Page 58 of In Her Sights
“No, it’s not.”
“Yes, it is.” He pointed at her bed. “That’s where I sleep.”
“Slept. Once. That doesn’t give you room rights.”
“I have an open invitation to stay here whenever I want to. Therefore, I have a stake in it. Like a time-share.”
Although she opened her mouth to argue, all that came out was a frustrated sound. Muttering to herself, she gathered the items she needed, tucking them in various easy-to-reach pockets. “You’re the most aggravating person I’ve ever met.”
“Thank you.”
Her eyes rolled yet again. She was going to have permanently strained eye muscles if she continued to hang around John. Patting her pockets, she went over a mental list of tools and weapons, making sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. “Are you hungry? We need to eat before tonight’s…thing.” She hated her hesitation, her lack of certainty, but the whole mission was a huge question mark. They didn’t know what they’d be walking into…if anything. The two of them could be heading to completely wrong locations. She didn’t like this, functioning without a plan. It made her itchy in a bad way.
“We can grab sandwiches at my house,” he said.
“Sounds good to me.” After one final glance around her room—or their room, according to John—and one last pat of her pockets, she was ready. “Let’s go.”
“You sure you have everything?” he asked, and she started another mental checklist, her paranoia kicking in at his suggestion. His dimples were showing, though, and that tipped her off to the tease. “What about a bazooka? Maybe a few anti-aircraft missiles?”
“Let’s go,” she growled, and his earnest expression cracked as he laughed. “You’re one to talk! You have more things in your pockets than I do—and more pockets.” He waved her ahead of him, and she headed for the stairs. “Besides, I don’t use guns of any kind.” Reconsidering that statement, she raised her arms in the air, elbows bent, and made her not-that-impressive biceps pop. “Except for these babies.”
He gave a burst of laughter behind her. “Why not? Seems like that’d be a good equalizer when you’re tiny and your skip is huge and armed and has some buddies.”
Since he’d sounded honestly curious, she decided to answer him seriously, rather than give him the brush-off she typically offered people who asked that question. “Because if I bring a gun to a knife fight, it suddenly turns into a gunfight. You’re right that I’m not a monster-truck-sized person like you”—she ignored his amused choke—“so I use that, take people by surprise, have a plan. If all goes well, there won’t be time for them to draw their gun, and everyone goes home safe that night. Well”—she had to pause—“the skip doesn’t go home, but they’re safe, at least.”
“Huh.” John didn’t sound convinced, although he did seem to be chewing over what she’d just said. “Do you mind if I’m armed?”
She checked in with herself, probing at the idea like it was a potential bruise. There was no lingering ache, though, no tenderness at the thought of him carrying a gun. “That’s fine. I’d rather you do what you need to make yourself safe. We’re both still learning each other’s methods. For example, you go blasting in somewhere without a plan, and I’m more thoughtful and smart and successful.”
His loud boom of laughter made her smile, but she kept her face forward so he couldn’t see how he affected her. As they crossed the living room toward the door, Warrant came running over, straight to John. Molly frowned as she watched her turncoat dog cuddle up to the guy he barely knew. John stroked Warrant’s head and massaged his ears as Molly watched, not sure if she was jealous of the man or the dog.
“Seriously, you need to confess. How’d you turn Warrant into your canine love slave?” she asked.
John looked smug as he dropped a kiss onto the top of the dog’s furry head and then straightened. “I’ll never tell. That’s between me and Warrant.” He winked at the dog, and it was sweeter and less weird than it really should’ve been.
“Bye, Warrant.” Feeling miffed, she bent and ruffled the dog’s ears. Releasing a happy huff of air at the attention, he flipped over onto his back. His ecstatic reaction made her feel a little better, and she gave his upturned belly a few final scratches before straightening. Setting the alarm, she headed out the door.
The neighborhood was quiet, warm sunlight streaming through the tree branches and mottling the yards. Molly still had the uncomfortable feeling of being watched, however, no matter how idyllic it seemed. There could be that enemy army waiting just inside the cover of the national forest, biding their time until she looked away to charge.
“What is it?” John must’ve sensed her tension, since his voice lowered and his head turned on a swivel, trying to find the threat.
“My wild imagination,” she said wryly, although she didn’t lower her guard, just in case. “All the burglars and lurking cars have made me jumpy.”
“Understandable,” he said as he opened the passenger door for her. “A lot has happened.”
As she climbed in, she almost laughed at his understatement. “Yeah. It’s been crazy.” She waited for him to close her door and circle the car before she asked, “Why are you sticking around?”
“Warrant,” he said, looking completely serious. “He’d pine for me.”
She actually fell for it, staring at him wide-eyed for a long moment before the joke clicked in her head and she smacked him on the arm. It was hard to refrain from shaking out the sting in her fingers. The man must’ve been made of iron.
“You’re an idiot,” she said, although she couldn’t bring herself to put any real heat into it. She knew that she was the idiot. If John Carmondy did rediscover his sense of self-preservation and bailed on them, her dog wouldn’t be the only one pining. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she knew that she’d miss him, too.
Chapter 18
As the car started to roll forward, Molly felt her eyes drift back toward the forest. The ever-present wind rustled the tree branches, creating movement and shadows that could easily hide any number of villains—burglars and treasure hunters and criminals who wouldn’t hesitate to kill every member of Molly’s family in order to get their hands on that necklace. All sorts of ruthless thieves could be sneaking through the woods at this very moment.
