Page 44 of Play Dirty (Brooklyn Dawn 1)

I shrugged. “It’s relaxing here. Mostly.”

“It’s no Hawaii.”

“No. That’s true, but I like mountains almost as much as I enjoy the ocean.”

“Liar.”

I wadded up my napkin and tossed it at him. “I actually do. I’m usually here when it’s hot as hell. It’s nice to feel that upstate crispness.”

“Yeah, it’s getting crisp, all right.” He dropped a fifty on the table. “Hope you brought your winter gear.”

“Since I was packed for Hawaii, what do you think?”

“I think you’ll be raiding Izzy’s stash.”

“I love your wife, but I’m rocking way more boob and leg than she is.”

“Guess we’re going to stop in at the shop on the way home, then?”

I dropped the last shard of my fries. “Oh, sign me up.”

“God save me from that look in your eyes.”

I stood and grabbed my hoodie. “Retail therapy, here I come.”

Logan groaned, but followed me out of the diner. We’d made it two feet when Logan grabbed my arm and towed me along faster.

“What the hell? Why are we running?” Deep down, I already suspected the truth. The telltale buzz between my shoulder blades was a sure sign.

Logan nodded at the dark SUV quickly pulling up to the curb halfway down the block. “Pretty sure that’s a pap.”

A guy jumped down from the truck, camera in hand, his eagle-eyed gaze scanning in all directions.

I had to hand it to Lo. He certainly had an eye for noticing the tabloid types. They were everywhere, like vultures.

“Shit.”

“C’mon. Don’t look his way.”

Ducking our heads, we crossed the street to a small boutique. If we had to escape

inside, fine, but I wasn’t in the mood for fuzzy sweaters and the work casual clothes they were offering. Not really my style.

“We can go somewhere else.” Lo jerked his chin in the direction of the other side of the street.

The dude with the camera had aimed for the diner instead, so whew. We had a brief reprieve.

I sighed. “Sorry. Probably the girls.”

He nodded grimly. “It happens now and then. Hopefully, he’ll lose the scent and disappear soon enough. Nobody here above the age of twenty-one will give him any breadcrumbs.”

We could hope.

I caught Logan’s gaze drifting toward the record store a few doors down and pushed him down the block. “Come on. I know what you need.”

“It’s okay.”

“Go. I know you are dying to flip through the bins.”

---