“Not from you.”
“I can’t believe you don’t like my southern charm.” He looked completely bewildered.
“The ladies love that shit, even if they’re stuck-up Yankees.”
I let out a dry laugh. “I’ve lived in the south too, numbskull. My father was in the Navy so we traveled a lot.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere. I thought I could hear a bit of twang in there. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
Sighing, I took a final look at myself in the mirror and turned around. “No, it was just my mom, dad, and me.” I walked past him to the kitchen and kept my back to him while I poured a shot of his whiskey, tossing it back quickly.
“Do they live in Maine too?”
Clenching my teeth, I poured another shot. “What’s with all the questions?” I glanced at him over my shoulder.
With narrowed eyes, he studied me. “I’m good at reading people, but I can’t seem to figure you out.” Sliding his laptop over, he opened it and typed away. “With just a touch of a few keys, I can find out anything I want about someone. You? I can’t find shit.”
I turned around, hands on my hips. “So you’ve been investigating me, why?”
He closed his laptop. “I worked with a guy for years who fucked over my entire team without us knowing. That’s how good he was. He wanted someone on the inside of the government so he could help his brother with all sorts of illegal shit. Not to mention, the fucker almost killed my sister in his quest for revenge. Trust is a big issue with me.”
“It is with me too. Do you not think I am who I say I am?”
“I don’t know. All I could find was an article with you and your uncle at his bed and breakfast and that you graduated from George Washington University. It’s like you’re a ghost.”
“Obviously not everything was taken away if you were able to find that.” I stalked over to him, eyes blazing. “But if you want to know the truth, I’ll tell you. You should be able to recognize if I’ve been lying or not. It’s one of the first things we learned.”
“You’re right, but the problem is, you haven’t told me a fucking thing about yourself. I have nothing to go on, no base for my trust.”
“Fine.” I twisted the seat beside him and sat, knees to knees with my hands palms up in his lap. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”
The second he touched my wrists, my pulse spiked. “Nervous?”
I kept my focus on his eyes, knowing I couldn’t lie. “Yes, but only because I’m not used to being touched.”
“Do you think I’m sexy?” he asked, winking.
I jerked out of his hold, glaring. “I didn’t offer to do this so you could provoke me. Just ask your questions so we can get to work.”
He grabbed my wrists and put his thumbs back in place. “Is your name Aylee McFadden?”
“Yes.”
“Are you really an FBI agent?”
“Yes.”
“Why is your profile untraceable?”
I sighed. “Because I don’t want to be found.”
“Why?”
“There was a time many years ago when someone tried to find me to get to my dad. They ended up finding my mother instead.”
“What happened?” he asked, sounding concerned.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Either you talk about it with me now, or I will find it myself. I don’t think you want me picking apart your life.”