“I’ve never met a woman who said she was fine when she really meant the opposite.” His dark eyes took her in and she didn’t like the way he seemed to see right through her.
She broke eye contact and knocked his hand away. “Be serious, Gabriel. How much trouble am I in?”
He leaned against the wall and pinched the bridge of his nose like he was trying to ward off a headache. “As far as I can tell? A helluva lot.”
She’d give him points for honesty.
“Right now, we need to get you to a safehouse and then we can come up with a plan for how to deal with the situation,” he said.
Exhaustion was wearing her patience thin and she wanted a safe place to take a hot bath and recharge. She couldn’t begin to process what was happening let alone the impact this would all have on her day-to-day life. Although, a piece of her could comprehend the reality that nothing would ever be the same for her again.
“I’m ready to go when you are.” The fight had drained from her.
Gabriel alerted someone to the fact they were ready over his cell. She had no idea who and didn’t care at this point. Three men and a woman came toward them down the hall. The woman was roughly Kinsley’s height and build.
“My name is Alicia and I’ll be your decoy.” Alicia was around Kinsley’s height and weight and had similar-colored hair. The thought of being replaced so easily struck Kinsley as odd. But then the last couple of hours had introduced her into a world that she probably knew existed on some level but she’d only seen it in the movies. Action films weren’t even her cup of tea, so she really felt out of place.
“I’m Kinsley.” She offered a handshake and was surprised at the strength in Alicia’s grip. Although, she shouldn’t be. The woman might be similarly built to Kinsley, but Alicia had muscle definition. A stab of jealousy struck at thinking Alicia worked with Gabriel. Or maybe it wasn’t Alicia specifically. Maybe it was just beautiful women who clearly made a commitment to the gym.
Kinsley’s normal outfit might consist of yoga pants but she rarely made time to work out.
“Can I borrow your blazer?” Alicia asked.
“Um, sure.” It took a second for the reason to dawn on Kinsley as she shrugged out of her jacket. She held it in her hand. “Hold on. I’m not sure I want to give this to you. I mean, if someone’s out there they might think you’re me.”
Alicia smiled. She motioned toward one of her colleagues who handed over a thin vest and it dawned on Kinsley that had been the plan all along.
“I’ll be safe wearing this. It’s made of a special bulletproof material.” Alicia’s warm smile made Kinsley feel guilty for resenting the woman a few seconds ago. Kinsley really was out of her league in every sense of the word and seeing Gabriel again toyed with her emotions. “There’s one for you as well.”
A second one was produced. Kinsley handed over her navy blazer in exchange for the vest. It was surprisingly light and nothing like what she’d seen on the TV shows featuring police officers. Then again, this was most likely some kind of top-secret material worn only by special agents and spies…spies?
“What size shoe do you wear?” Alicia asked.
“Seven. Why?”
“Mind if we trade shoes?” When Kinsley really thought about it hers were pretty obvious. Besides, it would be hard to run in them. Alicia’s were flats.
Kinsley took hers off, with some relief, and handed them over. The shoes she slipped on her feet were at least a size too big, but she could make them work. Alicia struggled with the heels but crammed her feet into them anyway.
“No one will notice from far away as long as I can walk straight.” Alicia demonstrated and Kinsley had to admit the woman pulled it off.
She must’ve looked at her strangely because Alicia added, “I go undercover all the time and I’ve been in much worse. These aren’t bad.” She took a few more steps as though to prove it.
It was odd seeing so many people comfortable with guns. Weapons were tucked into shoulder holsters. Kinsley had grown up in the Dallas area and was familiar with a shotgun, at least enough to aim toward a possible intruder but she’d never acquired a comfort with it.
When she had a minute to collect her thoughts, she had a lot of questions for Gabriel. An annoying little voice picked this time to remind her that she had no right to ask him anything. Her initial shock at him showing up out of seemingly nowhere was fading and the reality that she was going to spend a few uncomfortable days with him settled in.
It would only take days to sort this out. Right? Kinsley couldn’t even imagine this taking longer than that. She had a home in Maine, a place to get back to.
Damn the voice reminding her that she’d be an easy target alone in her home.
Would she ever feel safe again?
Gabriel excelled at being all-business. He kept his head down and took his work seriously. It had made him the best at what he did.
He’d sacrificed having a life outside of work in order to maintain laser focus and keep him and his buddies alive during critical missions. He was fine with the choices he’d made. So why was seeing Kinsley again throwing him off kilter?
The safe house was the pool house of the guy who invented Lasik surgery. The University Park setting was perfect. The place was only a couple of streets away from a university. The SUV carrying Alicia had driven to the east exit. Both vehicles left at the same time and went in opposite directions.
Once inside the SUV, Gabriel instructed Kinsley to keep a low profile and she shot him a look that said
