“Barensky was here,” I said.
Kurt froze. “How long ago?”
“He left about ten minutes ago,” I said, my breath feeling funny. Not hot but not cold. Still metallic. The room swam around.
“Give the phone to Kurt,” Aiden ordered.
I handed the phone over and reached blindly for my Diet Coke. The soda was now more than warm and definitely flat, but I drank it down like I hadn’t had food for years. My temples pounded as the adrenaline started to recede. Kurt’s voice was muffled because I was drowning in my own head.
He hung up and I jumped.
“You okay?” he asked, his cheekbones red with what must be anger.
I nodded.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here. It was a bonehead move.” He eyed me like he was afraid I’d topple over.
“It’s okay. Frankly, it’s probably a good thing you weren’t here.” I forced myself to breathe evenly and convince my body I was fine and not to freak out anymore. “Barensky was just digging for information, and if you had been here, his suspicions might’ve been raised.”
Kurt didn’t look relieved. “All right. It’s after five, so I need you to gather your things, and we’ll get out of here. We’re going to hold hands and act like we’re together through this building and to your car.”
Bile rolled around in my stomach like a tornado had found a home. “You think he’ll be watching me?”
“No,” Kurt said. “But I’m not going to fall down on the job again. That means taking every precaution just in case he is watching you. All right?”
I could tell those were orders from Aiden. “Sure.” When my legs finally felt solid again, I stood and gathered my belongings. “Should I give Clark a warning?”
“No. Barensky was here to see you and not anybody else.” Kurt led the way through the office.
Everybody else was already gone, which filled me with relief. While I didn’t think Barensky was coming back, it helped to know that my friends were out of the building for now. In the hallway, Kurt grabbed my hand. It felt weird. I mean, he had a nice hand that was warm and strong.
But it wasn’t Aiden’s hand.
Aiden’s hand was bigger and his hold firmer. Just more Aiden-like.
“Smile,” Kurt muttered as we walked down the three flights of stairs and out the back door to the alley.
My cheeks already hurt from my fake smiles earlier, but I forced yet another grin on my face. Then I gently swung our arms and forced Kurt to slow down and look more casual.
The sun still beat down, although it was dinnertime.
His grin seemed more natural than mine felt as he looked down at me near the Jeep. “Do you want to go to dinner tonight? It was a long day.”
I chucked him lightly with my shoulder as if playing. “It has been a long day. How about we go to my place and order pizza or cook one of the frozen Irish stews I made last week?”
He opened the passenger side door of my Jeep and grasped my elbow to help me in. “I vote the stew.”
My legs were still weak and my head hurting, so I didn’t object to his shutting my door and walking around my vehicle to jump into the driver’s seat. I didn’t even complain when he dug into my purse for my keys.
He tugged on my hair as if we were dating and then started the car to drive leisurely down the alleyway.
“Kurt—” I started.
He planted a hand on my knee. It felt really odd to have his hand on my leg. I barely knew the guy, even if he was Aiden’s friend and colleague. “You go ahead and relax, sweetheart. I’ll order pizza if you don’t want to warm up the stew. But you know I love your Irish stew almost as much as your lasagna.”
I frowned. Was he thinking there might be a bug in the car?
He caught my gaze and nodded.
