But this was her best friend’s brother. Her brother’s best friend. And he was not part of the get-reassigned-to-a-real-city plan. He could only distract her. She had to stay focused. This was not the time for her old crush to reignite and take over.
Either way, she couldn’t let him know that this one simple kiss had completely knocked her world off its axis. How could she call herself an undercover agent and get this dizzy over one completely fake display of affection?
She’d play it cool. No big deal.
Oh Lord, help me now, because it was a really big deal!
What was she supposed to be doing, anyway? Right. Investigating.
“So…” Michael looked adorably confused as they walked away from the unwelcoming committee of the Snake Pit and toward his car, parked in the back of the lot. “What happened to that whole ‘not pretending we’re a couple to get out of sticky situations’ you were lecturing me about earlier?”
Play. It. Cool.
Dani grabbed his hand and dragged him the rest of the way to his car. “I figured if seeing us together at the waste plant was what riled Colter up in the first place, then this was the best way to get him to show himself. I’ve found the element of surprise and doing the unexpected is a good way to confuse an opponent.”
“So this was a tactical move?”
“Uh-huh. And see? It worked. But you’re right. I did berate you for putting your arm around me, and here I threw myself at you and kissed you. Sorry.”
Michael stared at her a moment. “It’s fine. I was just…surprised.”
That was one way of putting it. But this was not the time to get into another typical Dani Kim–sized fiasco. She had work to do. “Are we good?”
He nodded. “Now what?”
“With all those thugs guarding the door, something shady is totally going on in there. Let’s find out what.”
“This is a bad part of town. I don’t want to get stuck in a situation where we’re surrounded again. I didn’t even see Colter’s vehicle. Maybe he’s not here. And finding him would be the only good reason we have for going in.”
“Then let’s drive around and see if his truck is out back.”
Dani watched the door as Michael left the parking lot. “The thugs are watching us all right. Hopefully they’ll let down their guards.”
“Guess we’ll find out.” He circled the block slowly. The light was fading fast, but they didn’t see Colter’s car anywhere.
“What now?” Michael asked.
Before Dani could answer, Michael’s phone rang. He pushed a button on his console and answered it. “Hey, Frankie. Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine except that you just missed the kick off, and now Kate is freaking out since you haven’t called or texted. She’s convinced you’re dead. I tried to tell her you were okay and probably running late, but she insisted I call.”
He hung his head back and groaned. “The game! I completely forgot.”
“Wow. That’s a new one. My perfect big brother forgot something.” Frankie chuckled. “You sure you’re feeling okay?”
“Yeah, I just got caught up in something after work. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Frankie sighed dramatically. “I’ll reassure Kate that you’re not splattered on the highway or riddled with bullet holes. See ya soon.”
Michael ended the call.
Remorse flooded Dani. “I’m so sorry. Here I am, wasting your time?—”
“Hold up. Someone tried to run us off the road, and we were tracking them down. That wasn’t a waste of time. And Frankie said they just did the kick off, meaning the game’s barely started.”
Michael’s reassurance seemed sincere. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was keeping him from more important matters. Messing things up like she always did.
In this case, ASAC Kumar would probably say her impulsiveness was a liability. “I’ll call a rideshare, and you can get to the game?—”
