Page 51 of Hidden Depths

She stopped and turned to look at him. “Is this really necessary?”

“What?”

“This—” she gestured at him. “This act.”

“Act?”

“Yeah. You’ve transformed from friendly guy to robot.”

“I’m on duty now.”

“No, this is different.”

“How? I’m keeping you safe.”

“I don’t need a bodyguard. Dutch and Balthazar didn’t recognize me. They aren’t coming after me.”

“There’s no way we can know for sure that they haven’t figured it out. I have to do my due diligence. I’m sorry if it makes me appear distant.”

“Aren’t you?”

“I’m preoccupied with our surroundings. But I’ve been doing it the whole time I’ve been in town. It’s ingrained. Even when we went out to lunch.”

“That’s what I mean. You aren’t acting the same now. You’re different.”

“Okay, yes, I’m more alert now than before, but it’s only because I want to make sure nothing happens to you.”

Her eyes shifted, looking past him. “Do you know what’s happening behind you?”

“Is this really necessary?”

“I want to see how good you are.”

“Why?”

“It’s okay if you don’t know. You can say so. I wouldn’t have a clue if I was you.”

He sighed, but it wasn’t real. He wanted to impress her and knew he could. “A mother and daughter were buying ice cream at the van that stopped as we arrived. By now, the proprietor is probably handing them their order. A man who looks like he’s getting ready to go back to work is frantically typing out either a text or an email, and if he’s not careful, he’s going to trip over the curb.”

“He did a couple of seconds ago. That’s amazing.”

“Not really. It’s what I’m trained for.” Tom recognized the admiration in her eyes and, for a moment, wished she didn’t have to go. “We should go get your ticket. I don’t like you standing out in the open for too long.”

“Fine.”

When they entered the building, she said, “Will you visit me wherever I end up?”

“Uh.” He nearly answered in the affirmative. It’s what he wanted. “I’m sorry. We’re not supposed to have contact with people in WITSEC unless we’re assigned to their case.”

“But I’m not part of that program.”

“Still.”

“Would it be terrible of me if I decided to go into witness protection and made them assign you to my case?”

“That’s a lot of trouble to get a visit from me.” But it warmed him to know she’d thought to do it even if she didn’t mean it.

“I don’t have many friends.” She shook off the comment. “That sounds pathetic.”

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