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“She’s innocent in all this. Doesn’t know who I am or what I do.”
Lacey’s eyes narrow. “And what is that, exactly?”
I pause. Clever little agent, but I won’t be answering that one. It seems like tonight, she’s all business. The playful Natasha is gone, but that’s okay. I’m more intrigued by this woman in front of me anyway.
Clearing her throat, Lacey walks deeper into the apartment, glancing around at my sparse furniture and empty spaces. “It’s practically barren here,” she says. “Where are your Christmas decorations?”
I try to stay focused on her and not the way her pants hug her body. She’s so small and petite, but she has hips and the cutest ass I’ve ever seen. I want to take a giant bite out of her and eat her ass instead of breakfast, with a giant cup of coffee to get the day started right.
“Not really the kind of person who likes to string lights everywhere.” I stare at her. “You might call me a scrooge.”
She holds up her hand. “Guilty as charged.”
“You too? Shame.”
“Yeah, well, you get older and things change. It’s kinda hard to keep the spirit alive when you’re working every day. There are no breaks when you’re fighting crimeorcommitting it.”
“Very funny.”
The door to the bedroom is open, and I walk through, pointedly showing her my back. It’s test for both of us; do we both trust the other enough not to shoot?
“I used to be big into the season, the kind of person who went to all the light displays and volunteered, bought presents for kids and wrapped and all kinds of shit.” I fumble around in my dresser for a change of clothes.
Judging from her voice, Lacey hasn’t moved from the living room. “You’ll pardon me if I find that a little hard to believe.”
“It’s true. You never saw a jollier man than me.”
“What changed, then?”
“My dad died.” Pain still laces the statement, even though it’s been years. “About a week before he was supposed to come and spend time with me and Stefan here. One minute, he’s on the phone, talking about the drive and all the food he planned to buy, and the next, the hospital is calling, telling me to hurry, that he’s not going to last much longer.”
“I’m sorry.” She sounds honest, empathetic. “Death really does change things, in so many ways.”
“What about you?” I’d rather take the focus off me. “Any particular reason you sneer when you look at a Christmas tree?” I’d noticed her reaction at the party.
Placing the gun on the dresser, I slide my legs into a pair of gray sweatpants.
“It’s nothing major. I guess we all have issues with our family.” Now she’s gone cold, shutting me out. “Regardless, things change. I’m not really the celebratory type anymore, which is absolutely fine with me.”
“You're also not the type to listen when someone gives you an order, are you?” I drag a shirt over my bare chest, the material clinging to the wet spots. “I’m not sure how you made it that far within your agency with that kind of temperament.” Fully clothed, I stalk to the doorway and stand there with a scowl.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” she says.
“You didn’t listen to me and wait for me to call. You decided to track me down and break into my apartment.”
“I didn’t break in. The door was unlocked.”
Liar.
“And I wanted to know more about your plan.” She glances around at the house, taking in the plain furniture, the lack of art on the walls, the sterile taupe carpet. “And you. Your motives for helping me.”
Maybe it’s her bravery, or the stupidity masquerading around as bravery, that gets me talking. Maybe it’s being so fucking fed up with my brother and disgusted about what he’s done to this family that loosens my lips.
Either way, I find myself telling Lacey about Stefan and the cartel dealings as a gateway to building trust, getting to know each other well enough to see this tentative partnership through. I tell her about the issues with the mules at the airport, the way he destroyed the room at the conference center, about the dinner coming up tonight.
Through it all, she stays silent, probably processing every word and formulating a plan. The gears are clearly shifting behind those baby blue eyes.
“I plan to use the dinner as a distraction to find his tapes,” I finish. “With those, I’ll be able to show the police every dark and disgusting thing he’s done over the years.”
