I let myself get dragged into the conversation, forcing myself not to think about Maddie and the danger she’s in. But it’s all I can think about, and I know that by the end of the night, I’ll have the first available flight to Chicago booked.
Sawyer
I walk into the small diner on Taylor Street and canvas the floor, easily making out my mark despite the place being pretty packed. It’s lunch rush, and the scrumptious scent of lasagna and roasted veggies makes my mouth water and stirs my stomach awake, reminding me I still haven’t eaten today.
I’ve had two solid weeks of preparation. Reading the files, setting my backstory, studying her routine. She sits here almost every day, but for fear of her recognizing me too early in the play, this is the first time I’ve walked inside and seen her table of choice.
Every part of my training is screaming in my head with utter frustration when I see she’s sitting all the way at the end of the establishment behind a laptop that’s obstructing her view.
It’s as if she chose a seat that would keep her as far away from the exit as possible rather than close, where it would be easy for her to escape if needed, and then decided to take it a step further and block her line of sight to any potential danger walking into the diner. An uncontrollable urge to snatch her up from her chair and lock her in a tower, where she’ll be safe, overcomes me.
My pulse races as I walk towards her, wondering how she can be even more beautiful than I remember. She’s straight out of Pleasantville, with buttercream-blonde ringlets framing her heart-shaped face. Her nose is scrunched in concentration which is intensified by the pursing of her praline-pink lips, colored to match her pleated dress and high heels.
A real live Sandy Dee, and one of our country’s most valuable assets.
She must feel me glaring because her head snaps up, dark gray eyes the color of storm clouds scanning the diner and abruptly stopping on me. Our eyes meet, and my step nearly falters, both of us frozen by the connection, though Maddie might be merely shocked. Then she shakes her head and commences to furiously type away.
This was a bad idea.
The closer I get, the more the memories come back. Stolen kisses in the dead of night, the way her soft skin felt against my palms, lengthy conversations where her hands described her words in measured gestures. Except when she was excited, and those long fingers drew animated scenes accompanied by the soundtrack of her full belly laughter.
I could have kept listening to her forever. But apparently, she got fed up with me and disappeared while I was getting our coats so we could leave after the wedding. She never answered my calls and texts asking if she was okay, and then one of her cousins told me she had gone back to the hotel. I never heard from her again.
The thought of turning on my heel and calling Jonah to tell him I’m not seeing the mission through crosses my mind, but I’ll never act on it. As reproachable as I am in many aspects, honor and duty have forever been my beacon.
This entire scene was made to seem like a random reconnect. She’s in Chicago for work, and I’m here to visit my mom. We happened to end up in the same popular diner in Little Italy, and my mission is to feign friendly interest in this girl who left me high and dry.
I continue my approach, grinding my molars as I try to subdue my rising irritation at Maddie’s insistent disregard of me.Great. I’ve been assigned to babysit a Barbie with an attitude.
“Hey, Mad—”
She lifts a finger to shush me as her other hand picks up the typing pace to make up for the loss of its companion, her eyes darting over the screen, and I can’t help but admire the sheer tenacity in which her slender, perfectly manicured fingers dance across the keyboard.
I wait a few more heartbeats before trying again.
“So…”
“Shh!” she vocally shushes me and points at the chair across from her, the thin silver bracelets on her wrist jingling as she types away, triggering memories of the sound next to my ear as her arms wrapped around me, soft moans mixing with the silvery tinkle when I ravished her neck, enveloped in her flowery scent.
The bitter longing brought on by the memories has my patience wavering, but I remind myself why I’m here. She’s family to my brother-in-arms, which means that, in a way, she’s my family too. She’s also in enough danger for a high-ranking FBI agent to have asked for a personal favor from the Peaks.
I’m doing this for my friend, for my career, and because it’s the right thing to do.
So, I sit my ass down and wait for little Miss Dee to finish whatever the hell she’s so intent on doing right this damn minute.
Maddie doesn’t know about the arrangement Peak Securities has with her uncle. My job is to keep her close and keep her safe. Though judging by her blatant cold shoulder treatment so far, even striking up a conversation is going to be a challenge.
After about thirty seconds, she perches her elbows on the table and weaves her fingers together, leaning her chin on them with a sly smile stretching her lips, and I remind myself that her reasons for sporting that sinfully delicious smile are vastly different this time around.
“Hi, Sawyer,” she greets with a sing-song voice, and I cross my arms while searching her face for a clue as to why her attitude so abruptly shifted.
“Maddie. Long time,” I repeat the practiced line, forcing a smile of my own.
“Wow. No wonder you were on the wrestling team.” She rolls her eyes, dropping her hands to the table. “You would have sucked at drama.”
“Unlike you?” I raise an eyebrow, meeting her annoyed gaze head-on. “It’s been a crap couple of weeks, Maddie. I walked in here and saw a familiar face, thought it would be nice to come over and say hi.”
Maddie stares at me for a moment before her gaze turns to her computer, where she looks at something intently as she scratches the surface of the table.