Page 15 of Unplanned Target

“No.” Owen doesn’t elaborate. Makes sense. Probably doesn’t want to tell my teenage daughter he kills people for a living.

But Allie isn’t one to take half an answer. “How do you know my Uncle Tony then?”

“We have a mutual friend.” Owen hedges.

“Becca?” The woman’s name comes right out. I’m not sure why. I don’t give two shits if Tony has a girlfriend. I’d actually love it if he started getting laid on a regular basis. He might be a little less of a sourpants.

But Owen didn’t really explain who Becca is. And it has me wondering if maybe it’s not my brother Becca’s with.

Owen’s eyes come my way, his brows slightly pinched, almost like he’s confused. “Yeah. Becca.”

“Is she your girlfriend?” Again, the words just come right out.

Almost like an accusation. Which is freaking stupid. I don’t have any interest in Owen—or any man—so who cares if he’s got a girlfriend?

Not me.

Owen chuckles. “No. Becca is very much with someone else.”

“Oh.” I hate that I’m a little relieved. It must be all the adrenaline scrambling my brain.

“So where’s my uncle now? Why are you the one who came to find me?” Allie moves right into her next line of questions, letting Owen explain before firing another at him.

By the time we’re pulling off the highway and into a gas station on the other side of Memphis, she’s discovered Owen has recently moved from Alaska to Nashville, but is here in Memphis because of a job having to do with Becca. His favorite food is soup beans with ham and cornbread. He doesn’t have any pets because he has to travel a lot for his job, but would love to have a dog. Last—and least—he has no wife or kids.

I try to ignore that part because it doesn’t matter. Completely irrelevant. Totally pointless information for me to know.

Owen pulls up to a pump and climbs out to fill the tank. The second his door is closed, Allie leans right into my face, her voice a low whisper.

“He’s hot.”

“I think we have more pressing things to think about than the attractiveness of the man who just helped us steal a car.” I narrow my eyes. “Like why in the hell you thought it was a good idea to meet someone claiming to be Kinsley by yourself.”

Allie scoffs. “Do you think I’m stupid? I wasn’t actually going to meet them. I never even went into the coffee shop. I just hid outside to see who showed up.” She lifts up the cell phone she took from the drawer. “And I took lots of pictures.”

“What if one of them saw you? You could have ended up exactly like Kinsley.” I don’t specifically know how that is, but I can guess, and it’s not fucking good. “And then I would have had to murder people, Allie.”

My daughter looks skeptical. Like she doesn’t think I’m capable of homicide. “Maybe Owen would murder people.”

My eyes flick to where I can see the broad expanse of his chest stretching the limits of the black T-shirt stretched across his upper half. The long sleeves are now pushed up, exposing forearms laced with defined muscle and bulging veins. They flex distractingly as he pulls the pump free and puts it back into place. “What makes you say that?”

Owen was very hesitant to tell me what he does, and while I love my daughter, I don’t know that it’s information she should be in possession of. Even though she’s smart, clearly Allie still doesn’t understand the way the world works or how dangerous it can be. I would never want Owen to be put in a bad position because she’s naive enough to say something to the wrong person.

“Look at him.” Allie gestures to him as he finishes paying.

“You can’t judge a book by its cover.” Yes, Owen very much looks like the mercenary he is.

However…

Looks can be deceiving, and in Owen’s case they most certainly are. Because while he does look every bit the mercenary he is, his imposing form hides the fact that he’s also kind of a nice guy.

SIX

OWEN

After filling the tank, I pull out my phone and dial Seth so I can fill him in on the recent developments. Hopefully he can let Butch know Miranda and Allie are safe, and help me figure out where in the hell I go from here.

I don’t know that it’s a great idea to go to the rental house where the team has been staying. Especially since it’s currently filled with girls just like Allie’s friend, and I have no interest in risking someone following us to their location.