Luke Holloway caught sight of Adrian holding Daph and immediately pushed open the car door, stepping out in a single, purposeful motion.
Towering at nearly six–foot–three, Luke was broad–shouldered and powerfully built. The black T–shirt he wore clung to defined muscles, sculpted by years of training.
“Hand her to me.”
Luke extended an arm toward Adrian, muscles flexing beneath his skin.
Adrian had no choice but to pass Daph over.
With one arm, Luke scooped Daph up as if she weighed nothing. He turned to Selene. “Let’s go.”
Selene exchanged a quick farewell with Adrian and slipped into Luke’s car.
Luke settled Daph in the back seat, closed the door, and, on his way to the driver’s side, shot Adrian a cold, measuring look.
Adrian ignored him, his gentle gaze lingering only on Selene. “Drive safe.”
He managed a polite, distant smile–warm, but not too familiar.
Adrian stood at the curb, watching the SUV pull away.
Luke glanced in the rearview mirror. “Who was that?”
“Adrian, Professor Shaw’s son,” Selene replied.
Luke mulled that over. “I’ve seen him at your university before.”
Selene shrugged. “Maybe he was there to visit his dad.”
As far as Selene knew, Adrian wasn’t even a student at Capital University.
Luke remembered that whenever he came to see Selene on campus, he’d spot a man in the back of her lecture hall, face half–hidden by a black mask and a baseball cap.
The man made a point of keeping a low profile, but Luke’s military instincts mad him alert to the people who tried hardest to blend in.
He’d noticed that the man’s attention always seemed fixed on Selene.
“He’s a creep. You should be careful,” Luke said with a chill in his voice.
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Selene blinked in surprise, struggling to reconcile the infamous, well–bred Capita Circle golden boy with the word “creep.”
Luke didn’t bother to dwell on Adrian. Instead, he asked, “So what’s your plan now?”
dwell on Adrian. Instead, he asked, “So what’s
He already knew about her divorce from Harrison.
At that moment, Daph began to stir.
“Daddy’s mean! Mr. Shaw is nice!” Daph announced, her voice piping up from the back seat.
Luke’s eyes widened in disbelief.
A red light forced him to brake. He turned to look at Daph.
She blinked her big dark eyes, confusion clouding her face.
“Huh?” Daph looked puzzled too. She patted her ear, as if double–checking it was still there.
Selene looked back, surprised: “Daph, where did that come from?”
Daph shook her head, as if trying to clear it. “I think I had a dream. Someone in the dream kept saying, ‘Daddy’s mean, Mr. Shaw is nice.’ And you know what? I really do think Mr. Shaw is super nice!” She broke into a sweet grin at the memory of Adrian. There was no mistaking the sincerity in her daughter’s expression. Selene reached back to gently pinch Daph’s cheek. “I never thought Mr. Shaw would be so good with kids.”
Luke gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. “Sometimes dreams are the opposite of reality. Maybe Mr. Shaw is actually a bad guy.”
Selene glanced out the window, thinking back on her time with the Shaw family. She laughed. “Well, even if Adrian is a bad guy–or a creep–he’s a gorgeous one. A beautiful villain.”
The next day, Selene took Daph to Luke’s gym.
She asked Luke to find a boxing coach for Daph–someone who’d actually been on
the national team.
The young coach took one look at Daph’s chubby, cherubic face and blurted out, “Wait, she’s a girl?”
Luke shot him a stern look. “She’s my niece. Give her your best.”
Chapter
The coach crouched down to Daph’s level, sizing her up. “Boxing is tough. No tears. alright?”
Daph straightened up, her face all seriousness. “I won’t cry!”
The coach grinned. “Let’s see if we can help you get even stronger.”
He picked up a training pad and held it out. “Give it all you’ve got. Hit it as hard as you can.”
“Coach, you’d better brace yourself!” Daph piped up, her voice small but full of determination.
