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She moved her laptop to the side, dropping her headphones next to it. ”I’m sorry,” she said. ”I was organizing my timeline and I got totally sidetracked.”
I shook my head. ”This was your idea. I’m happy to cancel.”
”No,” she replied. ”Give me twenty minutes and I’ll be ready. I don’t want them to…I don’t cancel plans with my brother.”
I raised my eyebrows.
”Ever. It’s kind of a thing. We’re trauma bonded.”
”Got it,” I said, even though I definitely didn’t get it. But if this was what she needed me to do so that she could keep up the pretense with her cop brother, I was happy to help her out.
”You can look at the work I’ve been doing if you want,” she said as she stood up. ”Jace has been helping me with a timeline of the victims, and I…”
”Sofia, no offense, but I’m tired,” I said. ”I’m sure we can talk about it later. Right now, I need to focus on, you know, tonight’s performance. We both do.”
She looked into my eyes, her pupils expanding over her dark irises as she did. ”Right,” she said. ”You’re right. What should I wear?”
She said it so casually, as if that was the kind of conversation we always had. ”I don’t know. Something short? I want to look at your legs all night.”
”Oh,” she said, approaching me and putting her hands flat against my chest. ”Already getting into the role, huh?”
”Yeah,” I said, my heartbeat quickening in my chest and my cheeks reddening as I looked into her eyes. ”Absolutely.”
Chapter Sixteen: Sofia
Ihadn’twantedtoget ready for the date because I wasn’t sure that it was real. When I had brought it up to my brother, it seemed like it was so long ago. The week had gone by in a blur, and despite the fact that I couldn’t really go anywhere, I was starting to like this.
It felt nice that I had round-the-clock protection now that I had processed what had happened to me. Teo had told the Blades not to touch me, and none of them did, though I could feel their lingering gazes on me. Despite the weird circumstances, I was pretty sure I’d found a friend in Grayson…but I wasn’t stupid. I knew he was trying to form a bond so I would feel safe and tell them all the information I had. I could’ve fought it, but I didn’t.
In such dangerous territory, I knew I could do with an ally.
But that was the rest of them. Teo was a different story. I watched him come and go, always looking like he had somewhere to be. He listened to the rest of his men give him verbal reports and gave deliberate commands after a few seconds. He was obviously incredibly intelligent, and for a second, I couldn’t help but wonder what his life would’ve been like if he’d had the opportunities I did.
Then again, with my salary, I would’ve never been able to afford this fucking apartment.
When he walked into HQ, I practically had to pick my jaw off the floor. He was wearing a well-fitted button-up shirt and a pair of black dress pants, his chest so broad that I got the urge to run my hands over it, to feel the brush of his hair against the tips of my fingers. His cheeks were flushed, his eyes were dark, and he was smiling at me in a way that made my heart race and my palms sweat.
There was something almost bashful about him, despite his striking presence in the room. Everyone else was gone–obviously on purpose, though I had no idea where they were–and I was left to deal with my feelings about this man who had kidnapped me looking like an absolute fucking snack.
It turned out I was hungry as fuck.
When my hands were on his chest, when I could feel his heart beating, I almost lost sight of what had landed me here in the first place. Of why we were even going on this date.
I pulled my hand away as if his skin had zinged me and took a step back. He looked at me, confused. I could’ve blamed it on the way he looked, but the truth was that I was on guard. I didn’t know what was happening between us, and I could already tell that things were getting out of hand. ”Sorry,” I said. ”I’m just…tired.”
He grabbed my hand, dwarfing it in his. He wore a silver hand chain flush against his skin, the silver bracelet glinting and outlining the black ink of his tattoos, the chain linked across several long fingers. ”I want to make something clear,” he said. ”I’m going along with this because it was your plan, but I don’t want you to do anything against your will. And you don’tneedto do anything purely because I tell you to. You know that, right?”
I looked him in the eyes. ”I want you to take me out,” I said. ”I think I’ve already explored every secret in this apartment.”
There was that glint in his eyes again. ”I doubt it,” he said. ”I have a lot of secrets.”
That charm, that voice, it made me tremble with anticipation. I told myself to get a grip; this was only a pretend date and Teo was just getting into character. If I stayed there for too long, I was going to start buying it. ”Okay,” I said. ”I’ll be right back.”
It didn’t take me very long to get ready. I chose a black mini dress that went halfway down my knees, which hugged my curves in all the right places. I paired it with strappy high-heeled sandals and kept my makeup natural, opting for a nude lip and subtle smoky eye. Teo was already waiting for me by the door, and his eyes widened slightly as he looked up from his phone.
He composed himself fast enough…but I noticed.
Noticing things was my job, after all.
