Page 36 of Pucker Factor

“But I could just wear it once we get home. Then you’ll still see it. Ooh! Look at this one!”

“Sure, it’s great.”

Was he going to say that about all of them? I eyed another absolutely hideous dress, just to see what he would say. I held it up in front of me and very innocently looked at him. “What do you think of this?”

“It’s gorgeous,” he said, his eyes firmly locked across the street. “It really brings out your eyes.”

I rolled my eyes and put it back. I knew men weren’t interested in shopping, but he wasn’t even paying attention to me. If he was watching some other woman, I was going to nut him.

“You know, you should look over here,” he said, practically shoving me across the market. “Look at these.”

He had pushed me up against a wall of phone cases, and when I tried to step away, he moved in front of me, never allowing me to get around him. I sighed heavily, tired of whatever game we were playing.

“Can I finish shopping?”

“Uh…” Without looking, he grabbed a giant sack of a dress off a nearby rack and shoved it at me. “Try that on.”

“There’s no way I’m wearing that.”

“Humor me,” he said, shoving me inside a nearby fitting room and jerking the curtain closed.

I immediately started stripping, but it was only a few seconds later that other dresses were tossed over the top of the curtain, making it bow under the weight.

“Try those on too!”

“Geez, the man doesn’t look at a single dress I pick out, but then he’s suddenly a clothing expert.”

10

ELI

From the moment we walked into the market, I had a feeling of unease skittering down my spine. I knew Kavanaugh felt it too. His eyes were taking in every person nearby, checking them out just as I was. There was something off about this place, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I felt like we were being followed, but for what reason? Nobody knew us down here. We were essentially tourists like everyone else.

“I don’t like it,” I muttered to Kavanaugh after spotting someone across the street that didn’t fit.

“Something’s off. We need to get out of here.”

“Agreed,” I nodded, about to grab Sarah and leave when I felt another set of eyes on me from behind. Casually, I turned around, pretending I was checking out the merchandise. That’s when I saw it. We were surrounded. Men were slowly closing in on us.

“You see this?” I asked Kavanaugh.

“I count ten. You?”

I nodded, wondering how the hell we were going to get out of here. If we ran, we’d be putting Sarah in danger. It would be better if we could stash her and take these assholes out without her ever knowing. Based on the plane ride, she’d freak out, and then we’d really be in trouble.

“I sent an S.O.S. We just have to hope someone gets here in time,” Kavanaugh said.

“Ooh! Look at this one!” Sarah exclaimed from behind me.

“Sure, it looks great.” I was totally ignoring her, but in my defense, I had bigger things to worry about at the moment. I continued to follow her around the market, trying to locate a good place to stash her when I saw one of the men say something into a walkie-talkie. He was the one giving orders, and they were about to make their move. I had to get her someplace safe now.

I shoved her into a dressing room, not even aware of her arguments as I scrambled to get the situation under control. Just as I closed the curtain, I spun and landed my fist right in one of the men’s faces. Another man rushed at me, and I bent over, ramming my shoulder into him and tossing him into a rack of clothes. Kavanaugh was already fighting with another man, taking them out as fast as he could. I quickly grabbed more clothes and tossed them over the curtain, just to keep her busy.

“Eli! This dress is weird!” Sarah shouted.

“Yeah?” I shouted, ducking just as another fist flew past me. I grabbed the guy’s wrist and snapped it to the side, then bent it back, bringing the man to his knees. “Let me see!”

When I heard the curtain slide, I quickly kneed the guy in the face, shoving him under the dresses hanging nearby just as she stepped out. Leaning against the rack, I grimaced at how frumpy she looked.

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