Gage finished the rest of his lecture, and the lights came up as the question-and-answer period began—a good time to leave, Abby figured. Staying in the back, she made her way through the crowd to an exit door that led directly outside, pushed through, and stepped into the darkness.
The moment the door swung closed behind her, shutting out the light from inside, she realized the error she had made. She turned back and tried the door, wasn’t surprised to find it locked. It wasn’t that far to the car, she told herself. She just needed to reach the side of the building where it was brightly lit and cross to the parking lot.
Her brown leather ankle boots clicked on the asphalt as she made her way down the alley at the back of the building. She hadn’t noticed anyone around when she’d stepped outside, but now she heard the sound of the door opening and closing, followed by footfalls echoing behind her.
A quick look over her shoulder and she spotted the shadowy figure of a man in an overcoat striding along in her wake. Abby quickened her pace. He was tall and spare, his overcoat flapping around his legs as his long strides carried him toward her.
A thought stirred that there was something familiar about him. Was it possible this was the same man who had broken into her house? She snatched another quick look. Same height, same lean, wide-shouldered build. Her pulse quickened along with her footsteps.
Surely there was no way he could know where she would be tonight. Not unless . . . Not unless he knew where she was staying and had followed her to the museum. Her heart rate accelerated even more.
Another quick glance confirmed her fear as she saw him closing the distance between them. Abby started running, her lungs pumping as she raced toward the light coming from around the side of the building and the museum parking lot. Behind her, pounding footsteps matched her own, the man drawing even closer.
Abby burst around the corner and kept running. People were beginning to stream out of the building through the entrance that led to the lecture hall. She quickly altered her course to catch up with them and blend into the exiting throng.
The lecture-goers spread out as they reached the parking lot, Abby among them. She spotted her red Fiat convertible and felt a rush of gratitude that the March weather was still too chilly to put the top down.
She glanced back in search of the man who was following her. If he was there, he was just another figure in the crowd. Abby didn’t slow down.
She had almost reached her car when Gage Logan seemed to appear out of nowhere, his long strides quickly catching up with her shorter ones. Her heart was still thrumming, her face flushed, her breathing a little ragged. In the overhead light, she saw his dark brows pull together in a frown.
“Abigail. Are you all right?”
She swallowed, managed to nod. “I’m . . . I’m all right.”
He studied her face. “Something happened. What was it?”
She glanced back toward the building, saw that most of the crowd had dispersed. “I just got a little spooked. I’m sure it was nothing.”
“Tell me what happened.”
She sighed, resigned to explaining. She hoped she didn’t sound like an idiot. “When the lecture ended, I went out the back door. I didn’t realize how dark it was until I got outside and the door locked behind me. Someone came out a few seconds later. There was something about him that looked familiar. I was afraid it was the man who broke into my house—same height and build—but . . .”
She took a calming breath, her adrenaline still pumping. “I’m sure I was wrong. There’s no way he could have known I would be here tonight.”
A muscle tightened in Logan’s jaw. “Not unless he followed you.”
Exactly what she had been thinking. “I’m staying at a friend’s apartment while she’s out of town, so there’s no way he could know where I am.”
“Are you sure?”
A shiver ran through her. It had taken her several days to move her stuff out of the old house. He could have been watching, could have followed her to the apartment.
She looked up at Logan. “No.”
Gage took her arm and began to haul her off toward a vehicle parked under a nearby overhead light, a bronze Land Rover with black trim, fully tricked out with a rack on top and a heavy-duty front bumper. It fit Logan, the explorer, perfectly.
Gage popped the locks and opened the passenger door. “Get in. I’ll take you home.”
“I can’t leave my car. I have things to do in the morning.”
“I’ll pick you up and bring you back.” Ignoring her look of protest, Gage herded her into the seat and firmly closed the door. As he rounded the vehicle to the driver’s side, he unbuttoned his collar, loosened his tie, and dragged it off, exposing his muscular neck.
“I’ll check out the house,” he said, sliding in behind the wheel, tossing the tie carelessly into the back. “We’ll make sure there’s no unwelcome visitor there to surprise you.” Cranking the engine, he put the Rover in gear and drove out of the parking lot.
Abby just sat there. Gage Logan was clearly a force to be reckoned with. She was almost sure she didn’t like it. Almost. It had been years since there’d been anyone around to worry about her safety.
As Logan navigated the Rover in and out of the traffic on Colorado Boulevard, he relaxed back in his seat. “Where are we going?”
Abby gave him directions to her borrowed apartment on South Dexter Street. “It belongs to a friend. Tammy’s staying with her boyfriend, trying to decide if she’s going to make a permanent move.”
“Probably a good idea to find out first.”
“Jed’s a white-hat kind of guy. I hope it works out for them.”
The corner of his mouth edged up. “A white-hat guy. I like that.”
Abby glanced at Logan. He was definitely a larger-than-life figure. Time would tell if the good things she had read about him were true.
Winding in and out of traffic, the Rover continued down the street. “I hope you enjoyed the lecture,” Gage said mildly.
“I’ve read several articles you wrote about the rubies, so I knew most of what you were going to say.”
He flicked her a sideways glance. “Then why did you go?”
“Reading about your adventures could only tell me so much. I wanted a look at Logan, the man. If we’re going to work together, I need to trust you. To do that, I need to get a sense of who you are.” One that was more objective than the image she had conjured in her head.
As they passed beneath an overhead light, his gaze strayed to hers. “So you think I’ll agree to your proposal.”
“You have to be intrigued. And from what I’ve read, you’re very thorough. By now, you know everything there is to know about King’s Folly. Or at least as much as anyone knows. You also know that, aside from his final quest, King never failed at anything he attempted. He believed the gold was there. You’re just deciding if you want to risk your own reputation trying to find it.”
Gage smiled, a flash of white in the darkness that relaxed his features and made him even more handsome. Her pulse kicked up for the second time that night. It was ridiculous. The last thing she needed was a distraction like Logan.
“We need to talk,” he said. “If it’s safe, your place will do.”