“Besides, you and Loki hogged all the wontons last night.”
“If you’re that desperate for Chinese, I’ll order something from the local place. You’re not leaving this house until we find Samson.”
“And you’re nuts if you think you can keep me locked up here. What are you going to do, handcuff me to the bed?”
“If I have to,” he replied in a growl that gave me pause. Up until that point I hadn’t really seen him as the authoritative figure he was. It was so easy to buy into the gorgeous but harmless cowboy fa?ade that I forgot that underneath the hat and boots he was a dangerous man with skills I couldn’t even begin to imagine.
While the lust-driven half of my brain was thrilled by the prospect of being handcuffed to the bed by him and all the fun activities that could lead to, the rational half knew that there wasn’t likely to be any fun involved if he followed through on his threat.
“You wouldn’t dare,” I said, though my stomach twisted with doubt.
“I just might. At least then I’d be able to keep an eye on you.”
“You can just as easily keep an eye on me if you take me to see Alyssa. Besides, someone needs to take a look at your hand before it falls off.”
Flexing the swaddled fingers of his injured hand, he grimaced. He knew I was right, and that I made a crap nursemaid. My bedside manner was limited to hogging the covers and wanting to jump his bones, neither of which was all that conducive to staving off infection.
“You’re not going to let this go are you?” he asked with a sigh, rubbing his uninjured hand over his face.
“Nope,” I replied, rocking back and forth on my heels, a triumphant grin spreading across my face.
“All right. Let’s get this over with.”
Loki gave a short trill before jumping up onto the table and then launching himself to land deftly on Holbrook’s shoulder. For such a big cat he moved with a surprising amount of grace when he wanted to. Holbrook let out a startled breath, staggering under the unexpected weight, but didn’t say anything else as Loki settled himself on his shoulder. Apparently, he was set on coming along too. I couldn’t help the sharp stab of jealousy at the sight of my companion nestled up against the curve of Holbrook’s neck, riding along like a fat and furry parrot. But I couldn’t figure out which one of them made me jealous the most.
We hadn’t even gotten halfway to the door before Collins and Hill materialized on either side of me, flanking me like a couple of golems in their matching suits.
And here I thought I might get a break from my bodyguards.
Another agent stood at the front door, watching us with narrowed eyes and a blank expression on his face. With the cord for his earpiece trailing down into his collar I figured all he needed to complete his Agent Smith look was a pair of dark sunglasses and a sneering voice. “Is everything all right, Sir?”
Maybe just the sunglasses then.
“We’re fine Townsend. We’re heading into town for some Chinese food.”
“I would be happy to drive you, Sir,” he replied though the tone of his voice left me doubting whether or not he was actually familiar with happiness. Or any other human emotions for that matter.
“No, it’s fine. We won’t be long,” Holbrook said, ushering me out the door.
“Do you really think that’s—”
“Stay here and watch the perimeter. We’ll bring you back some dumplings.”
“Uh, yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir,” Townsend replied, a furrow of confusion appearing between his eyes.
“Come on. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave,” Holbrook muttered, leading the way towards one of the totally conspicuous black SUVs parked in the driveway.
I watched through the side mirror as Collins and Hill climbed into one of the other SUVs, relieved that I didn’t have to suffer the presence of the two mountains of flesh. A snort of laughter erupted from my lips when they donned matching sunglasses, looking like a couple of extras from The Matrix.
“What’s so funny?”
“Just the Sunshine Twins back there,” I replied, hooking my thumb towards the other car. “Anyone would think they’d break something if they dared to crack a smile.”
Holbrook looked like he wanted to disagree with me, but knew he’d be lying if he did. Remaining silent, he slid into the driver’s seat, grimacing when Loki jumped down from his shoulder to the center console where he perched, looking out the windshield. As soon as he started the engine, Loki stood up with his front feet resting on the dashboard as though he had taken on the role of navigator. The ride across town was silent except for Loki’s meowed directions which actually seemed pretty damn accurate.
Chapter 25