Chapter 6 #3
“Are you trying to assess whether I’m a threat? Because I have a pretty solid alibi for the time of the shooting.”
“Just curious. Maybe I’m on the fence as to who to vote for.
I like the VP Leslie Renaldo on the other ticket.
Not so sure about the guy running, though.
Kind of douche-y.” Calloway lifted his shoulders in a half shrug.
“But your dad’s pretty moderate. It’s hard to figure out what side he’s truly on. ”
“Let’s hope he’s on the people’s side.”
Was Knox now defending his dad? She wasn’t sure if she’d ever witnessed that before. What changed?
He dropped his focus back to the threats and Calloway followed suit.
“Man,” Calloway said with a shake of his head a few minutes later. “So many of these threats are—”
“Racist?” Knox’s lips rolled inward, and his face tightened. His dimples exposed and not from a smile. A slight twitch to his jaw.
“What was it like growing up? A Black dad and white mom?” Calloway asked.
She shot Calloway a look out of the corner of her eye.
He didn’t give Knox a chance to answer. “My mom’s family is Japanese, and my dad’s about as Irish as they come. It wasn’t always easy growing up. Kids would—”
“Look at you differently?” Knox found his eyes.
Calloway nodded and flattened his forearms to the table and let go of the papers he’d been holding.
“And did you hate those standardized tests as much as I did growing up—when you had to choose one of those boxes? It felt like I had to pick a side. If I chose white, was I offending my mom? Choose Asian, and how would my dad feel?”
“They’ve been adding an ‘other’ box to some forms,” Knox said. “I don’t know what the hell that’s supposed to mean, though.”
“Right?” Calloway shoved back in his seat.
And . . . were Knox and Calloway getting along? Knox visibly relaxed, and he and Calloway continued their conversation, making her wonder if she’d stepped into a parallel universe.
But when he glanced her way a few seconds later, he tensed up again. What was that about?
“I, uh, need some air, if you don’t mind.” Knox stood and left the room without another word.
“Shit, did I piss him off?” Calloway looked genuinely concerned. “I was actually trying to be nice even though he blew my chances with you this year.”
“He didn’t . . .” Okay, so maybe he did, but Knox had been right. Dating a coworker was a horrible idea. “He’s fine, but I’ll be right back.”
Knox was standing in the hall, facing the elevator when she found him. “I’m okay, really,” he said, spotting her in the reflection of the steel doors. “It’s been a crazy day, but I’m solid.”
“I know, but since I’m here, maybe talk to me?” She reached for his bicep, not caring who saw her.
He glanced over his shoulder. “I still need that, uh, air, I was talking about.”
She retracted her hand when the doors parted, and they stepped inside. “Why don’t you go back to the hotel and be with your family?”
“I can’t relax with what happened today.” He propped a palm on the interior elevator wall off to his right. “And with you here, I’m a little wired. And your ex is in the room, and I was suddenly getting along with him, which is crazy.”
Yeah, he wasn’t acting normal, that was for sure. But she wasn’t her typical self, either.
“He’s not my ex. We went on a few dates. He didn’t make it past second base.” Because of you.
“I don’t know what that means, and I don’t want to know.”
“You’re handling today way better than most.” She needed to get this conversation going in the right direction. “Not only were your parents shot at, but you’ve had to come back to a life you did your best to leave behind.”
“And was I a dick to do that?” A slight grunt touched her ears. “Was I an ass to walk away from them for so long?” His arm fell hard to his side. “The way my mom and dad have been looking at me. And—”
“They’re happy to see you, but you don’t owe them anything. You made your choice. And they made theirs when they chose not to support you.”
She wasn’t opposed to his change of heart, but it was surprising.
The last time he forced her to go to dinner with his parents, he’d said he’d rather have her hit him in the face with a two-by-four and swim with the sharks after.
And the guy was terrified of sharks, even the ones in the aquarium in Atlanta.
“I’m not making things any easier for you by being here,” she spoke her thoughts in case he needed to hear them, too. She reached out and fixed the collar of his button-down shirt. “But you’re my hero, you know that?”
He brought his hand beneath her chin, and he held her eyes. The overhead lights bounced off his pupils, making them gleam.
“You know how they say, Be the change you want the world to see, or something along those lines?” she asked.
“That’s how you make me feel. You inspire me.
Make me strive to be better.” She ignored the ding of the elevator doors opening.
“I didn’t just join the agency because my mom had wanted to be an agent, I joined because I wanted to do something with my life—watching you go for it made me believe I could do it, too. ”
“I’m one of the reasons why you chose this dangerous job?” His voice was low. Dark. Haunted. Guilt clung to every syllable of every word.
“Why is your focus always on protecting me?”
He stepped forward, and her back hit the panel of buttons at his movement, and the doors closed. His palm went to the wall over her shoulder, and his eyes jumped to her face, a fierce intensity there.
“Because you’re the kind of person a man risks everything for.” He brushed his thumb over her bottom lip, tugging it down. His eyes moved to her lips.
Kiss me. It’d be crazy. Totally insane. But also perfect.
“Sorry,” he whispered, a knife to the heart. His brows slanted as he stepped away as if realizing he had her in a caged position.
“I, uh, need that air. Maybe alone, too.”
Her throat squeezed as emotion trekked up. “Yeah, okay.” She turned and pressed the open button so the doors would part again.
“Are you sure you want me to leave?”
“I think that’d be best.”