Page 10 of A Labor of Hate
Even my dignity, apparently.
“They will be deep undercover, so there will be complete radio silence from them until they either succeed or fail, save for encrypted communication between Dixon and myself through his cover job.”McBride panned slowly around the room.“Any questions?”
My hand itched to shoot upward, to ask if anyone else would take Colt’s place.But it didn’t.Upending your life and going deep undercover for any amount of time was already complicated as far as relationships went, but for a potential two months?No wonder McBride had chosen the two Single Pringles on the squad.That was one less relationship to worry about, and I wasn’t about to ask any of my engaged or married squad mates to make that sacrifice.
When no one said anything, McBride dismissed everyone, save for Colt and me.
“It will be your responsibility to know your covers inside and out.Your first names will remain the same, but you two will be Alexandrine and Colt Martin, an accountant and dance instructor who recently moved to the city.More details are in these files.”He handed us each a manilla folder and glanced at his phone screen.“Now wait here while I accompany an old friend up.She’ll be helping us out with the whole ‘pregnant’ thing.”
He paused in the doorway before he left, shaking out his shoulders and smoothing back his hair.
Weird.
I would’ve asked Colt if he’d noticed McBride’s strange behavior, but that would’ve implied that we were friends capable of small talk.Plus, I could practically feel the energy vibrating off him as he stared from across the table with that smug look.
My hackles raised even more than they naturally did in his presence, and my voice had a bit more bite than I intended.“What?”
Sure enough, the question burst out of him like water through a firehose.“Alexandrine?”
“Shut up,” I mumbled, looking out the window.Anywhere but at him.Of all the material he had to work with after that brief, he chose to go after my name instead.“If you ever call me that, I’ll replace all your folders with plain manilla ones.”
He held his hands up in a mock surrender, though the amused twist of his lips betrayed his real thoughts on the matter.“I just found my pregnant wife’s name to be…unique, is all.”
“Yeah, well, at least I’m not named after a gun.”
Granted, that would’ve been way cooler than my namesake’s sad history, but he didn’t need to know that.
“I’m flattered you’d assume that rather than the horse, which is much more on-brand for you.”
I rolled my eyes, comfortable in the knowledge that no one else in the squad would see such a juvenile reaction.“There’s a shock: Colt feelsflattered.As if you don’t already believe your presence is a gift to all humankind.Truly, I’m amazed you can fit that big head of yours through your starched shirts every morning.”
“Well, theyarebutton-ups, which I’m sure is a foreign concept given your fashion sense.”
I finally looked away from the window to spare him a glance.“You’re right.Being buttoned upisforeign to me.Probably because I actually know how to have fun.”
“Do you?”His dark eyes panned down my entirety, disregarding the fact that the conference table obstructed at least half of me from view.“Last I checked, your evenings were spent here filling out reports and sorting through files.”
“You say that like that isn’t your textbook definition of a wild night.”I fluttered my eyelashes at him oh-so-innocently and flipped my hair over my shoulder.“I didn’t realize you paid so much attention to how I spend my nights, Colt.”
He tracked the motion with his eyes before curving his full lips into a frown.“Kicking puppies and yelling at waiters, you mean?”
My jaw dropped open.Insinuating I was rude to food service workers for fun was a new low, even for him.And kicking puppies?I wasn’t amonster.
Voices neared before I could think of a reply, and a small, wiry woman carrying a massive box swept into the room, followed by a conspicuously rosy-cheeked McBride.She wore a sunshine-yellow jumpsuit with the most dramatically flared sleeves and pant legs I’d ever seen, and it complemented her brown skin beautifully.Her hair was held at bay by a matching scarf, forming a halo of gray curls around her head, and a pair of round spectacles perched on the bridge of her nose.
“Hello, my dears,” she sang, plopping the box onto the table.
Colt and I had stood at her arrival, and she wasted no time pulling us into a hug, which thankfully only lasted an awkward second before we were released.Just enough time to get squished up against Colt, who was as rigid as I was, and remember why I wasn’t a hugger in the first place.
“I’m Hattie Jamison.”She beamed at the both of us, her eyes twinkling as she tapped the side of her nose.“You two must be the ones in need of makeovers.”
I elbowed Colt in the side, satisfied at the little grunt he involuntarily released at the action.“Unless you’re a miracle worker, I’m afraid this one is a lost cause.”
“She’d have to be a miracle worker to work with you,” he quipped, smiling sunnily and extending his hand to her.“It’s a pleasure to meet you.I’m Special Agent Colt Dixon, and this is my colleague, Lex Piper.”
I would’ve appreciated the fact he hadn’t taken the opportunity to use my full name now that he knew it, but I wasn’t fooled into thinking he’d done it out of kindness.I’d threatened his color-coded folders.He knew what was at stake.
And then there was the fact I was still reeling from seeing Colt smile.And, you know, beingnice.I’d seen him do it to countless others before, but with how little I saw it directed at me, I often forgot he was capable of it.
