Page 25 of Pretty Little Trigger

CHAPTER 24

Hunter

I load our things into the trunk.

Alana is rummaging through her bag in the passenger seat.

Probably deciding what version of herself to wear tonight.

And I’m out here, trying to remember why I said yes to this.

Fake boyfriend. Right.

I’ve done deep-cover work before.

Pretended to be all kinds of things.

But this? This feels like torture.

I don’t want to pretend to be hers.

I want to be hers. Not just for one night.

Not just in front of some eccentric sculptor.

I want the version where she doesn’t kiss me because she’s drunk.

The version where I don’t have to lie to her about who I am and what I’ve done.

Where we don’t have to play pretend.

But that version doesn’t exist.

So I play the part.

I carry her bags. I open the door.

I remind myself I’m just the bodyguard.

Even if tonight, for a few hours, I get to pretend I’m not.

And that might be the worst lie of all.