Somewhere Only We Know(56)

“I want to stay here until the last possible second,” I said, voice quiet.

Jack relaxed. “I want you to stay with me until the very last second, too,” he said.

I swallowed, out of nervousness. “I like being kissed by you,” I blurted out.

Oh, it keeps getting better and better. Good job, Lucky. I wished my fans could see this. Idols! They’re like you! They don’t know how to react to hot guys kissing them and make everything one billion times worse!

But Jack didn’t seem horrified by it. Instead, he did that confident smile thing that made me want to both pummel his body and throw myself onto his mouth.

“I like kissing you,” he said.

The all-consuming goodness of these feelings was so startling, so real. How in the world was I going to leave this tonight? Not only my freedom, my fantasy day, but … Jack?

I had so much I wanted to say to him. To push him more about college. His life. His family. The connections between everything and how it led to him being here. It didn’t feel fair that he knew so much about me, and yet remained so much of a mystery himself.

“Well, I’m glad we cleared that up. Kissing: enjoyed by both of us. Awesome,” I finally said, after staring at his lovely face for a beat too long. But something else caught my eye.

BLAST. No.

It was the distinct hulking shape of the person sworn to protect me: Ren. And a bunch of other security detail with him. They were wildly conspicuous as they stood there in a dark-suited herd, glowering at everyone around them.

I was sure photos of me at the light show had been splashed all over social media by now.

LUCKY AND MYSTERY GUY IN HONG KONG

The thought of someone getting a photograph of us riding off on that scooter, though? That made me smile.

But now was not the time for fond reminiscing. “Jack!” I hissed. “We have to get out.”

He instantly tensed up, every part of him alert and coiled like a snake. “Did someone find us?”

“Yes. It’s my security. They’re here. Don’t be obvious, but they’re over by the seafood stall where we were earlier.”

Barely moving his head, Jack did a casual perusal of the entire market. When his eyes passed over Ren and the guards, his mask of polite boredom didn’t budge. He was good.

“Okay, there’s a big tour group about to pass them,” he said in a low voice, reaching over the table to take my hand again. “In about thirty seconds. When that happens, we book it. Follow me, okay?”

I nodded. While my heart was thumping at the idea of being caught, it was also thumping at the hotness of Jack when he was like this. So very international superspy. It made me wonder about his extracurricular activities.

“You ready?” he asked.

When I smiled in response he frowned. “Why are you smiling?”

“Because I’m waiting for you to say, ‘Do you trust me?’”

The frown remained. “I don’t get it.”

“Never mind. Let’s get outta here.”

He nodded. “Okay, wait for me to get up and then follow.”

With our hands clasped between us, we waited. Then the large group of tourists stepped in front of Ren and the other guards.

Jack pulled me up and we walked directly into another large group of people, his hand holding mine so tight my knuckles were rubbing against each other. I followed him closely as we wove through the crowd. It wasn’t easy—people were walking at a leisurely pace, stopping to get food, take photos, and look at souvenirs. I refrained from stampeding over them. When I glanced behind us, Ren was still there. He and the guards had spread out. Shoot.

“Jack, we have to get out of here,” I said, pulling on his hand with irritation. He was barely paying attention, instead looking down at his phone and texting.

“Okay, we’re leaving.” He looked up and winked at me. As if that would calm me down.

But it did. Sigh.

I followed him through the crowd until we reached a street corner—still in the thick of the hustle and bustle. I looked behind us nervously. Ren was an amazing bodyguard because he could sniff out exactly what he was looking for; he always had a sense for the one weird guy getting too close to me. The uncontrollable teen who might do something she regretted in her frenzy. It meant he knew how to find me, too.

And as my eyes swept over the crowd, I found him. And he was looking at me.

“No!” The strangled cry got stuck in my throat as I felt everything slip away. My freedom. Jack. All of it.

But then Jack’s voice led me back. “Get ready, Lucky.”

I heard the taxi before I saw it—blasting techno music as it squealed to a stop in front of us. The young Asian driver stuck his head out—spiky black hair, tanned face, chiseled features, and a giant smile on his face as he hollered, “Get in, losers!”





CHAPTER FORTY-SIX


JACK


I wanted to wipe that smile off Charlie’s face.

He was looking at us in the reflection of the rearview mirror, asking too many questions.

“How did you end up with this dweeb?”

Lucky laughed and I poked her as we bounced in the back of Charlie’s no-suspension cab. “He took me back to his place when I was unconscious,” she said.

“Lucky!” I yelped.