“Yeah. I’ve rented a lake house in Wilder to take a few months off before I go on assignment again. I only came into Long Acre for the documentary interview. I never planned…”
“To speak to anyone. Make out with me. Get in a fight. Get arrested.”
A smile fought its way through his sour mood. “Right. Though I only regret three of those.”
“Don’t fli
rt. You don’t get to flirt right now.” She jabbed a finger his way. “I’m worried about you.”
“Duly noted.” He reached out and gently lowered her hand, giving it a squeeze before letting go. “But you don’t need to waste worry on me. I’ll handle it.”
“Uh-huh. Sure you will.”
Another five minutes passed, Liv staring out the window, her fingers lightly drumming on the seat. Thinking. Or brooding. He couldn’t tell.
But finally she looked his way again. “So you met your demise picking up your old lady from jail, huh? Hell of a way to go.”
Her unexpected teasing lifted the weight pressing down on his mind. He put his hand over his heart. “Yes, I’d been waiting years for my one true love to get out after serving time for the assault of an ex-boyfriend. Bridget didn’t deal well with men who stray.”
“Nice. You like ’em feisty.”
He smirked. “Feisty’s good. Violent, not so much. But it was a necessary cover. I needed a girlfriend who I had good reason not to cheat on. There were expectations otherwise.”
“Expectations?”
He peeked at her out of the corner of his eye, her attention on him like the heat of a spotlight. “Their cover for the gun-and-drug smuggling was a strip club chain, so there were women in the group who provided services to the guys. If I had turned that down just because, it would’ve been suspicious. So I acted like I’d made a promise to a woman and planned to keep it. Got me a lot of ribbing from the others but saved me all kinds of fun venereal diseases.”
Liv let out a sharp puff of breath, the humor draining from her face. “God. I can’t even imagine. How long did you have to live like that? I thought I was living a double life just changing my last name and not telling people about Long Acre, but you took it to the next level.”
“Just part of the job. I was under for a little over two years this time.”
“Two years?” She shifted on the seat to face him fully. “Did you get any breaks? To see your family? Friends?”
“No. Not on this one.”
She shook her head. “That’s insane. So no being Finn for two years? No real friends. An imaginary girlfriend.” She smoothed her hands over her skirt and then stilled. “Wait. So does that mean when you kissed me…?”
He cleared his throat. “Now you know why it might have gone a little too far too fast.”
Her lips parted. “I… Oh. Wow.”
Internally, he cringed. Yes, Olivia. I’ve been celibate for over two years and am in a meaningful relationship with my own hand, so sorry I fell on you like a rabid dog. And please ignore that just the scent of your shampoo filling this car has potential to make me a little hard even though I spent the morning acting like an animal and scaring you. “It’s been an intense two years.”
“So that’s why your boss is worried about you.”
He ran a hand over his jaw, weariness bearing down on him. His boss was worried about the usual things—the transition back to normal life—sure. But he was more worried because Finn had taken what everyone else saw as too high a risk, worried that Finn had some sort of death wish. But he couldn’t tell Liv that. “Right. Some people have trouble transitioning back to the civilian world after being undercover. You get used to…not following the rules. Taking what you want. Treating other people like they’re there to serve you. Solving issues with your fists or a weapon.”
“Like today.”
He nodded. “Like today. If you hadn’t been there, I’m not entirely sure I would’ve been able to stop myself from hurting the guy worse. That’s why I need to get to the lake house and be alone.”
She sniffed.
There was so much in that one little derisive sound that he had to look her way. “What?”
Her expression went deadpan. “You realize that is a completely ridiculous plan, right?”
He frowned.