Page 90 of A Labor of Hate
He set the spatulas in his hand aside and closed the distance to reach me, extending his hands to help me off the floor.I gladly accepted, even if I easily could’ve done it myself now that I didn’t have the belly strapped to me anymore.
He tugged on a loose curl before tucking it behind my ear, his expression soft as he held me in his arms.“I do.I want everything that comes with the storm.Thunder.Rain.Hail.And, yes.Lightning.You’re the fries to my milkshake, Lex.Opposites, but?—”
“So much better together,” I finished, a grin spreading across my face.
I kissed his cheek, and he eagerly turned to meet my lips with his instead.The delicious push and pull I’d never tire of, whether deep and passionate or a quick check-in peck in passing.I wanted it all.
Unfortunately, this particular kiss got cut short by a knock on the door.
I groaned as Colt pulled away, mentally cursing whoever it was with a lifetime of uneven chair legs and wet socks.“Who could that be?”
His brow furrowed, a frown pulling at his lips.It wasn’t likely that one of the bodyguards was here.But it wasn’t impossible.
I followed him to the door as he opened it, tensed and ready to act.Until I caught sight of Colleen’s wrinkled face glowering at us from the other side.
She didn’t wait for a greeting.“What’s this about you two moving out?You just moved in!And right before you’re due, too—” She stopped short, eying my very not-pregnant midsection.Her voice rose to a higher pitch with each question.“What on earth—did you already have the baby?And you didn’t tell me?And now you’re moving?”
Oh, boy.Were we going to give her a heart attack?
“Slow down, Colleen.”I held out a hand, though it did little to calm her down.“We didn’t have the baby and then not tell you.”
“So, then what ...”She trailed off, her skin lightening a shade.
“Why don’t you come in and sit down?”Colt offered, holding out an arm for her to grab as he guided her inside and through the piles of boxes.
“I just… I don’t understand,” Colleen mumbled.“Where did the baby go?Where areyougoing?”
What in the world could I tell her?Oh, by the way, we’re actually FBI agents who were under cover this whole time to catch a drug mastermind, but we didn’t catch him and instead he’s now living a new life elsewhere?Yeah,thatwould go over well.
Actually, it just might.Colleenlovedbeing in the know.About everything.E-ver-y-thing.I wasn’t about to tell her the truth, but I wouldn’t leave her empty handed, either.
I sobered, putting the most gravely serious expression on my face that I could muster.“Colleen, what I’m about to tell you cannot leave this room.You cannot tellanyone, understand?”
She perked up at this, old eyes sparkling amidst her weathered skin.I’d bet my pair of flying pig socks that the first thing she’d do after this was go tell someone.But I digress.
Colt, on the other hand, sent me a warning look.I squeezed his hand, sending him a wink that Colleen couldn’t see.
Was it wrong to lie to the elderly?Maybe.But we’d have to lie to her either way, so I might as well make it good.
“I was never pregnant.”
Colt sent another warning my way, which I ignored.
“But you?—”
“I know.”I nodded, trying my hardest not to smile.“It was all a ruse.”
“But” —she paused, gray brows furrowing— “why?”
“We were sent undercover by the neighborhood’s homeowners association.”
Why not, right?At least she’d have a good story to tell, and it might make sure whoever moved in next was treated extra nicely.You’re welcome, future strangers.
“The HOA?But why?”
Colt sat quietly, probably without the faintest idea where I was going with this.Which was fair.
I schooled my features back into submission, leaning toward her conspiratorially.“They hired us to see how well everyone was living up to their guidelines, as well as how friendly the neighborhood is.”
