Page 5 of Kiss Me if You Can
“Do they say ‘juicy’ on the rear end?”
To my surprise, she actually laughs a little at that. “No, but they’re definitely designed for women.” She lifts an eyebrow. “You don’t exactly have the curves to fill them in right, but they might be better than what you’re wearing now.”
I get the sense that she’s judging more than just the damage. Hitting the button to open the trunk, I step out and rummage through the surprising number of clothing items back there before climbing into the backseat so I can change.
“This suit isn’t mine,” I tell her as I struggle out of the slacks, though I don’t really care what she thinks of me. “I borrowed it from the FBI.” Why in the world did I just tell her that?
“How exactly does someone borrow clothes from the FBI?”
“It’s pretty easy when they force you to be the bait for a dangerous cyber criminal.”
“Is that what you were doing at the park?”
Once I’ve managed to get into the sky blue sweatpants, I lean forward, resting an arm on the back of the driver’s seat, and give her a smirk. I’m guessing she responds better to humor than seriousness, and I need to use every advantage I’ve got. “Wasn’t it obvious?”
She narrows her eyes. “So, if you were working with the FBI, why did you run?”
I unbutton my shirt so I can put on the t-shirt I found in the trunk as well. “Turns out that’s the natural response to getting a gun pointed at you.”
“Who was pointing the gun? The criminal?”
I frown. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. “The agent. I don’t know why. Something must have gone wrong with the meetup, and suddenly he’s trying to shoot me.” It had to have been a setup, not just to catch Hadley but to catch me too. Two birds, one stone. Final justice for the one who got away. “But I didn’t do anything wrong.”Today.
Isla scoffs, raising an eyebrow at me. “And I should believe you because…?”
“Because I’m telling the truth.” Slipping my shoes back on, I open the door but pause, looking back at her. “If you’re gone when I come back out, I’ll understand. I don’t expect you to help me or even believe me, and you’ve already done more than I can thank you for.”
I don’t wait for her to respond. It’ll be better if I give her every opportunity to make her own choices, even if I hope she doesn’t leave me stranded at a CVS on the other side of town from my apartment. There’s nothing over here that can help me, though I’m honestly not sure if anything can help me in the first place.
In general, people can’t hide from the FBI for long. They found me once; they’ll find me again.
The CVS is pretty much empty as I step inside, some sort of pop song playing on the radio overhead while the girl behind the counter scrolls through her phone without looking up. There’s an older gentleman browsing the fungal creams, but beyond that I pretty much have the store to myself.
That’s an unexpected blessing.
Gathering up as many first aid supplies as I can without taking too much time, I snag a bag of trail mix as well and head to the counter, not willing to spend more time than I need to.
“Find everything you need?” the girl asks without looking up.
“Yep. All good.”
She’s giving off some kind of vibe that doesn’t fully fit with her disinterested exterior, like there’s an undercurrent of some nervousness just beneath the surface. I glance at her unlocked phone sitting on the counter as she rings me up, curious about what she was looking at, and nearly swear when I see a picture of my face above a headline that reads,Known cyber terrorist loose in Sun City.
Apparently the FBI haven’t wasted any time.
“Would you like to sign up for our rewards program?” the girl asks as she scans the last item and picks up the cash I put on the counter.
“Not today, thank you.”
“Have a great…” She looks up, halfway through handing my bag to me, and then glances down at her phone. Back at me. Back at her phone.
“You too,” I say, snatching the bag and heading for the door.
“Hey!”
I ignore her, keeping my eyes fixed ahead and praying Isla didn’t drive off without me.
By some miracle, she’s still in the parking lot, though she’s moved to the driver’s seat and seems to be watching me with a lot more suspicion in her expression than before. I shouldn’t have left her alone with her phone and all its access to the internet, but I wasn’t about to steal it from her.
