Page 83 of Red Line

“What reason are you sizing me up?” A chuckle and maybe a dash of flirtation.

True, most women would wonder what it would be like to take a guy with his obvious attributes for a roll in the hay.And yes, maybe the idea flashed through Red’s mind as she stood outside her hotel. But no, she wouldn’t admit it. “Let's assume that the person—male or female, or a designation of their choosing—is sizing you up. Does that lead to many fights?”

“I try to avoid it by being proactive and a little creative.”

“Like tonight?” Red asked. “What did you tell them?”

“That you were my wife, and sometimes you get out past your bedtime.” He shrugged to soften the misogyny. “Luckily, you didn’t fight me.”

“In that position? Is it possible?”

“No.” It was said in a matter-of-fact tone because it was, indeed, a matter of fact.

“So the naughty wife, that’s why they were laughing. But then they were following along.”

“They were drunk enough and surprised enough that when I showed up and threw you over my back—”

“Like a sack of potatoes,” she grumped.

“Really? Nah. Less lumpy, I think.” He was laughing at her now. “More pliable and soft.”

“Soft?” Her eyebrows went up to her hairline.

“Soft compared to a sack of potatoes, yes.” He canted his head. “Is that really offensive?”

“What were they saying that they were following along.”

“They started to think I wasn’t your husband because neither of us wore a ring. Then they started to get mad because they found you first.”

Red thought she might vomit.

Some of it had to do with the close call, some from hanging upside down, and some from not having anything to eat since breakfast. But yeah, she was pretty nauseated. She tried to keep that look off her face.

“Do you want to go in?” The giant pointed toward her hotel.

Red looked at the hotel door, then back to him, and licked her lips, unsure.

“You don’t trust me?” He sounded genuinely wounded.

She’d been played once that day, and Red simply wasn’t in the mood. “No. I don’t.”

“Yet, I saved you.” He turned to lean a shoulder against the wall, forcing her to pivot toward him.

“You came along and changed the trajectory. Saved me?” She lifted a palm. “We’ll never know about that.”

“Fair point as far as tonight goes. What’s wrong with your phone? They can’t get in touch with you.”

Well, he knew that much, and her name, and her hotel. And her arrival time. Had she been hacked? And what did he mean by ‘as far as tonight goes’? There was something that pulled Red to him. Something very familiar. But here, in the black of night, she couldn’t look into his eyes and place him. “I ran out of juice.”

Nomad pulled a power bank from his pocket and handed it to her.

“Thank you.” She pulled one from her purse for the exchange. “The charger at my seat on the plane wasn’t working. Maybe you’ll have better luck.”

He held up a no-thank-you hand, “I have another one.”

She slid her charger back into her purse. “Two is one, and one is none?” She pulled out her phone and connected it to the bank.

“Just life experience.”

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