“Bullshit,” she chirped.“We’re partners.”
Slumping his shoulders, he met her gaze.They’d been through this.Why was she so goddamn persistent?“No.We’re not.One time.That was it.”
She folded her arms across her chest defiantly.
It was adorable.
“Murder buddies.”
“That’s not a thing,” he said as he brushed past her and out of the tiny galley kitchen.
“It’sour thing,” she said, hot on his heels.
Quickly, he repacked the items into the box.
“Come on,” she practically whined.“I’m going to do this with you or without you.Don’t you think I’ll have a better chance of surviving if you help me out?”
Closing his eyes, he placed his hands on either side of the box.Behind his left eye, a migraine pulsed.He didn’t need this right now.
The problem wasn’t Sydney.Not entirely.Sure, her pestering him was slightly annoying, but that wasn’t causing his headache.This pain was on him.
His opinions about this warred within his head and his gut.Logically, having her tagging along with him for business was a bad idea.She hadn’t a clue what the fuck she was doing.It was risky.Fink didn’t do that.He carefully planned every move he made.
Then Sydney happened.
He couldn’t walk away from her.Not that he could explain it to anyone, but they weren’t done yet.Fink wanted to spend more time with her.She’d made it perfectly clear she felt the same.
“Who is it?”she asked, interrupting his turmoil.“Have I met the guy?”
How the hell would he know that?The background check AJ ran hadn’t included friends and family.While unlikely, this guy could’ve been a brother, cousin, or uncle.He hadn’t a clue.
“Can I see?”she asked, reaching into the box.
“No,” he practically growled as he grabbed her wrist.
Wide-eyed, she peered at him, though fear wasn’t reflected at him.It was surprise.He’d caught her off guard.
“This isn’t for you.”He released her hand.
Shimmying her shoulders, she sat back in the chair.“Let me be perfectly clear.”
She maintained his gaze with an intensity he hadn’t seen before.The jovial tone was gone.Her smile had vanished.This woman was all business.
“I’m in this now.”
He shook his head.
She held up a hand.“When you walked through that door, we became partners.”
“No,” he insisted.That wasn’t how his life went.There wasn’t room for anyone else.“I work alone.”
She smirked.“Not anymore.”
“You can’t do this,” he groaned.
“If you don’t fill me in and bring me along willingly, Iwillfollow you.”
He snorted and folded his arms over his chest.Clearly, she didn’t think he could shake her if he wanted to.
