Page 20 of Broken Promise
I blinked. Had I heard that right? “Noah and Lucia you know…” And then it dawned on me. I wasn’t sure my body had ever gone through simultaneous reactions like this before—the urge to throw up coupled with the urge to throw my head back and laugh. “Oh.”
“Yeah.Oh. I mean, are they always like that?”
I nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. I know you’re probably pretty traumatized by the whole thing, but don’t worry about it. We’ve all walked in on them. And I meanallof us. If it is traumatizing and awkward for you, imagine how it is for—”
My phone rang. It was rare that anyone called me. If it was some kind of emergency, Noah would have sent the usual signal, a series of texts and rings that would let me know there was trouble. No, in this case, my phone was just ringing.
Which meantOskar. I didn’t even look at the screen when I picked it up.
“What do you want?”
“Is that any way to treat a friend? Not a friend, your mentor even.”
I clenched my jaw. Noah had been on something the day he paired me with Oskar. One of my main jobs once we got some new recruits would be training them to be efficient. I would be training them to kill, but only if they had to. Oskar thought it was his job to train me tonotkill people. As if I needed lessons on that. I had been FBI, after all.
Yeah, but I was also an assassin for hire.
Details.
“Don’t make me repeat myself. You know how I get when I get angry.”
There was a bit of silence. “You know what, come to think of it, I’m still mad at you for that.”
“Get on with it.”
“Ah, someone’s testy. Does that mean I interrupted some get-it-on time? What’s his name? Is he big and burly? I picture you with a bear type myself. But hey, I don’t judge. Whatever tickles your fancy.”
I just rolled my eyes. Oskar had somehow gotten it in his head that for six years I had lived like a monk or was gay. Neither was true. I liked women; I was just selective. And I didn’t trust anyone.
“Did you have a point? Or are you just calling to annoy me? Because of the two blondes I could choose to deal with, I’d rather Diana over you.”
“OhDiana. She is adorable. I’m surprised she’s choosing to hang out with you. But as much as I’d love to bust your balls, we gotta go. And lucky for you it’s in your neighborhood. Meet me on your north corner in five minutes.”
Showtime. “On it.”
I turned to Diana. “I need to go out for a minute. Take care of something for Lucia. I’ll run by the store on the way home. Do you need anything?”
She shook her head. “That’s sweet of you. I’ll probably take a walk myself and do a little bit of shopping.”
“Okay. I’ll see you back here for dinner?” I retrieved the extra house key from the kitchen and brought it to her. “You’ll probably get back before I do.”
“Maybe not. I need a lot of stuff. I’ll probably head out and see if I can find a pair of sandals. I have a little money left from what you gave me the other day. And in case we go back to Noah’s or I meet Lucia for lunch or something, I want to have something besides the same pair of sneakers.”
I frowned. Why hadn’t I thought of that?Oh yeah, like women’s fashion was high on the list of priorities. Well, except for lingerie. That could be the highest of priorities depending on who was wearing it.
“Sorry, I should have thought about that. I can take you myself if you want.”
She shook her head. “Somehow I doubt you want to go shoe shopping. Go. Do whatever it is you have to do. I’ll see you later.”
I hated to just leave her behind. But I had work to do. Besides, she said she was fine.
So then why is every instinct telling you she’s not?
* * *
Diana
I wasted no time.
