Hidden Impact (Safeguard #1)(25)
He ought to argue with her. Generally, it was easier when he worked alone, even stateside. If he left her here on Centurion Corporation grounds, she’d be safe. She’d be at higher risk out running around with him. Not immediate, because Gabe had plans to confuse whoever was trying to take her out. But eventually they’d unravel the trail and locate her.
It’d been Lizzy who’d asked him if he was leaving Maylin with the team. None of his people seemed to mind. But they’d all gotten a measure of Maylin at breakfast. The minute he left the property, she’d be after him whether the rest of the team let her go or not. They could stop Maylin, but they might have to restrain her to do it. And none of them wanted to go down that path.
This course of action went with the flow of her choices and provided opportunity to flush out her enemies without her waiting here as bait.
“I’ll take care of it.” He almost flinched under her suddenly piercing glare. “Expenses will be tallied at the end of the job but for the time being, I don’t want to wait on someone else’s funds to get where I need to go to find what I’m after.”
“I’m going to need to take a close look at that contract you owe me.” Anyone else would’ve sounded insulting, but her? No. Somehow it was politely chilling and definitively uncomfortable.
“It’s in your inbox. Once you’ve sent it back with your e-signature, we are all sorts of official. Take this afternoon to review it, send it back, and zip up your travel bag. We leave at seventeen hundred hours. Leave your smartphone and laptop here with Marc.”
“A red-eye leaves that early? And why leave my phone?” The second question was asked at a slightly higher pitch.
Would she start twitching if she was separated from her phone for too long? He chewed on the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. She wouldn’t appreciate it right now.
“The personal electronics stay here with Marc until he can verify they are clean. I’ve got a temporary phone for you in the meantime. As for the leave time, I figured I’d get you something other than omelets or takeout for dinner before yanking you clear across the country.” He paused. “Unless you want me to do a grocery run so you can stress-cook again?”
She laughed. The sound was a mix of surprise and pleasure. “I eat other people’s cooking once in a while, especially when it’s better than what I can cook myself.”
Considering the way she’d whipped up culinary art out of their meager supplies this morning, and then a mobile lunch for them later in the day, he was figuring there weren’t too many in Seattle who could do better than her. “Not sure if it’ll be better, but I have a nearby place in mind.”
She gave him a smile then, a real one, if small. “I look forward to it.”
He sincerely hoped he could take the shadows from her face. Soon.
*
“Mister Reyes?” Maylin hissed at Gabe as the elevator smoothly rose. “Welcome to you and your wife?”
Maybe she was still groggy from the red-eye flight and a morning driving around DC waiting in the car while Gabe made a few discreet stops, but this was one of those things he could’ve warned her about in advance. Luckily, the concierge thought she’d been surprised by the hotel they were checking into. As opposed to the sudden change in marital status.
Gabe shrugged. “I could have said we were newlyweds, but special occasions stand out too much.”
Maylin struggled to keep her voice somewhat close to calm. “You warned me we’d be arriving in DC under assumed identities. Okay. And you even coached me on my temporary name. I appreciate the instruction. You didn’t tell me we’d be sharing a name.”
“Does it bother you?” He wasn’t mocking her, but he didn’t seem overly concerned either. Mostly, he sounded infuriatingly neutral.
And yes, it did. But not for any logical reason she could think of, so why was she making a fuss about it again?
She’d think about it later.
“And what is a classic suite, anyway? It was nice of them to upgrade us for no charge, but what were our sleeping arrangements going to be in the first place?”
“When I looked into this hotel, the classic suites had a wall partition between the bed and the sitting area where there’s a pull-out sofa. I figured it’d give you a little privacy.” The corner of his mouth tipped up a tiny bit.
She drew in a breath and blew it out slow. Hard to make a thing of it when he was being so considerate.
His arm settled around her shoulders, a solid weight but not too heavy. She froze.
“Easy.” For his part, he didn’t even look down at her, his gaze on the display showing the increasing floor numbers as they rose. “Security camera in the upper corner over there. We’re your normal, cuddly couple.”
There was an edge to the word cuddly. Not the tough guy mocking tone, but more a bitter something. Like he had a bad taste in his mouth when he said it. She didn’t reply, but tucked herself snug against his side.
Leaning into him came naturally, and it was all a part of the pretense, wasn’t it? Absolutely reasonable, and comforting too. From the minute their plane had landed, she’d been a bundle of nerves as she followed him through the airport to the car rental, and even on the drive to the hotel. His solid strength calmed her, settled the jangling anxiety. She could do this.
“Yes, you can.” Gabe’s quiet comment surprised her and she jerked her head up to stare at him. He chuckled. “Is this where you ask if you used your ‘out loud’ voice?”