He retrieved a bottle of synthetic blood from the mini-fridge and popped it into the microwave. Whenever he was in New York, he resided at Roman's townhouse on the Upper East Side. The Russian-American Malcontents were headquartered in Brooklyn, not far away, but luckily, they were laying low at this time. And the security system at Roman's townhouse had been improved to make it safe.
. Jack usually stayed in a guest room on the fourth floor so he could use Roman's office and mini-fridge on the fifth. The microwave dinged, announcing his breakfast was ready. He poured the blood into a wineglass, then sauntered to the desk with his cell phone by his ear.
"Hello, Jack?" Lara finally answered. "Sorry you had to wait. I was … in the shower."
She was a lousy liar, but he considered that a virtue. "I hope you put something on, bellissima. Otherwise, my imagination will run wild." As if it wasn't already.
"I-I'm dressed. I'm glad you called. I left some messages on your phone this afternoon."
"I just heard them a minute ago." He sat behind the desk and booted up the computer. "I work at night, so I'm … asleep during the day."
"Me, too, but I had trouble sleeping today. So I decided to cook you dinner, but when you didn't call back, we … uh, we ate it. Sorry."
"That's all right." Jack sipped from his wineglass. He figured the dinner invitation was part of a plan to confront him with all her questions. Unfortunately, he couldn't give her any answers. "I'm sorry I missed it."
"That's okay. Maybe you could drop by for dessert?"
Merda. He wasn't sure how to handle this. Maybe he could put her off for a few months. Then Ian would be back from his honeymoon, and Jack could return to Europe. Lara would never be able to track him down.
He grimaced. Avoiding her till he could run away seemed cowardly. And the thought of never seeing her again was downright depressing. "I-I have to go to work soon."
"But I really wanted to see you tonight." Lara's voice sounded strained. "I can meet you somewhere when you go on break."
She wasn't going to give up. Normally Jack admired a person who stuck to a project till it was done, but when the project was him, he was beginning to feel as desperate as Lara sounded.
He didn't want to tell her where he was staying or where he was currently working. "I'll drop by your place for a few minutes." He typed in her address on MapQuest.
"Thank you! Do you need directions? Or does 'dropping by' mean you're going to magically appear in front of me?"
Jack winced. How could he deny his ability to teleport when she'd seen it? He studied the map to her apartment. "I'll drive. I should be there in thirty to forty minutes."
"You know where I live?"
"Yes." He would ask Phineas and Connor to cover for him at Romatech for an hour or so. He heard Lara whispering again to her roommate.
"I doubt he's driving a space shuttle," Lara muttered.
Nine circles of hell. Lara was going to be really angry when she realized he couldn't tell her anything.
"So, uh, I guess you have an Italian car?" Lara asked.
"Not here in America. I'll borrow a car from a friend." Roman always kept one at the townhouse.
"What kind of car?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason. But if it's really big, you might have trouble parking."
He couldn't resist. "Bellissima, it is big, but I've never had trouble parking it." He smiled as a period of silence stretched between them.
"O-kay," she finally said. "I'll see you soon." She rang off.
Jack finished his breakfast while he pondered her request for a description of his car. She was up to something. If she were a Malcontent, he'd suspect her of wanting to set a car bomb, but he didn't think Lara wanted to kill him.
Of course that could change if she learned the truth about him. He knew from experience that women didn't react well to the truth. He'd have to be a fool to repeat the same mistake and expect a different outcome.
"Hey, someone's parking down the street," LaToya reported on her cell phone. "Oh, I forgot. This is a stakeout." She switched to a low, urgent voice. "Possible sighting of male subject, driving a red Toyota."
"A Toyota? That doesn't sound very Jack-ish," Lara said. Thirty minutes had passed, and she was waiting anxiously in the apartment on the third floor, while LaToya was stationed on the street below. Their plan was for LaToya to spot Jack arriving so she could write down his license plate number. Then, while Lara interrogated Jack in the apartment, LaToya could run his plates.
Lara watched from the living-room window as LaToya wandered slowly down the street, pretending to window-shop. It was dark outside, but the street-lamps cast yellow pools of light that reflected eerily off the wet cement.
"Subject has exited his car," LaToya whispered into her phone. "Dark hair. Average height. Average looks."
"Jack has black hair," Lara said. "But I'd say he's taller than average. And way better-looking than the-"
"Average alien?" LaToya muttered. "Subject has entered the deli. Don't think he's our man. And it's starting to drizzle again, dammit."
"You want to come in?"
"Negative. I'm on a mission. Possible alien incursion." LaToya pulled the hood of her LSU sweatshirt over her head. "Hey, I wonder what aliens eat. I hope your Jack isn't here to harvest us for food."
"Jack is not an alien." But Lara wasn't sure what he was. She glanced around the apartment to make sure it was presentable. The dishes had been rinsed and stashed in the dishwasher. The kitchen opened onto the living room, which was so small, it was easy to keep clean. Her bedroom was a little messy, but she didn't intend to invite Jack there, even though LaToya insisted she should strip him to check for multiple belly buttons or hidden scales and gills.
Lara's heart speeded up at the mere thought of seeing him again. How would he explain things to her? And how would she react? What if he actually confessed to being an alien? She snorted. LaToya's silliness was getting to her. There had to be a reasonable explanation for Jack's bizarre abilities. Please let it be reasonable.
She wanted him to be human. And available. And interested in her. Oh what the hell, she wanted him to worship the ground she walked on.
"Dammit, would you look at that?" LaToya growled.
"What?" Lara strained to see out the window. "Have you spotted him?"
"No. I'm looking in the window at Mrs. Yee's bakery. She swears everything is fresh every day, but this cream puff with the chocolate icing has the same little black spot on it that the one yesterday had. I'm telling you it's the same one."
"LaToya, you've been lusting after those cream puffs for a week. Just buy one and eat the damned thing."
"Are you kidding? You know how many calories that is?"
Lights flashed across the dark, wet pavement as a new car turned onto the street.
From Lara's vantage point, she couldn't spot the car yet. "Can you see it?"
"Affirmative. Black four-door sedan. Windshield wipers on. Driving slow, like he's looking for a place to park."
Lara tensed as it drove by. "I think it's a Lexus. Could be Jack."
"Windows were tinted," LaToya continued. "I couldn't see the driver. Wait. He's parking at the corner by the magazine stand. I'll head that way."
Lara watched as LaToya strolled past the shops.
"Oh my God," LaToya whispered.
"What? Are you all right?" Lara asked. Her friend had stopped in her tracks.
"Oh my God." LaToya turned to look into a shop window that was, unfortunately, empty. "He's across the street at the end of the block. And he is so hot!"
"It must be Jack." Lara's heart pounded faster. Good God, this was ridiculous. She was acting like a teenager with a crush on the best-looking boy in school. She needed to get a grip. There'd been plenty of good-looking boys who had wanted to date her after she'd won Miss Teen Louisiana. It hadn't taken her long to realize that they'd merely wanted to boost their own ego and reputation. Any beauty queen sufficed. She'd been an object, not a person, and after the car accident, they'd all quickly disappeared.
"Status report: totally hot subject is halfway to our apartment," LaToya whispered. "Too hot to be a coldblooded lizard. I repeat, subject is not a lizard."
Lara pressed against the window, trying to catch a glimpse of him.
"Oh no!" LaToya hissed. "He just looked at me."
Lara gasped when a tall, dark-haired man jogged across the street, headed straight for LaToya. Jack.
"I told you, Bob," LaToya yelled into the phone. "It's over between us. Pack up your crap and move out!"
Lara held her breath to see if her friend's playacting would fool Jack.
"Miss." His voice could be heard over LaToya's phone. "You are Lara Boucher's roommate, no?"
"I-who?" LaToya huffed. "I don't know who you're talking about."
"I recognize your voice," Jack said.
He'd managed to hear LaToya's hushed voice from across the street? Lara wondered if super hearing was another one of Jack's unearthly abilities.
"I'm sure I haven't met you before," LaToya insisted. "And I'm busy talking to my ex, if you don't mind."
"Tell Lara I'll be there soon."
"Humph." LaToya strode away. "No, Bob, you're not taking the Courvoisier. It's mine!"
Lara spotted Jack crossing the street again, then disappearing into her building.