a clean break.” Then I pretended to catch myself. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be talking about personal matters.”
Sweat trickled down my back and between my breasts, and my hands tingled. Adrenaline and fear combined into a metallic taste in my mouth.
This innocuous looking guy was terrifying. He stood and edged back to the door. “I’m sorry you can’t be my lawyer. I like you.”
I smiled. “Ditto.”
Then I sat there, unable to move. He left and shut the door, and all I could do for several moments was sit. My hand shaking, I called Oliver at the front desk.
“Hey, Anna,” he answered.
“Hi.” My voice trembled. “Is Mr. Smith gone?”
Papers shuffled across the line. “Yeah. He left right away and said it was nice to meet me. Why?”
“Just asking.” I hung up and immediately dialed Aiden.
“Yo,” he answered, engines revving in the background.
I tried to speak, but nothing came out. I tried again. “Barensky was just here.”
Silence slammed heavily over the phone. “What did you say?”
I repeated myself.
Aiden burst into a spate of Gaelic that was even scarier than being in the room with Barensky. “Where are you, and are you safe?”
“I’m in my office, and I’m safe,” I said, my voice cracking this time. “I have a gun. He’s gone. He was just investigating you and the Lordes, I think. There were those newspaper articles about me, and it’s known that we dated. I assume he was just gathering intel.” Now that I’d started talking, I couldn’t stop. “He was old and seemed normal, but he has beady eyes. I couldn’t tell if he was armed.”
“Where’s Kurt?” Aiden asked.
As if on cue, Kurt poked his head into the office. I motioned for him to come inside, and he did so.
“Barensky was here,” I said.
Kurt froze. “How long ago?”
“He left about ten minutes ago,” I said, my breath feeling funny. Not hot but not cold. Still metallic. The room swam around.
“Give the phone to Kurt,” Aiden ordered.
I handed the phone over and reached blindly for my Diet Coke. The soda was now more than warm and definitely flat, but I drank it down like I hadn’t had food for years. My temples pounded as the adrenaline started to recede. Kurt’s voice was muffled because I was drowning in my own head.
He hung up and I jumped.
“You okay?” he asked, his cheekbones red with what must be anger.
I nodded.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here. It was a bonehead move.” He eyed me like he was afraid I’d topple over.
“It’s okay. Frankly, it’s probably a good thing you weren’t here.” I forced myself to breathe evenly and convince my body I was fine and not to freak out anymore. “Barensky was just digging for information, and if you had been here, his suspicions might’ve been raised.”
Kurt didn’t look relieved. “All right. It’s after five, so I need you to gather your things, and we’ll get out of here. We’re going to hold hands and act like we’re together through this building and to your car.”
Bile rolled around in my stomach like a tornado had found a home. “You think he’ll be watching me?”
“No,” Kurt said. “But I’m not going to fall down on the job again. That means taking every precaution just in case he is watching you. All right?”
I could tell those were orders from Aiden. “Sure.” When my legs finally felt solid again, I stood and gathered my belongings. “Should I give Clark a warning?”
“No. Barensky was here to see you and not anybody else.” Kurt led the way through the office.
Everybody else was already gone, which filled me with relief. While I didn’t think Barensky was coming back, it helped to know that my friends were out of the building for now. In the hallway, Kurt grabbed my hand. It felt weird. I mean, he had a nice hand that was warm and strong.
But it wasn’t Aiden’s hand.
Aiden’s hand was bigger and his hold firmer. Just more Aiden-like.
“Smile,” Kurt muttered as we walked down the three flights of stairs and out the back door to the alley.
My cheeks already hurt from my fake smiles earlier, but I forced yet another grin on my face. Then I gently swung our arms and forced Kurt to slow down and look more casual.
The sun still beat down, although it was dinnertime.
His grin seemed more natural than mine felt as he looked down at me near the Jeep. “Do you want to go to dinner tonight? It was a long day.”
I chucked him lightly with my