Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
“He’s probably right,” I say, keeping my voice down.
Neal leans in and raises his voice. “You better tell us something, pal! The chances of you seeing daylight ever again are getting slimmer and slimmer!”
The man doesn’t even flinch. He simply sits there, staring at nothing, sweating under the heat from the spotlight beaming down on him.
His cruelty and evil enrage me. How could a man do such despicable things to women? And for money? Men were put on this earth to protect and take care of women. I’ve only been away from Layla for two hours now, and I’m already having withdrawals, feeling helpless at the fact that I’m not close to her. Anything could happen, and I wouldn’t be there to help her.
It’s been just over five weeks since she first blessed my eyes with her beauty, and this is the longest I’ve been away from her since. And it’s nothing but torture. I can’t stop thinking about what she would do if she found out where I was now.
She’d explode on me.
She’d leave.
My heart starts thudding so hard I begin to feel lightheaded. I brace myself against the wall and suck deep breaths through my nose and out again through my mouth, doing my best to calm down. If only Layla were here with me now. But that would be impossible. Then she would discover the truth of who I am. And that would be a catastrophe.
But how long can I really keep this subterfuge going? How long can I continue to lie about working construction, having friends who I turn down when they invite me out for beers because I want to spend time with her? What happens when we finally move on her uncle, and the hard truth about what I do comes out? Christ, Layla will never want to marry a man who’s been stalking her, lying to her, spying on her.
A fear strikes me deep in the chest as I look at the captured cartel man secured to the chair: Am I really better than him?
His crimes may be overt while mine are covert, but we both are ruthless bastards, willing to do whatever we must to get what we want.
I’m complicit in holding him here without due process because I believe in our mission objective. But does that make it okay?
Should Layla place her trust in a man like me?
I’m so addicted to her that the idea of her leaving me nearly causes me to spiral out of control. Even now, while I’m at work for the CIA, all I’m thinking about is her. I’m aching to be near her again. And I have to believe she’s aching for me too. It’s like we have an invisible cord between us, attached to each of our hearts, stretching across any distance we travel yet constantly pulling us back to each other. My identity may be a cover, but my love for her is real. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep her safe.
“Listen,” Neal whispers, taking me to the corner of the room. “I don’t think we’ll break this guy. You get an official invite to Pablo’s birthday?”
“No, but I’ll make that happen,” I respond. “But remember, I’ll be with Layla–”
“No kidding,” he laughs. “Is that supposed to be a problem or something?”
“No, I…”
Shit. Neal’s no rookie. He’s gonna see right through me.
And he does.
“You’ve fallen for her!” he hisses, wringing his hands in front of him. “Christ, what’s the first rule of undercover work?!”
“I know, all right!?” I snap. “I didn’t expect it to happen. It just did.”
“And now we’re screwed,” he says, pulling out his phone. “I’ve got to pull you off this one.”
I grab his phone before he can dial. “No! You’re not pulling me off anything. I can do this.”
My pulse is rapid. My hands are hot. I’m quivering, doing my best to keep it together.
“You sure about that?”
I nod emphatically. “You’re damn right. I’ll go down with her and take him out myself.”
Neal nods slowly. I can see his skepticism. “I’ll have two teams standing by. You make sure you send us your location when you get there.”
“No teams,” I growl, stepping forward. “This is my assignment. I’ll take care of it.”
I start feeling better immediately after parking my truck on Layla’s block. The feeling only amplifies as I practically sprint up the sidewalk to the door of her building. I’m a manic mess as I ride the elevator up to her unit and knock on her door. It can’t be more than four seconds before she opens it and throws herself into my arms, but it feels like an eternity.
“Hey there, soldier,” she whispers before kissing me. My body stiffens.
Soldier?
“Why would you call me that?” I ask, forcing a smile so as to not make things weird. Layla shrugs and smiles.