Page 86 of Love Undercover
A surprised laugh escaped him. He appreciated how the joking tone brought the life back to her face and voice. “I wouldn’t put it past him, but I don’t think it would play out like that. He’ll be wary and skeptical. Might even shut the door in our faces,” he muttered. “But it’s worth a shot. I think I can convince him, and he might actually be able to help us.”
“Okay,” she said softly. “I trust you.”
The words pierced him, a slice right to the bone, and he fought the grimace. Her trust made him want to live up to the expectation that he’d never intentionally put her in danger. But he felt like he’d already let her down.
They fell silent, and she turned toward her window again. At least she wasn’t crying this time.
They pulled onto a road that led to a larger town he was vaguely familiar with. They could at least lose their tailtemporarily, using the busier area to blend in and protect themselves.
Zimmerman had some powerful guys under his thumb, but he wouldn’t want them to reveal who they were for a small fish like Chase. So it wasn’t likely they’d open fire in public to take him down.
He suspected that Zimmerman didn’t even know what exactly had transpired between Chase and Santiago or what information Chase had, let alone what he planned to do with it. Based on how much distance their tail had given them, they weren’t in hot pursuit yet. Just a recon mission for now.
Thank God.
He drove toward the fancy resort he knew about on the edge of town, weaving into the summer tourist traffic that crawled by to gawk at the one-hundred-year-old swanky building.
The tension he’d sensed from Sadie had loosened during the last part of their drive, but he felt it winding her back up as she silently processed where they were going.
She didn’t know what his plan was, but that was okay. She didn’t really have to participate—honestly, the less she did, the better.
He followed the line of traffic winding through a roundabout and took the exit that would bring them to the valet parking. Their use of valet would be dubious at best, given the state of the car he was driving, but he’d give a generous tip upfront.
Sadie straightened in her seat, and they pulled up under the portico.
“Chase. . .”
He didn’t reply, his jaw tightening as he nodded for her to get out with him.
The frown on the valet’s face told him exactly how the kid felt about the state of their car.
“Hey, buddy,” Chase said, adding a smile as he reached forward to stick two one-hundred-dollar bills in the valet’s hand. “Just dropping off for the day.”
The valet’s mouth twisted as he looked down at the money in his hand. “Okay. . .” He looked up at Chase. “Do you have a key?”
Shit. He hadn’t thought about that. “Um, babe? Don’t you have the key?”
He spun to face Sadie, hating himself for dragging her into his ruse.
Her eyes only widened for a second before she blinked. “I thought you had it.”
He gave an entirely unfeigned nervous laugh. “It’s a remote start,” he said in explanation.
The kid narrowed his eyes and looked at the car, then back to Chase like he was ready for him to sayjust kidding.
“You go ahead,” Sadie said, her voice just snooty enough that she legitimately sounded like she belonged. “It will turn off for you anyway after you park, and we can go back up to our room to find it. Pretty sure I left it when I ran back up for my sunglasses.”
He twisted his mouth, taking in the robe she held closed over her chest. Maybe if he squinted, she’d look like she’d been at the pool. Or maybe that she’d been drinking.
As if playing to that character, she walked forward in a slight zigzag, grabbing Chase’s arm to drag him toward the doors, stumbling just enough to make it believable.
In the reflection of the glass doors, Chase saw the valet scratch the back of his neck and bounce his gaze between them and the beat-up car. Finally, when they’d gotten inside the vestibule, the kid turned to get in and put it into drive.
Chase waited until the kid had driven far enough away before pivoting, pulling Sadie with him.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
He ignored her as he checked the area for onlookers. There were probably cameras around, but that couldn’t be helped. At least this would play in his favor for keeping his cover intact.
