As soon as he was out of sight, I slipped a small listening device I’d stashed up my sleeve and affixed it to the shelf, careful to hide the antenna.
I had no doubt this guy was who I was looking for, but I couldn’t just slap on a pair of cuffs and haul him in. The last thing I needed was to give him any reason to run.
Waiting a few minutes to make it look like I wasn’t hightailing it out of the library, I glanced at one of the books Archer had recommended. He had decent taste for a guy who liked thrillers. It made me wonder what else he had good taste in.
No, I couldn’t go down that line of thinking. He was a mark, a criminal who needed to be brought in for justice to be served, not someone to think about in any other way.
“Hey, find anything good?” Archer rounded the end of the aisle with a flirty grin that probably made women all over Jubilee Falls swoon. Not that I was swooning. I definitely didn’t swoon.
“I’ve got a couple things I’m considering.” I put the book back and turned around with a smirk. “Can I be honest with you?” I took a couple steps forward and rested my palm on his bicep. This close, I had to look up to meet his eyes.
His gaze flickered to where I touched him and then back to me. “Of course.”
“I didn’t come in here looking for a book.” I bit my lower lip, looking up at him through my lashes.
He leaned in close, almost close enough, I thought maybe he was about to kiss me, which was ridiculous.
“Then what did you come in here for?” he murmured conspiratorially with me.
I licked my lips and swallowed, trying to wet my suddenly dry mouth. Where did he get off smoldering like that? And when the hell did my body react to someone so strongly?
“I, uh, needed directions.” I pulled out my phone, holding up the darkened screen for him to see. “My phone died, and I was hoping someone here could help point me to a nearby hotel. I’m just passing through, and stupid me, I forgot to bring the car charger attachment. And Jubilee Falls just sounded like such a sweet name for a town.”
Archer pursed his lips, and I waited for him to call me on my bullshit. My ditzy blonde routine was a little rusty, and I wasn’t sure if he was buying it.
“Sure. Follow me, we’ll get you directions printed out. Or you can hang out here, use one of the plugs behind the circulation desk to charge your phone.” He leaned in close, practically nibbling on my earlobe as he whispered, “There are plenty of things to read while you wait.”
Maybe it had been too long since I’d let myself get good and properly laid. That had to be the reason Archer’s nearness set my nerve endings on fire and had my nipples hard as pebbles in my slightly padded bra.
It couldn’t be the man himself. He was a criminal, a bail jumper, almost certainly a bad guy.
“Oh, really?” I raised one eyebrow at him. “This wouldn’t just be about you wanting to keep a pretty blonde hanging around, would it?”
“Are you kidding? I have the prettiest blonde in here every week, hanging onto my every word.” He grinned. “She’s four and loves to hear me read at story time.”
“I see. You’re already taken. Then I suppose there’s no chance you’d want to read to me?” Where the fuck did that request come from? I was a grown woman. I didn’t ask people to read to me. It certainly had nothing to do with the low rumbling way his voice carried over words, almost like a caress.
He looked me over, his gaze lingering on my breasts, practically spilling out of this t-shirt I’d cut up to be tighter, more revealing, then he dragged his eyes back up, not quite to meet mine, lingering more on my lips.
“Maybe a bedtime story.”
Oh, God, why did that offer make my sex clench? I needed to get a grip. “Are you good at tucking women in?” And that wasn’t it.
He licked his lips. “Maybe you’ll just have to find out.”
My mouth dried up but somehow, I felt like drool was going to ooze out of the side of my mouth. Who the hell was this Don Juan? And why did he seem to have my number? “Let me go grab my charger from the car. I’m still probably going to need somewhere to sleep tonight.” I winked at him, brushing against his body as I moved past him in the aisle, unsure if it was for his benefit or for more.
As I walked back toward the entrance, I put a little extra sway in my hips, sashaying my way out. I didn’t need to turn around to know his eyes watched me the entire walk out the door.
Sliding into the front seat of my car, I squeezed my eyes shut and took a couple of deep, calming breaths. I didn’t know what it was about Archer, or Daniel, or whatever name he was going by today, but my body didn’t seem to understand I was only flirting to gain his trust. It didn’t matter he was sexy as hell and exuded strength and power. It didn’t matter that the mischievous glint in his eyes made me want to demand he tucked me in.
I was here on a job, nothing more. No matter how many times he smiled at me or how wet my panties were right now, the job was the only thing that mattered.
Digging through my bag, I found my charger cord quickly. But the problem with letting him charge it was, it wasn’t dead, not even close. I pulled out my laptop to check the bugs I’d planted in the library to make sure they were working. If I was going back in there, I wanted to make sure they were working so I could fix them if they weren’t. Sound poured through my computer speakers. It was pretty quiet, but being a library, I wasn’t really surprised.
There was a little bit of crackling and then I heard Archer’s voice. “We don’t have that one in right now and there’s a waiting list for it.” Pause. “Yeah, I can put you on the list. What’s your name?”
Boring library stuff. I tuned it out but set up to record. I would need to find a way to bug his house and possibly his car if I could swing it.
Instead of going back inside right away, I turned my phone on and tried to burn through as much battery as I could in ten minutes.
I answered emails, checked voicemails, played games, and surfed social media. I even called Jared to check on him, making sure this latest breakup didn’t have him considering slitting his wrists in a warm bath.
Still, I had over thirty percent left when I walked back into the library again.
Archer was behind the circulation desk again, talking to an older woman. Or more accurately, it looked like she was berating him.
I headed back to the Thrillers section and picked up a book at random, a beat-up paperback that looked like it had been well-loved—or thrown across the room a few times. I didn’t recognize the author, but it didn’t matter; I just needed something to do, something to look like I had reason to hang out in a public library that was more than just charging my phone or flirting with the librarian.
Book in hand, I found a comfortable-looking armchair with a power outlet next to it and settled in. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d just sat somewhere and read a book, but I couldn’t very well work on my laptop or phone all afternoon. I didn’t need Archer walking by and inspecting anything other than the cover I’d chosen.
A few pages in, and I had to admit, the man had good taste in thrillers. I was hooked.
“Hey, V.”
I looked over the top of my book, pulling it down just enough to look coy as I stared up at Archer through my lashes.
“Hi. You looked busy when I came back in, so I just found a plug to use. Is that okay? I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble with your boss for letting me hang out here and read.” I laid it on way too thick and made a note to back off.
He shifted his weight and sat in the armchair next to me.
“Actually, I was going to say I’m going on my lunch break and wanted to see if you were hungry. I know this great place where we can get a bite.”
I reached down into my bag and found my notebook, ripping out a blank page before I slid it into the book I’d been reading.
“Would you be able stash this behind the counter so I can keep reading it? I don’t exactly have a library card here.”
“Y
eah, I can do that.” He took the novel, then reached for my hand.
I quickly shoved my phone and charger into my purse, then let out a slow breath as I stood and let him hold my hand. I couldn’t remember the last time a guy tried to hold hands with me, other than Jared, and even then, it was usually just a quick squeeze before he dropped it again. But Archer’s palm felt warm and rough against mine, and I didn’t want him to let go.
“Where are we going?”
He grinned and it changed his face. He looked boyish and eager. “You’ll see.” He tucked my novel under the circulation desk and smiled at the other librarian. “I’ll be back in an hour, Lynette.”
“Thanks again for letting me leave for a few minutes. I know it pushed your lunch hour back.” She didn’t look angry anymore, and I couldn’t help but wonder if that anger had been directed at him, or if he’d just let her get out whatever was frustrating her. Based on the sheepish way she was standing and how she wasn’t quite meeting his eyes, I guessed the second.
Archer led us out into the heat and humidity of a Nebraska summer, but rather than guide me toward a car, he bypassed the parking lot altogether and headed toward the street.
“We’re walking?”
“Is that okay? It’s not very far, and I figured it would be better to get some movement in. I always get so stiff after driving for a long time.” He turned and gestured back at the parking lot. “But we can drive if you’d prefer.”
“No, walking is great. I guess I’m just used to big city life. You have to drive to get anywhere or take public transportation.” It didn’t give me much option to run away if he tried to pull something I didn’t want to deal with, but then riding in his car somewhere farther away would’ve been worse. “So, where are we going?”
“Just walk with me.” He glanced down at me as if trying to read me. “Sometimes, a surprise is worth the wait.”
I shrugged my shoulders and batted my eyelashes at him. “Lead the way.”
God, I was laying it on thick, and the worst part—I wasn’t even sure why. He didn’t seem reluctant at all to talk to me or ask me out to lunch. In fact, this was all going way too smoothly, but I couldn’t seem to stop flirting with him. I’d played the ditzy, blonde to get my mark a million times, but this time it wasn’t coming out smoothly and I didn’t like not being myself. Which was ridiculous; the only person I trusted enough to be myself with was Jared.
“Where did you come from anyway?”
I chewed my lip, dragging out a long pause. I had my cover story down pat; this stalling tactic was more for him than it was for me.
“I drove down from Omaha. I, uh, needed a change.” I shuffled my feet a little and purposely looked down, letting him fill in the gaps for himself why I needed a change. Of course, I had reasons if he pressed, but most people didn’t when it looked like you were hiding something.
“I get that. I just moved to Jubilee Falls a few months ago myself. Still adjusting.” He steered me to the right, toward a building with a big neon sign, Weather the Storm Bar and Grill. “Small town is a lot to get used to. You making a permanent change or just passing through?”
I flashed him a smile. “I haven’t decided yet.”
He was quiet as we got seated at a booth in the restaurant. Picking up the menu, I looked over the pretty standard bar and grill lunch fare.
“You came from a big city? Do you have family here or something?”
Part of me wanted him just to spill his guts, confess, make this whole bounty job a lot easier. In the half hour or so I talked to him, he didn’t strike me nearly as skittish as he’d been described. He looked like he was a fighter, down to the slight bump in his nose that looked like it had been broken once or twice before.
I wondered if he’d tried his own boxing moves on the wrong guy or did someone challenge him and made a mistake? Looking at the way he moved, he was graceful like a mountain lion or a tiger.
“Not really. I just needed a change.” He looked over the top edge of his menu at me, his lips curving into a smirk. “I guess we have that in common, huh?”
I nodded, then hid behind my menu as if I was trying to decide what to get. It was more about the fact I needed a break from those earnest, sincere green eyes that practically begged me to dive in, to learn all his secrets.
“What’s good here?”
“Just about everything, but the spicy chicken sandwich is one of my best sellers,” someone else answered. “Of course, you can’t go wrong with a burger. Or if you’re looking for something a little lighter, the spinach salad’s always a hit.”
I looked up to see a tall, curvy woman with long dark hair and a red-lipped smirk, her pencil poised over a pad of paper.
“I’m Margot, and I’ll be takin’ care of y’all today. Can I get you started with an iced tea or a lemonade? Maybe a beer?”
Archer put down his menu and smiled. “A cup of coffee, if the pot’s fresh.”
“Of course, Daniel, darlin’.” She grinned at him, then turned to me expectantly.
“I’ll have the lemonade. And can we get an order of fried pickles for the table?” I set my menu down.
“Sounds good.” Margot headed off toward the kitchen, leaving us alone again.
“Fried pickles, huh?” Archer reached over and took my hand as if we’d been dating for weeks like it was the most natural thing in the world. “I can’t say I’ve ever had them, but I’ll give just about anything a try at least once. Margot can pretty much deep fry anything and make it taste good.”
I laughed and leaned forward. “Can I tell you a secret?”
He leaned in conspiratorially and propped up the menus in front of us like we were Sandy and Danny hiding from the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies. “Anything.”
“I am a sucker for fried foods. I’ll eat a salad sometimes, but if that spicy chicken sandwich is fried, I’m gonna have to go with that.”
He laughed and squeezed my hand before he fake-whispered, “It is.”
I pressed my free hand to my chest, over my heart and pretended to swoon. “Be still my heart.”
He brought my other hand up to his mouth and brushed a soft kiss over my knuckles. I was torn between wanting to yank my hand out of his and scooting closer to see what else he would kiss.
“Are you going to be mad if I get the same thing?”
“Eat whatever you want, Archer.” I delicately pulled my hand out of his. “It’s your stomach, not mine.”
He looked around the room and dropped his voice low as he said, “Maybe you should call me Daniel.”
I glanced around the room too, as if I was worried for him, and nodded stoically. “Okay.” I hadn’t even noticed my own slip. It wasn’t like I didn’t have excuse; it was how he introduced me. I didn’t want to call him Daniel, it didn’t suit him. My gaze flickered around the restaurant again.
I wondered what he was worried about. If he was so worried about the people of Jubilee Falls learning his real name, why did he tell me, a complete stranger? Even stranger, what kind of mastermind, wily criminal was this bad at keeping a low profile?
“Talk to me about boxing,” Archer said, changing the subject.
“Boxing?”
He nodded to my shirt.
“Oh, right. My dad was a boxer, not professional or anything, but he wanted to be. He got into a lot of tough jams and did boxing in illegal fights for cash. I still follow it, out of habit, or something. I don’t know. A friend of mine got me this shirt for my birthday. He thought he was being sweet.”
“He?” Archer cocked an eyebrow. “Boyfriend you left behind or something?”
“He’s my best friend. He lives in Chicago. He’s about the closest thing I have left to family.”
“Your dad?”
“He died a few years back.”
“Your mom?”
I shifted uncomfortably. “Look, I don’t have a lot of family. Can we talk about something else?”
He cleared his throat and nodded. “I’m
sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”
I waved him off. “It’s fine.” Except, it wasn’t. My life wasn’t anything much outside of Jared and my job. I didn’t have a lot of friends and I didn’t even know why Jared put up with me most of the time.
Archer returned the conversation to a more neutral topic and we fell into an easy rhythm and the tension knotting in my stomach and shoulders slowly let up.
After lunch, Archer and I walked back to the library, hand-in-hand. I shouldn’t have allowed it. It was weird how comfortable I was with him even when he made me uncomfortable. How easy it was to talk to him, to let him hold my hand. How much my body cried out to be touched by him.
We walked through the door, and he squeezed my hand as we headed to the circulation desk.
“I suppose you’re going to head out, huh?”
“Actually, I thought I’d stick around a while. I only got a few pages into that book I was reading, and it’s been a long time since I’ve hung out at a library. It sounds a lot more fun than sitting in a hotel room all by myself.” I chewed my lower lip as I looked up at him. “What time does the library close? Are you working all day?”
He nodded. “We close at six. You’re welcome to stick around as long as you want. I could sign you up for a library card too, so you don’t have to read only here.” He reached under the counter and pulled out my book and a registration card. “If you want.”
I took the book but handed back the registration card. “It doesn’t seem right to sign up when I’m just passing through. But thank you, it’s really thoughtful.” I smiled and hugged the book to my chest. “I guess I’ll see you in the stacks?”
I could see his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed hard. “Uh, yeah.”
Winking at him, I turned and headed deeper into the library, hoping to plant a couple more bugs before I settled down to read.
As I rounded the end of one of the shelves, I couldn’t help but glance back, just in time to see Archer’s cheeks flush pink and his eyes drop back to the desk as if he hadn’t been watching me walk away.
Lip Locked in the Library Page 3