Chapter 126: My Favorite Is Still You.

Chapter 126: Chapter 126: My Favorite Is Still You.

Anne Dawson looked at Zoe Sawyer with a teasing glint in her eye, as if she’d just discovered some incredible secret.

Zoe Sawyer didn’t have the ability to blush on command, so she frantically racked her brain for embarrassing memories.

But Zoe Sawyer still couldn’t manage to blush on cue. Thinking on her feet, she spun around and buried her face in Vivian Dunn’s shoulder. "Anne, stop teasing me," she said, her voice muffled. "You can’t just say things like that out loud."

After she spoke, she rubbed her face, feigning awkwardness, and "casually" revealed her beet-red ears.

Seeing this, Anne Dawson, who had been a little suspicious, felt her doubts begin to subside.

’Looks like she really is a love-struck fool. All it took was a handsome face to reel her in.’

’But that’s good. It’ll make things much easier down the line.’

Zoe Sawyer was complaining internally too. ’Those guys are actually pretty good actors. With that kind of talent, wouldn’t they have a better future in showbiz than in... whatever this is?’

The three women headed downstairs and came face-to-face with a man.

The man’s hands were covered in cuts, and there were several red welts on his face. He had a grim expression, his tall frame was slightly hunched, and he walked with a strange gait, as if he’d injured his foot.

Anne Dawson’s pupils contracted sharply. She turned her body slightly, blocking most of Zoe Sawyer and Vivian Dunn’s line of sight.

"How could you be so clumsy? You can’t even kill a chicken without splashing blood on yourself and cutting your hands? Go wash up, quick." Anne Dawson spoke first, framing the man’s wounds as an accident and hustling him off, giving him no chance to speak.

At the same time, alarm bells went off in her head. ’Those two behind me probably didn’t get a clear look, did they? I’ve worked too hard to get this far. No one is going to ruin my success!’

In the instant before Anne Dawson blocked their view, Zoe Sawyer and Vivian Dunn caught a glimpse of the man’s face.

That single glance sent a jolt through both of them.

They’d seen that face in the files from the Chief—it was their colleague, Gavin Owens, the one who had infiltrated this organization alone!

What’s more, after a previous case, Zoe Sawyer had made a point to learn how to distinguish between human and animal blood.

From the color of the stains on the hem of Gavin Owens’s clothes and the faint smell, Zoe Sawyer was certain—that was definitely not chicken blood, no matter what Anne Dawson said.

’Didn’t Gavin Owens get promoted? Why would he have been beaten up?’

Zoe Sawyer couldn’t make sense of it, but one thing was clear: Gavin Owens’s situation was grim.

In just a few short seconds, a dozen different thoughts raced through Zoe Sawyer’s mind.

But her and Vivian Dunn’s current cover personas wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between human blood and chicken blood. So, when Anne Dawson glanced back at them, Zoe quickly adjusted her expression, making sure not to give anything away.

"Sorry about that, Sawyer," Anne Dawson said, turning her attention back to Zoe and Vivian after Gavin Owens had left. "What an embarrassing scene. We’re making chicken soup today. Would you like to stay and have some?"

Although Zoe Sawyer and Vivian Dunn were anxious to report Gavin Owens’s situation to the Chief, they knew they had to keep up appearances. If they aroused suspicion now, all their previous work would be for nothing.

"Really? Could we?" Zoe Sawyer looked excited for a moment, but then her face fell as if she’d just remembered something. "But... a friend of Vivian’s made plans with us for dinner a month ago..."

Vivian Dunn chimed in right on cue. "Maybe next time. We really should honor our prior commitment."

Despite their words, both managed to look disappointed, as if genuinely regretting that they couldn’t stay.

Anne Dawson’s expression didn’t change, but a flicker of contempt flashed in her eyes. "Of course, you should. We’ll have plenty of other opportunities to have dinner together. There’s no rush."

"Maybe if you come over a few more times, there’ll be four of us."

Anne Dawson’s tone was heavy with insinuation, and she gave Zoe Sawyer a meaningful look.

Zoe Sawyer covered her cheeks with the backs of her hands, pretending to be flustered by Anne Dawson’s comment.

The two said their goodbyes to Anne Dawson. The moment the door closed behind them, the smile on Anne Dawson’s face, who had been seeing them off from the living room, vanished, and her expression darkened.

She beckoned to the side, and a woman with a face so plain she’d be lost in any crowd walked over. She lowered her head to Anne Dawson. "Anne."

"Follow them. See what they’re up to," Anne Dawson said, her expression cold. After giving the order, she turned and walked away.

If you’re going to put on a show, you have to see it through to the end.

Zoe Sawyer and Vivian Dunn soon met up with a female officer arranged by the department. They chatted over dinner, the atmosphere so friendly you’d think they were old friends who hadn’t seen each other in ages.

They took photos, gossiped, and made plans to see each other again.

The whole routine was indistinguishable from any other group of young women getting together.

Anne Dawson’s tail watched them from start to finish. Even after the three women parted ways and went home, the tail hadn’t spotted anything out of the ordinary and could only return to report back to Anne Dawson.

Hearing her subordinate’s report, the last shred of doubt in Anne Dawson’s mind finally vanished.

"Come on, Anne. They’re just a couple of girls. Do you really need to be so cautious?" The young man who had been making eyes at Zoe Sawyer earlier came over and slung an arm around Anne’s shoulder in a familiar gesture.

Anne Dawson deftly plucked a pack of cigarettes from the man’s pocket and lit one for herself. "You always have to be careful in new territory. Who knows if there are undercover cops snooping around."

"Besides, that Zoe Sawyer has some money on her. Our recent losses have been pretty heavy, so we need to recoup what we can. We have to make up for the shortfall. The new target is a little cutie this time. You must be thrilled, right?"

The young man planted a kiss right on Anne’s cheek. "Don’t worry. It’s just playing a part. You’re still my favorite, Anne."

"I guess you have a heart after all."

Meanwhile, less than ten minutes after Zoe and Vivian got home, Barry Quinn and Monkey came over from their place across the way.

"How did it go? Are you guys okay?" Barry Quinn’s voice was anxious. His eyes scanned Zoe Sawyer and Vivian Dunn from head to toe. He was holding up his phone, which showed the background of their office.

The last few times they’d gone out, he and Monkey had tailed them to keep an eye on things.

They had followed this time, too, but worried about being spotted, they had stopped some distance from the hideout.

When Zoe and Vivian came out later, Barry and Monkey were about to follow when they realized Anne Dawson had put a tail on the two women.

Afraid of being spotted, Barry Quinn could only call the Chief, give him a quick rundown of the situation, and tell him to have the female officer who was meeting them be on her toes. She needed to explain to Zoe and Vivian that they were being followed, which would make it easier for them to coordinate their act.

"We’re fine," Zoe Sawyer said, taking a sip of water. "But we found something." Then she and Vivian Dunn recounted everything that had happened at Anne Dawson’s place.

They put special emphasis on the scene they’d witnessed in the building and the injuries on Gavin Owens.

"Chief," Zoe asked, "is there any way we can get a message to our colleague?"