

It was safe.

“I’m gonna go get ready for bed. Do you need anything?” Kincaid asked her, walking forward, dropping his arms from where they’d been crossed over his chest. His dark eyes were full of concern for her.

“No, I’m good. I’ll get ready for bed, too.” She was suddenly aware of how exhausted she was.

“Good. You look like you need some sleep.” Kincaid slung his arm around her shoulders, maneuvering her toward the stairs with him.

“I haven’t been sleeping well,” she admitted.

“Of course not. That’s about to change, though.” He gave her shoulders a little squeeze. “It’ll be a lot easier to sleep here, I bet.”

Cassidy had a feeling he was right.