My hands felt nervous, craving action. I straightened my dress and smoothed back my hair as I strode to the pair of heels I’d abandoned. Behind me, I could hear him doing up his pants. Once I had my shoes back on, I felt more comfortable. I had returned to my role of Regan the sales assistant, and snatched both my jacket and Tara’s robe off the hook. I undid the straps on her wrists and handed her the robe.
As we dressed, I could sense Silas standing there, watching. I turned to face him. “Okay, then. I’ll see you Sunday at six.”
“With the memory card.”
“Yes.”
He had his hands on his hips. In another situation I would have deemed this stance as aggressive, perhaps even threatening, but I didn’t need to worry about him using force on me. I had the terrible feeling that whatever assault he’d make would be subtle. He’d come at me sideways, striking at me on an emotional level, and it’d be far more damaging.
Chapter
FIFTEEN
Silas’s hand cupped his tall water glass and his fingers drew patterns in the condensation that formed there. Did he even know he was doing it?
I’d had my meeting with Shane this morning, revealing the weekend had been another bust. I didn’t tell him a thing about what had happened, nor had I told him I was planning on having dinner with Silas this evening. My first time not being transparent with my handler. I’d lied by omission, which was something I was a little too comfortable with.
I was on a date. It was a bad idea, but the internal thought wasn’t loud enough to hear over the roar of his motorcycle’s engine as we rode to the restaurant, my arms wrapped around his waist.
The place was nice and boasted New American cuisine, whatever that was. The long, narrow room was dimly lit and had high-backed booths against the right wall, each illuminated with a decorative hanging light fixture. We were tucked in the last booth, and as I slipped into the seat so I could face the door and watch people entering and exiting, I got the impression he knew why I had chosen this seat. Thankfully¸ he didn’t make a comment.
“You look nice,” he said.
“Aw, don’t do that.”
He hesitated. “Don’t do what?”
“Be a cliché. You’re not obligated to say it.”
Silas grimaced. “I know I’m not obligated. All I’m doing is stating a fact. I’ll say you look nice if I fucking want.” His expression softened. “I’m an artist, Regan. I love to look at beautiful things, so I know what I’m talking about.”
Christ. His words made me weak. How was I supposed to respond? He was the beautiful one, not me. I swallowed hard. “Okay, thanks. You look nice, too.”
I meant it. He had on dark-washed jeans and a lightweight brown sweater, and its slim fit showed off his perfect form. He’d pushed the sleeves back, and the pattern on his forearm peeked out. It made me long to see the rest of his tattoo beneath the sweater.
Later. There was no way I could look at those pictures he’d taken of us and not want to fuck him.
“I have two questions for you,” I said, after we’d ordered our dinners.
“Yeah? Let’s hear them.”
My heartrate ticked up a notch, but I kept my expression blank. “You said your sister’s a Marshal.”
He considered my statement, but his expression hinted he wondered where I was going with this. “She is.”
“Well, are you two not close? Because Joseph’s club . . .” Would he think my motive for asking was that I feared for my illegal job?
“What goes on there isn’t Caroline’s business,” he answered quickly. “She probably wouldn’t care unless a fugitive came in anyway.” He leaned on the table, cutting down on the distance between us, and his voice lowered an octave. “Don’t worry. After I found out, I promised Joseph his dirty secret was safe with me.”
“How did you find out?” I was dying to know. “Have you been there before?”
He chuckled. “No. I did a cover job on a tat for one of the girls who worked there. Rachel, I think? Joseph sent her my way, and she thought I already knew what she did.”
“That had to be a helluva conversation.”
His eyes gleamed. “Yeah, it was interesting.”
He hadn’t really answered my question on whether or not he was close to his sister, though. I filed it away to work on later.