2
Roscoe
This British hottie wasn’t part of the plan, but I couldn’t resist.
His sass was my favorite thing about him, though other parts were vying for the top spot.
Long blond hair and a heart-shaped face. A slim build. Was he a runner? He could run all over me—
“You’re staring, mate.“
He barely looked up as he typed frantically into his phone.
“You call it staring, I call it”—I waited until he glanced up, and then I let my eyes roam over his body—“appreciating.”
Was that a squeak? Had no one ever told him how gorgeous he was?
A familiar laugh grabbed my attention. Show time. At the counter, Candace Carter playfully patted the arm of her husband, Representative Andrew Carter. Per usual, they were surrounded by fans.
Lisben had salivated over this cruise. Kill two birds with one stone. Earn the representative’s trust, and get the information I needed from my contact so we could take down Carter and anyone else involved.
I was not here to get stupid over a hot guy.
Use your head for more than just keeping your ears apart.
Thoughts of my meemaw kept me grounded. I needed to finish this.
The cutie had gone still as the representative and his young wife dispatched their fans and headed toward us. This wasn’t my first rodeo, so why were my nerves pinging like a damn pinball machine? But I knew why. The urge to throw the cutie over my shoulder like a fucking caveman and move him out of this man’s reach was overwhelming. And ridiculous.
It wasn’t a secret that I was gay, which was intentional. Representative Carter had run on a Christian values platform and was barely tolerant—hell, his own son refused to speak to him. His ties to the cult leader recruiting queer students from the SMSU campus in Springfield last year and the court case still pending were of particular interest to my employer.
My actual employer.
“Mr. Thomas,“
Representative Carter greeted me in his booming voice, barely glancing at the cutie. Some of my tension eased. Any irritation that he’d dismissed the man so easily was secondary and unwanted. He flashed his politician’s smile. “Good to see you again.”
I’d met Representative Carter a few months ago through my cover as a recruiter for EliteHire. He was interested in our custom services and said he would be in touch. And here we were.
“Representative.“
I kept my body relaxed and my expression warm, thankful for the years of training that prepared me for moments like this. That kept the disgust off my face. “Good to see you and your beautiful wife.”
“Aren’t you sweet?“
Candy beamed at me.
Fans were enamored with the young influencer. She had more followers than her husband, but he attracted a strange mix of religious zealots and people calling him Daddy.
“I’ve heard good things about EliteHire. I hope we get a chance to chat.“
His gaze shifted to my tablemate, and he raised a brow, waiting.
Shit. I still didn’t know the guy’s name.
The cutie jumped to his feet and thrust out his hand. “Stewart…eh…Smith. Good to meet you, sir. And Candy. I’m a big fan.“
His smile looked genuine.
Seriously? I hadn’t gotten anything close to a smile from him.
I couldn’t even enjoy getting the cutie’s name because this guy was going to get himself killed. Why was he so interested in the representative and his wife?
Reminding myself he wasn’t Jack didn’t stop the memories. The anguished cries of Jack’s wife. His son’s tears.
I gripped my shoulder, trying to slow my thundering heart.
A hand on mine brought the coffee bar back into focus. The quick cadence of Stewart’s voice as he chatted with Candy. His scent of cherries and vanilla.
Leaning back in his chair, Stewart raised his brows. “Feeling better?”
While I appreciated his concern, we didn’t know each other. And acting like we did would only put him in danger. I cleared my throat. “Stewart…”
He waved his hand, dismissing the warning in my tone. “Candy and I were chatting about electricians.“
He darted a glance at Carter. “They’re hard to come by—”
Growling, I grabbed his arm, ignoring the firm muscle beneath my touch. And how much my body liked it. “Stewart—”
“Yes, sweetheart?“
he asked, innocently. He turned to Candy and lowered his voice. “He’s been so stressed—”
This growl was louder. They all stared at me as if I’d started singing Broadway tunes. This wasn’t me. And I hated that this lent credence to whatever the fuck Stewart was doing.
I didn’t need to worry about Carter hurting him. I was going to kill this man myself.
“We’ll be right back,“
I said as smoothly as I could through gritted teeth, still clutching Stewart’s arm.
Carter and his wife shared a look as I guided Stewart to a more secluded area. “What the fuck are you doing?”
He rolled his eyes. “You started it, mate.”
“That wasn’t—“
I rubbed my left shoulder. Breathe. Relax. “I was flirting.”
“This is me flirting back.”
“That’s not— This is dangerous—“
I stopped, but it was too late.
His eyes shone with…something I couldn’t quite place. “Dangerous? Do you know something, I don’t?“
He placed his hand on my chest, right over my pounding heart. “They’re watching us right now, aren’t they?”
I growled low in my throat. “So this is payback?”
“This, mate? This is fun. Watching you squirm…“
He bit his lip, and I followed the motion. And fuck. All I wanted to do was kiss him.
A squeal of excitement drew his gaze away, and for a moment, I could breathe.
A crowd had again surrounded the couple, this time with their phones out to capture the moment. Lisben would chew my ass out if my picture somehow ended up on social media.
I pulled Stewart’s hand off my chest. And then, unable to help myself, I brought his hand to my lips and brushed a light kiss on his knuckles. He gasped, and I wanted to chase the sound. Swallow it down while crushing our mouths together. His ocean-blue eyes widened, and I leaned closer to get another hit of his cherry-and-vanilla scent. Another laugh reminded me of our surroundings. And the reason I was doing this. “Goodbye, Stewart.”
Flirting with Stewart had been fun. I’d felt more alive—real—than I had in a long time. But my hopes for a quick taste of him were dashed the moment he showed interest in Representative Carter and his new wife. I wasn’t throwing away three years undercover on a hookup.
My sole focus was finding the people responsible for my partner’s death and destroying them.