Page 92 of Moonlighter

I hope he does.

“So what’s the plan for getting Alex home?” Scout asks. “It’s already midnight.”

“She’ll have two guards tonight, not just one,” Max says. “I’ve already woken Pieter to send him home with Alex and Duff.”

“I’ll go,” Eric says beside me. And I throw him a quick, grateful glance. I don’t know why I associate Eric with safety. But I just do.

“No,” Max says. “I got other plans for you. We’re going to pull a classic maneuver. You’re driving Alex’s BMW out of the garage. But Alex won’t be in it. I’ll put Scout on your tail, so itlookslike the same caravan the biker followed earlier. Then I’ll depart in a third car and then Duff, then Pieter and Alex in a fourth car. Nobody takes a direct route.”

Max really is a smart man. “So, if that motorcyclist is still out there, he won’t know who to follow.”

“Right,” Max agrees, tucking his hands behind his head. “It’s a classic for a reason. We’ll leave in fifteen?”

“Sure. Thank you.”

“Just doing my job, ma’am.” Max gets up and makes a call, peeking out of the heavy curtains as he talks.

“How’s that appetite of yours?” Eric asks. “Want a snack before we leave?”

“No thank you.” Now that my hands have stopped shaking, I could totally use a snack, but I’ve had enough of being the helpless pregnant lady tonight. Except for one thing. “If you could point me toward the bathroom, though?”

“Sure.” He stands up and takes my hand. When we walk around behind the sofa, I see a doorway I’d missed. It’s a hallway, and the first door opens into a powder room. “You okay?” he asks me before I can slip inside.

“Yes. Really,” I promise. I give him a smile just to make the point.

The smile I get back makes me all squishy inside.

It isn’t until after I close the door on Max’s beautiful bathroom—with glass subway tiles and bamboo towels—that I remember what happened right before our car chase unfolded.

Eric was just about to kiss me. And I was just about to let him.

And now I’m really enraged at whichever psycho stopped that from happening. Kissing Eric would have been a bad idea. But I would have enjoyed the heck out of it.

I’m feelingcalm again by the time Max assembles us on the garage level again. He hands my car key to Eric. “Good thing the surgery was on your left knee,” he says.

“Good thing,” Eric grunts.

“You want a vest? The car is armored, though.”

He shakes his head. “If our stalker tonight had wanted to fire some shots, he would have already done so.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Max agrees. “Drive over to the east side, okay? Cruise past Alex’s place on Park Avenue. Take your time. Then cut across the park and leave her car in Dad’s garage. With the key in it. I’ll have Duff get the car tomorrow.”

“Sure thing.”

“If you’re followed, call it in.” He gives Eric a back slap and turns away to make sure everyone is ready for our mission.

Eric gets into my car looking as serene as a man who’s out for a Sunday drive. I don’t even get a chance to say goodnight to him. I’m shown to the back of an armored van. I hear the garage doors open, allowing Eric to drive out. And I have no idea when I’ll see him again.

The ride home is completely uneventful. I’m yawning up a storm by the time Duff and Pieter open the door to the van and escort me through my own building’s parking garage and upstairs to my apartment.

Before they leave, Pieter does a walk-through of my apartment, checking to make sure there’s nobody here except us. I don’t know if they’re actually concerned, or if they’re just trying to make me feel safe.

“Looks good,” he says after a few minutes of peering into bathrooms and closets. “We’ll be right outside in the hallway if you need us.”

“Get some rest,” Duff adds. “And I hope you have a really boring day tomorrow.”

“Will do,” I promise