Page 27 of The Pleasure of Panic

“Let me?” He laughs. “You practically begged me!”

I get up out of his lap, walk over to my front closet, pull out a trench coat, slip it on, and tie the belt securely around my waist. “Get out.” I point to the door when I say it.

He sits on my couch—zipper open, half-hard cock still spilling out of it—looks me in the eye and says, “No fuckin’ way. I’m not leaving until you tell me what the fuck is going on.”

“I just did. And if you want to play, fine. But I’m quitting this game right now unless you let me know why you’re here. All I need is a wink, OK? You can keep in character or whatever, just give me a signal. And if you can’t do that, then you need to get the fuck out of my house or I’ll throw you out myself.”

He opens his mouth to respond and I can just tell whatever it is he’s going to respond with won’t be something I want to hear. So I cut him off and say, “And if you have any doubts that I’m capable of throwing you out, Special Agent Finn Murphy—if that’s even your real name—then consider this a warning. I’m ranked as a seventh-degree black belt in jujitsu. I can take down men twice your size in four moves.”

He huffs some air. Like… as if. But I don’t mind. I like being underestimated.

So I finish with, “Just try me, asshole.”

CHAPTER SIX - FINN

OK. This is weird. And all the ways it’s weird are ticking off in my head one by one.

She thinks we’re playing a game? And from what I can tell, it has something to do with her lawyer?

“Get out,” she repeats.

“Just…” I hold up one finger. “Give me a second, OK? I need to think things through.”

“What’s to think through? I asked a very simple question that can be answered with one word. Yes. Or. No.”

Right… but she said something about me staying in character. She thinks this was set up? Does she think the entire night was a setup? Like the search warrant, and the FBI interrogation, and the demand to take her to a safe house? And if so… do I play along to get her in my protective custody? Or do I give it to her straight and risk the whole terrorist thing crashing down on top of her?

Well, that’s a no-brainer.

So I wink at her.

She recoils a little, tilting her head.

I take it one step further. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Wink.

She opens her mouth to say something, then decides not to.

“But I do have a place in mind for us tonight.” Wink.

She squints her eyes at me, like maybe she didn’t catch the wink. I decide it might be too dark in here to actually see it properly, so I get up, tuck my dick away, zip my pants but leave them unbuttoned, and walk over to her, hands in the air like I surrender.

“I need to take care of you tonight, Issy. It’s my job.” Wink. “So just grab a few things, stuff them into a bag, and let’s go.” Wink.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a secret,” I say, smiling. “You’ll know when you get there.”

“Is it… safe?”

“Safe?” I almost laugh. Because it’s a safe house, right? But whatever it is she thinks we’re doing tonight, it’s got nothing to do with a safe house. What does she think we’re doing tonight? “Of course it’s safe. I just told you, I’m here to take care of you. It was practically an order. So come on, it’s getting late. We need to get a move on.”

“I need to be back by five AM. I have a seminar tomorrow at noon and I want to get there early.”

She’s not going anywhere in the morning. But I just nod and say, “Then let’s get this show on the road,” echoing her words earlier.

She stares at me for a few more seconds. And if I’m reading her correctly, I think it’s because she’s scared. Not about the terrorist cell who decided to use her company as a front, like she should be, but… of me.

And I don’t like that. I mean, I can be a scary guy, but not to innocent women. And after all that just happened since we got to her house, if there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s that Issy Grey has nothing to do with whatever threat Declan was talking about earlier. She’s just collateral damage.