Page 62 of Wicked Intention

Chapter Twenty-Four

Los Angeles, California

24 Months Earlier

HOLDING hands with Finn made Zo’s body go warm, and it didn’t matter a damn that they’d been doing it constantly for a week and a half. She might never get used to it. And his kisses… She could feel her eyes go unfocused from the memory alone.

She’d drawn a hard line, and he’d respected it, but it hadn’t been easy. Every time Finn touched her, Zo felt the heat. She’d never leaped into sex, no matter how irresistible the guy was, and things had moved far too fast for her in Puerto Jardin. If they were going to have more than a torrid affair, they needed to back up, to take it slower.

No matter how impossible it seemed.

Maybe she was overthinking this. Maybe he only wanted hot sex and not a relationship. Maybe, but as he’d told her, he didn’t need to drive from Florida to LA for a hookup. Shaking her head, she made herself concentrate on her surroundings.

The sun was setting as they approached the landing, but the pier was open twenty-four/seven, and the restaurants would be serving for hours. She should have brought him to Santa Monica Pier, but they’d done Venice Beach today, and she couldn’t deal with more crowds. This was better. There were plenty of people here, but not hoards.

“Are you hungry?” Finn asked.

The question reminded her that it had been a while since lunch. “Yes.”

“Is this place any good?” He gestured to his left.

It was, but Zo asked her own question instead. “Are you set on a sit-down restaurant?”

“Why? What did you have in mind?”

“Egg rolls. We could grab an order and walk as we eat.”

There wasn’t a line, so it only took a few moments before they were on their way toward the pier. The food meant no hand-holding, which was a win for her equilibrium.

“These are good,” he said as they maneuvered around a family leaving for the evening.

“Was there any doubt?” Zo took a bite and savored the flavor. His shoulder brushed hers, distracting Zo for an instant.

“Yeah. When I saw the price, I wondered if you’d picked it because it was cheap.”

She knew why he’d said that. There’d been ongoing negotiations. “If you’d let me pay once in a while, we—”

“We’re burning your gas as we visit these tourist spots.” His lips curved, and he deliberately bumped his arm against hers. “We’re probably close to even if that’s what has you worried.”

It wasn’t. The Army didn’t pay much, and now he didn’t even have that income. Her concern was for his bank account, not their balance sheet. “You know,” she said, trying to sound casual, “I earn enough working for the Paladin League to treat you now and then.”

They reached the start of the actual pier, and the bricksgave way to cracked concrete. Along the rail, the diehards continued to fish, and lights illuminated the length. Before long, the concrete changed to wooden planking, but Finn remained quiet. They continued to stroll. A cement bench facing the ocean was empty, and without saying anything, she headed to it and sat down. He settled beside her, closer than was strictly necessary given the width of the seat and the fact that no one else was sharing the space, but she liked the heat of his body too much to complain.

She was nearly finished with her last egg roll when Finn finally spoke. “About the money. Don’t take this question the wrong way, loquita, but how the hell can you afford that condo at your age? Trust fund?”

Zo grimaced. They’d spent time getting to know each other, and while they’d had plenty of intimate conversations, there were topics they’d both avoided. As fast as their relationship was moving, maybe it was time to delve into those areas, too. “No trust fund,” she said quietly. “The Paladin League does pay me well, but you’re right, not enough to buy the condo. I have a couple of side hustles.”

“Like what?”

Wiping her hands on her napkins to remove the oil from the egg rolls, Zo glanced at him from beneath her eyelashes. Finn might not be looking her direction, but she had his full attention. “I do some occasional work verifying whether or not an artifact is genuine, and writing up my findings for whoever hired me.”

He finished his food, too, wiped his hands much as she had, and then took their garbage to a nearby can before returning to sit beside her. “How often does that happen? A couple of times a year?”

“Something like that,” she muttered. Without her PhD, she wasn’t in demand or at the top of the pay scale. Zo took an unobtrusive breath. He wasn’t going to like the other thing she did freelance. “I earn the most, though, from helpinginsurance companies track down relics stolen from museums or personal collections. They pay me a percentage of what the item was insured for. It’s a lucrative sideline, and theft happens more often than you’d think.”

She felt the muscles in his body tense. Finn turned to stare at her. “Let me get this straight—you hunt down stolen goods? You really are crazy. Thieves are dangerous.”

Her stomach twisted. She hadn’t told him what she did for the Paladin League yet. Finn definitely wouldn’t like that. “I don’t retrieve the items. I simply locate them and let someone else know where they are. She gets them back, and I split the recovery fee with her.”

---