Page 19 of Right Number, Wrong Man
COLT
I peel my gaze from the door of Hailey’s apartment building and lean back in the driver’s seat. My cock stirs as I remember perching in the window of a cheap motel across the bus station yesterday, using my rifle scope to watch Hailey on her naughty errand.
It was fun to follow her in a taxi and stalk her, but I want more than that. I need to be there with her, not just texting instructions. My plan has been set in motion, but once I’ve set my eyes on a goal, patience just ain’t my strong suit.
This morning, I stopped by the costume store and picked up a generic, gunmetal-silver skull mask with devil horns and an attached hood to hide my hair. All the cut outs and the eye holes are covered with black mesh, making my face underneath invisible.
Step two is finding a way to disguise my voice.
I pluck my phone from the dashboard and pull up Cody’s texts. His last message is from a few days ago, announcing he’s on his annual leave. Great timing.
Me
Do you still have that buddy working for the CIA tech department?
Cody
Who did you kill? Never mind. Don’t tell me! The less I know the better.
I’ll bring the acid and you arrange a plastic tub or two to dissolve that mfer! Don’t forget the saws. Tell me when and where and I’ll be there.
I smirk. He’s being funny, but I know he means it, too, and not just because we’ve covered each other’s asses in the field for a decade.
When I joined the squad as a rookie, Cody took me under his wing. He’s a bit older and taught me everything I know about being a sniper—plus some other useful things. Like torture as a team building exercise or how to get rid of a body.
But he’s not just my spotter and my mentor. Cody is the only man I trust with my life. He’s more of a brother to me than Mike ever was.
Me
No murders. I need a voice changer.
Cody
Oh no, civilian life is getting to you! You’re so bored that you’re turning into a garden-variety stalker. Who is she?!
Me
What happened to “the less I know the better”?
Cody
Is she pretty? If she is, does she have a single sister?
Me
She ain’t pretty, she’s the most beautiful woman on earth. And no, she doesn’t have a sister, so back off.
Go to a dive bar and impress some chick with your uniform like you usually do. Maybe you’ll find your fourth wife there.
Cody
No man, it’s your turn for wedding bells! Can’t believe my best bro is finally in love! You bet I’ll get you that voice changer ASAP. Try not to catch a restraining order in the meantime…
Heat singes my face. Did he have to make such a big deal out of?—
The passenger door opens and my heart almost catapults out of my mouth when Hailey sticks her head inside. She plops onto the seat.
“Have you been waiting long?” she asks.
I’ve been sitting here for an hour cause parking in front of your house is the closest I could get to you short of scaling the building and crawling through your window to hide under your bed.
“Nah, just got here,” I lie, stuffing my phone in my pocket.
She closes the door and her perfume hits my nose. Heaven is the inside of my town car and it smells like Hailey. Or I reckon it could be hell too, cause she’s sitting right there and I’m not allowed to touch her. A tingling ache spreads through my hands .
Holding back physically hurts now, huh? I might actually need a doctor.
Years of pining should’ve trained me for this, but sexting with her as Jax broke my carefully crafted restraint like a jackhammer on fine china.
How badly I wanna reach over and put my hand on her thigh. What if my fingers slipped under her baby blue summer dress, pushing up the hem from her knee and?—
Hailey sets her handbag on her lap and fastens her seatbelt, squinting at me. “What’s with that look on your face?”
That’s the look of being madly in love with you, Spitfire.
She crosses her arms. “It’s one minute past 5 p.m. I’m on time. You don’t have a reason to be mad at me.”
Her comment gives me pause. I glance at myself in the rearview mirror and a wave of shock hits me.
Is that my face? That’s how I look when I’m in love ?
My lips are pressed tight, corners pulled down. A big, fat scowl creases my forehead and I think it’s giving me a tension headache. In short, I look like I stepped in dog shit wearing my favorite boots, lost my hat in a rainstorm, and ate a bucket of lemons—all at the same time.
Suddenly I’m aware of my body as if I’m a ragdoll made up of ill-fitting spare parts. My foot taps uncontrollably and I grip the steering wheel with both hands, my knuckles white.
Finally I understand why Hailey thinks I’m always angry.
I gotta work on smiling more.
I give her a sideways look and she purses her lips but doesn’t avert her eyes. Would it freak her out more if she knew I’m overcompensating? Cause if I stopped scowling and holding the wheel like I’m fixin’ to strangle it, I’d have to grab her face and kiss her .
With effort, I pretend to relax. Our gazes lock as I reach across the center console and her shoulders stiffen, her legs angling away from me.
Is she that repulsed by the possibility that I might accidentally touch her?
I ignore the crack in my chest and open the glove compartment to take out the ace up my sleeve: A flat gift in pink wrapping paper with a sparkly pink bow. I offer it to Hailey, but she blinks at me like I’m handing her a piece of rotten roadkill.
“What is this?” she asks.
My stomach winds into knots. Did I overdo it? I wanted to bring her flowers but going to my parents certainly ain’t a date. Then again, I wasn’t raised to pick up a lady empty-handed.
My heart pounds as I search for the right words, but I’m tongue-tied.
Hailey takes the present and runs a hand along the bow. Some glitter sticks to her fingertip, and I wish I was a piece of biodegradable glitter if it meant she’d touch me. Fuck, I’m desperate. At this point, she could punch me in the jaw and I’d thank her for it.
“What a pretty bow,” she muses, a smile curling her glossy lips. “Is this for your mom?”
“No… for… you…” I choke out.
“What did you say?”
I clear my throat, finally finding my voice again. Sort of. It’s got a weird high pitch like I’m a pre-pubescent boy trying to sound manly. “It’s for you. Remember we called a truce for tonight? Consider it a peace offering.”
Hailey’s cheeks turn crimson. “You shouldn’t have!”
“Open it.”
She slides off the bow and puts it on her lap before peeling off the sticky tape and unwrapping the paper.
“What the fuck, Colt! A first edition DVD of Wraithface I , signed by the director? For me ? Are you serious?”
My heart lifts. “Sure am.”
Originally, I bought it online as a gift for her birthday next spring, but it seemed perfect for the occasion and I knew it would put her in a good mood. Some people might call this bribery, I call it diplomacy.
“I don’t know what to say…” Her eyes shine as they find mine and the gentleness in them tilts the world on its axis. She’s never looked at me this way before.
Without disdain .
My stomach swoops like I’m gonna vomit butterflies, but I force a casual smile. “Thank you will do just fine,” I say.
“Well, thank you so much, Colt!”
“Don’t mention it.”
Giggling, Hailey grabs the brim of my Stetson. Before I can react, she’s already taken it off and leans in.
Time slows to a crawl.
Her nose brushes against my beard, the feather-light contact sending me into a freeze response. My pulse blares as I suck in a shallow breath, smelling her fruity shampoo and her berry lip gloss.
What in the world is this devil woman up to ?