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Edward chuckled, placed a strong hand on his shoulder, and squeezed, massaging the tense muscles. “That’s a branch of a Swiss bank.”
Daniel sighed, letting Edward’s touch relax him. “That explains a lot.”
There were few people in the world who took privacy more seriously than the Swiss. There had been more than one occasion when he’d traced a money trail for a potential criminal, and the trail stopped dead at a Swiss bank. The Swiss typically did a fantastic job of weeding out the criminal types so the bank could be sure that the money and possessions they protected were there legally, but sometimes the criminal element sneaked through.
When they got to the bank, it had taken the ID, a fingerprint, and a retina scan to finally get their hands on the contents of the box. Thank goodness the CIA had sent the fake fingerprint and contacts to their hotel room ahead of time. He had little doubt that the CIA had all the information and more on record for their agents. The FBI had taken a full set of fingerprints when he’d entered training, and they were just adding retina scans when he quit.
“Do you ever think the government has too much information about you?”
Edward smirked. “You mean because they could manufacture all the things that unlock your smartphone and bank account and health care records and—”
Daniel threw up his hands and groaned. “Enough! I get it. Privacy is an illusion. Between social media sharing and the government, what secrets do we have left?”
Stepping in front of him, Edward dipped his head, brushing his lips against Daniel’s ear. “I bet no one knows that you make the most amazing sound when my tongue is sliding into your ass.”
A flush of heat rushed to Daniel’s cheeks, and he couldn’t help pressing his hand to Edward’s chest to steady himself. “Edward,” he gasped in a choked voice.
“Or that your mouth tastes better than any pastry I’ve had. You also make the most adorable sigh sounds when you’re sleeping.”
Edward stepped back and smiled, but there was hunger in his eyes, and Daniel suddenly wanted to be in their hotel room. Paris…Paris was amazing, but he needed to grab as much time as he could with Edward and at that moment, he wanted to be in a bed or at least behind a closed door.
“Trust me, there are still some things in your life that are private.”
“Well, we need to get back to the hotel, or some things that should be private aren’t going to be.”
“I—” Edward suddenly stopped talking and stared at a spot over Daniel’s shoulder. His expression didn’t change, but his body suddenly hummed with new tension.
“What’s wrong?” Daniel whispered.
Edward spun on his heel and grabbed Daniel’s elbow as he started walking again at a slightly faster pace. “We’ve been spotted.”
“Are you kidding me? Not the North Koreans, right? They went off the road in Spain.”
“Definitely not the North Koreans.”
Daniel was dying to look over his shoulder, but he didn’t want to give their pursuers a reason to believe they’d been spotted. For now, they were simply walking back to the car they’d parked on a side street.
The center of La Défense was busy with people briskly walking to their destination to conduct their business. There were interesting sights like La Grande Arche or various pieces of modern art sculptures, but the business district held fewer tourists. When people traveled from all over the world to see Paris, they spent their times in the first arrondissement visiting the Louvre or touring the Tuileries. Or they headed up to the eighteenth and wandered around Montmartre. Despite the people around them, Daniel felt exposed, as if they stood out too much. Surrounded by other tourists, he’d fooled himself into believing they blended in.
“Are you sure they were looking for us?” Daniel asked. They were nearly across the final plaza that would take them to their rental car.
“Definitely.”
“But how—”
“I recognized one of the men, and I’m pretty sure he recognized me.”
“Fuck,” Daniel whispered.
There was no missing that their pace picked up when their car came into view. Edward’s head darted from one side to the other, checking over the area. Daniel was just grateful that some of the traffic had seemed to die down since they first arrived.
Jumping into the car, Daniel was still locking his seat belt in place when Edward revved the engine and pulled out of the parking spot to a cacophony of horns and a few squealed tires. Daniel’s heart leaped in his chest, and he grabbed the handle on the interior of the door. The car zoomed forward as Edward expertly wove between lanes of traffic.
“We can’t go back to the hotel. Not tonight, at least,” Edward announced.
Daniel had feared that. Edward had made them grab all their essentials and a change of clothes that were now stuffed in a pair of backpacks in the rear seats. He didn’t question the spy’s seemingly strange decisions. They had already kept him alive far longer than he would have stayed on his own.
