“Why do you always disguise yourself?” I ask, completely out of the blue. My question catches her off guard because she gapes at me a few seconds too long
“I’m not sure what that has to do with finding the Phantom Orchid.”
“Nothing. But if I’m going to help you, then I want some questions answered.” Her gray eyes narrow. I’d be willing to bet a diamond mine that’s not her real color. Or her real accent. “Is that your real accent?”
“I don’t see how that’s relevant to—”
“I want to know who I’m working with,” I interrupt. “Trust is key when it comes to a partnership.”
Her lips part ever so slightly, and my attention shifts down. Damn, I want to kiss her. It’s illogical and inconvenient. But suddenly, I want it more than I’ve ever wanted anything. To claim her mouth with mine. Taste her, lick her.
She clears her throat and my gaze lifts, locking onto hers again.
“Only fools trust,” she whispers.
For some reason, hearing her say that makes me sad. Her words ring with the truth of someone who’s been screwed over. Or maybe she’s always had trust issues. Whatever the case may be, I like knowing I could be the first partner she’s had who doesn’t do her dirty. Who stays true to her.
“Maybe I’m a fool then. But if this is going to work” —I wave a finger from me to her, and the cuffs jingle— “you need to uncuff me and tell me everything you know about the Phantom Orchid.”
She takes a very long, drawn-out moment, considering my words. The silence stretches between us, and I think she might tell me to go screw. But then she makes a very displeased face before reaching down and plucking a smallkey from her boot. “It’s always in the boot,” she grumbles, then sticks the key into the lock and twists.
The cuffs pop open, and I shake them off and rub my wrists. “Thank you,” I murmur. Instead of asking any more personal questions, which she’ll probably ignore or deflect, I get right to business. “I’m going to need my equipment—a laptop and some tools. I’d also like to talk to Addie—”
“No!”
“Bella—” I barely get her name out before she cuts me off.
“I said no. Just you. I don’t want your whole team involved in this.”
“It would be easier—”
“I don’t care.”
That stubborn look on her face tells me she isn’t going to budge on the matter. Since she’s clearly made up her mind already, I decide not to press the issue. For now, anyway.
This is going to be an interesting partnership,I think dryly.
“Fine,” I relent. “But I need full disclosure—”
This time it isn’t Bella who cuts me off. It’s the sound of the window breaking.
My head jerks sideways to see the bent blinds still swinging. They managed to contain a lot of the broken glass, but shards still scatter across the dirtyfloor. I have no idea what’s happening, but my protective instincts take over, and I throw myself over Bella, covering her with my body.
“Stay down,” I hiss.
As a thanks for my protection, she elbows me in the side—the same spot Linc hit me earlier—and I grunt.
“Get off me,” she grits out.
Shifting sideways so I’m not crushing her, I peer over the top of the couch just in time to see a canister slip through the blinds, roll across the floor and emit a fine smoke.
“Tear gas! Go, go, go!”
She doesn’t need any encouragement, rolling off the couch and yelling, “This way!” as she runs away from the chemical vapor rapidly invading the room.
Staying low, I hurry behind her. She stops in front of a closed door I’m expecting to lead to a bedroom or a second exit. But when she opens it, I’m staring into a dead end with several empty hangers and a folded stepstool.
“Uh, Bella, this is a closet.”
