Page 62 of Heartbreaker

“No. I promise. This was… incredibly unexpected.” Lana says, eyes locked to mine, and the sincerity shines through. Again, it makes sense. She got close to me, but when things got too serious, too real, she backed away, something I didn’t understand or allow. Where I thought she was just nervous because being tied to me might hinder her career, it was really that it might hinder her… mission. “This has never happened while on a job for me.”

“To be fair, I did tell her to fuck you, but that was mostly because she hasn’t gotten any in a while and you were a good specimen,” Demi says, eyes fixed on the computer, only half paying attention to what’s happening.

“Demi, can you give me some privacy?” Lana says, exasperation clear in her tone. Her friend gives her a taunting smirk.

“No, thank you.” Unexpectedly, I let out a loud laugh. It moves through me, bringing relief with it, breaking through the crackling tension. I can breathe once more, and as I glance around the room, I see it through less terrified, skeptical eyes. Lana still looks nervous, but as I sit in a chair, running a hand through my hair and not looking like I’m going to bolt, her shoulders lose just a bit of the tension.

“Okay,” I say after a few moments, taking a deep breath. “Okay. So, you guys are here to figure out what’s been going on here, right? Who is after me?”

“Technically, we were here to figure out who was messing with Monster Smash, but yes, we believe it has more to do with you than the circuit,” Lana says, sitting on the edge of the bed, still giving me space I don’t know if I need anymore.

“And what was between us has nothing to do with your job?” She shakes her head.

“No, Rome. Really. It’s been very inconvenient, how attracted I am to you.” I grin then, and a wave of relief moves through me, taking the last of the doubt with it. Not just relief because catching Lana with my truck wasn’t the worst-case scenario, but because now I know that there actually is someone on this, taking these issues seriously. Despite everything, Phil really did have my best interests in mind.

Reaching over, I grab Lana’s hand, tugging and pulling her toward me until she’s in my lap. With the simple move, her body melts, the tension that had been tormenting her easing.

“Okay,” I say, sliding my fingers into her hair along her scalp. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“I get it. It all makes sense. I have a lot more questions, but you can get that scared look off your face.” Her eyes water just a bit, gratitude and relief battling in her expression, and when one tear drops, I swipe it away with my thumb.

“You believe me?” she asks. I smile at her softly, pressing my lips to hers.

“You’ve never given me a reason not to, Lana.” The last of the stiffness leaves her shoulders, and she buries her head in my neck, taking a few shaky breaths. Despite her nosy nature, Demi is suddenly fully engrossed in her computer, giving us space to have this moment, and I’m grateful for it. After a bit, she pulls back and smiles at me.

“Thank you,” she whispers. “Thank you for believing me.”

“Always, Lana,” I say, then sit back and look around the room once more. “Now, how can I help?”

“Hell yeah,” Demi says, fist pumping. “I told you we should have bought him on earlier!”

“You wanted to bring me on earlier?” I ask, and Lana sighs.

“Demi did, but I…” She bites her lip nervously. I didn’t want you to have anything else on your plate. It was suggested right after we got together, and you…”

“Had just landed a front flip,” I say, understanding where she’s going with it. “I’d just conquered my fear, and you didn’t want to make it worse.”

“Exactly.” Another wave of relief moves over her.

“Well, what can I do to help you?”

“We don’t think that the sabotage started here,” Demi says, all business. “In fact, we think it followed you here and that it started on a smaller scale at Indy.” I nod, since that was already on my radar, though it sounded far too outlandish and self-centered to speak aloud. “We have the incident report from Indy, but it’s hard to know what’s a run-of-the-mill situation and what is out of place. A blown tire could just be not changing it enough, or it could be something more nefarious.” I nod, understanding.

“Do you have the report?” Lana nods, and Demi hands me a thick packet.

“It goes back almost two years.”

“Wow, you guys are thorough.”

“Kind of our job,” Lana says with a shrug. “Do you think you can go through these and note any that stand out to you?” I flip through the papers, seeing familiar codes and names, then nod.

“Absolutely. But only if, while I do this, you answer my questions.” Lana grins wide.

“Deal.”

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