Page 20 of Out of Sight

Blake frowned. “That’s good information to have, but-”

“But there’s not really a way to hide you as we get there.” Jim continued. The door in question was a good fifty feet away. Leo was stuck outside of security and currently out of sight, but Antonio could round a corner and see us at any second once we left our hiding spot. “Too bad we don’t have two hoodies.”

Claire looked up at me, guilt in her eyes. I reached out to still her hand at the zipper. It was more important for her to stay safe. Plus, I’d think Antonio would at least pause before attacking me. Whether because he liked me or just wanted to make sure I was a traitor first didn’t matter; Claire was a lot less safe than I was.

“You keep it,” I told her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “I’ll be fine. You’re a lot more recognizable than me with all that hair.” I could still see a couple strands of her long, flowing honey hair peeking out from under the hood. Anyone who knew what to look for could pick her out of a crowd in a second.

She looked unsure but didn’t say anything more about it. The gentle smile she gave me led me to hope I was getting somewhere in showing her I wasn’t a complete douche.

“I’ll create a distraction,” Blake said, taking Claire’s attention and admiration just when I finally had a little. Her small smile turned big and adoring as she looked up at him.

“Is that safe?” she asked, annoying me to all hell.

“No,” Jim answered bluntly. “But we’re going to do it anyway.”

He said it like he did this kind of thing all the time, like it was no big deal. Shit, he was a US Marshal. Maybe he did.

Blake nodded in agreement. “Wait for the distraction. If I don’t join you in ten minutes, then Jim will get you two out of here without me. You got it?”

“Got it,” I said. Claire was missing her usual confidence, but I’ve been in tough situations before. I could handle it well enough for the both of us.

“Have fun,” Jim said, waving off his colleague and turning his full attention to the two of us. He didn’t seem like a callous guy, so I assumed he had confidence in the fed.

Blake left and we waited one minute. Two.

Then there were a couple screams, followed by what sounded like a gun going off.Jesus.Did Blake shoot Antonio? Leo? Did either of them take a shot at him? But Jim was already moving, his hand grabbing the collar of my shirt as he pulled me roughly along with him. I grabbed Claire’s hand, but she didn’t move. I shrugged off Jim’s grip.

“Claire!” She was just standing there, a horrified look in her eyes. “We gotta go, baby! Let’s move it!”

She glanced at me when I used one of those generic endearments she seemed to despise, and that was enough to get her head right again. She tugged her hand away from mine and pushed me out of her way, hurrying ahead of me.

I followed a step behind her as scared people ran back and forth, trying to get away from whatever commotion Blake instigated. A man ran out of the restaurant to our right, slamming straight into our group and knocking Claire to the floor, hood falling back so her gorgeous hair was left flowing every which way. Jim shoved him out of the way while I extended another hand to Claire, one she accepted this time.

Unfortunately it was sticky from that man’s spilled drink, a huge wet stain spreading across Claire’s chest. Shit, that sucked.

I kept hold of her nonetheless, grabbing a jacket resting abandoned on the railing separating the restaurant from the main walkway. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and slipped the coat on as casually as I could, burying Claire inside of it with me. She took the hint and ducked her head down, letting me lead us to our hiding spot with Jim at our side, magically producing a key as if he was expecting this to happen from the start. I guess it was his job to be prepared for everything.

Damn was he good at his job.

eight

Claire

The room was full of supplies—a pallet of cleaning materials, boxes of hand towels, toilet paper, soap… Will busted open a package of hand sanitizer, rubbing it between his hands before taking mine and pouring some across my fingers as well.

Were my hands dirty?Oh.I noticed the stickiness but had difficulty getting through the shock enough to wonder where it came from.

“Let’s get you out of that hoodie, baby,” he said, voice gentle.

That snapped me out of it. “Stop calling me pet names. I’m not your baby.” I rubbed my hands together, trying to get that awful stuff off. It smelled sweet. Was it soda? I registered Will’s other words, feeling a chill and noticing a big wet spot across the front of his hoodie.

I went to unzip it, but realized exactly how small a space we were in. It probably wouldn’t have been so crowded with just one maintenance worker, but all three of us in this little room?

I unzipped the too-long hoodie, close enough to Will that the backs of my fingers slid down his body the whole way. I shrugged the jacket off my shoulders, breasts pushed forward on instinct as I wiggled it down my arms. My chest just barely brushed against his with the motion and damn, if that that chest wasn’t impressively firm.

I cleared my throat as I retreated back in the spare two inches of space, trying to look anywhere but at him. There wasn’t really anything to catch my interest, so I just looked down toward our feet. The silence was stifling. I couldn’t stand it.

“So-”

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