Under Pressure (Body Armor #1)(58)

Eyes back on her pizza, Cat said, “Watched fight videos and talked about you.”

Shifting his gaze to Miles, Leese asked, “Is that right? What’d you tell her?”

“That you were a shithead when I first met you.” He grinned. “But you’re okay now.”

Leese felt Cat watching him. “I can’t really disagree, now can I?” He hated the truth, but he wouldn’t run from it, and he wouldn’t lie. Back then, he’d been a punk—a punk who almost got a very nice girl hurt. It still sickened him to remember it.

Going serious, Miles said, “It was short-lived, and hey, we’ve all been there a time or two.”

“Not all.”

“Okay, so Cannon is a saint. He’s also out of the norm, so he doesn’t count. The rest of us have had our moments.”

“Cannon?” Cat asked. “He’s one of the fighters, right?”

“Cannon Colter. His nickname is Saint,” Miles explained, “and it suits him. He’s a freaking paragon, and a hell of a great fighter.”

“It is such a fascinating world,” she said, and then to Leese, “But you’re so good at everything, I can’t imagine you not being perfect too.”

He laughed.

Miles said, “Had the same reaction. You’ve got the poor girl completely deluded.” He gave Leese a friendly shove. “You should probably keep it more real than that, let her know you’re a flesh-and-blood male.” He winked at Cat, then pushed back his chair and stood. “Time for me to go. I have a long drive home.”

“Thanks for coming by,” Leese told him. “Appreciate it.”

“No problem.” After pressing a kiss to Cat’s cheek, he said to Leese, “Keep up the massage, it seemed to help.”

Refusing to take the bait, Leese walked him to the door. Voice low, he said, “Watch your back when you leave. I don’t think anyone’s keeping track, but you can’t be too careful.”

“Yes, Mom.”

“I’m serious.”

Miles studied him, then nodded. “Okay, sure. I guess I can play the stealth game, same as you.” He looked past Leese to where Cat had begun tidying the kitchen. “She’s nice, Leese. Pretty hilarious too.”

“Yeah.”

“And like you said, damned sexy.” He clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t underestimate her, okay?”

What the hell did that mean?

Whistling, Miles pressed the door button on the private elevator that would take him to the lobby, and the doors closed behind him, robbing Leese of the opportunity to come up with a reply.

Thoughts colliding, he stepped back into the penthouse and secured the door. For a moment, he watched Cat moving around. True, she seemed less stiff now, her gait a little more natural.

Massage, huh? Yeah, he could handle that—maybe.

He joined her and they worked in silence until everything was tidy again. Not wanting to wait any longer, Leese said, “Let’s talk.”

Her face immediately went hot, her expression guarded.

“Not...” Sighing, he took her hand and led her to the sofa. They could talk about the contents of the lockbox later. Right now he had something more important he wanted to cover. “I found a listening device—a bug—in your apartment, inside the lampshade in the living room.”

The embarrassed color washed from her face, leaving her pale with shock, yet a second later angry heat flooded in again. “Those bastards were spying on me?”

“It’s probably safe to assume they put it there after you busted them conspiring, not before. My guess is they assumed you’d eventually return there, and when you did they wanted to know.”

Her jaw worked. “So if I had, they’d have greeted me?”

It turned his stomach to imagine her at their mercy. He kept the rage in check because Cat needed his calm control right now, not additional fuel for her fear. “That’s the likeliest scenario. But they misjudged you, didn’t they? At every turn, you’ve outsmarted them.”

“I can’t run forever. Eventually they’re going to catch up to me.”

“No.” He held her face in his hands. “Eventually they’ll trip up and be caught.”

Sadness kept her smile dim. “Maybe. I hope so. But God, I want it over.”

“I know. And I’ll do everything in my power to make it happen.” His thumbs brushed her cheeks. “Even if that means doing things you don’t like.”

Straightening with irritation, she poked his shoulder. “Like going to my house after we agreed you wouldn’t?”

“I never agreed to that.”

She grumbled, “Well, you should have.” With new umbrage she muttered, “You could have been shot today.”

“Not even close.” When would she accept his skill level?

She touched his chest with her fingertips, then slowly opened her hand against him. Finally she lifted her gaze to his. “Do you think they’re still in my yard?”

“I doubt it, but if they are, they’re probably sharing body heat.”

That nonsense answer, meant to defuse her worry, got her started snickering, and then she couldn’t stop.

Hysterics? Leese wondered, even as he smiled with her.