“Let’s see it.”

“You’re an impatient little thing, aren’t you?” His voice felt like acid down her spine.

She crossed her arms over her chest, cell phone tight in her hand.

“It’s late, Mr. Sokolov.”

“Okay, okay . . .” He rounded his car, opened the door to the back seat, and pulled out rolled-up papers she assumed were plans.

He unrolled them on the hood of his car and used his cell phone as a flashlight.

Grace set her phone on the hood and used both hands to hold the plans in place.

Even though she didn’t have her drawings with her to compare, she knew at first glance the scale wasn’t right. “You’ve shrunk the scale,” she said.

“These are almost identical to what you gave me.”

She pointed to the guidepost she used as the cornerstone of the plan. “This is where it needs to start.” She moved her finger to where his plan began. “Not here.”

“That’s not what you told me before.” He was so close she could smell the tobacco on his breath.

“There’s nothing here about material or infrastructure.”

“We’ll get to that later.” He stood too close, so she sidestepped away.

“There is no later. This meeting was to offer a solid plan and the name of the contractor you’re using.” Her gaze moved around the plans. She flipped the giant paper to see an empty one underneath. No name or contractor’s license number anywhere to be seen. It was as if he scribbled the drawing himself.

“We’re negotiating.” He’d moved closer, his eyes kept in constant contact with her chest.

Grace stood as tall as she could and marched in the gravel to the same point she had a week ago. She touched the pole. “Right here. This is where it starts.” She stormed a couple of yards away to where his plan indicated. “Not here.”

“There’s got to be something we can do to make this work,” he said. “Some way to work this out.” He reached for his back pocket and removed his wallet.

Did he really think she’d take a bribe?

“It is the holidays and I’m guessing the city doesn’t pay as well as the private sector.”

Grace shook her head. “Don’t insult me.” She kept her distance. Her heartbeat alone told her it was best to keep the man where she could see him.

He waved his wallet in the air. “The sooner you realize the way the world really works, the better, little lady.”

“I’ve had just about enough of you and your overinflated ego.”

His half-cocked smile slid. He shoved his wallet back where he found it and rolled up his plans. “You’re making a mistake.”

She marched back to her car, ready to swing if he attempted to touch her.

As she passed, he sucked in a sharp breath, jolted, and slapped the plans against his legs.

The action made her jump and nearly stumble.

She glared at him, and he started to laugh.

“Someone’s on edge,” he said.

Inside her car, she immediately locked the doors and turned over the engine. Gravel spit in all directions as she drove away.

Half a mile down the road she looked at her hands shaking against the steering wheel. “Calm down,” she told herself. He was trying to scare her, and he’d succeeded.

And that pissed her off.

She needed to vent. Yell at someone who would take her side.

She thought of Parker. But Parker would tell Colin, and Colin would turn caveman. Or tell Matt, who would make it two cavemen. Worse, they might say something to their dad. Retired cop or not, her dad would bring in his friends, and next thing you know the whole thing is blown up and she’d be branded a problem employee once word got out.

Thinking rationally was how she needed to proceed. Mindful action. Calm action.

But all she wanted to do was scream asshole at the top of her voice.

She pressed the wireless call button on her steering wheel.

The car made a noise but didn’t ask for a command.

She did it again.

While she drove down the busy street, she fumbled in her purse for her cell phone. Her hand reached it and she pulled it out to see if the battery had died.

Realizing it was her work phone, she dropped it in her lap and dug for the other one. Not feeling it, she slapped the space around her purse in the passenger seat.

Her mind flashed to her setting it down to look at Sokolov’s shitty plans, and she started to panic.

Did Sokolov notice her phone? Did he grab it? Did it slide off his car and was in the middle of the road?

She needed to go back and look.

What if he was still here?

He wouldn’t be, she argued with herself.

But the voice in her head said he might be.

She waited for a long line of red taillights at an intersection before grabbing her work phone.

Calling her family was out.

Calling her brothers’ girlfriend and wife was out.

Before she lost her nerve, she found Dameon’s number and dialed.

“Well, this is a pleasant surprise.”

Just hearing the levity in his voice helped her relax. “Dameon.”

“What’s wrong?”

Was she that obvious?

Grace took a deep breath and steadied her voice. “It’s nothing, really. Are you still in town?” She didn’t give him time to answer. “You drove back to the city, didn’t you? It’s okay—”

“I’m still here,” he interrupted her. “Where are you?”

“Soledad and Bouquet Canyon. Not far from you.”

“I’m not at the house. What’s wrong, Grace?”

“It’s kind of a long story. I lost my phone. I’m pretty sure where it is, but I . . . I don’t want to go back to get it alone. I’d ask my brothers, but they’d freak.” She should just forget the phone and get another one.

“Why would they freak, Grace?”

Traffic started to move. Instead of heading up the canyon to Dameon’s house, she turned into the long line of traffic headed toward the mall. “They just would. Can you help me out?”

“Where can I pick you up?”

“I’m headed home to change.” She gave him her address. He told her he’d be there in twenty minutes. Grace thanked him and disconnected the call.

Ten minutes later she walked into her condo, dropped her purse on her coffee table, and sat down. She was still shaking. Partly because it was cold walking into her place, but she knew that wasn’t all of it.

Adrenaline was dumping into her system like a flood.

She hated that the man intentionally intimidated her. And that it worked. For years, she’d made up for her short stature with confidence and the occasional attitude. Her father had taught her to punch with her elbow and not her fist for maximum effect. Having two older brothers meant she knew how to take a good ribbing and deliver one as well.

Yet it seemed like lately she’d lost her edge when dealing with disrespectful men. Richard wasn’t anywhere close to what Sokolov had just pulled, but the lines were blurry as far as she saw it.

Something needed to change.

She stood to go splash water on her face and change when her doorbell rang.

Dameon stood on the other side, his chest heaving like he’d run up the stairs.