One Week of Summer by Amber Rides Read Free Book Online

the front door without so much as a glance in the other man’s direction, and I exhaled.
    But my relief was short-lived.
    The security guard was staring straight up at my hiding place at the top of the stairs.  I didn’t know if he could actually see me or not, and I wasn’t sticking around to find out.
    I scrambled backwards down the hallway, counting the doors as I went.
    One.
    Two.
    Three.
    At the fourth door, I stopped and grabbed the handle.  I flung it open, then closed it quietly behind me.  I stumbled into the room and ran my hand up the wall in search of a light switch.  On the third sweep, I found it.  I flipped on the light and blinked frantically, willing my eyes to adjust.
    It was a bedroom.  I spotted the outline of a bed, a tall dresser, and then my eyes fixed on an armchair.
    I dove for it just as the doorknob twisted.
    The guard’s thick form darkened the doorway.
    “Maggie, is it?” he asked as he stepped into the room.
    I nodded wordlessly.
    “Mind if I sit too?”
    “No.”
    He pulled up the footstool that matched the armchair and slumped onto it.
    “Bit of a mouse, aren’t you?” he asked with a sigh. “Doesn’t matter anyway. I’m Donnie.”
    “Hi.”
    “You wanna tell me how much you heard of that garbage down there?”
    I eyed him nervously.  Now that he was sitting down, he was far less frightening, even with the macabre amount of partially dried blood still on his face and shirt.
    “Enough,” I finally answered.
    “Probably not,” he told me, then sighed again. “I told J – Teekay, I mean, that I’d apologize. And I’m a man of my word. It seems important to me that you know that. Okay?”
    “Okay.”
    “I’m sorry, Maggie. You shouldn’t have had to witness that, and I’m sure you’re none of what I called you. That little sh – err, Teekay has been dodging me for weeks, refusing to admit he still needs me. I usually catch up with him pretty damned quick, but today he got away for several hours. When I saw you down there with him, I sensed an opportunity to put him in his place and I took it. So again. I’m sorry.”
    “Okay,” I said again, this time sounding a little more like I meant it.
    “You truly think this is okay? Because I think you should run in the other direction as fast and as far as you can. Teekay Marcus is unstable...” Donnie paused to shake his head. “Even if he doesn’t hurt you directly, his wake is wide and high, and you can’t count yourself as safe even if you think you’re riding it well.”
    I didn’t know if it was the water sports analogy – which would’ve set me on edge anyway – or if it was just the warning itself, but either way, a bit of doubt crept into my mind and the fingers of fear crept up my spine, too.
    Donnie cracked his knuckles ominously. “I’m not being paid to look out for you . And I wouldn’t be very good at my job if I gave away my client’s secrets to the first pretty girl who asked. But just consider this…How safe can you be with a man who needs the twenty-four-hour surveillance of an armed guard?”
    I desperately wanted to know more.  It was an unusual thing for me, to be tempted to push a conversation rather than to wish it never started at all.  But I didn’t get a chance to explore it.
    Donnie glanced toward the door, then jumped to his feet just as Teekay made his entrance.  He was soaked and his expression was as stormy as the weather he’d come in from.
    “Did you apologize?” he demanded immediately.
    “I did,” Donnie confirmed.
    Teekay looked at me. “Is he telling the truth?”
    “Yes,” I replied quickly.
    Teekay’s glare sought the security guard again. “So why the fuck is he still here?”
    Donnie flashed a toothy smile. “I was just leaving. But I’ll be in my apartment if you need me.”
    Teekay narrowed his eyes, and I knew he was wondering if the other man was speaking to him, or to me.  I was half-wondering the same thing.
    In reply to our unasked