Arcanum Hominem (#1)

Chapter 44

I wrote a list of what I believed we needed, and it was a long list. This house didn't come stocked with much, which surprised me. 

"This might take a little long, so I'll need your help inside, okay?" I told Killian as we made our way to the store. He groaned, tapping the wheel. 

"I hate shopping for food, just so you know." He glanced at me, trying to put an innocent look on his face. 

"And you think I do? I hate this shit. But I love to eat, so someone has to do it." I shrugged, and he nodded.

"Fair." 

We made it to the store, and it was packed as I expected. I grabbed a shopping cart, and we made our way inside the store. It was a smaller mom and pop shop and had lots of fresh produce. 

"I'll be on the lookout for the target and let you know if I see him," Killian told me, and I nodded. 

"Sounds good." 

The shopping took about an hour, and Killian didn't see the target the entire time. I didn't feel like it was a waste of a trip because we got food, and I didn't really expect us to get this lucky on the first official day of starting the operation. Killian didn't look at it that way, though. 

Packing up the food was a breeze, and for the rest of the day, I studied the folder that contained everything about the operation. After I felt like I had all the information I needed to be successful, I pulled out my laptop and got some writing done for my romance novel. It had been so long since I was able to sit down and just write, and it felt so good. 

"What are you doing?" Killian joined me in bed, only in his briefs I saw when I glanced at him. I turned my attention back to my laptop so that my eyes wouldn't roam.

"I'm writing my book," I answered him, trying to concentrate on my words.

"You know, you never told me what the story was about," He mentioned, pulling the sheets over his lower half and sat up against the headboard like me.

"I didn't think you cared, honestly. You were always nose deep in a book." I looked up from my laptop to smile at him, and he smiled back.

"Books are a great escape. I had a student that was always trying to distract me from it, though. I could've sworn, based on her advances, she was trying to fuck me." He poked his tongue in his cheek and lazily turned his head to look at me, and I chuckled, turning my attention back to my laptop. 

"Seems like her advances were successful a few months later, hm?" I bit my lip and made sure not to look up at him because he would definitely be giving me sex eyes without realizing it. 

"Seems like it." He responded, and I could hear the smile on his face. "So, care to tell me what it's about? Of course, you don't have to if you're not comfortable."

"I don't mind. It's just a simple romance. A toxic relationship because that's all I know." I explained, shrugging right after. That was the best way I could explain it.

"Well, if you ever need alpha or beta readers, I am right here."

I looked up at him, shocked. "Wait, really? How do you even know those terms?" I asked him, closing my laptop. The side of his mouth lifted in a smile.

"I was a creative writing professor as my cover darling. Of course, I know the terms." He responded, and I sucked in a soft breath at the pet name. I've never been called darling before as a pet name, and the word leaving his mouth did things to my body. I pursed my lips, which he glanced at before looking at my eyes. 

"So, what's the plan for the next few days?" I asked, placing my laptop on the top of my duffel bag on the floor. 

"We pretend to be a normal married couple. A few hugs here in public, maybe a few kisses," he wiggled his brows, which made me giggle. "Just stuff like that for at least a week, and then we'll talk about our next plan of action, okay?" 

I nodded as he finished speaking. "Sounds like a plan." I sank into bed, sleep coming over me quickly, and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep. 

The next week was actually pretty smooth. I followed Killian's lead with us pretending to be a married couple, and yes, we ended up kissing a few times, but because it was just a nice peck each time in front of the neighbors, nothing more happened, which was good. I really wanted to dive deeper into our friendship rather than him dive deeper into me, even though I wanted that almost just as badly. It was surprisingly easy to remember to wear the ring, and I had no problem wearing it because it was stunning. 

The week was now over, and Killian still didn't spot the target. Though we had an entire month to get the target to trust us, I wanted to have the trust sooner than later so that we could begin focusing on how to capture that target. The operation would be complete, and I would prove to them that I can handle operations myself. 

"What do you think we should do then?" Killian asked me as we walked to our car in the small driveway. We were discussing how he would be able to finally spot the target so we could stop wasting time. 

"Well, he does spend most of his time at work, right?"

Killian nodded.

"Then I feel like we should camp outside of his job, inconspicuously of course, then eventually, we will spot him."

We got in the car, and he turned to me, brow raised. 

"You want us to just stay there at his job? All day?"

"It's not like we have anything else to do. Plus, we're wasting time doing everything else. It's not working, so we need to try something different."

He pressed his lips together and nodded. He started up the car and began driving. The building wasn't too far from where we were living, but it was still a good thirty minutes with traffic. Once we made it to the building, Killian parked a few spaces away from the entrance by the curb, in between two large trucks. This was a perfect place to camp. He sighed and turned off the car, leaning back into his seat.

"Now what if this doesn't work?" he spoke after some silence, and I smiled, turning to face him.

"Then we try it again. And if that doesn't work, we try something different."

He looked out of the window, lips turned to the side. "You're prepared. I like that. It's important when you're on an operation." He nodded at me, and my smile grew. I turned my focus to outside. He thought I was doing well so far, and I didn't believe it was only because I slept with him.

The building we were parked by was tall, and I couldn't see the name on the building, but if I could, I knew it would probably say Cutler Industries. I knew that because that was the name that was on the papers in the operation folder. Now, the target worked a typical 9-5, at least on the schedule, but in the file, it said he liked to get to work at least an hour before his shift started. So we were here at 7:30 a.m. Unless there were another way into the building, we would have to see him walk through the front. 

"Did you bring the folder?" I asked Killian, still keeping my eyes open for anyone matching the description of the target. Red hair, green eyes, and pale skin. 

"Yeah, I did. Here. Did you need anything specific?" he asked as he handed me the file. I opened it, sliding my finger over the words of the reports. 

"I'm trying to make sure there isn't another entrance that he would prefer taking."

"Oh, there isn't. I'm sure of it."

I looked up and raised my brows at him being so confident with his response. I nodded at him after a few seconds. "Okay. What about any guards or protection? I don't need us getting ambushed from the sides and behind." 

When he didn't answer me right away, I looked up at him to see him staring at me, a hint of a smile on his face.

"How long have you been training?" he asked, not answering my original question. I thought about it before answering. 

"Probably like three to four months. Why?" I asked, narrowing my eyes in suspicion.

"Because," He leaned back into his seat. "You've caught on quicker than I thought you would. You're aware of being safe on all sides. I guess Row did teach you well after all." He seemed mildly surprised, which made me swell up with a little pride—just a little bit.

"He did. Now pay attention to the entrance and not to me. You know what he looks like." I reached over and placed my fingers on the side of his face, turning his head to face forward.