Page 40 of Code Name: Reaper
I walked toward them. “Ready to leave?” Was it my imagination, or did both men appear uncomfortable about my arrival?
While Reaper offeredto let me sit upfront for the drive to Gatwick, I took the rear passenger seat instead, noting that neither man seemed to have recovered from whatever awkward exchange had occurred prior to me joining them.
Was I being paranoid, thinking it had something to do with me? The longer the silence stretched on, the more I decided it must.
We’d been on the plane for ten minutes when I couldn’t stand the lack of conversation between us any longer. He’d barely said five words since we left the cottage.
“About your parents,” I began, looking at him from across the aisle.
“What about them?”
“I overheard you say you didn’t want to involve them after Blackjack suggested your father might have insights that would prove helpful.”
While he still didn’t look at me, his eyes flared. “It would be premature, not to mention an unnecessary security risk.”
I raised a brow, which he must’ve noticed.
“This investigation involves networks that have killed people to protect their secrets. I won’t put my parents in that kind of danger.”
The explanation was logical. What I should have expected. So why did it feel like he was leaving something out?
Thinking the conversation was at an end, I was stunned when he spoke again.
“What did you think it was?”
“I didn’t know, which is why I asked.”
He surprised me again by standing and crossing the aisle to sit next to me. “You obviously thoughtsomething.”
“Don’t make more of this than it is.” When I pulled my tablet from my bag, he snatched it away from me. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”
He waved it at me. “You’re not disappearing behind this thing until you answer me.”
A thousand responses raced through my mind, but honestly, I wasn’t in the mood for another battle. “I thought maybe you didn’t want them to meet me.”
He raised his chin. “Why would you think that?”
I unfastened my seat belt to move to another row, but he stopped me with his hand on my arm.
“Don’t hide. Answer me.”
I put my face in my hands, embarrassed when tears threatened. “It’s nothing. Less than nothing, in fact.”
“Do you want to know the truth?”
I lowered my hands and turned to face him. “That would be refreshing.”
He leaned closer, pressing his arm against mine. “My mom will take one look at us and see everything we refuse to.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not the only one who dreams, you know?”
I felt my cheeks heat, and my mouth went dry. God, why hadn’t I brought a bottle of water with me?
“You say my name in your sleep.”
I gasped. “What?”
