Page 45 of Mission: Possible

Yet, if that were the case, why would he ask me to investigate? It didn't make any sense.

By the time I pulled into the small parking lot behind Lily's bar, I was still contemplating the merits of the case. The only conclusion I drew was: either Austen or Zach was lying. While I thought about it, I switched my sneakers for heels and headed toward the back entrance.

"Hey!" Lily waved me over to the bar where she and Ruby, her bartender and our mutual friend, were polishing tall-stemmed wine glasses.

"It's quieter than usual in here," I remarked as I slid onto one of the barstools.

"Happy hour just ended," said Lily. "It'll pick up shortly. Enjoy the lull while it lasts."

"What can I get you?" asked Ruby.

"A small glass of cabernet, please."

"Remember when we used to call it "that red stuff"?" asked Lily with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm much fancier now," I replied.

"Coming up, one fancy cabernet." Ruby stepped away and poured my wine, placing it on the bar in front of me. "Is that Maddox?" she asked.

I looked over my shoulder. Maddox strolled towards us in a slim-fitting, dark gray suit that enhanced his broad shoulders and neat waist, where I was fairly sure he concealed his gun. His white shirt was open at the neck and he appeared more than ready for a haircut as usual. "It is."

"You're crazy," she said. "Who would leave that?"

"Have you seen her husband?" asked Lily.

"Have you considered polygamy?" countered Ruby.

"Shush, you two," I said, waving them to be quiet.

"If anything happens to your husband, do you still have dibs on Maddox?" whispered Ruby.

"Of course she does," whispered Lily. "It's the law."

I glared at them both. Lily mimed zipping her lips shut and stepped away to serve another customer. Ruby simply busied herself at the bar, keeping one eye on Maddox. "So hot," she mouthed to me.

"Have I kept you waiting long?" asked Maddox, taking the barstool next to me, and leaning in to kiss my cheek.

"At least a whole minute," I replied, smiling. "Thanks for meeting me."

"It's no hardship." Maddox pointed at my glass and then at himself. Ruby sighed and nodded before she fetched the bottle. "What's wrong with her?" he asked.

"She's dazzled by you," I said and Maddox huffed as he shook his head slightly. Then he took a long moment to run his gaze over me, assessing every detail. Just when I was ready to ask why he was being so intense, he said, "You look like you recovered from your ordeal. I was worried about you. I feared you might have been stoic about it."

"I feel weirdly okay now. It happened. I didn't get hurt. Someone did but he's okay and we all walked out of there. Bank robberies are usually crazier than that, right? I'm supposed to be terrified but I'm not."

"Now, Iamworried." Maddox reached for the wine glass Ruby placed in front of him and sipped it.

"Why? Isn't that a good thing?"

"When I first met you, what I liked about you was that you weren't a hard case. You weren’t jaded by all of the horrible things in the world. You could still flinch."

"I thought what you liked most about me was looking down my top when you worked undercover for that insurance firm," I quipped. The memory of that dragged me back to the moment I misdirected my company time to shop for lingerie online and accidentally sent my choices to the communal printer. Maddox picked up the printouts. Thankfully, the low lighting of the bar covered my blush at the flashback.

Maddox's mouth split into a delighted smile. "I didn't saynotbeing a hard case was my favorite thing about you. I liked that you knew when to be afraid. Your fear impulse was still intact. You hadn'tseenstuff."

"I was afraid at the bank," I confessed.

"But not enough to sayscrew this, I'm done with this life. Instead, you're right back at work, shrugging it off like it's nothing."