Chapter 20
Amelia jerks back and I immediately miss her closeness.
I never should have danced with her. But when I saw her on the dancefloor, eyes darting around looking for me, it was like my body took control and forced my brain out the back door. All that mattered was wrapping her up in my arms, feeling her smooth skin under my palm, and stretching my hands around her waist. And now that I’ve had the luxury of holding her close, I don’t want to pull away. I should have left when I still had some self-control.
“What are you talking about?” Amelia splutters.
I quirk a brow. “I’ve been watching you case the place for thirty minutes. Either you were looking for someone or you don’t know how to have a good time.”
“Psh,” she scoffs. “I know how to have a good time.”
“Who were you looking for if not me?”
She hesitates a moment too long.
I scrub a hand down my face. “Dang it, Amelia. Do you even know how dangerous your actions are?”
“Dangerous?” She looks up at me, her eyes widening with excitement. “Are you on the job?”
I wasn’t. But what if I was?
I finally came out for that drink with Ward, and we were wrapping up when I spotted Amelia not-so-subtly searching the crowds. I decided to wait around and see what happened.
She had no idea what she could have been walking into tonight. What if she got hurt?
“How did you know where I was?” I have a theory, but I’d like to hear her admit it. The woman only had my phone for a minute while I was distracted with the dogs because I didn’t know she’d put a dog treat in my pocket. She’s a menace. A beautiful menace, but a menace nonetheless.
She screws up her face. “I never said I was following you, Agent Grumpy-Pants.”
“You never denied it,” I counter.
She huffs, twisting a piece of hair back into her bun. “To be fair, I thought I could get away with this at least one more time before you caught me. It’s almost like you’re an FBI agent or something.”
Her confidence grates on my last nerve. I grab her arm and drag her off the dance floor. Gently. Mostly gently.
The back hall is blessedly empty and I pull her in behind me. There’s a small alcove and I push her into it, stepping in front of her to block her exit.
She focuses her big doe eyes on me. “Why, Agent Harris, I didn’t know I was going to have this much fun tonight.”
“Stop,” I growl, but my gaze drops to her lips involuntarily. We’re chest to chest and there’s an electric energy between us, bouncing from my skin to hers and back, drawing us closer with each breath. I want to force her away, but I also want to kiss that spitfire mouth of hers.
I place a step between us so I can think. “Drop the act, Amelia. I know you’re trying to find out more about this case, but it’s dangerous.”
“So you’ve said.” She shrugs, completely unfazed.
I pull out my phone and swipe over to the location-sharing app. I can’t believe I didn’t look at this sooner. I don’t let anyone track my location. And there’s a good reason for it. What if she had followed me last night when we were in the middle of taking down a trafficking ring? I can just picture Amelia waltzing in with her bubbly personality and creating an international incident worthy of worldwide press coverage.
I click on her number and block her from seeing my location. Then delete the app for good measure.
“Ouch,” she mutters. “Tell me how you really feel.”
I slide my phone back into my pocket. “Amelia, this is serious.”
She smiles again, for real this time. “But I could be the Shawn to your Juliet.” She’s not delusional; I think all she wants is to be a part of something exciting. But I can’t allow that. “You need me on this case. I can help. I have…” She sucks in her cheeks, looking around.
“You have what? Why would I need you?” Did Liam tell her something the other night? I knew she kept something from me.
She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, then opens them again. “Because I’m a psychic.”
I clench my jaw. This night keeps getting better and better. “Really? Prove it.” I step closer. “What am I thinking right now?” I try to make the message easy for her, writing “leave and don’t ever come back” right across my furrowed brows and pursed lips.
Her gaze dances between my eyes and she reaches up, skating her fingers over my shoulders and neck. It’s hard to stand still, to continue to project my false hatred for her.
“You’re thinking…” A finger runs over my bottom lip. “That you want to kiss me.”
“Wrong.”
She pinches my neck lightly. “Has anyone ever accused you of being too blunt, Agent Heartless?”
“This is real life, Amelia. Not a show.”
“Real life sucks,” she mutters. I’m inclined to agree. “At least tell me something. Is Chad here? Should I go flirt with him?”
The idea of her flirting with Liam again causes me to clench my jaw until it aches. He’s a liar and she refuses to believe it. He’s not here to help at a school for special needs; we proved that the other night after he left Amelia. Agents followed him to his hotel but that was as far as he made it.
“His name is Liam Hawthorne and he’s a criminal,” I say harsher than I should have.
Her eyes light up and I realize I gave this woman more information than I should have.
“He’s not here,” I say quickly. “He never was. I was out with a friend.”
Her forehead creases and she studies me.
“Then why did you let me wander around for half an hour?”
My annoyance fades and I chuckle, enjoying the different roads her mind must have gone down before settling on that question.
“I wanted to see how long it would take you to realize someone was following you. And you were completely oblivious.” Another reason I can’t have her involved in any of this. She’s too sweet and naive. It was the highlight of my night trailing her. She was focused and determined. Except for when a drunk woman stumbled right in front of her. Amelia helped her to a chair and got her water, while the woman’s friends continued to dance.
“I was not!” She stands to her full, unimpressive height, indignation rolling off her and dying, because she’s not really mad.
“At one point I walked by you with a tray of empty drinks,” I say.
“You’re lying.” She frowns, but it dissolves into a smile, the most addicting of kinds. “Okay. So I’m a little oblivious sometimes. Only because I was on a mission,” she says defensively.
“And what was that mission?” I taunt, wanting her to…I don’t know what I want her to say. We both know there’s something here, but I can’t act on it.
No, I want her to admit she was doing something stupid by following an FBI agent into what could have been a setup.
“To find the most handsome man in the building,” Amelia says, looking up at me while biting her bottom lip.
I about come undone with the action. That’s an invitation if I’ve ever heard one and my body is already reacting. My hand reaching for her waist, my lips—
Nope. I jerk back, placing more than two feet of space between us.
I immediately regret it when I catch her grimace in the dim hallway.
Her eyes narrow ever so slightly. “Oh, don’t flatter yourself, Special Agent. I never said I was done looking.”
She spins on her heel and leaves me alone in the dark hallway.