Page 18 of The Pleasure of Panic

He opens the door to the interrogation room by punching a sequence of numbers on a keypad, which he doesn’t even try to hide from me—yet another clue that this whole thing is bullshit. I wonder how he got his people to play along?

Ah, but that would be Jordan’s job, right?

Fuckin’ Jordan. Mid-winter holiday? Really? That’s all he could come up with?

Then again, it was all that was needed, wasn’t it? Why bother with details that won’t matter? I called for him, his office gave me a plausible excuse, I accepted it, and we’ve moved on to phase two of the game now.

Playing.

Which is the best part, right?

Finn waves me forward, through the door, into the hall, where I wait for him to lead me out of here. I’m ashamed to say I wasn’t paying attention when they brought me in, so I don’t remember the way. A slip in protocol, I admit. And if this wasn’t all bullshit just to set up the sex that will surely be happening tonight, I’d be harder on myself for the lapse.

I just follow him instead.

We pick up my stuff from a woman behind glass at a counter. My purse is returned in a large, clear, plastic bag. And once all that is settled, we make our way to the garage where his car is parked.

He opens the rear door and smiles again. “I’m afraid you’ll have to sit in back, Issy. Civilians aren’t allowed to ride shotgun.”

I shrug, giving in again. I really do have a seminar tomorrow and I like to be up early to prepare. It’s already getting late, so we need to wrap up the deviant sex game quick so I can get some shut-eye before dawn.

I sit behind him, then scoot over to the passenger side so I can study him better as we drive. We’re at the Federal Building, all the way over in Lakewood, so the drive into downtown will take at least twenty minutes. I sit back and enjoy my view as he starts the car and makes his way out of the garage.

“So… I got a glimpse of your file, Issy.”

“Yeah,” I say, my mind on the shape of his lips as he speaks. They’re nice lips. Kinda full, but not too full. I bet they would feel wonderful between my legs.

“See something you like?” he asks.

It’s only then I realize he’s looking at me in the rear-view mirror. “I’m just curious, is all.”

“About?”

“You, of course. You know, how you got mixed up in all this.”

He frowns in the mirror. Squints his eyes at me. “Mixed up in all what?”

Oops. He must take this game stuff more seriously than I do. I guess I need to stay in character.

“Wait,” I say, putting my actress hat back on. “What file do you have on me?”

He glances in the rear-view, but only for a moment as we get on the 6th Avenue Freeway back towards Denver. “Same file we have on everyone once they get our attention.”

“So you just put it together today?”

“I didn’t, the department did. That’s what they handed to Declan when we got interrupted.”

“Yeah, right before you guys decided to let me go. So what’d it say? To make you change your minds?”

“It’s not the file that made us change our minds.”

“Then what?”

“The news that came with it.”

“Which was?” Jesus. Am I gonna have to lead this guy into participating in a decent conversation now too? I mean, shit. You’d think banter would be included in the sex game package, right?

“Chatter, Issy. Chatter about what happened to you tonight.”