On the run, dressed like a hooker in a seedy bar, and this was the most romantic moment she’d ever had. How messed up was that?
“Holy crap! Whatisthis?” His coffee cup clattered to the table.
Lost in a sensual haze from Killian’s frank statement, she’d forgotten to warn him about the coffee.
The outrage and shock on his face was priceless. He wiped his tongue on his sleeve, making gagging sounds the entire time.
“Coffee,” she gasped out in between bouts of laughter.
“No. This isn’t coffee.” He slid the cup across the table. “It’s evil mutant coffee. Created when old coffee grounds mated with ancient beans and things went terribly awry.”
He looked so horrified. It was easy to see the little boy he’d been as he exaggerated—sort of—the terribleness of the coffee.
Her heart stuttered and she pressed a hand to her chest. Over the last few days, he’d become more than a pretty face in the news.
“How could you possibly call this coffee? Why did you order this?” He continued his high-drama description.
“I had to order something,” she said, trying hard not to laugh and failing. “It was the cheapest item on the menu.”
“So you drank more than one cup of it? One I could understand, but two?”
She shrugged. “It’s not the worst I’ve ever had.”
His smile dimmed and they both stared into their cups of crappy coffee. They were straddling two worlds, with no idea how to navigate the distance between them.
She broke the silence first. “Did your bank visit go okay?”
“Fine. We’ll have to lay low until word spreads.”
“There are rooms in back, I think. I’ve seen girls come out of them. We can ask at the bar.” They’d be safe enough, for a price. The bar was neutral ground compared to Killian’s home and the Tremaine Corporation.
Dizzie wasn’t naive. She knew why there were rooms in the back of the bar. Could she handle staying in one of them with Killian?
Maybe.
As long as she remembered it was business. They were together because they needed to catch the bomber. Not to soothe each other’s hurts.
Find out who was behind the bomb, then go their separate ways.
No matter how much it hurt.
Chapter28
“We need to see the Jack,”Killian demanded when they reached the bar. No one gave either of them a second look as they’d crossed the room. A few of the patrons had run their eyes over her, so apparently her disguise was effective.
The bartender looked from Dizzie to Killian and back again, an unreadable expression on her face.
Dizzie bit back a curse. You didn’t see the Jack unless the Jack wanted to see you.
She reached back for Killian’s hand. He took hers without hesitation. Dammit, now she felt bad for what she was about to do. Her fingers curled around his hand and she pressed her nails into his skin. Not hard enough to draw blood. It was a warning.
“Please,” she said, looking straight at the bartender.
With the hint of what might have been a smile, the woman gave a sharp nod. “I’ll ask,” she said, then left them while she attended to other customers.
“What was that for?” Killian asked when the bartender was out of earshot. He tugged his hand free and studied the little half-moon impressions she’d left.
“This is notyourworld,” Dizzie said. “Being polite will get us a lot farther than being rude.”
