Testing The Boss(21)

Gail set a hand on her hip and glared at Evelyn. “This ain’t my first tail job. You head back to your place and make sure you’re getting a clear signal from the bug in his phone. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Evelyn gave Gail one more once-over. She wore a sharp, fake leather jacket, a sweater and tank top, so if she wanted to change up looks, all she had to do was remove a layer since the holster was under the sweater. Her brown hair could also go from ponytail to down in a heartbeat. The boots she paired with her jeans had a heel, but it was short enough that she could still walk for miles if needed.

All in all, she looked as though she knew what she was doing. Which made Evelyn feel a hell of a lot better about the idea of letting Luke go off on his own with Longineu. “Okay then. I’m off. You know how to get a hold of me if you need to.”

Gail nodded as they crossed out of the bedroom and through her empty apartment. “Go! I got this, okay?”

“Okay! Okay! Going! I owe you,” she promised as she slipped out of the front door. Evelyn even managed to feel relatively confident about the entire thing right until she got back to her own apartment and saw Luke lounging against the door in her dingy hallway.

She couldn’t help the scowl that covered her face. “What are you doing here?” she snapped.

Luke raised a brow and cocked his head. “Nice to see you too, Agent Price.”

She reached the door, but he didn’t move out of the way. “You’re supposed to be getting ready for your man date,” she reminded him.

“And as excited as I am for this man date, I thought me and my handler should have a talk ahead of time.”

“We don’t have anything to talk about. You know what you need to do. You’re charming enough in your own way to get it. And you also know that you’re not supposed to get shot while doing it. That’s really all the pertinent information.”

Instead of being annoyed at her brush-off like she hoped, Luke smiled down at her. “You think I’m charming?”

Evelyn brushed her hair aside to rub at the back of her neck. Lord help her, she did think he was charming. Especially when he looked like he did at the moment. Somehow she’d imagined a pair of billionaires going out on the town would be dressed like she was used to seeing him. In suits and ties.

But Luke was dressed casually. A very nice casual. Every simple piece of clothing was fit perfectly and only seemed to accentuate his broad shoulders and muscular build. Like Gail, he wore a leather jacket, but his was probably real leather and stopped just at his waist. And his jeans were fit so well that she was sure if he turned around, she’d get a class-A view of his behind.

“I think you’re something,” she said under her breath. “Now would you please spend less time with the FBI and pretend you’re a perfectly innocent criminal.”

“I know you don’t like me, but I don’t want you sending me off into illicit meetings without so much as a ‘good luck,’” he snapped. His smile faded for the first time since she’d gotten there.

“I like you,” she said weakly.

“Don’t bullshit a bullshitter, Evelyn. I’m fine being on your shit list, but I don’t want your handling of this investigation to be muddled because of your personal dislike of me.”

Evelyn clenched her jaw and glared up at him, half pissed at the idea that he’d question her judgment and half guilty because she did go out of her way to avoid him more times than she was proud of. “You want to take this inside?” She glanced between him and the door he was blocking and he finally moved out of the way.

She slid the key in the deadbolt lock and could feel Luke’s heat from behind her. Damn, the man felt like a furnace. After finally managing to get the locks open, she stumbled inside the apartment as Luke followed.

“Ah, the gym with the bed. Just like I remember.”

“I feel judgment,” she muttered as she set her purse on the small table and turned back to face him.

The corners of his mouth ticked up as he approached. “I didn’t say they were bad memories. In fact, I—”

“If you finish that sentence, I’m going to shoot you.” She was not going there. Especially not here, alone with him without Cali or Michael sitting around the corner to interrupt at any minute.

Luke stopped a few feet away from her. “Fine. Then tell me why you don’t like me.”

Evelyn groaned. “Damn it, Luke. You sound like you’re in an after-school special.”

“An after-school special where you hate me for no reason. Now fess up, Evelyn.”

She let out a breath and steeled herself. “I don’t trust people with the amounts of money that you have.”