Giorgio (Vigilance 1)

“Thank you so much.” Lane gave her his most charming smile.

He took a sip and then called out to her, “This is fabulous!”

She turned around and her face lit up. “I’m so glad.”

“You’re right. It is better than your competitor’s.”

“Mine’s good too,” I told her. It was. I rarely drank anything but black coffee, but this place could probably change that.

I’d initially thought Lane was a spoiled brat, and he could be, but most of the time he showed that he cared about people. He’d been worried about me when we’d heard a car pull up to the cabin. He was polite to Cathy, not demanding like he’d been with me earlier. He obviously wanted her to know how much he liked the coffee because he knew it would make her feel good.

Lane took another long sip and moaned. The sound was way too much like the noises he’d made in bed. I had to tell my cock this was not the time to remember how good he’d felt under me.

I imagined X’s eyes going cold when someone told him what I’d done, and my semi deflated instantly.

“We are totally coming back here,” Lane insisted.

He looked so damn young sitting there drinking his caramel confection. I watched as he dipped a finger into the whipped cream topping, brought it to his mouth, and sucked on it.

“Don’t do that again.”

He looked up, startled, and I realized he hadn’t been trying to tempt me. He really just wanted to taste the whipped cream.

“This?” He did it again, holding my gaze this time as he sucked on his finger. He closed his eyes, making it look like he was enjoying the hell out of it.

My cock forgot my stern warning and made it clear it was ready to get back in the game.

“So good,” Lane sighed as he popped his finger out of his mouth.

“You do understand what ‘don’t do that’ means, right?”

“It means it’s really going to annoy you, so it’s a good idea.”

“Annoying me is not a good idea. Most people get that. Why don’t you?”

“Because you make it so much fun. Also, you deserve it. You’ve been an ass to me.”

I had, but there were reasons for it. Reasons I couldn’t explain to him. I fucking hated this. I was never wishing for a mission again.

Instead of responding, I took another sip of my coffee. It really was delicious.

We hung around for a few more minutes. Neither of us saw anyone we recognized.

On our way out, I stopped by the counter. “Cathy, do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Not at all. What’s up?”

“I remember a friend of mine lives around here, but I’ve lost his contact information. I know this may seem a little crazy, but if I showed you a picture of him, could you tell me if you recognize him so I know whether to look for him around town.

“Sure, I can do that. I pretty much know everybody here.”

I pulled up the picture I’d taken of the man as he walked up onto the porch. “Sorry it’s not a very good one.”

“Oh, that’s okay.” She studied it for a second, then shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t recognize him.”

“Maybe he’s moved away. It’s been a while. Thank you, though.”

“You’re welcome. I hope you get to reconnect with him some time.”

“Me too.”

I turned to Lane, but he wasn’t there.

My pulse sped up. He’d probably just stepped outside. How had I let my guard down? I’d noticed someone else leaving. He must have gone out right behind them. Fuck.

I hurried out the door. He wasn’t in front of the shop. I looked both ways down the sidewalk, thinking maybe he wandered a bit, wanting to look in shop windows. I didn’t see him anywhere, so I grabbed my phone and called him. No answer.

Cold fear ran down my spine. Lane was mine to protect. Nothing could happen to him. X would carve me into little pieces if I lost his son, but that was a distant worry. I needed to find Lane because he meant more to me than I wanted to admit.

I should’ve told him everything I knew about Hendon. He was right. He deserved to know. Just because he’d been sheltered for most of his life didn’t mean it was right to withhold the information from him. I knew better than anyone that sometimes you had to break the rules in order to save someone.

I headed toward my SUV as I considered my options, scanning my surroundings for clues about what had happened. As I reached the vehicle, I saw a flash of teal from the corner of my eye.

14

Lane

I’d noticed an antique shop next door to the coffee shop. It looked like the sort of place where I could find lots of treasures to use in my art. While Giorgio talked to Cathy, I stepped out the door and walked over to peek in the antique store’s window. I hadn’t intended to go inside, but when I saw a shelf filled with all kinds of tiny ceramic figurines that looked like they dated from the 1930s or ’40s, I was mesmerized. Below the figurines, I saw a box of thimbles that were just what I needed for one of the sculptures I wanted to create. Forgetting I needed to watch for Giorgio to step out of the coffee shop, I wandered into the store, lost in a creative fog.