principal, Luce. You taught me that a long time ago.”
She just sighed again.
“So, give me the goods, boss lady. It’s April. Tell me I’m headed for Paris.”
There was another one of those calculated pauses and then: “I’d like you to stay there a little longer, Johnny.”
He straightened in the seat, his gut tightening a little bit. “Sure. And…that would be…to…”
“Keep an eye on Sage.”
“As her bodyguard?”
“Not officially.”
A moving truck slowed and stopped in front of Sage’s building and he got up without thinking, heading to the rail for an angle where he could still see the front door.
“I want you to stay in your cover and watch her for a little longer.”
The truck turned and he had a clear shot of the door again. He gripped the cold metal rail with his free hand. “Under this cover, she thinks I’m a rescuer for the thrill site. Any ideas how I can arrange to watch her?”
“Figure out a way to stay around her.”
“Uh, Luce, I don’t know how amenable she’s going to be to spending time with a male prostitute.” Not to mention what her real boyfriend, the one with the money to pay for protection, might think of Johnny’s diversionary tactics, or Sage’s interrogation techniques.
“Then you’ll have to be creative. And persuasive. And charming. Do whatever is necessary to keep her under your watch until she gives up this mission she’s on.”
The heavy glass and wood door of Sage’s building swung open as a woman exited. She wore a long black sweater, a bright pink scarf, black pants, and black boots. Her honey-blond hair cascaded over her shoulders, and he remembered exactly the way it felt, the way it smelled like she washed it in mango juice.
“Creative, charming, and persuasive I can do, Luce,” he said, surprised by the sudden kick of anticipation for his assignment.
She turned the corner onto Charles, heading away from the balcony where he stood. He scoped the entire scene in one sweep, counting pedestrians, taking note of a messenger on a bicycle and a delivery van pulling into a corner parking spot the moment it was vacated by a car.
“What exactly am I watching for?”
“Trouble. I want her completely safe. Do what you have to do.”
He zeroed in on the dark van, specifically on the way the back bumper hung a few inches on the left side. He’d seen that before. Last night.
A man in a navy blue baseball cap and a shapeless coat emerged from the other side of the van. Had he gotten out or was he already on the street and Johnny had missed him?
“I’m on it, Luce.” He snapped the phone shut and studied his target, now twenty feet behind Sage. The driver was still in the van.
Two seconds later, Johnny was tearing down the stairs to the street, feeling the comfortable weight of the weapon and hip holster he’d picked up when he’d returned to his Back Bay hotel to shower and change.
By the time he threw open the door and stepped onto the cobblestone sidewalk, he couldn’t see Sage anymore. The guy in the navy cap was still visible, but the sunlight hit the dark windows of the van, making it hard to tell if the driver was still there.
Could she possibly have signed up for another kidnapping already? No. Not in four hours. Not possible.
As he passed the van, he shouldered himself deeper into his bomber jacket, keeping his face in the collar.
The engine was running and someone definitely sat in the driver’s seat. Light glinted enough for him to make out the shape of a head, leaned forward, jaw moving. Fifty yards ahead of him, the blue baseball cap opened up a cell phone just as a splash of bright pink and black crossed the street.
When the baseball cap suddenly changed course and crossed the street, and the van pulled into the intersection headed in the same direction, he had no doubt they were in communication.
He’d worry about being creative, persuasive, and charming later. Right now he had a principal to protect, whether or
She just sighed again.
“So, give me the goods, boss lady. It’s April. Tell me I’m headed for Paris.”
There was another one of those calculated pauses and then: “I’d like you to stay there a little longer, Johnny.”
He straightened in the seat, his gut tightening a little bit. “Sure. And…that would be…to…”
“Keep an eye on Sage.”
“As her bodyguard?”
“Not officially.”
A moving truck slowed and stopped in front of Sage’s building and he got up without thinking, heading to the rail for an angle where he could still see the front door.
“I want you to stay in your cover and watch her for a little longer.”
The truck turned and he had a clear shot of the door again. He gripped the cold metal rail with his free hand. “Under this cover, she thinks I’m a rescuer for the thrill site. Any ideas how I can arrange to watch her?”
“Figure out a way to stay around her.”
“Uh, Luce, I don’t know how amenable she’s going to be to spending time with a male prostitute.” Not to mention what her real boyfriend, the one with the money to pay for protection, might think of Johnny’s diversionary tactics, or Sage’s interrogation techniques.
“Then you’ll have to be creative. And persuasive. And charming. Do whatever is necessary to keep her under your watch until she gives up this mission she’s on.”
The heavy glass and wood door of Sage’s building swung open as a woman exited. She wore a long black sweater, a bright pink scarf, black pants, and black boots. Her honey-blond hair cascaded over her shoulders, and he remembered exactly the way it felt, the way it smelled like she washed it in mango juice.
“Creative, charming, and persuasive I can do, Luce,” he said, surprised by the sudden kick of anticipation for his assignment.
She turned the corner onto Charles, heading away from the balcony where he stood. He scoped the entire scene in one sweep, counting pedestrians, taking note of a messenger on a bicycle and a delivery van pulling into a corner parking spot the moment it was vacated by a car.
“What exactly am I watching for?”
“Trouble. I want her completely safe. Do what you have to do.”
He zeroed in on the dark van, specifically on the way the back bumper hung a few inches on the left side. He’d seen that before. Last night.
A man in a navy blue baseball cap and a shapeless coat emerged from the other side of the van. Had he gotten out or was he already on the street and Johnny had missed him?
“I’m on it, Luce.” He snapped the phone shut and studied his target, now twenty feet behind Sage. The driver was still in the van.
Two seconds later, Johnny was tearing down the stairs to the street, feeling the comfortable weight of the weapon and hip holster he’d picked up when he’d returned to his Back Bay hotel to shower and change.
By the time he threw open the door and stepped onto the cobblestone sidewalk, he couldn’t see Sage anymore. The guy in the navy cap was still visible, but the sunlight hit the dark windows of the van, making it hard to tell if the driver was still there.
Could she possibly have signed up for another kidnapping already? No. Not in four hours. Not possible.
As he passed the van, he shouldered himself deeper into his bomber jacket, keeping his face in the collar.
The engine was running and someone definitely sat in the driver’s seat. Light glinted enough for him to make out the shape of a head, leaned forward, jaw moving. Fifty yards ahead of him, the blue baseball cap opened up a cell phone just as a splash of bright pink and black crossed the street.
When the baseball cap suddenly changed course and crossed the street, and the van pulled into the intersection headed in the same direction, he had no doubt they were in communication.
He’d worry about being creative, persuasive, and charming later. Right now he had a principal to protect, whether or
Similar Books
