Page 75 of See You There

Her head rested on the window, turned away from him. Was she asleep? Luke hoped so. After packing what he would need over the next several days, Luke had used the stairs to reach his office, successfully avoiding the police.

As soon as the pickup truck was dropped off outside, Luke and Dahlia slipped out the service entrance. The keys were waiting on top of the tire, just like he’d been told.

When they sat overnight in the firm’s offices, waiting for the truck to be delivered, Luke had worried Dahlia would have a breakdown again—not that he blamed her—but as the hours went by, she grew calmer. He’d expected questions, but when he told her he’d arranged somewhere for them out of town, she only nodded, and began typing something into her phone.

“You can’t tell anyone,” Luke said.

Her eyes were surprised when they met his. “I’m not. I’m making a list.”

Luke opened his mouth to ask what it was for but closed it again. He’d worry about whatever her list was, later.

The foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains appeared through the windshield, and the highway narrowed to two lanes with periodic stop lights. Dahlia stirred at one, lifting her head away from the window.

“Are we there?”

Luke took in her profile. “Almost. Another thirty minutes. According to Devil Dog, his cabin can only be accessed by secondary roads.”

“Devil Dog?”

Luke grinned. “He’s a client from way back. One of my first, actually.”

“What did he do?”

“He is—was—an enforcer for a motorcycle club. I defended him on assault charges a few times.”

“Biker clubs hire fancy Atlanta lawyers?” She sounded dubious.

He chuckled. “The ones high up in the organization do… absolutely. But Dog was just a low-level bruiser. I was his public defender.”

Dahlia’s eyebrows flew up. “You were a public defender?”

He nodded and made a left when the light turned green. “I made it two years.”

“Why did you leave?”

Luke looked at the GPS again. “I wanted to do something different.”

“Like what?”

He darted a look at her. “Why are you suddenly so chatty?”

“I slept,” Dahlia blushed. Luke would have thought the red staining her cheeks would have clashed with her auburn hair, but it did the opposite. His eyes fell to her rose-colored lips.

Fuck, she was pretty—but James had been right in that one respect. As much as he wanted her, it couldn’t happen.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried.” She looked out the window before turning back, her ponytail swinging. “No, I’m not sorry. You’ve been prying into my life for days.”

“That’s my job,” he retorted.

Dahlia crossed her arms under her breasts, and Luke snuck a glance at the cleavage the movement created. He was only human.

“If it’s your job, then you shouldn’t be so judgy.”

Luke’s fingers flexed on the steering wheel. “I’m notjudgy.” That was something he’d never been accused of. Particularly when he was the one who was so frequently judged.

“Huh,” she huffed an angry breath.

Luke risked a glance. Dahlia was acting different. It seemed as if the woman who had been hiding underneath the starlet façade had broken through at the same time his condo’s windows shattered. Whatever the reason, he liked it.