Page 14 of Keeping Knight

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” I ask him. “It’s a big imposition.”

“A big imposition?” Micah nudges my arm with his. Then he flashes me a quick smile. “It’s not an imposition at all. I have plenty of room at my place. You’ll have your own bedroom, of course, with a sitting room and attached bath. You can lock the door from the inside, so you won’t have to worry⁠—”

I nudge his arm back. “I’m not worried. Not about you.”

He traces a little circle on my palm with his finger. “You don’t have to be. I’ll never do anything to hurt you.”

I know we haven’t known each other that long, big picture-wise. But I don’t need to have known Micah for years to believe him. “What about your dog? Will he mind?”

“Sampson?” His smile widens. “He’ll be thrilled. He loves people. And I’m sure he’ll love you.”

A flicker of warmth sparks in my chest. “And you’re sure you don’t mind?”

“I’m sure,” he replies firmly. “I want you to come, Ruby. I mean it.”

I look into his eyes, searching for any reason to say no. A sign of uncertainty. Of regret. Of resigned obligation. But all I see is an earnest offer he’s hoping I’ll accept.

“Okay,” I tell him. “If you’re absolutely sure, I’ll stay with you.”

His smile, which had briefly faded, emerges again. “Okay.” He gives my hand a gentle squeeze. “We’ll get you all set up with some warm tea and some comfy clothes, and if you like, I bet Sampson would keep you company while you sleep. It’ll be alright. You’ll see.”

“Warm tea? Comfy clothes?”

“My mom always made me tea when I had a cold or the flu,” Micah explains. “And she’s a big proponent of comfy clothes. The older and baggier the better.”

A reluctant smile ghosts my lips. “Exactly.”

“So it’s settled then,” Micah says. “You’re coming to my place.”

The spark of warmth catches flame. “I guess I am.”

Chapter Four

MICAH

The moment I hear Sampson’s sharp yip from across the condo, I know something’s wrong.

It’s not a playful bark, or the one he occasionally uses when he’s eager to be fed and thinks I’m waiting too long. This one is a warning. It’s the bark I taught Sampson to make when he suspects danger, but there isn’t an outright threat to act on.

Jabbing the power button on the treadmill, I leap off it while the belt is still moving. My right knee twinges with pain, reminding me that at thirty-seven, I’m not as young as I used to be. “Nearly forty,” my mother likes to remind me. “It’s time for you to settle down. Get married. Start a family.”

Easy for her to say. She doesn’t have to navigate dating and the inevitable disappointments that come with it. And I’m not even sure I want to get married, let alone have kids.

But just as the lingering ache in my knee, my mother’s blatant yearning for grandkids doesn’t matter right now. What matters is finding out what Sampson is barking at and addressing it.

I race across the exercise room, and just as I burst into the hallway, Sampson yips again.

My pulse jumps.

My hand automatically reaches for my switchblade, but all it meets is the empty mesh pocket of my shorts. “Dammit,” I mutter. Normally, I wouldn’t carry around my switchblade when I’m in my own home. But with Ruby here…

In the hallway, I take a sharp right and jog towards the living room. Once I reach it, I scan the dimly lit room, searching for anything out of place. But it looks just as it did when I came through half an hour ago. Through the floor to ceiling windows, the sky is still dark, with only the smallest sliver of light peeking above the horizon.

Halfway across the living room, a low moan carries towards me. On the heels of that, Sampson yips again.

Worry shifts to fear.

It has to be Ruby.