Page 18 of Keeping Collette

The car they were in was similar to what she’d seen in the driveways of the surrounding neighborhood. When they’d gone to the parking garage beneath Alliez’s offices, he’d steered her toward a sedan with faded blue paint, rust spots, and a dent in the back door. Before she could even ask anything, he’d explained they’d used this car for surveillance and when they wanted to blend in. He’d reassured her that while it may look like it was going to break down if pushed too hard, it wouldn’t. It was in tiptop mechanical condition, and if needed, could swiftly get away from any situation.

“Give me a second.” He grabbed a tablet out of the bag, tapped at the screen before pressing his finger to his ear. “Do you read me, Cass?” After a couple of beats of silence, he nodded. “Great, we’re going in. Once we get back we can go over it all with everyone.” He touched the button again, along with the device in his ear, then turned to her. “You good to go?”

“Is it legal to record someone without them knowing?” Even though the fact doing so could give her the information she needed about her sister, she still didn’t feel comfortable about it all. The person in the store likely wasn’t involved, and it didn’t seem fair that they were being taped without their knowledge.

Or was she being over the top dramatic?

Did it matter if, at the end of the day, they found her sister by reviewing the recording and analyzing what the person said? Shouldn’t she be happy they were using any means necessary to find Courtney?

“You know what?” she started, before Deal could answer her question. “I don’t care if it’s legal or not. You guys know what you’re doing, and I shouldn’t question your methods.”

“It’s fine to ask anything you want, whether I answer is another thing all together.” A glint of mischief shone in his eyes. “I ask again, you ready to do this?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Whatever happens in there, I’ll keep you safe.”

As she was already nervous, Deal’s words didn’t help her at all. “Comforting. Thanks.”

He laughed and leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. The action unexpected, but she liked it. Her skin tingled from the contact.

Deal immediately sat back, eyes wide. “Sorry, I-I shouldn’t have done that.”

“What? Why?” Confusion hit her. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“Thank you, but I should’ve asked if it was okay to kiss you.”

“And take the spontaneity out of the moment?” She shook her head. “I get the whole consent thing, and appreciate the consideration you’re giving me, but I’m here with you. I’ve let you hold my hand. Hell, I’ve cried in your arms. I think all of those combined are a good sign I’m comfortable with you, and okay with you kissing my cheek.”

“I hear you. I’ve just seen the way women have been treated in other countries and promised myself I wouldn’t ever do anything to make a woman feel threatened or uncomfortable.”

Collette couldn’t fathom the horrible things he’d seen, but she also appreciated what he’d experienced had shaped him. “Then thank you again for being you. But if you want to kiss me on the cheek again, I’m okay with it.” She almost said kiss her on the mouth, but just because he seemed to like being with her, didn’t mean he wanted more.

The circumstances of how they met were unusual, and the chances of her running into him outside of that was unlikely. Not to mention all her emotions were sky high, so perhaps his caution was a good thing.

“Noted,” he said, studying her as if wanting to make sure she meant what she was saying.

“All right, I think we’ve put it off enough. Time to go in.” Whatever happened in the next fifteen minutes could mean either they had a lead on finding her sister, or they were back to square one.

Chapter Ten

Deal was conscious of Collette walking beside him, her arm brushing against his. They weren’t holding hands, but they were close enough that they could if they wanted to.

Kissing her on the cheek had been spontaneous and as natural to him as breathing, yet it had also shocked him that he’d acted without thinking. That had been more the reason for his reaction than taking liberties he hadn’t asked for—even though he should’ve.

“Are you okay?” she murmured as they approached the door.

“Yeah, why?”

“You seem a little distracted.”

Fuck, he couldn’t be anything but on the ball. He had no intel of the type of situation he was about to walk into. And as he had Collette with him, he had to ensure nothing happened to her.

“I’m fine. All good.” Deal needed to get his head in the zone he always went into when going on a mission. The place where nothing mattered but the objective. He trusted his teammates had his back, like he had theirs. Only, he didn’t have the team backing him. They were back in the office, waiting for them to return with information.

He wouldn’t be transmitting live. The button recording device didn’t have that capability. When he’d checked in with Cass, it had been purely for her to see if it showed on her end that it was recording.

He would even keep his comms off, unless it was an emergency. He didn’t want whoever was in that store to be wary of their presence. Although asking about a missing girl was going to raise suspicions, unless—he grabbed Collette’s hand and tugged her to the side. Scanning the area to make sure they weren’t being watched and that there weren’t any cameras, which he already knew there wasn’t, as Cass hadn’t been able to find any to hack into. Didn’t mean there hadn’t been any put up between Courtney’s disappearance and now.