Page 8 of Tag
“I like control. I’ll sleep when I get back.”
“Tough luck. If you’re going, I’m going.”
She nodded once, brisk. “Then we leave in twenty.”
8
Aponi
Istared at my reflection in the cracked bathroom mirror upstairs, tying my hair back with the elastic band I kept on my wrist.
The circles under my eyes looked like bruises. My cheekbones are too sharp. My jaw feels tight. I haven’t relaxed in weeks.
Why did I care how I looked?
Tag was downstairs, loading a backpack with gear. He hadn’t said much after I told him I was going with or without him.
I knew it wasn’t smart. Hell, it was barely legal.
But now there were three girls missing. And no one in the department was moving fast enough to find them.
The old pipes groaned as I splashed cold water on my face, trying to erase the exhaustion.
“Twenty minutes,” I muttered to my reflection. “You’ve done worse.”
I stepped out into the hallway—and nearly collided with him.
Tag stood there, his hand halfway raised like he’d been about to knock. “Didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”
My heart jumped, but I covered it with a shrug. “You didn’t.”
His gaze dropped to my hands. “You’re shaking.”
“No, I’m not.” I was, but I’ll be damned if I would admit it.
He didn’t call me on it. Just stepped aside to let me pass.
We moved back into the main room, tension trailing behind us like smoke.
He zipped up the pack and slung it over one shoulder. “You sure about this?”
“No,” I said honestly. “But I’m going anyway.”
His lips twitched, not quite a smile. “That’s what scares me.”
I turned away—because it was safer than looking at him. “We’ll be in and out. Get eyes on the building, see if anything’s happening tonight. That’s it.”
“Right.”
Except he wasn’t moving.
I felt him behind me. Close. Too close.
“I meant what I said earlier,” he murmured. “About people feeling it when you walk into a room.”
I turned slowly. “Why are you saying this now?”
“Because I’ve been trying not to get in your way. But every time I look at you…” His voice dropped. “I forget why I ever tried.”
