Kennedy wanted enough advantage to flee.
“I’m not big on group showers.” She wrinkled her nose. “There are always other people there.” She gave him a look. “Do you realize the women walk around naked like it’s no big deal? They dry their hair, chat with their friends and apply makeup, all while entirely nude.”
No, he hadn’t known that. Interesting. “You’re shy, huh?” Or was it that the trauma of her past made her more private about her body?
Yeah, that would make sense. Frowning, he got behind the wheel, all the while checking the area to ensure no one, including Jodi, was looming around.
“I’ve always been reserved when it came to my body.”
“There’s no reason,” he said with total honesty.
Half smiling, she ducked her face. “I used the sink in your bathroom to clean up, and I changed clothes, but it’s not the same as a nice long shower.”
No, he supposed it wasn’t. And damn it, he didn’t want to think about Kennedy lingering under a warm spray.
In more ways than he could count, she was the total opposite of his brother’s wife. Put in a similar situation, Sterling would have owned the showers and anyone in them. In part, her alpha attitude made her perfect for Cade.
But Reyes wouldn’t like having a chick around who was every bit as ruthless as him.
“I mean it, you know. You have a nice body.”
Her eyes flared. “You’ve never seen my body.”
“I’ve seen you in snug shorts.” He rolled a shoulder. “You have a really nice ass.”
Kennedy almost choked. “That’s...” She shook her head. “Um, thanks.”
Her modesty was kind of cute, now that he knew it was just part of her nature and not something wrought from abuse. “Did I embarrass you? Sorry. I don’t know a lot of shy women.”
“I’m not really shy. Not about most things.”
“Just your ass?”
Laughing, she slugged him in the shoulder. “I got a lot of work done today. Your office is comfortable.”
Often while at the gym, after a few hours of instruction from him, Kennedy would retreat to his office to write her book. He’d read most of the one already published, and that made it even more difficult for him to be apart from her.
He was most at ease when he had eyes on the woman.
“Glad to hear it.”
Once they were on the main road to his house, Kennedy retrieved her phone from her purse and checked her messages. That was a pattern for her. While doing drills, or writing, she kept the phone in her bag so it wouldn’t distract her.
Now, as she flipped through texts, he immediately sensed that something was wrong.
The urge to pull over, to give her his undivided attention, warred with the need to secure her in his home. He wasn’t Cade, all even-tempered and shit. Hell, he was the opposite of Cade. “What is it?”
“You’re not going to like it.”
Probably not. Anything that put that worried expression onto Kennedy’s face automatically irked him. “Tell me anyway.”
She nodded, looked at the phone again, and said, “I just got a text from Jodi.”
Well, that wasn’t horrible. At least he hoped it wasn’t. “Took her long enough. What does she have to say?”
Kennedy chewed her bottom lip. “She, um, is warning me that you’re dangerous.”
“She’s right.” He gave her another quick glance. “But remember, I’m not dangerous to you.”
“She said you wreak destruction wherever you go.”
He snorted. How the hell would Jodi know? “A little dramatic, but whatever.”
“None of that bothers me, Reyes. I’m glad you can be ruthless.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“Jodi wants to meet me tonight.”
“No.”
“She said I can stay with her—”
“No fucking way.”
Frowning, Kennedy said, “You realize that your vocabulary deteriorates whenever you get annoyed or when you’re taken by surprise.”
“I’m not taken by surprise.” He scowled, letting her know what he thought of that notion. “But I don’t want you going anywhere. Your friend might be unbalanced.”
Kennedy didn’t deny that.
What would he do if she decided to bail on him? It wasn’t yet safe. Hell, they still hadn’t discovered anything pertinent, and until they did, he couldn’t resolve jack shit, which meant she was still in danger. “You remember she was at the fire, right?”
“It’s not like I’d forget.”
That was something, at least. He gave the situation quick thought, trying to gauge what his family would say about it, then he shrugged. They weren’t here, and he had to make a decision. Once they got home, Kennedy would barricade herself in the guest room again and he’d lose his chance to persuade her to his way of thinking. “Now might be a good time to ask her why she was there, to see her reaction.”
Kennedy considered that for a moment. “If I do, she’s going to ask me how I know.”
“Or she’ll deny it.”
“No, I don’t think she’d lie to me. As far as I know, she never has.”
“So you’ll tell her the truth that a security camera off another business picked up her image. You don’t need to mention Madison, though.”
“I’m not sure I’m good with half-truths.”
“Sorry, honey, but it’s necessary. Until we know how Jodi is involved, you can’t trust her.”
She stared at the phone, her troubled thoughts showing in her frown. “All right. Should I call or text?”
“Call. And put her on speaker.”
Her chest expanded on a deep breath. “God, this feels like such a betrayal.”
“I’m sorry.” He meant it. “Your safety comes first, okay?”
Nodding, she let her thumb hover over the screen...and finally pressed the phone icon.
It rang only once before a frantic voice answered. “Kennedy, thank God. Tell me you’re all right.”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“People deliberately burned down your apartment building.”
She shot Reyes a look as if to say, See? She’s transparent. “I know. I’d just gotten home from a trip. It spooked me.”