Page 70 of Loverboy
Still.
“I just need four minutes to get dressed and then I’d better scoot off to work,” I tell him.
“I’m at your service,” he says, looking over his shoulder to give me a slightly dirty wink. But his smile is warm.
I’d better stay far, far away from that smile. It’s dangerous in so many ways.
* * *
“What’s his name?” I ask Gunnar as we walk along the still-darkened Soho street. “The guy on the sixteenth floor. And what did you want from his room?”
“We know him as Xian Smith,” Gunnar says. “The tech community knows him as someone who brokers the manufacture of electronic components in China. But Max and I have some theories about his real motives.”
“What kind of theories?” I press.
Gunnar chews on his lip. “It’s better if you don’t know too much about it. But Max is a foremost expert in cybersecurity. And network security is meaningless if your hardware is corrupted. We’ve spent a lot of time investigating hardware hacks this year.”
“Fine. So what was that thing Scout put in her bra?”
“Surveillance hardware. We’re trying to figure out who Smith is working with. What he does all day. What his real name might be. All that fun stuff.”
“So you hacked him.”
“Yup.”
“Even though you think hackers are horrible people.”
“Some of them,” Gunnar counters, nudging my hip. “Don’t take his side just yet. He’s also responsible for murder in cold blood, as well as a factory fire in China.”
“Is he the one who’s posting murder messages on my cafe WiFi? He didn’t look familiar.” I pull out my keys, because we’ve reached the front door to my building.
“It’s not him,” Gunnar says with a sigh. “But Max thinks it’s related. That’s really all I can say. Except for this.” Gunnar stops walking as we reach the front door of the pie shop. His gaze makes a quick scan of the empty street, and then he puts his hands on my shoulders. “I will keep you out of it, Posy. It’s my problem to solve. I kept you out of the loop because I thought it would be over soon. I wanted you to focus only on pretty pies and coffee drinks. That was a mistake, and I’m sorry. But I will keep all the assholes away from you.”
“Okay.” I look up into those pale green eyes and see intensity there.
“I’m sorry that any of this ever visited your shop. The murder posts began two weeks before I showed up, though. I didn’t walk this through your door, I promise.”
“Okay,” I croak. “Thank you.”
Then I’m stunned when he pulls me into a quick, tight hug. “You can put me to work in your kitchen.”
“What? I thought you were just walking me home.”
“Well, I’m up now. I don’t know crap about making pies, so pick something easy.”
“Can you peel apples?” I unlock the metal grate and push the button to raise it up.
“I can try.”
“Good enough. I’ll take the free labor. Fire up Lola, will you?”
“Yes, boss.” He gives me another cheesy wink.
“Hey, Gunnar?” I close the door behind us and check that it’s still locked.
“Yeah?” He’s already behind the counter, turning on the espresso machine.
“Today you should make another sign for my window—Barista Wanted. You’re going to catch this guy, right? And then disappear?”
