Page 46 of Lethal Illusion

“No worries.At some point, I’ll go back and play it again with a different character, but it won’t be anytime soon.”She fell in line with his steps as they turned away from the lake.Up ahead, a squirrel darted up a tree, its bushy tail flicking.“So what else do you do in your free time?”

“That depends on who’s around.”Lately, he’d been spending more time alone.Jackson was often busy with his wife Essie, while Pinto was practically joined at the hip with Fiona.That left Hatch, and even though they got along well, their ideas of a good time didn’t always mesh.“Now that the Barracuda is fully restored, I started work on another car.”

Her eyes sparked with interest.“What kind of car?”

“A 1985 Chevy Camaro IROC-Z.”He’d bought the car a few months ago at the auto auction for next to nothing, mainly because the poor thing was in sorry shape.It was going to take a fair amount of time, money, patience, and effort, but he was confident he could return the classic muscle car to her former glory.

“How long will it take to restore?”she asked.

“I can’t say for sure.Any estimate would be contingent on how hard it’ll be to score the right parts and how much free time I’ll have to work on it.”

At first glance, the car looked rough, with sun-damaged paint, rust creeping along the undercarriage, and a sizable dent on the driver’s side quarter panel.While the exterior damage was manageable, the interior presented different challenges.The headliner sagged, the front seats were trashed, and the cabin bore the unmistakable signs of years of neglect.Clearly, the previous owner didn’t understand the concept of routine maintenance.

Mechanically, it had serious issues—he’d paid to have it towed home—but there wasn’t anything he couldn’t fix.He’d already found a site online where he could order most of the parts, which would save him from having to take time-consuming trips to the junkyard.From there, it was mostly an investment of time that he’d fulfill on his days off work when he didn’t have other plans.

They moved deeper into the forest but stayed parallel to shore.The vegetation was thick enough to provide cover in the event hostiles were in the area, as well as much-needed shade.Because even though storm clouds were moving in, there was still enough sun to get burned.

Navarre held out his hand to help Sloane climb over a rotted log that blocked their path, and there it was again, that little spark he felt every time they touched.It was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore, and he wasn’t sure how to deal with that.

“What are you going to do with it once it’s all fixed up?”Sloane asked, providing a much-needed distraction.

“I haven’t decided.I don’t need two cars, so I guess I’ll have to figure out which one to sell.”

Surprise flickered over her face.“I’m shocked you’d even consider selling the Barracuda.That car’s a work of art.”

Navarre pushed up a low-hanging tree limb so she could walk past without ducking.“I never intended to keep her, but now that she’s back to her former glory, it’s not so easy to let her go.I guess it all depends on how the Camaro looks after I’m finished with her.”

She gave him a funny look.“Why do guys always refer to their cars as she?”

Navarre shrugged, momentarily thrown by the question.“I don’t know.I never really thought about it.I suppose it’s a holdover from the old sailing days when ships were named after women or goddesses.”

“Did you name the Barracuda?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because you never name something unless you’re planning to keep it.”

She gave him a look.“Like a dog?”

“Yeah, like that.If you name a dog, you just made a commitment to take care of it for the rest of its life.”

A rustle stirred the underbrush, a subtle reminder that they weren’t the only creatures in the forest.Moments later, a young doe stepped into view, its wide eyes locking with theirs.Time seemed to pause as it stood motionless, then, with a flick of its tail, it vanished into the shadows.

Navarre glanced at Sloane, and the wonder lighting the depths of her eyes stirred things inside him that he wasn’t mentally prepared to examine.He coughed to clear the sudden tightness in his throat.

“Enough about me.”He was tired of hearing his own voice.He’d much rather listen to hers.“What’s your story?”

Sloanethrewhimasidelong glance as she tugged the zipper of the camo jacket higher.“There’s not much to tell.”

“I find that hard to believe.”The tone of his voice made it clear he wasn’t prepared to let her off the hook.“Let’s start with the basics.How did you end up working at Six Points?”

That was easy.“I was recruited by Larissa.”

Apparently, her answer didn’t provide enough details to satisfy his curiosity.“And why did she recruit you?It couldn’t have been for your sparkling personality.”

She flipped him off, and he laughed.“At the time, I was working for Orlando Security Solutions.They were competing against Six Points for a contract out near the coast—some big engineering firm that does a bunch of work for NASA.Somewhere along the line, the friendly competition turned ugly.My boss in the cyber security unit offered a bounty to anyone who could hack the servers at Six Points as a way to prove our company was superior.”

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