Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
“Yes, but there’s no news. They pulled traffic cam footage to identify the men who tried to abduct us, but their faces were all blurry, as if some sort of perception filter was being used. Same for all the bystanders’ videos that ended up on social media. Do you think you could describe them?”
He thought about it and shook his head. “My memory is blurry, too.”
“Same, so some sort of superpower was definitely involved.” I took another sip of water and continued, “She also told me SPAM is going to take a look at Edward Rosselin, but they’ll try not to be too obvious about it.”
Sam frowned at that. “God forbid they’d ruffle the feathers of a captain of industry.”
“Well, that and he’d lawyer up and cause a commotion if he knew SPAM was digging into his affairs.”
“So, basically, SPAM’s got nothing.”
“So far, but it hasn’t even been twelve hours yet.”
He was still frowning. “I hate having to rely on SPAM for something this important. What if they never find the person who tried to abduct us? What are we supposed to do then?”
“Just give it time, Sam.” I ate a bite of my burrito, and he was right—it was good, despite having come from a truck stop. Then, to cheer him up, I said, “I asked April what my code name stands for, by the way.”
“Do tell.”
“DP stands for Disney Princess. Apparently someone in processing thought it was funny that I could call animals, and they named me accordingly.”
That made him chuckle. “That’s awesome.”
“I thought you’d like it.”
“Did you ask her if you were secretly recruited for your powers, and if their methodology involves online quizzes about pizzas?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged. “Because I’m dealing with too much as it is, without also finding out my employer has some kind of hidden agenda.”
Sam nodded, and after he finished his beer, he asked, “Did you talk to your mom?”
“Yeah. She and Julie and their new bestie Agent Atomic Wedgie are doing fine. So’s Moira. One of Julie’s friends came over and warded the whole building. Now no one can enter if they intend to harm anyone in any of the apartments.”
“Nice. Is she a witch?”
“She calls herself that, but I’m of the opinion that witches are actually superheroes with a specific set of powers.”
After we finished eating, Sam cleared away the wrappers and said, “I feel grubby, so I’m going to take a shower. Then if you feel like it, maybe we can play some games.” He retrieved a plastic bag from the nightstand and handed it to me. “This is what I found to entertain us at the mini mart. I got you a couple of books, too. The selection sucked, obviously. But I know you like to read, so I tried my best to pick out stuff you might enjoy.”
“Thanks. That was nice of you.”
Sam tried to downplay it with, “You’ll probably hate what I picked out.” Not that it mattered what he’d selected. He’d thought of me and done something considerate, and I was touched by the gesture.
He took some things from his luggage and went into the bathroom while I unpacked the bag’s contents onto the tabletop. There were two decks of playing cards, a compact, magnetic chess and checkers set, and two paperback spy novels by a bestselling author.
By the time Sam finished his shower, I was three chapters into one of the books. I’d moved to the bed and was lying on my stomach with my elbows propping me up. When he opened the door, warm, damp air and the citrusy scent of body wash drifted out.
I glanced at him, and my mouth fell open. He was dressed in a form-fitting tank top and gym shorts, which showed off his muscular body, and his wet hair hung to his shoulders in waves. I was used to seeing him in his work “uniform” of a baggy Hawaiian shirt over a T-shirt and jeans, and he was very cute like that. But now he’d gone from cute to smoking hot, and I barely knew what to do with myself.
Fortunately, I managed to shut my mouth and tear my gaze away from him before he noticed my reaction. He circled the bed and picked up the chess set, and then he launched himself onto the mattress. I flew into the air and landed with a bounce, which made him chuckle. “I should have waited to give you the books,” he said. “Now you won’t want to play with me.”
My mind went right to a lot of racy scenarios at that last sentence, and I felt myself blushing. I set aside the book and tried to act like a normal person, even though I was thoroughly flustered. “Chess or checkers?”
“Checkers. I don’t know how to play chess.”
He got in the same position as me and began to unpack the game. We were side by side, and even though we weren’t touching, I could feel the warmth radiating off of him, probably because of his hot shower.