Friday night, Cam waited by her door for Ian to pick her up. Much to her annoyance, they were going out to dinner. Be seen in public, the chief of police had told her. Gary had indeed gone back and reported to him. Thankfully he said Cam was cooperating, for what it was worth right now.
She knew this was a big trial. She knew some had political aspirations that would be affected by it. She was going to help them in their eyes, but it was their endgame, not hers. She just was going to do her job, regardless of whose side her assessment fell on.
When she saw Ian’s SUV pull in, she ran out to meet him. She didn’t want him in the house again. Wednesday night after he’d left, she’d smelled him as she walked around her room.
A strong male scent. One that lingered like the San Francisco fog when he left the room hours after he was gone. But this one was clean and masculine. Nothing covered up with aftershave or cologne. She’d never liked an artificial scent on a man. Bold and in her face. That was what she craved and that was what she wanted.
She wasn’t about to let that scent enter her house again. She was tired and needed sleep and that was something that was bound to keep her up. Not just the physical effects of it all, but the mental ones playing with her, telling her to take a risk again, go for the thrills. Don’t be the perfect girl from the perfect family for the rest of her life. What could it hurt?
“Excited to see me,” he said when she climbed into the passenger door. “Good move.”
She was going to ask what he was talking about, but then remembered she was supposed to be acting. “That was the plan,” she lied to herself, hoping he thought she was playing and wasn’t really excited to see him.
After he’d left the other night, she’d felt bad about his comment that he wasn’t good enough for her. Not her type, he’d said. She was going to say she didn’t have a type but felt it was best to not correct him. To just let it go. This was all a show. Better to not even bring the conversation up if she didn’t need to. She never had a care about types, not really.
Then why did she spend the past several years dating boring men in business suits? Because she’d convinced herself that was what she needed in her profession. That was who people would expect to see her with.
“You’ll be happy to know everything went off without a hitch yesterday.”
“Meaning what?” she asked.
“That the hot gossip going around the station is my persistence with getting you to go on a date with me. I had to make a big production when you agreed this morning after I called you.”
She was stunned when Tiffany patched him through early this morning, expecting he’d call her on her cell phone. Instead he’d called her office.
“What happened?”
“Gary went over the top about coming over to my desk on Thursday asking if I thought it was smart to pursue you. I told him there was no reason not to. That you were smoking hot and I knew you just wanted my body.”
She started to cough. “You didn’t say that!” Could he really read what she’d been hiding all along?
“Guess you won’t know, will you?”
Just great. “Then what?”
“I got a bunch of ribbing from everyone. They wanted to know how many times the cool Dr. Mason shot me down. It was starting to give me a complex, but I had to put up a good front and told them only twice, but the third was the charm.”
“Your call this morning?” she asked. “That’s why you didn’t call me directly?”
“Can’t have anyone thinking I had your cell number when you’ve been shooting me down, now could I?”
“And when I told you yes. Then what happened at work?”
“I told everyone that I knew you couldn’t resist me. I got a bunch of high fives all around. Seems you might have some admirers. Or maybe I do now,” he said, laughing.
“Because everyone thinks I’m such a bitch that no one would approach me?” she said.
He turned sharply. “Hey, sorry. No. I was just trying to lighten things up. No one thinks that at all. I’ve never heard it. You’re always talked about in a good light. Trust me. I just never knew you were a woman. Thought you were a big old fat dude. Imagine my surprise when you came out to meet me.”
“Really?” she asked, feeling a bit better. Maybe. No, she shouldn’t be concerned one way or another. It wasn’t as if it affected her ability to do her job, what people thought of her. But she was lying because what people thought of her was how she got to be so well respected. “So now everyone knows?”
“If they don’t, they’ll find out. No one else is aware of what is going on though. Some know about your tires and a select few about the snake, but no one knows that you’re my assignment.”
“I’ve never been an assignment before.” That somehow made it worse. Like a cold shower in the middle of the winter after a hot sauna. That wasn’t a good feeling no matter how many times people insisted it was.
She figured she’d insulted him the other night, and he took it in stride, but she was the one all worked up now.
“Think nothing of it. Just pretend to be into me. That’s all you need to do.”
That won’t be hard. But she sure the hell wouldn’t say that. “I guess we’ll see how good of an actress I am.”
***
Ian looked over at Cam. Something wasn’t right with her today. She was edgy and wound up tight. He wasn’t sure what was going on and was just trying to lighten the mood but realized he wasn’t doing that good of a job at it.
“Everything okay? You seem off today.”
She looked startled when she turned. “Just tired. I haven’t slept well the past few nights.”
“If you’re scared it’s okay to admit that.”
“I don’t know what I am. Scared isn’t it so much as frustrated. I went through all my patient files last night and I can’t figure out who is doing this. The only explanation is that it has to do with the Arrow case and that just pisses me off that they think I can be frightened or intimated into bending to their powers or allowing the money to try to dictate the outcome of their choosing. There have been whispers of them trying to figure out a way to get to jurors too.”
He liked the spark in her eye right now. “When are you scheduled to meet with David Arrow?”
“Next week. I’ll be meeting with the DA and prosecutor one day before meeting with David. I’m just ready to get this moving and get it over with.”
“That’s the spirit. Just want to push me along.”
“I didn’t mean it that way,” she said, almost looking appalled.
He reached his hand over and laid it on hers and she didn’t flinch, didn’t move and let him keep it there. It was enough. “I know. We’ll get through it.”
They pulled into the restaurant and walked inside. “You didn’t have to bring me here,” she said. “Even I know it’s not easy to get reservations.”
“I pulled some strings. We have to be seen where the Arrows have their reach. There is bound to be someone here that will recognize you and report back to them. Let them know you have a boyfriend and are out for the night.”
“Why does that matter?” she asked, following him in and to the table right in the center of the room.
“Don’t worry about it. Let us worry.”
“I suppose. I’m going to have a glass a wine tonight. I need it.”
“Good. Try to relax.”
He ordered a beer, wine for her, and they were waiting for their drinks when he reached his hand over, palm up, waiting for her to lay her hand in it. “You aren’t doing a very good job of portraying someone who’s into me.”
She laughed, a genuine one that reached her eyes and caused some heads to turn their way. “I thought you had to all but beg me for a date. You should be gazing at me that way.”
“You can’t tell by the look in my eye what I want?”
She opened her mouth and then shut it. “You’ve had more time to practice your undercover skills.”
He was going to argue with her but didn’t. No use making her more nervous. He got the feeling she wasn’t nervous often, but she did place her hand in his and he held it. And it felt right.
There was a lot of idle chitchat during the meal. Nothing in depth. Nothing earth-shattering. She wasn’t asking about his inner feelings and he wasn’t asking about her childhood. They were just two people on a date talking about the outside world and laughing now and again.
If he caught her eyes going to his lips when he ate, or running the tip of her tongue around her own lips when she took a sip of wine, he didn’t say anything. Just shifted in his chair. After all, they were supposed to be putting on a show and she was a fast learner, making him believe she really did lust after him.
The waiter was just picking up their plates when her phone went off and she jumped, then swore.
“What is it?”
“The alarms were set off in my house. Something is going on, we need to leave.”
“The police will be dispatched. You know that.” He paused and looked at the waiter’s concerned stare. “Can we have the check in a hurry, please?”
“Yes,” he said, rushing off.
“The police will beat us there. You know that. Call dispatch and tell them we’re on the way. Take a deep breath. It’s fine. You’re with me. You’re safe.”
She made the call, her hand shaking. Some fear, but mostly rage, he could see. That was good. She was a fighter. He’d rather deal with that than tears any day.
“I told them we’d be there in fifteen minutes tops.”
“Faster,” he said. “No reason to hide what I do for a living. I’ll put the sirens on.”
He grabbed the check when it was handed to him and pulled out several bills.
“Let me,” she said, reaching for her purse.
“Don’t even think about it,” he said.
“Oh yeah,” she whispered when they were leaving. “An assignment. The city is paying for it then, right?”
Not quite, but she didn’t need to know. “What did they say when you called just now?” he asked instead.
“Not much. Police will wait until I get there if it doesn’t look like the doors are opened or broken into. It better not be,” she said, frowning.
He put the siren on the dash and turned it on. “We’ll find out. Take a deep breath. Remember, you’re safe.”