One of Us Is Next(72)

“Whoa, hold up,” Luis interrupts. “Can I answer before you answer for me?”

“Oh.” My face flames, and I stare so hard at the dash that I’m surprised the numbers on my odometer don’t move. “Yes. Of course. Sorry.”

Luis’s hand moves down my arm until his fingers lace with mine, and he tugs lightly at my hand. “Look at me, okay?” he says quietly. I turn my head, and there’s such a soft, open expression on his face that I feel a spark of hope. “I like you too, Maeve,” he says, his dark eyes steady on mine. “I have for a while.”

My heart skips and then soars. “Oh,” I say again. I’ve forgotten all the other words.

His lips quirk. “So, should we do something about this? Or would you rather keep torturing me from a distance?”

My smile back feels big enough to take over my entire face. “We should,” I manage. “Do something.”

“Good,” Luis says. He touches my face and leans in close. My eyes flutter shut and warmth floods my veins as I wait for his lips to meet mine—until my lap buzzes loudly. We both startle and pull back. “Damn it all to hell,” I mutter in frustration, snatching up my phone. “I forgot we were on a stakeout.”

Luis laughs. “Never a dull moment with you. What’s up?”

I read Knox’s text, blink a few times, and read it again. “Phoebe says it’s not Derek.”

“Really?” Luis sounds as surprised as I feel. “Then who is it?”

“She doesn’t know. She says she’s never seen him before.”

Luis frowns. “That’s weird.”

My phone buzzes with another text from Knox. He’s leaving.

“Oh!” I grab Luis’s arm. The figure we’d been watching at the gazebo is suddenly a lot closer. “That’s him.” Intense Guy is cutting across the grass and through the edge of the playground, but he doesn’t spare a glance for the climbing structure where Phoebe is. He pushes past a group of kids and heads for the park exit. At this distance, there’s no mistaking the same person who confronted Mr. Santos a few weeks back. There are two paths he could take out of the park, and he chooses the one leading almost straight to my car.

“Shit. He’s coming right this way,” I say, looking down to shield my face. The guy barely flicked his eyes over me at Café Contigo, but better safe than sorry. “Duck, Luis.” Instead, Luis does exactly what he shouldn’t do, which is lean forward for a better view. “Stop!” I hiss. “Don’t let him see you, he’ll recognize you!”

“So?” Luis says. Honest to God, he might be the hottest guy I’ve ever seen, but he’s useless in a stakeout situation. I try to push him back, but he’s still craning his neck and Intense Guy is right there, about to cross in front of the car, so I have no choice except to grab hold of Luis’s face and kiss him.

I mean, I probably have other choices. But this is the best one.

I’m twisted awkwardly, held back by my seat belt until Luis reaches around me and unbuckles it. I break our kiss to slide out from behind the wheel. He pulls me closer, lifting me into his lap, and I return my hands to either side of his face. His arms feel warm and solid around me, holding me in place as we stare into each other’s eyes for a beat. “Beautiful,” he breathes, and I melt. Then his lips crash against mine, and it’s happening again—the heat, the dizziness, and the desperate need to be as close to him as possible. His thumbs sweep over my cheeks, my fingers are twisted in his hair, and the kiss goes on and on until I’ve completely forgotten where we are and what we’re supposed to be doing.

Right up until the loud rap on the window.

Oh God. It all comes rushing back as I look up, expecting to see Intense Guy glowering down at us. Instead, Phoebe cocks her head and waves, smiling brightly. Knox is still a few yards behind her, head down as he stuffs his binoculars into their case. She turns and positions herself in front of the window, her back to us.

I have no memory of this happening, but at some point either Luis or I reclined the seat so that we’re practically flat. “Um. So.” I reach across Luis’s lap for the button, and can’t keep from laughing as the seat starts slowly rising while we’re still tangled up together. “This is the recline function,” I say, smoothing my hair.

“Good to know.” Luis kisses my neck, his palm warm against my waist. “Thanks for the demonstration.”

“No problem. I do this for everybody. It’s important to know how a vehicle operates.” Reluctantly, I slide off Luis’s lap and behind the wheel. Then I squeeze his hand, feeling giddy that apparently I can do that now. “To be continued?”

He smiles and squeezes back. “Definitely.”

“Well!” Phoebe opens the rear door and crawls across the seat. The hood of Knox’s sweatshirt is still up, the laces pulled tight around her face. Knox follows and closes the door behind him. He seems preoccupied with his binoculars. I’m pretty sure Phoebe ran interference quickly enough that he didn’t see anything with Luis and me. “I have officially never seen that guy before in my life. I have absolutely no idea who he is.”

“So now what?” I ask. “Should we—”

“Shit, here he comes!” Knox pulls Phoebe toward him, pressing her into his shoulder as she lets out a strangled yelp. I duck down automatically in my seat, but Luis—of course—stays where he is. He really is terrible at this. “Sorry,” Knox says in a calmer voice as he releases Phoebe. “But he just drove past us. Don’t worry, he didn’t look our way.”