Page 32 of Taste of Forever
“Relax,” the operative said, standing in Drew’s place next to me. “You’re not in trouble.”
“Then what do you want?” I kept my gaze forward, refusing to look at him.
He was quiet for a few moments, like he wanted to savor my discomfort. “I noticed you had a visitor the other night. Right after we last spoke.”
My throat tightened with discomfort. “I never asked him to come see me. I swear.”
The guy angled his head toward the food truck. “Chicken chile verde plate with extra tortillas, isn’t that you?”
I stole a glance at his smug face before willing my feet to move. Somehow I made it to the pick-up window, got my food, and even left a cash tip in the jar, all while he followed a few feet behind me. I hated having him at my back, hated that he wasstill following my every move while I went through the motions of normal life.
He got his tacos right after my food came out, then jerked his head to a nearby picnic table. “Let’s sit.”
I headed in that direction like a robot, marching without a single word. This guy had to be messing with me, and I hoped my lack of reaction would get him to leave sooner. He seemed to be in no hurry, though, and dug into his tacos the moment we sat down. I, on the other hand, had lost my appetite.
“So what’s this about?” I asked.
He chewed his food slowly, then his throat bobbed as he swallowed. “I feel like we got off on the wrong foot the other night. I’m Soren, by the way.”
I let the silence drag out, my expression blank. Like hell was I going to say,nice to meet you.It probably wasn’t even his real name.
Soren wiped his fingers on a paper napkin as he studied me. “You know I had to report seeing your visitor to my superiors. He seemed very protective. I’d even say smitten with you.”
“I didn’t do anything to encourage that.” Like hell I was going to get in trouble over what Laith chose to do.
“I’m not saying you did. But my superiors came to the conclusion that this…person’sinfatuation with you could be useful.”
“Useful?”
“For gathering intelligence. We want to learn about these people, after all.”
I waited for him to elaborate further, but he kept digging into his tacos.
“What’s that got to do with me?”
Soren finished chewing, swallowed, and wiped his mouth again. “My superiors are permitting you to return tothatplaceon our orders. For the sole purpose of gathering information and reporting back to me.”
An incredulous huff left my mouth before I could stop it. “And why the hell would I do that?”
“Because you don’t have a choice.” Soren crumpled his napkin in his fist. “You can be a loose end we need to tie off, or you can serve your country and be useful.”
I shoved my to-go container of food further away, the smell of meat and spices making my stomach turn.
“Why me?”
“Again, he seems infatuated with you. It will be much easier for you to collect information than me or any of our other operatives.”
I wanted to put my forehead down on the table and not look up until Soren had disappeared for good. Laith might have been a little intense, but he was nice and seemed to have good intentions. It felt wrong to use his feelings for me to feed information to some shadowy operation.
“Why do you look upset?” Soren’s smile was slow and calculating. “I know you want to go back there. This way, you can do so with no consequences. Ditch your boring life and your unemployed loser boyfriend for something new and exciting, then tell me all about it. It’s easy.”
“Wait, stop.” I held up a hand. “What are you saying? Justin is not unemployed.”
He gave me a pitying look across the table. “It’s a shame that I know more about your life than you do.”
My heart raced with anxiety. Any attempt to not give him any reaction went out the window. “So you’re spying on my boyfriend too?”
“I’m just good at my job, which is being really fucking observant. And persuasive, when necessary.”
