Page 71 of Protecting Peyton

“A special lady then?”

I could almost hear the smile on her face. “Yes.”

“The hostess will be expecting you at seven.”

After the call, I marveled at the reach of Lucas’s name in this town. A minute later, I pulled into the Hawk garage underneath the offices.

Joe gave my car the onceover. “You been treating her right?”

“Of course.” I patted the top of the car like a pet dog.

Joe treated these cars like his children, and he didn’t appreciate that our business sometimes resulted in them being used hard and occasionally crashed or even shot up.

So far, I was on his good side, since my car hadn’t been damaged and I hadn’t burned all the rubber off the tires, racing it through city streets.

Peyton

With the issueof the break-in probably resolved, what remained was getting my bike back, or replacing it.

After another half hour at my desk, smelling the fragrant roses, I couldn’t contain my curiosity any longer. It didn’t help that work was slow this morning. I picked up my phone and almost called March, but decided interrupting him wouldn’t be ideal. Yeah, the needy womanwasn’t me, or at least I didn’t want to be her. Instead, I selected the tech specialist’s number.

When Grace had been under attack, she’d given me the contact numbers to everybody at Hawk, just in case—even their scary boss, Lucas.

“Why, good morning, pretty lady,” Jordy answered. The computer nerd wasn’t as rough around the edges as all the others. “What can I do for you? Ah, I know. You’re tired of that broody SEAL and want lunch with me. Lucky for you, I’m available today. I’ll even treat.”

I laughed. “Broody, huh? March said he was asking you to look through the local databases and see if whoever took my bike was trying to sell it.”

“He did,” Jordy confirmed. “And I have good news. I was waiting to hear from Zane. He wanted to be alerted.”

My heart sped up. “I can use some good news. What is it?”

“A good Samaritan found your bike and posted it in lost and found on Craigslist.”

“How do we know it’s mine?”

“Painted pink with your name engraved on it. Sound familiar?”

I pinched myself, the slight pain confirming that this was real. “My name? That’s awesome. That is so great. Jordy, you’re a lifesaver. You made my day. Where is it? When can I get it back?”

“Hold on,” he intoned slowly. “Get this. I called the number and talked to the lady, but she wouldn’t give me the time of day. She said she knew the bike wasn’t mine because of the name engraved on the frame. She hung up before I could ask if it was your name. I think you’re going to have to call her. My falsetto’s not good enough.”

Marci stopped by my desk, and I waved her away. This was too important. “What’s the number? I’ll call her.” Goose bumps raised on my skin. This was how much my life had changed—getting my bike back was better than anything in months.

He gave me the number. “Now, about lunch.”

I giggled. “You weren’t kidding?”

“Lucas doesn’t let me out much. But hell no, I wasn’t kidding.”

“Sure, but I can’t afford it this week.”

Lucas Hawk gave me the shivers. His last name fit him. He made you feel like a tasty field mouse when his gaze landed on you. For some reason, it felt slightly odd to accept Jordy’s invitation, but I owed him.

“I said my treat.”

“Okay, but not today.” I thanked him and hung up.

Seeing me put the phone down, Marci reappeared. “You’ve had arough couple of days. I just wanted to see how you’re doing. Still feeling okay?” She was very sweet.