Page 43 of Hidden Ascent

She turned her attention to the room, focusing on anything but him. He was charming, and she trusted him more than she’d expected to. But she couldn’t afford to get caught up with a man she could end up putting in jail one day.

“I don’t know you very well either,” he said, clearing his throat like he was as uncomfortable as she was. “We should probably not make any rash judgements one way or the other.”

“Probably not,” she said for lack of anything else to say until she looked to the side of the room. “Oh no.” She bowed into him, huddling into his chest. The fire she’d felt being close to him moments ago was now extinguished with alarm.

“What is it?” His arms instinctively wrapped around her.

“That man over there. He’s the one from Homeland Security who tried to kill me. The one who killed Fogarty.”

His arms tightened, and he drew her into the crowd. “There’s a lot of people in here. I’m not sure which one you mean.”

“Over by the bar. He’s in his forties. Hair parted on the left side. About five foot eleven. He’s wearing a shawl lapel tux. I don’t know what he’s doing here. I don’t know why he would be invited to come to something like this.”

“You never know what contacts people have. So, a shawl lapel? I don’t even know what that means. I thought this whole dressing up thing was completely out of your realm of understanding.”

“I learned it on a stakeout once. The collar isn’t notched. It wraps around.”

“Oh. Look at that. I never noticed that before. I see him.”

He released her and turned, sliding his hand across her back.

“If you’ll follow me this way, please.”

He led her away from the bar, and they weaved through the dancing couples. Then, he stopped and took one of her hands, placing it on his shoulder before taking her other hand and holding it.

“What are you doing?”

“This is called the waltz. We’re on the dance floor. There’s music.”

“But why are we doing it?”

“It’s the simplest way to get us across the room. We can’t walk through all these people. That would be disruptive.”

“That’s what you think. I don’t know how to dance.”

“You already are. Keep following my lead. You’ve done a good job of it so far.”

“What if we bump into someone?”

“If you let me lead, we won’t. Stop looking around.”

“But what if someone notices us?”

“They won’t.”

“How do you know?”

“Isla.”

She looked at him. “What?”

“You’re the only one looking at someone besides their partner. No one else is interested in anyone except the person they’re dancing with.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Don’t break eye contact with me. Stay focused right here.”

Isla found herself stuck in the moment. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She was supposed to be in control, but he held her gaze as they drifted across the floor.

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