Free All That I Desire by Francis Ray Page B

saw the
     man. Otherwise they had squat—which meant they had no way of finding the person or
     persons who’d followed her. He hated like hell to think the bastard had gotten away—or
     worse, that he might come after Skylar again.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Putting a coded lock on your door.” He screwed in the last bolt. “I reprogrammed
     it to have only two numbers for quicker access, and to signal when it’s on. What number?”
     When she didn’t say anything he glanced up at her. As expected, her arms were crossed.
     She was still ticked at him. He waited her out.
    “Thirteen?”
    “Too easy.”
    “Then why don’t you pick one?” Her arms came to her sides.
    “Because it has to be a number that, no matter what, you’ll remember. Preferably close
     together,” he answered patiently. Really ticked.
    “Zero six.” It was the month Blade had hired her.
    He coded in the numbers, picked up the empty box and tools, and rose to his feet.
     “Come here, please.”
    She stopped on the other side of the door. “I know how to work the key pad. My grandparents
     have one, because my grandmother can never find her key.”
    “I spoke with Dakota. The fifth man didn’t show up on the restaurant tapes,” he said,
     hating to tell her. “The only other option is for you to watch the tapes and see if
     you can pick him out.”
    She nodded, crossed her arms again. “I’ll call Dakota. If he wants, I can go in tonight
     since I have no plans.”
    Ouch! Skylar could cut a man to ribbons, but not him. “If you do, I’m going with you.”
    “Aren’t you going to be busy?” she asked sweetly.
    “I’ll make the time.”
    “Don’t bother.” Her hands dropped to her sides. “Please assign Henderson or Conner.”
    “They’ll be busy.”
    Skylar looked ready to blow, but he wasn’t finished with her. “Keep the lock on at
     all times. If one of my men passes and the red light is not on, I’ll be notified and
     we’ll have a talk. Same goes if I pass and it’s not on. I can guarantee that you’re
     not going to like having that conversation.”
    Her gaze sharpened to pinpoints of fury. “I think we’ve already had that conversation.”
    “If Dakota decides he wants you to come in tonight, call me. If not, have a good night.”
    “You’ve made that impossible!” She went into the room and slammed the door.
    Rio lifted his hand to knock on the door and remind her about arming the lock just
     as it flashed red. If he ever got any gray hairs, Skylar would give them to him.
    *   *   *
    “Rio, I’m fine, but can you please come to my room?”
    “On my way.” Replacing his cell phone, Rio left the control room fifty-seven minutes
     after his and Skylar’s last conversation. He knew she’d gone to the kitchen and eaten.
    He stopped in front of her door and knocked. He really didn’t know what to expect,
     but at least the red light was on.
    Skylar opened the door and stood aside for him to enter. As soon as he did, the door
     closed. “Dakota said I could view the tapes tomorrow after one.”
    “We’ll leave after the last delivery.” She could have told him that on the phone.
     There was something else she wanted to say.
    He waited until she worked it out in her mind—he owed her that. A lot had been thrust
     on her. She wasn’t used to being in danger. Danger was all he’d ever known.
    “I don’t want to go to bed with us annoyed with each other. My parents had the same
     philosophy—of course, look what happened to them,” she finally said.
    He heard the misery in his voice. It tugged at him. “My decisions were for your own
     safety.”
    She blinked, then blinked again as if fighting tears. “You were going to send me away.”
    “Nothing is as important as your safety,” he said, trying to keep his voice flat and
     for the first time failing.
    She walked to him, curved her arms around his waist, rested her cheek on his chest.
     “I was so angry with you.”
    He should have