The Professional Alibi

Chapter 23: Wit & Wagers

Wade nods and points to the contact lense case. "Go ahead and put that back before it dries out." He strokes his beard again. "I'm glad Cosmo and Tex like you. I'm curious why Trig is asking about you. Of course, guys always sit up and notice when a pretty girl is around."

Did he just call me pretty?

I lift a shoulder. "I'm sure it means nothing. Besides, Trig's already got his harem with him. He doesn't need a third girl."

"You keep thinking that," Wade says. The intensity of his gaze makes me want to wiggle, so I point to the three jewelry boxes. "You gonna tell me what's in those?"

Sighing dramatically, he lines the three boxes up, side by side, and opens them one at a time. The first box is a pair of large diamond studs. My eyes widen. They can't be real diamonds, can they?

The second box contains a set of thin gold finger rings in a variety of textures.

The third box holds a silver ear cuff shaped like a sergeant's rank.

He pulls the diamond studs out of the box and hands one to me. "These are your official APEX gear. They have a microphone in them and a GPS so we know where you are at all times. If you go missing, I can find you. They're also waterproof, fireproof, and impact-proof. Everything recorded on these earrings will be recorded, transcribed, and given to me for documentation regarding the mission. They're a redundancy for the contacts."

"Well, that's not creepy, or anything," I mutter, twirling the stud in my hand and watching it sparkle. "Does that mean you're gonna hear me pee, talk in my sleep, and get all the up close and personal sound effects when I'm making out with one of the guys?" Despite my determination not to, my face burns at the idea of Wade watching–or hearing me-make out with one of the guys. He might as well pull up a seat and grab some popcorn while he's at it.

Wade runs a hand through his thick black hair, mussing it up, and giving me another good view of the compass on his forearm. "I'm as thrilled about eavesdropping as you are. Luckily, I don't listen unless I'm concerned of imminent danger, then it's in real-time. And transcripts don't include sounds." He scrubs a hand down his face and lets out an awkward breath. "Back to the jewelry. Contacts. Studs. If you need different jewelry to go with whatever you're wearing, I can set that up. I figured these were the most versatile."

"They're not real diamonds are they?"

Wade smirks. "No. But the government does have a contract with the jeweler to make sure they look exactly like diamonds, in case someone gets suspicious and wants to take a closer look."

"I'd be suspicious if someone from high school knew enough about diamonds to want to look."

"Bingo," he says, chuckling. "Perceptive for a little girl."

"I'm not a little girl," I say, suddenly defensive. "I'm nearly eighteen."

"So I've been told."

Now it's my turn to deflect. "Tell me about the gold finger rings."

He grabs the box with the rings and pulls the rings out. "You know how to wear these, correct?"

I nod.

Handing me one, he says, "The smooth rings are bugs. Drop them whenever you need to bug a room. The textured one will turn warm if you're being bugged." He hands me a band that spirals. I run the tip of my finger over it, feeling the bumpy texture.

He gives me a ring that has a tiny diamond embedded in the band."And the one with a gem in the middle will vibrate if you're in danger and we need to notify you."

I slip the diamond ring on another finger, but he points to my hand. "You'll want the spiral ring, and the diamond ring on different hands so you don't get them mixed up. You'd think the difference between heat and vibration would be enough, but you'd be surprised how many people mix it up, mistaking lies for bugs."

Pulling the gemmed ring off my right hand, I move it to the pointer finger of my left hand. "Seriously?"

"Yup." He grins, flashing laugh lines at the edges of his eyes, softening the hard edges of his face.

"And what about the ear cuff?" I say, pointing to the final box.

Wade sobers and takes the cuff out of the jewelry case, then he holds it between us so I can see better. The design is similar to the chevrons on his bicep tattoo. "This is your panic button," he says. "If you need me to come get you for any reason–any reason at all, compress the chevrons and I'll be there as fast as I can."

He puts his pointer finger on the top of the cuff, and his thumb on the bottom, squeezing until the lines of the three chevrons compress into one thick V. I loud beeping sound that reminds me of an emergency broadcast alert goes off in his pants pocket. He reaches in and pulls out his phone, showing me the screen. It says: 911 Evie Steele.

Wade presses a button on his screen, halting the hair-raising alert, and grins. "Try sleeping through that alarm." He lifts the cuff toward my face. "May I?"

Blinking at the immediate surge of electricity practically crackling between us, I swallow. "Sure."

I tuck a lock of hair behind my ear to give him better access to my ear, and tilt my head slightly.

I must not've gotten all the hair, because he smooths my hair behind my ear again, trailing his fingers along my jaw. It sends a trail of goosebumps down my skin, and I struggle to control my breathing.

Wade's gray eyes dilate and darken as he leans closer to me, securing it to the outside of my ear, then running his fingers along the outside, and pausing at my lobe. He pins me with his eyes, and I'm utterly lost in his gaze, unable to breathe or move for fear this moment will break.

It's Wade who finally blinks, breaking our trance. He leans away from me, scrubbing a hand down his face. "Okay. put on your gear. If there's anything else you need to feel safe, let me know."

"Just one thing," I say, taking out my old earrings and putting in the new ones."

"What's that?"

I don the last of my finger rings and stand, gazing down at him. "I need assurance that Tex won't pull that crap again on me. Today he got a shot to the solar plexus. Next time I'll break bones, and that'll most likely be as bad as pulling him off the job completely."

Wade grins but rubs his mouth, trying to hide his expression. "Is that what you did? No wonder he sounded weird when I called."

"Yeah," I say, arching a brow and silently daring him to get upset. Just thinking about Wade gets my hackles up and I'm ready to go a round with a heavy bag.

Wade's face turns serious and he clears his throat. "As soon as I'm done here, I'll go talk to him. I guarantee he will be nothing but a gentleman from here on out."

"That's what you said last time. I need a guarantee."

Wade strokes his stubble for a second, contemplating. "How about I make you another deal."

"Really? Another deal? At the rate Tex is going, you'll be my slave for time and all eternity by the end of the week."

Chuckling, Wade inclines his head as if to agree. "So far you've been the only person with skin in the game. How about I put some skin in too?"

I narrow my eyes and lift my chin. "What kind of skin?"

"How about, if Tex is inappropriate with you again..." He sighs and has a pained look on his face. "If Wade's inappropriate with you again, I'll answer two personal questions about myself."

"Deal!" For the first time ever, I'm actually hoping Tex will do something naughty so I can break Tex's bones and extract information from Wade. Sounds like a win/win situation to me.