“You know someone like that?” CJ asked. “Maximus didn’t tell me we had anyone local who could help. Isn’t that why we’re running around like two obsessed marathoners?”
Julius pointed at CJ, his annoying sly smile returning. “You found an informant already.”
“I did?” CJ blinked.
“You talked to a woman,” Julius said. “I’ve listened to people, not talked to anyone. I don’t think I’ve said a thing to somebody other than you or the motel clerk since arriving.”
“What can I say?” CJ shrugged. “I’m more personable.”
“Pump that woman.”
CJ blinked. “W-what?”
He couldn’t help but imagine a moaning Kendra lying naked underneath him as he slid in and out of her. That couldn’t possibly be what Julius was suggesting, but rejecting the idea out of hand might be bad. For the mission, of course.
“We need information, and if she’s training so much, she probably knows what to expect,” Julius said. “Chat her up and see what she knows. If she doesn’t, then she knows someone who will.”
“I’m not sure she likes me.” CJ shrugged, realizing that Julius wasn’t talking about seducing Kendra. “She invited me to come watch the race, but also seemed annoyed with me at the end.”
Julius scoffed. “Who cares? Just appeal to her ego about the race. We don’t need her to like you. We just need her to tell you about the race.”
“There’s one small problem with that.”
“What now?” Julius sounded annoyed.
“I know her name, but I don’t have her number or know anything else about her, and I know she’s not from the city. How are we supposed to track down one woman among millions visiting this city?”
Julius shook his head and chuckled. “You’re thinking about this the wrong way. You don’t have to track her down among everyone in New York.”
“But if we wait until the race, it’ll be too late. We won’t know what to look for.”
“Then find her before then. It’s not like you have to search every house in every borough.” Julius gestured toward the door. “She’s training for the race and hit the park for the same reason we did.”
CJ stood up. “Because it’s close to the Big Apple Sportsplex, which means she’s probably staying close.”
“Exactly.” Julius grinned. “I’ll leave you to find and exploit our new informant. I’m going to check on some local public records and see if I can turn anything up. Consider this a little field training exercise from my side of things.”
“And what if we don’t find anything?” CJ asked.
“Then maybe there was nothing to find. For all we know, Maximus will pull us back tomorrow to go reinforce another team. Until then we do our job.”
“Sounds easy enough.” CJ let out a nervous chuckle.
Easy? He had to go track down a hot woman who was already distracting him after a couple of minutes conversation. On top of that, she left annoyed. He would much rather just kick in a door and shoot a mercenary.
Chapter Six
Graham threaded his fingers together and rested his chin on them, his elbows propped up on the table in the corner booth of the diner. He stared at Kendra with a slightly smug but knowing look.
“W-what?” she asked, her gazed dipping to her half-eaten salad. She looked around. There were a couple of people left in the restaurant, but there hadn’t been anything unusual since a girl recognized her and asked for her autograph twenty minutes before.
Graham’s knowing looks never irritated her, but they always worried her. The man knew her too well. Sometimes he knew her better than she knew herself. Deflecting by acting like she thought it was about someone else might help her avoid the uncomfortable conversation she knew was coming.
“You’re drooling,” Graham said.
Kendra wiped away some drool over the corner of her mouth. “It happens.”
“Salad’s that good, huh? If only I could get Kevin to look at me the way you were just looking at that kale.”
Her cheeks burning, Kendra averted her eyes. She didn’t want to admit to Graham that she’d been thinking about the park stud and what it’d be like to lick him from top to bottom. It’d be a great way to experience all those wonderful muscles.
No. There was no way she could talk about how she’d been running that exact scenario through her head while she ate her breakfast.
Desperate gambits played out in her head. She could deny knowing what Graham was talking about or lean into the idea that her salad was that damned good. That might get him off her back.
Or she could try something novel if more immediately painful. The truth.
Kendra let her head loll back. “I’m an idiot, Graham. I should change my name to Kendra Idiot and start a new channel Roving Idiot.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s already a channel with one of those two prank brothers, but what’s wrong, girl?” Graham lowered his hands and looked concerned. “We can’t have you getting in a funk right before the competition. You know your fans. They like your intensity, but they love your smile more.”
“You’re right.” Kendra lifted her head and managed a weak smile. “I know you are, and honestly, you’re right about everything.”
“I don’t mind being told how great I am.” He offered her a lopsided smile. “But where are you going with this?”
“I need to get laid.” Kendra shrugged. “It’s a simple as that. I’ve tried to ignore it, but it’s become blazingly obvious.” She leaned closer to whisper. “I can’t even go for a jog without getting horny.”
“Is that all?” Graham laughed. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. And you’re upset about that? You’re a young, fit woman. Just because you throw yourself into all the training and fitness doesn’t mean you’re not going to miss company when it’s been a while.” He grinned. “A hand just isn’t the same.”
“Don’t I know it,” Kendra muttered. “But it’s not that I’m upset about that. I’m upset about how I’m handling it. I keep passing up obvious opportunities from good guys.” She
