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But here he was in Barcelona, Spain, pretending to be an international man of mystery. He was a fraud. Edward might be a fraud as well, but that was his job. He was trained to trick people, to play the part of someone else—all to protect his country. Daniel could respect that in a fashion. He just didn’t care for the feeling he’d been made a fool.
Unfortunately, there were bigger things at stake than his pride.
Fed and dressed, Edward dragged Daniel out to the street. He wasn’t sure how the hell wandering around Barcelona would help them, but Edward wasn’t listening to his protests. And as much as he didn’t want to admit it, Daniel really wanted to see Barcelona before heading home.
Hotel Ohla was located within the Gothic Quarter, or Barri Gòtic. The narrow streets created a slightly closed in and gloomy feel, leaving Daniel to swear that he’d taken a step back in time. Everything was cold, gray stone. Cathedrals rose up with soaring stained-glass windows. They wandered for hours, taking in the artisans selling leather and jewelry near the Cathedral of Barcelona. They strolled along part of La Rambla, looking over the flowers that filled the stalls and sampling food from the street vendors.
After a couple of hours, Daniel found himself sitting on a stone bench in Plaça de Catalunya, watching the fountains. The rush of the city was muffled under the splash of the water. Graceful white stone statues surrounded them while red flowers shivered and danced in the breeze.
“Thank you,” Daniel murmured.
“He speaks!” Edward teased.
They’d walked for nearly two hours, and Edward had done most of the talking. He’d at least been telling the truth when he said that he’d been to Barcelona several times before. Edward had been his own personal tour guide, pointing out unique bits of interesting history and architecture as they walked. He didn’t seem perturbed by Daniel’s sullen silence. Just continued as if he never really expected him to speak more than a grunt here or there to indicate that he was still alive.
“Thank you for the tour. Barcelona is amazing.” Daniel paused and flashed Edward a brief smile.
“Look, you don’t have to believe me, but…it was nice to share this place with someone at last. I’ve been here for work several times, but I’ve always wandered around alone.” He spread his legs a little, bumping his knee against Daniel’s. “Thanks for walking with me.”
Daniel sighed, losing the smile he’d managed to conjure up at last. “Maybe…maybe we can start over. I get that it’s your job to pretend to be someone else. You’re protecting your country, and it’s a hard, dangerous job. I know that I couldn’t do it. I guess I just don’t like feeling like I’ve been made a fool of.”
“Daniel, I never meant—” Edward started, but Daniel held up one hand, halting his words.
“Doesn’t matter. I’ve got a job to do tomorrow night, and I know I don’t have half the skills you do. There’s still a high risk they could try to kill me if I don’t have the information they want or discover that I’m a fake. I just want to get through the meeting alive, and fighting you isn’t going to save my life.”
Edward placed a hand on Daniel’s knee and squeezed. The serious look on Edward’s face showed that he hadn’t meant for the gesture to be sexual, but there was no stopping the heat from his touch racing along Daniel’s skin. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. After we get through this, I’m sending you back home to your job and family, safe and sound. I promise.”
“You can’t promise that. You know it.”
Edward sighed and moved his hand, but he didn’t lose the seriousness of his expression. “I’m keeping you safe.”
“If you want to keep me safe, teach me something that will help me better handle the meeting. Teach me to be like you.”
Edward grinned at him and butterflies took flight in Daniel’s stomach. There was a roughness to his handsomeness, a harshness that wouldn’t appeal to most people, but when Edward smiled, Daniel’s heart sped up and his brain threatened to turn to mush.
“I really don’t think my superiors would agree with that request. They’d probably argue that your best shot at surviving would to not be like me.”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “No offense, but you’re definitely older than me. Probably midthirties. You’ve been doing this James Bond stuff for a while and haven’t died yet. You obviously have the skills needed to stay alive. You can teach me something useful, so I don’t feel so helpless.”
Edward stared at him for a second before giving a small nod. “You’re right. Let’s get something to eat.” Edward pushed to his feet, leaving Daniel sitting there with his mouth hanging open.
