He gives me a pointed stare. “I think auto theft is the least of our problems right now.”
That is so very true.
“Fine.” I point to a black BMW. “What about that one? It looks fancy, like the person who owns it might not be financially ruined if it gets stolen.”
“Sounds good.” He walks to the car, pulling out a small pocket knife-looking thing. I can’t see his hands from where I’m standing, but the tool does the trick, and the door unlocks.
Park unlocks my door and then bends down, hotwiring the car to start.
“I am going to jail,” I mutter as I drop into the passenger seat. “I. Am. Going. To. Jail.” I yank on my seatbelt, but it doesn’t budge. I pull again and again, but it’s like I’m in a tug of war with the strap, and I’m losing.
Park’s arm reaches across my body, and his fingers brush against mine as he grabs the seatbelt. I freeze, shifting my gaze to his blue eyes and freshly shaved jaw two inches from me. It’s smooth as frosting on a Christmas cookie.
“You don’t have to pull so hard.” That same rumble to his voice sends my heartbeat racing through my chest. I nod as my eyes travel across his face. Why are all the bad guys so good-looking? He pulls softly, and the strap slides right out.
“Thanks,” I say, taking over the seatbelt. I tried to be snarky, but there wasn’t any punch behind it. Probably because Park is still in my space, making my heart pound. And I swear his eyes drop to my lips, but before I can really know for sure, he leans back to his side of the car. His closeness threw me off for a second, but I recover. I click the seatbelt and brush my bangs out of my eyes.
“Should we see who the lucky person is that got their car stolen?” I open the glove compartment box, sifting through the papers and junk. There’s a pack of gum, a lighter, a charging cord, and some breath mints.
“What happened to having respect for people’s personal belongings?”
“We already stole it, so that rule doesn’t apply anymore.” I flip the compartment shut, disappointed by the contents inside. “We’re in the car now.” I look at Park. “You can start telling me what the heck is going on.”
“I’m not actually a business consultant.” He pauses as if he’s contemplating what to say. But then he sighs and just goes for it. “I’m really a government operative.”
I throw my hands up in the air. “I knew you were an assassin!”
“What?” His brows bunch together. “How did you getassassinfromgovernment operative?”
I ignore him. I can’t be derailed right now. “I mean, I figured you weren’t who you said you were. I don’t know many business consultants who get shot at regularly. Were you sent to kill me? I’ve been pretty straightforward on my taxes, but there was that one time I wrote off that trip to Cabo, claiming it was a research trip. I should have known the FBI wasn’t going to fall for chemistry research at the beach.”
“Lacee, no.” He shakes his head. “Think of a government operative like a government spy. My job has nothing to do with you or your taxes. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Oh.” I shrug off the concern. “Why didn’t you say so?”
Park smiles. “I’m trying to.” I gesture for him to continue. “Two days before I met you, I received a package from one of my co-operatives. Inside the package was a message telling me she was in trouble.”
“She?”
“Yes,she.”His lips lift into a smirk as if he can sense my resentment.
“And doesshehave a name?”
“Well, yeah, but I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“Government operatives don’t go around alerting people who they are. That would defeat the entire purpose of our agency and blow our covers.”
“Don’t you think your cover is already blown?”
“It is for you and me, but not for the woman I work with.”
“So you’re more loyal to her than you are to me?”
Park turns to me. “Can we move on from her and get to why we’re being chased in the first place?”
I flip my hair back from my shoulder. “Fine. Let’s move on.”
