Vortex by Julie Cross Page B

trigger. “Drop the knife,
     now!”
    “Oh, God.” The dude’s eyes completely bugged out. “Okay … just put her down and you
     can have my wallet … whatever you want.”
    I lowered my gun after hearing the panic in his voice. Then I noticed he was wearing
     a pink apron and something was cooking. Something that smelled like stewed tomatoes
     and onions. “Um … sorry, I think I have the wrong apartment.”
    “Wait! This is Lily’s place,” he said. “I’m Michael…”
    “Michael?”
    “Her fiancé.”
    Fiancé? As in getting married? Kendrick is getting married? And to a guy who obviously hadn’t had a single self-defense lesson in his life? Talk
     about fifteen-year-old-girl gossip … this would make Tempest headlines, for sure.
    I tucked my gun away, deciding to fall into step with whatever cover Kendrick had
     created until she woke up and could fill me in. “Sorry, I thought you were an intruder
     or … something. ”
    I tossed Kendrick onto the couch and Michael set the knife on the coffee table and
     leaned over her. “Lily, you okay?”
    “She had some issues on the flight. The doctor knocked her out with something so she
     could sleep.” He was still looking at me like I might shoot him. “We work together,”
     I added.
    “Do all CDC employees carry a weapon?”
    CDC? Not sure I could fake this cover job. Let’s just hope Michael knows as much about the Centers for Disease Control as he
     does about self-defense.
    “Brand-new standard protocol,” I said.
    His face relaxed and then he jumped up. “Are the bags still outside? Let me run and
     get them, you must be ready to pass out after carrying her up the stairs.”
    I made another attempt to wake Kendrick while Michael went to get her suitcases. She
     stirred a little and finally opened her eyes. “God, are we home already?”
    “Yep, safe and sound.” I helped her sit up and then looked around the room for the
     first time. Everything was pink and flowery. Wedding-planner books were strewn across
     the coffee table. This was the most girlie, anti-secret-agent apartment ever.
    Good cover, I guess.
    “And I’ve already had the pleasure of meeting your soon-to-be spouse.”
    She rubbed her temples and groaned. “Oh, God…”
    “You couldn’t have warned me? Seriously, I pulled a gun on the guy, thinking he was
     an Eyewall agent or an EOT.”
    Her eyes widened. “Shit … tell me you’re kidding…?”
    I shook my head just as Michael came banging through the door, lugging two suitcases.
     “Lil, you’re awake.”
    She sprang up from the couch and practically jumped over the coffee table before wrapping
     herself around him. “I knew you were here, I smelled my favorite dinner.”
    “Well … I’m going to go check out my place,” I said, stepping around the hugging couple.
    “Wait, you have to stay for dinner,” Michael said. “You deserve a good meal after
     putting up with Lily for weeks.”
    “Please, Jackson,” Kendrick said, lifting an eyebrow.
    Was dinner a bribe to keep me quiet about the fiancé thing? Guess I’d have to find
     out.
    “All right, if you insist.”
    *   *   *
    “This is seriously the best coq au vin I’ve ever had,” I said to Michael during dinner.
    “It’s soaked in a wine sauce for twenty-four hours and the tomatoes and onions add
     the final touch,” he said.
    “Michael’s going to culinary school,” Kendrick told me. “He’s almost done and already
     has a ton of job offers from some of the best restaurants in New York.”
    So badass CIA agent Lily Kendrick was going to marry a chef. This gossip got better
     and better by the minute.
    “I can totally see why.”
    Michael grinned at me and refilled my wineglass. “So, how did you end up working for
     the CDC and going to med school? You barely look old enough to be out of high school.”
    I wiped my face with a napkin, giving me a second to think. “I’m not really a med
     student.” Kendrick coughed into