“Florida?”
Her gorgeous eyes rolled with dramatic flair. “He moved in with some woman who’s from there. Last I heard, they were engaged and living together in peaceful bliss. But I’m not bitter about it. Not anymore.”
“Well I should hope not.” When Alex sent him a look, he clarified with a cocky, “Why be bitter about losing that douche canoe when you’re here with me?”
An unladylike snort bubbled up from her throat. “How did I ever get so lucky?”
“You must have one hell of a fairy godmother.” Coulter leaned in, bringing his mouth closer to hers. “Wanna see if my slipper fits.”
Alex burst out laughing, tilting her head back as she slapped his chest. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”
“Don’t pretend like you don’t love it.”
Don’t act like you don’t love me.
The sparkle of humor in her eyes did funny things tohis heart. He loved that he could make her laugh on a whim and made it his goal to do it as often as possible.
She feathered her lips against his, her tone changing to a sultry whisper. “You want to know what I’d really love?”
Boy, do I.
Coulter nodded, letting his mouth curve at the corners as he prepared himself for whatever the sexy vixen had going on inside her dirty mind.”
But then her voice shifted, becoming as serious as the sudden change in her breathtaking stare.
“I’d love for you to quit stalling and fill me in on what you and Gordan talked about in the hall.”
Damn, the woman was good.
He sat back with a sigh and told her the truth. “We were discussing an online auction he thinks I’m putting together but is really a sting operation to finally nail his ass to the wall.”
“How is a pretend auction going to do that?”
“Once the money has exchanged hands, so to speak, we’ll finally have him.”
“But no one’s actually up for auction, right? There aren’t any real people being put at risk?”
“The only ones at risk are Crawford and the sickos we’re setting up. They’ll all go down for trafficking, but Crawford will also have added charges of attempted kidnapping, unlawful detainment, wire fraud, and a slew of other crap that will only add to the life sentence he’s already going to receive.”
“But why come to my place? He obviously wasn’t expecting to see you here tonight.”
This was the part he didn’t want to share.
“He came here looking for you. The guy’s interested, Al. Enough so, he flew all the way here on his private jet just to see you.”
Her expression dropped flat. “I thought he said he was in Charlotte on business.”
“He lied.” Coulter pulled in a deep breath. “That’s what men like him do.”
“You were right.” Alex frowned. “I never should have flirted with him that night at dinner. I thought . . . but now he thinks?—”
“It doesn’t matter what he thinks, and this is not on you. The guy’s a freak. But don’t worry. He’s already headed back to California. Or he will be in a couple hours.”
“He’s going back tonight?”
“I convinced him it was the best if he couldn’t be placed near the ‘scene of the crime’.” Coulter air quotes to ensure her nothing nefarious was actually planned.
He had to admit it was rather freeing, being able to open up to someone the way he was with her. Classified was one thing, but he hadn’t given her specifics. Plus, after their unexpected meet-up in L.A. two weeks earlier, his boss was aware he’d shared certain intel with Alex as a means of keeping her safe.
