Page 46 of Sin

“How the hell are we supposed to find Lucas here?” Jinx asked, undoing his seatbelt. He’d chosen to wear a local sports team’s baseball cap backward on his head, a black wife beater which looked comically small on his sasquatch frame, and a pair of blue and purple bermuda shorts which left no hope of concealing his ridiculously massive thigh muscles. He was so pleased with his disguise this morning when he showed up for breakfast that I couldn’t break his little heart and tell him that bermuda shorts were about twenty years or so out of style.

For the first time since I’d known her, Blade wasn’t wearing her signature leather outfit. In fact, I almost didn’t recognize her when she’d sat down at the breakfast table wearing a little white sundress with tiny, yellow daisies on it. She’d decided to wear her black leather boots, though they actually looked nice with the dress. She still wore her hair in a bun on top of her head, but when paired with the dress, she appeared softer somehow. And while I couldn’t spot any weapons on her, I didn’t doubt there were countless knives hidden on her person.

Mare hadn’t changed a thing about her style, wearing her usually punk rock ripped jeans and black band tee. Despite the atrociously hot weather, she’d even donned a black and white striped long-sleeve shirt beneath her top.

“I think this might be the worst undercover job I’ve ever seen,” I announced as we all clambered out of the vehicle. I’d gone for a casual look and worn a deep blue, short-sleeve button-up and jeans. I’d left the top several buttons undone, and I’d caught London staring more than once today. “Seriously, I think the only unremarkable person here is Lewis, and even he’s going to stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Hey,” Lewis said, glancing down at his light blue, short-sleeved button-up. He’d tucked the hem into his dark jeans and paired it with a belt holding the most absurdly large, gold belt buckle. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”

“You look like a pubescent teen playing undercover cop at a rodeo.”

He blinked, twisting to display the spurs on his brown cowboy boots. “I thought I looked cool.”

London crossed his arms over his shirt with thin, horizontal, navy blue and white stripes. “And what’s wrong with my clothes?”

I took my time looking him up and down, taking in the hug of his pants to his legs, the belt cinching in his clothes to hint at a trim waist. The double-layered silver chain dangling from his neck. Images of me wrapping that necklace around my fist to drag him in for a kiss burned hot in my mind, and I didn't even bother to hide my salacious grin. “Nothing’s wrong with it. You’re just going to draw too much attention looking so damn sexy.”

London’s cheeks darkened, making my smile widen. Choosing to ignore my blatant flirting, he faced the team. “We’re going to split up into pairs so we can cover more ground. If you spot Lucas, don’t make your presence known. We don’t want to risk any casualties, so don’t spook him. If he realizes we’re here, it could set him off. If you find him, contact me and wait for the rest of us to come to you, understand?”

The team nodded, and London pointed to Jinx and Blade. “You two search the eastern grounds near the Ferris wheel. Lewis and Mare, I want you to look for him around the food court. And no,” London said, holding a hand up at Mare when her eyes brightened, “that doesn’t mean getting popcorn.”

Mare scowled.

London turned to me, his expression serious. “And that leaves you with me.”

“Ooh, what about cotton candy?” I asked, eyeing a concession booth a mere twenty feet away.

“Do I have to remind all of you that this is a mission?” London asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“So, that’s a no to the cotton candy?”

He grabbed my arm and started hauling me away. “It’s a no to the cotton candy,” he agreed. “Now come on, let me see your cuffs.”

I sighed, and while he turned off my dampening cuffs, the others disappeared into the bustling crowds. Within moments, I couldn’t spot them anywhere.

London and I made our way toward the game booths, strolling slowly so we made sure we didn’t miss anything. Or really, anyone. There were so many people I wondered how exactly we expected to find Lucas at all.

Booth workers called out to us, inviting us to beat their games. For the most part, London ignored them, but I could hardly tear my eyes away. I hadn’t been to a fair since I was a little kid. My parents used to take me, and my mom always spoiled me with cotton candy and ice cream. I remembered how my dad would complain about how sticky I was, but my mother simply said the mess is temporary but the memory is forever.

I’d never really understood what she meant by that until I got older and all I had left of her were memories.

London’s sharp gaze scanned and scanned the faces of everyone he could, and I could tell he was starting to realize just how unrealistic this was.

The heat beat down on our backs, and we paused in the shade outside the house of mirrors which was closed for maintenance today.

London wiped some sweat from his face, but it did little to help. I tracked a bead of sweat as it trickled down his neck. It continued its course down to the collar of his shirt, and I had to fight myself back when the urge to follow that same path with my tongue almost overruled my senses.

London caught me watching him and raised a brow. “You’re supposed to be looking for Lucas. Not at me.”

“Sorry,” I said, not sounding apologetic in the least. By the pursing of his lips, he knew it too. “You’re a little distracting.”

“You’re ridiculous,” he admonished, turning away from me. But not before I caught the small, happy smile on his face.

“I think I’m going to be burnt after this,” I said, a little sadly. Blade had offered me some of her sunscreen in the car, but it had been so long since I’d been out this long under direct sun that I felt the heat scalding me despite the protection of sunscreen.

London eyed my pinking cheeks and nose, the redness along the back of my neck and chest. “We’ll stop at one of the gift shops and buy some aloe vera for you then.”

We moved on after that, continuing our perusal of the grounds, and London occasionally stopped to ask someone if they’d seen Lucas, holding up a picture of the man in question on his phone. As we went along, no one recognized Lucas, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t here.

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