Page 49 of My Super Sexy Spy
“You’ll come back. There’s too much at stake.”
“I don’t care about your Legacy Project,” I told him, even as I started to walk away. “I don’t need your money. I just want to be left alone.”
“Maybe,” he agreed. “Go think on it, child. That’s all I ask. Go see this beautiful city you write about so emotionally.”
Heading toward the long door where Marta stood, I didn’t look back. I didn’t even say goodbye.
By the time I hit the street outside the apartment building and looked up at the window where only an hour ago I’d stood, I realized I’d made a mistake.
I should have at least said goodbye.
12
Paris
Beth
I wanderedthe streets in a daze. A place that was supposed to be a dream destination was now just a space filled with cars and noises and buildings and roads. Paths that directed me one way or another. Eventually, I found it easier, more peaceful walking along the banks of the Seine, even though there was less to see, until I was left with no choice but to take to the busy streets again.
I didn’t stop at the Louvre or the Musée d’Orsay. I didn’t think about heading toward the now shell of a cathedral, Notre Dame. I kept the purse my father gave me clutched in my hand, but I never opened it.
Marta, I assumed, was nearby, but if I looked over my shoulder or suddenly turned around, she was nowhere obvious to be seen. I was alone or at least felt that way.
My father had watched me as a child, sent support payments, helped me while I was on the streets and I’d never known it. Had never known him. Now I was trapped in some ridiculous global spy plot, and he was dying, and it all seemed like too much to process.
If only Liam were here. He was the only one who might understand my anger. My hurt. My confusion. If only I could lay back and have him fuck all ofthisout of me.
I tried to focus on a plan. I couldn’t aimlessly wander the streets indefinitely. Glancing up, I spotted an internet café tucked between a chocolatier and a bread shop. Suddenly, the need to hear from a familiar voice overwhelmed me.
Priorities, I got some chocolate filled macarons first, then I popped into the store filled with computers in use. Paying for only thirty minutes of time, because something told me I shouldn’t sit in one place for too long, I logged on and went immediately to my DMs.
Nibbling on the cookies and trying not to orgasm as the chocolate decadence melted on my tongue, I smiled when I saw the message indicator.
LEIGH:Hey, you out there? It’s been a while since I heard from you. Everything okay?
LEIGH:Are you screwing the hot guy? Or wait, the not-hot guy? Or both of them at once? I want details!
LEIGH:WHERE ARE YOU?
The series of messages made me think at least there was someone in the world who would have cared if I’d gone missing, never to be heard from again.
ME:Hey, it’s me. You’re never going to believe what happened to me.
LEIGH:WHERE ARE YOU?
ME:I’m in Paris. Can you believe it? Long story. Let’s just say I don’t think I’m ever leaving home again once I get back to the States.
LEIGH:Where are you right now?
ME:Right now, I’m in an internet café talking to you. If I told you everything that’s happened, you wouldn’t believe it. Let’s just say my life is unhinged right now and I couldn’t care less about a book deal.
I waited for a response. Probably more questions. But what was I supposed to say? That it turns out I have father, that he’s some kind of nuclear scientist whose made this miraculous discovery that the world wants? And because they know I’m his daughter, that means they want me, too?
None of that was going to make any sense. Besides that, I didn’t even really know Leigh. She was just an internet connection I’d turned into a friendship.
Was I really going to hit her with spies? Both Russian and American?
It seemed too weighty and unfair. So I went with something that I would normally share.
