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Fox
The adrenaline racing through my veins doesn’t slow when I spot the man who called us out. Once he’s close, I see he’s only maybe five years older than us in his mid-twenties with reddish brown hair and glasses with thick plastic frames. I’m still on the defensive, ready to protect Maisy from any threat. My grip on the gun doesn’t ease.
“Who are you?” he demands.
“Who are you?” Maisy shoots back, inching out from behind me. She flicks her ponytail with confidence and gives the man a once over. “We’re doing an internal audit and this is the property we’re checking out today.”
I want to smile, but I keep a stern expression. She’s jumped to the cover I used when I snooped around the shipping facility.
The man raises a brow and adjusts his glasses, gaze flicking between us. “Really? Funny, because the internal records department is where I work and I’ve never seen either of you.”
We both tense and I move close enough to grab her wrist, ready to fucking run if this guy calls backup.
“So let’s try again. Who the hell are you kids and what are you doing here?”
“Kids?” I scoff. “You’re not much older.”
“I’m Maisy Landry. My mother is the CEO of Nexus Lab.”
I swallow a curse. Damn it, Maisy.
She steps in front of me full of confidence like she’s going to protect me with her family name, propping her hands on her hips.
This gets the guy’s attention and he gives her a crooked grin that makes me growl under my breath. His gray eyes flick to me for a moment before his shoulders shake with a silent laugh. “I see. So, not internal auditors then.”
It makes him relax that we don’t work for the company.
“No. Now answer my question—who are you and why are you here?”
He holds out a hand. “Ethan Hannigan. Records department, as I said. Unlike you little sneaks, I’m seriously an employee.”
I take in his casual shorts and button down. “Why would someone from the records department be out at an abandoned warehouse practically in the middle of nowhere on a Saturday? Doesn’t seem like it should be in the job description.”
Ethan turns his lopsided grin on me. “Observant. And you are…?” He leaves the question hanging, then smirks. “Miss Landry’s bodyguard? The suit’s a nice touch, definitely makes you seem older. And you’re armed. Smart.”
“My boyfriend,” Maisy says firmly, putting her hand in mine.
A stupid flutter fills my chest at the term and I have to work to keep my mouth from curving. For once, I pull on the pain of losing my parents and all the shit that happened to me after to help me keep from grinning like an idiot that the girl I love might feel the same about me.
Together we form a united front against Ethan. My gut tells me he’s not what I first thought. If he was, we’d already be in the back of a blacked out SUV on our way to face whoever keeps trying to take me out just like my parents. It’s enough for me to release the gun. But I’m still wary of trusting strangers and taking them at face value.
“How did you find this place?” Ethan asks, tucking his hands in his pockets.
“Followed my mom here when she was supposed to be at work,” Maisy says, only partially lying.
Ethan hums like that makes total sense. “This is the first time I’ve been able to get out here. Every time I tried to follow, I’d lose the car taking her here. It’s a little underwhelming from how suspicious it seems, huh?”
For whatever reason, he trusts that we aren’t going to relay his admission of digging around to Jacqueline. He scans the tree branches waving over the damp concrete behind us and his expression shifts.
“We should probably get out of here before the security patrol comes around,” he suggests. “They’re a punctual bunch and they don’t like uninvited guests.”
“There’s a diner nearby,” I say.
Ethan nods. “I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes. Grab a booth.”
As I pull Maisy back toward the Charger, she keeps her voice down. “Are we just going to trust he’s chill?”
I glance over my shoulder at the direction Ethan heads. “Didn’t you see how much his demeanor changed once he found out we weren’t official employees? I think he guessed we’re snooping around like he is.”
