Did those three kids have any idea how lucky they were? Under the laws of their people, Kerry would’ve been within her rights to have them executed for the way they’d been stripping life energy from ordinary humans. Instead, Sandor had convinced the new Dame that mercy should also be part of Kyth law.
Grey didn’t necessarily disagree but he’d give anything to know if Kerry’s decision had been driven by compassion or cowardice. Only time would tell. For now, he could only wait and watch.
Piper froze. She’d been on her way to get the Dame’s signature on a stack of papers only to find Kerry was talking to Greyhill Danby. Well, she was in no mood to deal with him again. Their earlier encounter had been more than enough.
Especially if he were to start asking a bunch of questions she couldn’t afford to answer. She certainly didn’t want him to start poking around. Her references and paperwork had stood up well enough to Sandor’s inquiries, but she suspected he hadn’t looked all that hard. Between the three kids he’d rescued and Lena’s whirlwind trip to the East Coast, he’d been distracted.
Piper checked her watch. Another fifteen minutes and she’d be done for the day. If the bus gods were smiling on her, she’d have time to grab lunch somewhere before heading to class. This was one of her long days, putting in hours here at Kerry’s followed by the three classes she was taking to finish up her degree.
The thought brightened her mood considerably. It was hard to believe that she was finally going to graduate. It had been a long haul, but the end was in sight.
Deciding the signatures could wait until tomorrow, she hurried back to the office and shoved the papers into a bright red folder labeled with Kerry’s name. If something came up after Piper left, Kerry would know where to look for the documents amidst the clutter.
That had her grinning. She bet Greyhill was an “everything in its place” kind of guy and her clutter would drive him crazy. Poor man, it’s not like he had any choice about sharing his office. For a instant, she considered straightening up a bit before leaving but rejected the idea.
She’d been raised by a neat freak and had vigorously resisted her mother’s efforts to force Piper to conform to her high standards. If Piper hadn’t changed her ways for her mom, she wasn’t going to for a man she’d only met once. If Greyhill Danby didn’t like the mess on her desk, he could just get over it.
She logged off the computer and snagged her backpack off the floor. After flipping off the lights, she charged out into the hall, heading for the front door only to bounce off an obstacle that hadn’t been there a few minutes before.
She stumbled backward and was rescued at the last second when Grey latched onto her arms and jerked her back upright. Despite his obvious impatience, his hands were remarkably gentle. She knew she should say something, at the very least apologize for almost knocking the man down. But her brain and her mouth were seriously out of sync when she spoke.
“Are your eyes really that amazing shade of blue or do you wear contacts?”
Her face flushed hot and then cold as his eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“Thank you for noticing and, yes, they’re actually that blue. But tell me, Ms. Ryan, do you always say the first thing that pops into your head?”
“I try not to.” It was nothing short of the truth. “Look, I’m sorry I ran into you. You see, I’ve got class.”
Okay, that came out wrong. She tried again, hoping to make more sense, but the warmth of his hands had her brain firing on only half its cylinders.
“What I meant to say is that I’m running late for my classes at the university. But that’s no excuse for running down an innocent man.”
Those blue eyes suddenly warmed up about a hundred degrees, and his stern lips softened as he smiled. At that moment, innocent was hardly the word to describe Greyhill Danby. Good golly, the man was compelling enough when he was angry. She didn’t know what she’d do if he turned out to be charming too.
His hands dropped away from her arms, leaving her missing his touch as he stepped back out of her way.
“You mentioned something about leaving.”
Piper blinked twice. “What? Oh, yeah, I was. Excuse me, Mr. Danby.”
She sidled past him and walked down the hallway, feeling his gaze following her each step of the way. It was hard not to turn around and catch him watching.
Just as she was about to turn the corner, a phone rang. She looked back to see Greyhill flipping his cell open.
His eyes flickered in her direction and just that quickly every vestige of warmth disappeared from his expression. He muttered something into the phone and then stared at her until she gave up and walked away.
What was that all about? It wasn’t as if she had a burning desire to eavesdrop on his all-important phone call.
She stalked out into the bright sunshine and stopped to soak up a bit of its heat. She was under enough stress working as Kerry’s assistant without adding in a man who ran hot and cold with no predictable pattern. She didn’t understand him and wasn’t sure she wanted to. Right now she had more important things to do than to waste her time thinking about Greyhill Danby.
Defeat the Darkness (Paladins of Darkness 6) Page 29