Kri’s only response is a barely there nod. Most of her focus is on the surrounding area, presumably searching for danger.
I probably should let them do their jobs. My lifeison the line. It would help if I acted like it.
Yet this is too golden an opportunity to let pass. I’m too weak to resist.
And, as we’ve well established, I’m a superfan of distraction.
“Please, Aaron. Just once.” I press my hands together in prayer position. “For all we know, this could be my final day on earth. You alone hold the power to honor my last wish.”
“This isn’t your last day on earth,” decrees the brickhouse in the front passenger seat.
“Your mouth to God’s ears, big fella.”
Come to think of it, he’s familiar as well. He’s got Alan Ritchson vibes. But that isn’t important right now.
I return my pleading eyes to the rearview mirror. “Aaron, please say it for me. Can’t you give me this one little thing?Pretty please?I’ve been agood girl. Heh. Heh.”
I’ve never been above begging, as Reed will attest.
Glancing at the mirror, he catches me flashing my puppy dog eyes. “Fine. Just once.” He shakes his head, grits his teeth, and breathes out the infamous line. “Get in the car, Elizabeth.”
Squeeeee.
I shimmy my shoulders and beam at him, feeling grateful for this beautiful distraction. Especially since the FBI field office is looming in the near distance. When we arrive, my grim reality will come crashing down around me.
Batting my lashes at Aaron, I give him a heartfelt, “Thank you. That was fabulous.”
He flashes a ghost of a smile at me with a wink, and I melt a little.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Reed more than anything. I’d never stray.Never.
However, if he...?nah. I’m not finishing that thought.
“Okay, kids. Game faces on,” Kri announces as we pull into the parking lot.
The time for frivolity appears to have ended.Sadly.
Apparently, I’m not even safe in an FBI parking lot, judging by the way they all ready themselves for battle.
How long will they continue being my human shields? My superior powers of deduction tell me that Kri and Rio—I mean Aaron—are accompanying me inside. Will the others shove me into the door and pat my tush, sending me on my merry little way?
“Okay, I think that’s our guy. Looks like the photo they sent me.” Kri points to a trio of men stationed at the side of the building, their badges visible on their belts. Right next to their holstered guns. “You’ve seen Agent Romero before, right?”
“Yeah. He was at the casino last night when I was wearing a wire.” I stretch my neck, angling for a better view. “That’s him in front of the pack.”
Aaron drives to the sidewalk leading to an auxiliary door, coming to an abrupt stop. The crew ejects themselves from the car like their seats.
Kri hauls me from the car by my wrist, wrapping her arm around me. Again, they’re a wall of protection around me. The FBI agents get into the mix, ushering us all into the building in a frantic haze.
Well,I’mfrantic. They’re all cucumber-level cool. Just another day.
Meanwhile, my heart pounds like a bass drum on amphetamines. It’s so dang loud I can’t hear the brief conversation around me. The big guy is the first to retreat, huffing it to the SUV parked on the curb without saying goodbye.
Fun fact: Forcing your breathing to steady is extra challenging whilst locked into an iron vise.
I tug at the waistband of the bulletproof vest, gasping for oxygen.
Imagine if that’s what took me out. Only I could evade a sniper or gang abduction, then perish from a wardrobe-induced asthma attack.
