Page 29 of Sloth
Tony shot Max a derisive arched eyebrow. “Love the attention?”
“Don’t you?”
“You think I love being trailed home by paparazzi, or having women maul me at the grocery store?”
“You buy your own groceries?” Max mocked. “Never thought Agent Danger did much other than blow up city buildings, go on car chases and—”
“And you can shut up. You know what I mean. Wait. You saw Agent Danger?”
Max smirked. “Of course. Me and the boys have seen all your movies.”
“Huh.” Tony nodded. “Cool.”
Max gave a grunt in return.
“For the record, the attention wasn’t what I liked. It was the anonymity.”
“Paps chasing you is anonymous?”
“No, the acting part is. I get to play whoever I want on screen. No pressure. No”—he flicked his gaze Parker’s way—“no demands. Anyway, that’s how it started. Now… it’s just the same fucked up shit I get everywhere.”
“Well, I think you’re good at it. Better than good.” He nodded solemnly. “What you do is hard, both sides of you, but you do it. Proud of you, Tones.”
Tony’s eyes widened. “Thanks.”
Yeah. The hero gig was tough. None of them had down time. For Tony and his siblings, it was their day jobs, and then nightly missions out to the city trying to save people from themselves. On top of all that, they now had the Syndicate to worry about. At least in the army, Max had time off after tour. Heading out into the bush or the beach for some R and R was the highlight of his year… until he and Gale got antsy and wanted back in on another mission. In the companionable silence that followed, Max couldn’t help looking in the direction of Sloan’s room, and Tony noticed.
“She’ll come around,” Tony said.
“What do you mean?”
But Tony just smiled cryptically from over his champagne flute as he tipped it for another gulp.
“Think I’ll take that drink now,” Max said.
* * *
Six o’clock,on the dot, Sloan’s door opened and a vision stepped out.
Her red dress clung to her curves from breasts to ankles. Shoulders glinted from some kind of jeweled body cream. Red lips he’d never realized were so full, pursed with irritation, or with nerves.
When she shifted the dark fall of her hair over a shoulder, exposing delicate decolletage, Max caught a whiff of fruity perfume and went hot. Couldn’t think. Just knew he was screwed because, despite the animosity between them, his body reacted with passion, hardening in all the wrong places. He blew out a slow breath through his teeth. He still wanted her. More than ever now that she was more than a pixilated picture on a video screen.
She was real.
“What?” she snapped. “What are you looking at?”
Tony gawped. “You look like a girl,” he murmured.
“No shit, Sherlock. Have you forgotten already?” She rolled her eyes.
“Um.” Tony shut his mouth. “Nothing.”
“I think what he’s trying to say is, you look beautiful, Sloan.” Parker returned from his room and strode over to kiss her suavely on the cheek. “Now, let’s get this show on the road. Max, Sloan, you have your earpieces in? Hidden microphones?”
Max nodded, still unable to speak, still unable to tear his eyes away from Sloan as she busied herself, searching inside her red clutch. She smelled mouthwatering. He already mentioned that. Shit.
All business, Parker looked to Max and Sloan. “When we get there, Tony and I will do our thing. You two find Barry. Activate your mic when you’re speaking with him.”
