She had almost reached her car when Gage Logan seemed to appear out of nowhere, his long strides quickly catching up with her shorter ones. Her heart was still thrumming, her face flushed, her breathing a little ragged. In the overhead light, she saw his dark brows pull together in a frown.

“Abigail. Are you all right?”

She swallowed, managed to nod. “I’m . . . I’m all right.”

He studied her face. “Something happened. What was it?”

She glanced back toward the building, saw that most of the crowd had dispersed. “I just got a little spooked. I’m sure it was nothing.”

“Tell me what happened.”

She sighed, resigned to explaining. She hoped she didn’t sound like an idiot. “When the lecture ended, I went out the back door. I didn’t realize how dark it was until I got outside and the door locked behind me. Someone came out a few seconds later. There was something about him that looked familiar. I was afraid it was the man who broke into my house—same height and build—but . . .”

She took a calming breath, her adrenaline still pumping. “I’m sure I was wrong. There’s no way he could have known I would be here tonight.”

A muscle tightened in Logan’s jaw. “Not unless he followed you.”

Exactly what she had been thinking. “I’m staying at a friend’s apartment while she’s out of town, so there’s no way he could know where I am.”

“Are you sure?”

A shiver ran through her. It had taken her several days to move her stuff out of the old house. He could have been watching, could have followed her to the apartment.

She looked up at Logan. “No.”

Gage took her arm and began to haul her off toward a vehicle parked under a nearby overhead light, a bronze Land Rover with black trim, fully tricked out with a rack on top and a heavy-duty front bumper. It fit Logan, the explorer, perfectly.

Gage popped the locks and opened the passenger door. “Get in. I’ll take you home.”

“I can’t leave my car. I have things to do in the morning.”

“I’ll pick you up and bring you back.” Ignoring her look of protest, Gage herded her into the seat and firmly closed the door. As he rounded the vehicle to the driver’s side, he unbuttoned his collar, loosened his tie, and dragged it off, exposing his muscular neck.

“I’ll check out the house,” he said, sliding in behind the wheel, tossing the tie carelessly into the back. “We’ll make sure there’s no unwelcome visitor there to surprise you.” Cranking the engine, he put the Rover in gear and drove out of the parking lot.