Actual Stop (Agent O’Connor #1)(45)

“Your handwriting hasn’t improved,” Jamie couldn’t resist pointing out.

“Yeah, well, we zombies aren’t terribly concerned with mundane trivialities like good penmanship.”

“Any changes we need to know about?” Allison’s voice was borderline brittle, and I frowned.

Jamie and Robert shook their heads in unison, but it was Jamie who actually spoke. “If I think of something, I’ll let you know.”

“Sounds good. Have a great night, guys. Get some sleep.” Allison turned her back, clearly dismissing them.

Now Jamie frowned, and she glanced from me to Allison and back again. I could see the questions swirling behind her eyes, but I probably wouldn’t have been able to answer them even if we’d been alone and able to speak freely. I was just as confused as she was.

“Are you headed back to the hotel?” Robert wanted to know, clearly not picking up on the tension in the room.

Allison shot me a guarded glance. “That was the plan. Why?”

“Think we could hitch a ride?”

Allison looked at me again, and if I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn she was annoyed and disappointed. I shoved that thought away. I must’ve imagined it, projecting those emotions onto her because that’s what I’d felt at the question. No way were those her feelings. Damn, I was tired! Why else would I be seeing things that weren’t there?

“You mind?” Allison asked me.

I shook my head. “Nope. Let’s go.”

The ride back to The W was unbelievably uncomfortable, at least for me. Allison and Robert remained absolutely silent the entire time. I suspected Robert was simply too exhausted or distracted to even attempt conversation. Allison opted to stare out the windshield. I returned to mentally reviewing all the moving parts of the upcoming visit, reassuring myself once more that we had everything covered, while trying to chat idly with Jamie so the car wasn’t completely quiet.

I pulled up in front of the hotel, and Robert mumbled his thanks as he tumbled out of the car. Jamie leaned forward between the seats to give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, both punctuated by meaningful looks, before hopping out herself. Allison hesitated. She turned to look at me, the expression in her eyes unreadable.

“Oh-five-hundred?”

I nodded, and a slight flutter of nervousness tickled my diaphragm. I really hoped I hadn’t overlooked some vital detail. “Oh-five-hundred.”

She studied me for a long moment. “It’s going to be fine. We didn’t forget anything.”

“How the hell do you do that?”

“How do I do what?”

“Read my mind like that? It’s spooky.”

Allison smiled at me and opened her mouth, but just then Jamie yelled at her from the sidewalk. “Allison, are you coming or what?”

My eyes cut to Jamie for an instant before they locked back onto Allison, and my cheeks burned. I’d completely forgotten about Jamie the second she’d stepped out of the vehicle. No surprise, really. No matter what else might be going on around me, Allison had a way of contracting my world until it encompassed only her. I sighed.

“Good night, Ryan,” Allison said as she exited the car. “Sleep well.”

“Good night, Allison,” I whispered.





Chapter Fourteen


“Thank God,” I breathed as the wheels of Air Force One lifted off the ground. All the tension I’d been carrying around fled at once, and I sagged with relief. Letting out a contented sigh, I watched the plane disappear into the wild blue yonder. It was finally over. The man had been in, done what he’d needed to do, and left in the same condition in which he’d arrived. We’d had no major setbacks or even minor ones. I couldn’t have asked for a better visit.

A throaty chuckle sounded over my shoulder, and I turned to see Allison grinning back. “Glad that’s behind us?”

“You have no idea.” I reached for my phone so I could make the required calls to let everyone know that Harbinger was on his way home.

“Oh, come on.” Allison chided me playfully, bumping my shoulder with her own. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Nah.” I brought my phone to my ear with one hand and released my hair from its confinement with the other, then held up one finger to stall the conversation as someone picked up on the other end. I imparted the necessary information and hung up, replacing the phone in its holster without looking. “Not bad at all, actually. Just a little stressful.” I started walking back toward the cars.

Allison and I briefly made some additional notifications and took care of logistics regarding the motorcade cars and the people still on the ground before resuming the conversation back in my vehicle.

“So that was stressful for you, huh?” Allison said.

“Shit, yeah, it was!” I exclaimed, half laughing. “You may be accustomed to shouldering the responsibility for the president’s physical safety on a daily basis, supercop, but I’m not.” I pointed the car toward the airport exit as I checked the time on the dashboard clock. “At least not to that degree. I’m not built for that type of pressure.”

“Well, you’d never know it.”

I eyed her suspiciously. Was she messing with me? But something in her expression stopped the sarcastic comment I had locked and loaded before it passed my lips. “Really.”