Free The Paris Assignment by Addison Fox

gave the directions to the Upper East Side block nearest her home, he looked back at a pair of red-and-blue lights that went speeding by.
    Yep. They’d avoided a whole lot of questions.
    “It’s always some damn thing in this town. Something happened down the block. You know what it was?” The cabbie immediately broke into conversation after getting their destination and Campbell laid a hand over Abby’s, giving it a light squeeze.
    “Not sure, are we, honey?” She turned toward him, her face tilted up and a broad smile spread across her face. “We were just heading out of the lobby. Heard a bunch of people mentioning all the commotion.”
    The cabbie gave a philosophical shrug as he reached for the radio knob. “Sure it’ll be all anyone can listen to soon enough. Always something going on in this town.”
    “That’s for damn sure.” Campbell pasted on a good-natured smile as he caught Abby’s determined gaze, directed toward a bold notice posted in the front of the cab. The driver had audio and video surveillance equipment built into his dash.
    “I can promise you it won’t be the most exciting part of our evening, sweetie.” Abby snuggled into him as she placed a hand on his cheek to pull him close.
    He knew it was an act—knew it to the depths of his toes—but other parts a bit farther north weren’t quite in on the joke. Campbell pressed his lips to her ear, intoxicated by the woman in his arms. Her slender body fit to his and for the briefest moment, in those last seconds while their gazes locked, Campbell felt something shift. It spun in the small space between them, surrounding them in a quiet cocoon that shut out the rest of the world.
    Her hand tightened at his waist as she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and he fought to keep his head. To anyone who might watch the surveillance tape, all they’d see was a happy couple, snuggling together in the back of the cab.
    To his overheated body and increasingly confused mind, the ride was an exercise in delicious torture. He pressed his lips against her temple, desperate to keep his wits about him. “Nice catch.”
    She nodded, but her words maintained their act. “Mmm. That was a fun night.”
    He went along with the assessment, snuggling her closer. “I couldn’t agree more, darling.”
    They drove the rest of the way to her home like that, heads bent like two tired lovers, wrapped up in each other at the end of a long evening. In his mind, Campbell tried to make a checklist of all he needed to do, but he got tripped up every time she moved.
    The steady exhale of her breath as she sighed made him think of balmy summer breezes over naked flesh.
    The thin whisper of silk against her breast brushed against his forearm, increasing his discomfort even as he refused to move an inch and risk losing the delicious contact.
    And when her fingers flexed once more against his hip bone Campbell was nearly ready to give up the charade and drag her into a long, luxurious—and altogether too real—kiss.
    Desperate, Campbell tried once again to return to his checklist, the alarming reality of their near miss in the bar pushing through the sexual haze of his thoughts. His first call would be to deal with the crappy security on her home in Paris, followed by a few discreet inquiries to a detective he knew at the NYPD. He wanted to keep attention off of Abby and their hasty departure and he had one person who might work with him on that front.
    By now, the NYPD had likely begun reviewing surveillance video from the bar. Their departure through the window would likely raise some suspicions and he’d like to head it off at the pass if he could.
    The cabbie pulled to a stop at the end of Abby’s block and Campbell threw some money at the man. What he didn’t bank on was the overwhelming sense of dread that filled him as he and Abby stood on the deserted street corner, wide out in the open as the cabbie sped off in search of his next fare.
    “Campbell?”
    He paused