ALEX Ybarra crossed his arms, flexing pecs and biceps into impressive relief against the skin-tight red tee he wore. His mouth curled into an amused grin, and he gave Gid a long, languorous looking-over.
“You realize, precious, that this usually works the other way around?” Alex’s voice was like smoke in the shadows of the secret passage where he’d made Gid meet him—the kind of smoke intended to get you high.
Gid wondered, not for the first time, how much of it was affectation—the smoky voice, the jewelry and nice clothes, even the physique. Pretty much everything about Alex seemed calculated, sleight of hand intended to keep you from seeing who he really was. Whoever that was.
Not that the affectations bothered Gid. She had, after all, been accused of having a few of her own. She crossed her arms and cocked her hip in a mimicry of Alex and flashed a return grin. “And you realize, precious, that I do things my own damn way. Right?”
Alex chuckled. It was a warm, rich sound that echoed in the dank underground, more genuine than anything about him so far.
“Think of it as a bonus.” Gid added wide eyes and a mock-sweet smile to the mix. “I’ve lifted some very useful items from my employer for you. You could do this one little thing for me.”
“Swinton’s is crazy if they think you’re working for them.” Alex shrugged and lowered his arms to his sides. “But yes, I could do this one little thing for you. Although I’m shocked you haven’t figured out how to do it yourself.”
Gid raised both eyebrows. “Who, me?”
It was one of the things Gid liked about Alex. He didn’t judge her for doing the things she did, or for the fact that she found them amusing. He got her. He wasn’t just tolerating Gid’s quirks, like her family or most of the people who thought they were her friends.
Gid lost the faux-innocent expression and shrugged back at Alex. “I don’t really want it traced back to me. And you’re the expert on this kind of stuff.” Gid quirked a grin at him. “For now.”
Alex chuckled again. Then he re-crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. “One catch.”
Gid rolled her eyes.
“You want me to take creds from your account and put them into this guy’s. Without him finding out it was you. Tell me why.”
Gid wasn’t sure, really. Bruce had been a complete ass to her. Maybe she didn’t like feeling like she owed him for interceding with Sharise. Maybe it was the idea of his dad wandering around lost while Bruce was at work. Maybe it was the memory of Bruce’s big shoulders slumping when he talked to that vendor. Maybe it was the hollow ring in his voice when he’d talked about his dad, or the fury in his eyes when he’d outright told Gid that she sucked as a human being.
Maybe I want him to be wrong about me.
Gid didn’t say any of those things to Alex. She covered the sudden storm of mixed emotions Alex’s question had brought with a brighter grin as she leaned forward to utter an exaggerated conspiratorial whisper.
“Because it will be fun.”