Zachary Collins paused mid pull-up and clenched his jaw. Dammit, didn’t E.J. know anything about office etiquette? Last thing they needed was a complaint about rude employees to the Better Business Bureau.
“Not appropriate, E.J.” Zach huffed as he lifted his chin up over the bar he’d mounted in the doorway to his office’s private bathroom. His left arm began to tremble beneath the strain. “What’s she want?”
Nine.
Ten.
Done.
He dropped to the floor, shook the slight tingle out of his left hand, and reached for the towel draped across his chair. E.J. leaned back against the closed door and shrugged. “Dunno. She just asked for you.”
He’d known putting E.J. at the reception desk was a bad idea. The kid was too rough around the edges. Too ignorant of the job.
Wiping the sweat from his neck, Zach made his way to his desk. The security monitor on his computer screen showed him the side profile of a dark-haired woman sitting in the waiting room.
Dog? Not from what he could see.
As though she sensed she was being watched, she shifted and looked directly into the corner camera mounted in the lobby. She stared for a minute before she looked down at her hands, clenching and unclenching in her lap.
Shit.
It was her.
Zach swore and pounded a fist on his desk. He reached for his phone. “Isn’t Brian around? Kellan?” He punched in his partner’s extension, only to get Brian’s voicemail.
“Sure, but—” Beside him, E.J. tugged at the necktie Zach had insisted he wear and shuffled on his feet. “The lady specifically asked for you and said she’d take her business elsewhere if you weren’t available.”
Slamming the phone back in the cradle, Zach stepped into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face before hurrying to change into his respectable white button-down shirt and black slacks. “Did she say why she wanted to see me?”
The young man scrunched his face. “Nah, man. Just said it was important.”
I’m-here-to-serve-you-papers important? He hoped not.
“Is she alone?” He ran a hand through his thick hair. Not too damp.
“There ain’t nobody with her, but—”
“Send her in.”
Deodorant. Where the hell was his deodorant? He splashed on a dash of cologne instead and hurried to his desk.
Zach’s name might headline the private security agency—hell, his name was the agency—but he took a hands-off approach to handling cases these days. He liked the easy ones. Ones that could be done behind a computer or with a phone call here and there. He’d lost his desire for adrenaline rushes six months ago, right after—
No. Don’t even think about it.
He had no need for that shit anymore. He was strictly in business management now. Safe and easy. That was his new work mantra.
Unfortunately, this woman was not going to be safe and easy for him, and he didn’t have to be psychic to know that.
Reaching for the bottle of antacids in his drawer, he popped one in his mouth. He kept them there for when the bill collectors came snooping around. Or fans, who hadn’t forgotten him yet.
His door opened, and Zach blinked in surprise when a short, stubby-legged, long-snouted golden retriever with beady eyes came trotting into his office. Some kind of mixed breed, or maybe a genetic experiment.
A smile got the better of him. Now that was a cute mutt.
The dog slowly maneuvered its chunky body over to where Zach was standing, wrapped its front paws around Zach’s leg and started humping.
“Hey!” Zach tried to jostle him off, but the little guy was stronger than he looked.
“Oh, geez, I’m so sorry.” The woman appeared in the doorway, her green gaze wide. She clapped her hands and yelled, “Costello! Down, boy. Down!”
The dog immediately obeyed.
“I’m so sorry. He got away from me.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. She grabbed the leash the dog had been trailing behind him. When she straightened, she held out her other hand. “My name is Hannah Dawson. Thank you for giving me a few minutes of your time, Mr. Collins.”
His vision blurred as his heart thumped a wild beat against his chest.
Just. Stay. Calm.
It took all of Zach’s training not to react as he accepted her handshake. His body jerked in surprise when a furry white and black head popped out of the bag beneath the woman’s arm. The cat let loose a loud yowling meow and took a swipe at his hand.
What the—?
Hannah wrenched back. “Oh, no I am so sorry. I don’t know what’s got into them.”
Uh…
“Abbott, behave.” She zipped the top of the pink mesh bag, leaving a pair of yellow eyes peering at him from behind a see-through front. A growling sound came from the carrier when the woman sat it on the ground.
This was weird, and for Zach, that was saying a lot. In his five years of running Collins Security Firm, he’d never felt so caught off-guard by a situation.
“Miss Dawson?”
She looked at him and nodded.
“Perhaps we could reschedule this for another time when you can leave your—” Zach squinted down at the dog, who was panting happily with its tongue hanging out of its mouth “—pets at home?”
And he could arrange for Brian to meet with her instead. Sweat gathered at the back of his neck. He didn’t need this. Not now. Not her.
“Oh, but I can’t. I can’t go anywhere without them. I can’t even go to the bathroom on my own anymore.” She threw up her hands and looked like she was near tears. “That’s why I need your help. That’s why I’m here.”
She had no idea who he was.
Every muscle in Zach’s body relaxed at that realization. Even so, he skimmed her profile to reassure himself she wasn’t playing him for a fool. Not much had changed. She was in her early thirties, but she looked younger. Long, straight black hair, average height but slim. Well-dressed.
Why the hell was she here if she didn’t know who he was?
She lifted her pretty face, and the vulnerability he saw in her glistening green eyes had him second-guessing his decision to send her away. This woman wasn’t vindictive or crazy. She was desperate.
He cleared his throat. “Why don’t you have a seat?”
Sinking into the chair across from his desk, Hannah buried her face in her hands and groaned. She spread her fingers and looked at him. “I seem like a freak, don’t I?” Glancing around his office, she lowered her hand and began petting the dog. “I’m not crazy. I’m just…stressed.”
Nodding, he sank into his cushy office chair. “Before you get too far, I should warn you that our prices aren’t cheap. I offer a free consultation on referral, but—”
“I can pay for the consultation,” she interjected. “And I can afford your services.” She glanced down at the dog. “Actually, they can afford your services. They’re the ones who will be hiring you.”
Another one he hadn’t heard before.
Before he could speak, she snatched the newspaper lying on his desk, turned to a page close