Page 43 of Forever Defiant
That wasn’t good. I knew I wasn’t going to fool him.
“I . . .” I croaked like a frog.
One eyebrow arched.
Shit.
I squared my shoulders, suppressing my panic, and gave him my most haughty look, as if he were the one who shouldn’t behere. “I was looking for background context,” I said, voice much steadier. “I’m sure that’s allowed. Technically.”
He stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him with a soft, ominousclick. “Technically?” he echoed. “You’resurethat’s allowed? Why don’t you sound sure, Peterson?”
God, why did he have to smell like clean sweat and sunshine and trouble?
I cleared my throat. “I am sure.” Nope, there was no way in hell I was supposed to be in here, and from the frown on his face, he knew it.
“You’re supposed to be with Mike.”
“Iamwith Mike.”
“Uh-huh.” He pretended to look around the room. “Well, I see you in here, but where is he?” His gaze swept over me, noting my soft boots, long denim skirt, sweater, and light scarf. “Is Mike what you’re hiding behind your back?”
I resisted the urge to step back when he moved closer. It felt unfair that someone that pretty could loom. “He went to get a shake.” I sounded weak, and I knew I needed to fix that. “This is still part of the facility,” I said, lifting my chin. “It’s not like I broke into a vault.”
His gaze flicked to my side, then to the crumpled folder still behind my back. His dark eyes held mine. “Yeah? In here... it kind of gives off vault energy,” he said. “What are you hiding?”
“Nothing.” So stupid. It was very obvious I was holding something behind me.Think better, Hadley.
“Said with the confidence of someone hiding something.”
I exhaled sharply. “Look, Dustin—”
“No.” He shook his head, staring me down like I was trying to convince him that the sky was green. “You’re snooping, aren’t you?”
“I’m not—”
“You are.” He stepped closer, close enough that his shadow brushed mine. “You think I don’t know what snooping looks like? You think I haven’t seen them come through here? Reporters? Scouts? Agents?” His voice stayed low, but the intensity tightened with every word. “What have you seen that’s made you... curious?” he murmured, stepping closer. “I know you don’t need any more trouble, Peterson.”
I swallowed. Annoyingly, my throat clicked. “And what do you think you know, Slater?”
He smiled, reaching past me, crowding me into the space between him and the cabinet behind me as he leaned over me. I don’t know if he thought he was intimidating me; all I knew was that I didn’t like the way my body kept reacting to his proximity.
“I know my coach isn’t happy you’re here. And we’ve hadplentyof wannabe reporters pass through these doors. So what makesyouthe one who makes him even more grouchy?” His eyes dropped to my lips and back up again. “What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
He scoffed, moving back a step, letting us both breathe. “We talked about this. You’re a shit liar.”
“Maybe he doesn’t like my curious nature.”
Dustin gave me a flat stare. “Yeah, that must be it. So if you know he doesn’t like it, then stop.” He looked around. “This would be a great example of knowing when to stop.”
“So you’re saying that I’m not allowed to be curious,” I said, too quietly.
The smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I think you might be better off being curious about something else. Not about whatever youthinkyou’ve found and are hiding behind your back.” Something flickered across his face then — something sharp and quickly buried.
I blinked. “What aren’t you saying?”
“Peterson.” He ran a hand over his hair, breaking our stare to look back at the door, and I wondered if he was thinking about escaping. “Don’t pull at threads you don’t understand.”
