“Josh, be nice.” Xavier nudged his shoulder.
“I will if she will.” Josh dared her to argue.
“You’re an ass, you know that?” But she couldn’t keep the affection from her voice. She rubbed his nose with hers and accepted his kiss.
“But I’m your ass.” He squeezed her right butt cheek. “I’m not as sexy as this, but I try.”
Xavier huffed. “Your humor is juvenile at best.”
“Oh. Big word, bro. Still trying to impress the little lady? Maybe if you had moves like mine, you wouldn’t need to pretend you’re a human thesaurus.”
“I’m surprised you know what that is.”
“Hey, I’ve used one before.” He grinned up at Chloe. “To prop up a table with a bad leg.”
Chloe laughed at the pair of them. “So we’re going to try to make this work. At my pace,” she warned.
They nodded in tandem.
“Oh man. What am I getting myself into?”
Chapter Nine
Josh looked around the gym with interest. He hadn’t yet met Chloe’s friends, though he’d seen them enough in visions. She’d been staying with them the past week on supposed vacation. The woman clearly didn’t understand the words personal safety, because she kept trying to get back to her place. And this, even after he’d told her about what he’d seen in his nightmare vision of her and her stalker.
Stubborn little thing.
“Can I help you?” A big dude with sandy hair, a broad chest, and dimples when he smiled stood at the front desk. He looked familiar, but Josh couldn’t remember if it was because the guy was PWP or just a friend of hers from the gym.
“Yeah. I want a membership.”
“Sure thing. Hold on.”
If the guy thought applying for a gym membership at nine at night was odd, he didn’t say so. He reached behind him to grab a clipboard, and Josh couldn’t help noticing the play of his muscles as he flexed. He frowned. Chloe was around these fitness freaks all the time. Is that what she wanted in a man?
Most women would probably find this guy attractive. The thought didn’t sit well.
Though Josh and Xavier were fit and battle ready, they didn’t have the mass this man did. He looked like he ate steroids for breakfast.
“Problem?”
The odd look in the guy’s eyes unnerved him. “Nope. Just wondered how friendly you and Chloe King are.”
At mention of her name, he smiled. “Chloe? You a friend of hers?” He reached for Josh’s hand before he could move and caught the sleeve of his jacket.
After a second or two, the guy’s grin turned into a cough as he hurriedly released Josh’s jacket.
“You okay?”
“Oh wow. Yeah, man. So you and, uh, Chloe, huh?” The lurid glance made Josh uncomfortable.
Then he remembered what they knew about some of the PWP folks who worked for the gym. “Oh, hell. You’re one of them, aren’t you?” The guy’s expression cooled. “One of who?”
“Chloe’s woo-woo friends.”
The big guy’s eyes narrowed, but before he could move, another man joined him at the desk. This one was more slender, extremely handsome, with long hair held back by a band. He should have looked effeminate, but instead he seemed even more manly, which was weird.
“Is there a problem here?” His bright blue eyes invited a smile, but the hard look behind his easy mien said wonders.
“Chloe’s dude has a problem with gays.”
“What? Oh.” Josh grinned, his eyes unsmiling. “Nah, I just have a problem with steroid abusers who look where they shouldn’t.” He glanced down at the sleeve of his jacket, where the man had held him. “Caught an eyeful, did you?” Before the guy could say anything, the smaller man pushed him away.
“Nathan, go help somebody lift something. Take your steroid self inside.” The large male moved but sent a frown over his shoulder.
“Sorry about that. I’m Ian Ryder, Chloe’s best friend.” Ian held out his hand, and Josh took it.
“Josh Cannon. Chloe’s fiancé.”
Ian paused and slowly released Josh’s hand. “Fiancé, eh? Oh man, is this going to be good.” He yelled over his shoulder for Nathan and Avery.
Nathan and another man returned, the second man just as big and brutal-looking as Nathan. But when Avery saw Josh, he laughed.
“Congrats, man.” He turned to Ian. “Can you imagine? Twins.” Ian sighed. “She has all the luck.” To Josh, he said, “Come on in, and I’ll show you around. If Chloe’s keeping you, you’ll want to see everything.” Knowing Xavier had Chloe protected, Josh moved with Ian inside the PowerUp! gym. To his surprise, the place had an elegant feel yet still looked like a real gym, where a guy could get a workout. Free weights, Nautilus stations, exercise bikes, and treadmills were positioned in easy access areas around the spacious middle. Above them, a small indoor track sat.
“Twelve laps to a mile. It’s not big, but the track gets a lot of work.” Ian greeted a few fitness buffs as he continued through the gym. Then Ian led him down a side corridor, past a section marked EMPLOYEES ONLY. He pulled Josh with him into a smaller room used for changing clothes.
“Uh, Ian? What gives?”
“Hold on.” Ian turned to a section in the wall and pushed, and a partition slid aside to reveal another door.
“Nice.” Josh nodded. “Fits with what we know of the PWP.”
“She told you?”
“Nope.”
Ian considered him for a moment. “You’re one of us, aren’t you? Not PWP, but a mental case.”
Josh chuckled. “You could say that.”
“Figures.” He unlocked the door with a quick movement of his fingers over a discreet keypad, then preceded Josh down the stairs. The door closed behind them, but the lights showed the way. “Let me tell you, if I could be straight for anybody, it’d be for Chloe. Treat her right, or I’ll make your life a living hell.” A lightbulb clicked. “You must be Frank. From Brownville.” The slender male grinned over his shoulder. “She mentioned me, then?” Josh snorted. “In between rantings. She’s convinced you’ve totally disorganized her happy chaos of an office, as she likes to call it.”
“Chaos, right. The woman has a bad case of OCD. Everything in its place and all that crap.” Ian guided them down another hall, where they passed a few other people, some of whom he’d seen in his visions with Chloe. Every one of them looked to be in incredible shape.
Then he spotted Keegan and James. He lifted a hand to wave before catching Keegan’s wary glance at Ian.
“Someone you know, Josh?” Ian blinked with innocence, and Josh had a feeling he’d just nailed Keegan’s coffin.
“Nope. He looks familiar, though.”
“I bet he does,” Ian said loudly enough to be heard.
Before Keegan could bear down on the guy, James corralled Keegan past Ian and up the same stairs from which Josh and Ian had just come.
“In here. You’ll want to meet Chloe’s boss. And maybe yours soon too?” Ian paused in front of a thick oak door, then pushed it open without knocking.
“Sorry. I’m happily employed elsewhere.”
“But your boss has control issues, I’m told.” Jack Keiser stood behind his desk, and Josh’s eyes narrowed. The body he recognized as Chloe’s boss, but those eyes…
He’d seen this guy, looking a lot different, laughing with his father a few times.
Years ago, back when his dad had done a few jobs for the government. So. Keiser was his name, not Jonathan Grant.
No wonder his dad had been able to dig up so much on the PWP.
“I take it you two know each other?” Ian’s nose might as well have been twitching. Chloe had been right. He was too smart for his own good.
“Ian,” Jack warned.
“I’m going, I’m going.”