Page 28 of Light Me Up

Noah regretted opting for the contacts. Shield glasses were good because he could peer discreetly over them while unobserved and use his AVP at will. Shield glasses were bad because they made him look like he had something to hide.

Inconspicuous. That was the plan. Or it had been until Caro found that dress.

But even through shield contact lenses, he got a strong sense of Morelli. Smart, tough, guarded. When Morelli’s gaze shifted to Caro, it stuck to her like it was glued.

“Mr. Gallagher,” he said. “Asa Stone told me about you. That you are his friend from years back.” His voice deepened as he addressed Caro. “He also spoke of your lovely companion.”

“Wife,” Noah said pointedly. “She’s my wife.”

“Yes, of course. Lucky man.” Morelli took Caro’s hand, bowing over it almost as if he were going to kiss it.

The hairs rose on the backof Noah’s neck.

Caro tugged her hand back. Morelli released it, in just that calibrated nanosecond before Noah would have been compelled to rip the man’s arm outof its socket.

“Forgive me insisting you come early,” Morelli said smoothly, as if the brief clash of male force fields had not just taken place. “I trust Asa, but I had to be sure you were the people in the files he emailed.”

“So?” Noah asked. “Dowe correspond?”

“Of course. But the pictures of Ms. Bishop do not do her justice.” He gave Caro a charming smile. “Your recent adventures make for exciting reading, Signora.”

“Agreed,” Caro agreed ruefully. “It was terrifying to live through. I’m glad it’s behind me.”

“I do not blame you,” Morelli said. “In my experience, people who have wild adventures tend to attract other wild adventures to themselves, no?”

“I certainly hope not.” Her voice was emphatic. “I’m all done with life or death drama.”

“That was a fluke,” Noah told him. “We’re extremely boring now.”

Morelli made a low, skeptical sound in his throat as he gazedat Caro’s lips.

“I was unlucky,” Caro told him. “I got targeted by a sociopathic stalker. I barely escaped with my life. Noah and his friends helped me. That was how we met.”

“Yes, Asa mentioned something about that,” Morelli said. “What an incredible story.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake. “Do you need anything more from us now?” Noah’s voice was getting colder by the minute, and there was fuck-all he could do about it.

Forcibly reminded that Noah existed, Morelli blinked. “Ah, yes. One more thing. I must introduce you to Captain Lella, Signor Folti’s head of security. He must sign off personally on any last minute additions to the guest list.”

“Lead the way,” Noah said.

They followed him through still another tangled maze of interconnected rooms, until Morelli stopped in front of a door and knocked.

“Come in,” a thick, gravelly voice replied from behind the door.

Inside, a broad, stocky man sat at a desk heaped with paperwork, scowlinginto a laptop.

He turned to look at them as they filed in. Noah barely heard Caro’s swift, indrawn breath, but only because of his augmented hearing.

Captain Lella’s features were warped and distorted by brutal scarring. He was missing an ear and an eye, and half of his face looked almost melted. Scars extended over one entire side of his skull, which was also crisscrossed with surgical scars. Relatively new ones, by Noah’s assessment.

Noah’s body tensed, and his battle program surged as if Lella was leaping up to attack them. But he wasn’t. The man just sat there, his remaining eye studying first him and then Caro. His gaze lingered on her. The eye was fiercely bright, though bloodshot.

Caro advanced, her hand extended, but Lella flinched slightly. His mouth tightened, making the scar tissue pull one side up into a snarl.

Caro stopped short, her hand falling to her side.

So. A handshake was clearly not happeningwith this man.

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