Page 27 of Sebastian

“You’re going to get undressed right there?”

“Enjoying the view?”

“That’s not why I was asking.” She licked her lips as her eyelids drooped.

“Go to sleep, Sprinkles,” he laughed again. “I’ll be there in a few minutes, but you should try to rest now.”

She closed her eyes, but before the exhaustion could pull her under, she felt the mattress shift, and strong arms wrapped around her, shifting her until she was against his chest.

Emma had never felt safer.

Ten

“Tracker, it doesn’t make sense. What she told me earlier this morning isn’t here in the file you sent me.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Cap. That’s everything I could find on Emma Sullivan of Bell Ridge, Texas. It’s all laid out there for you.”

“We’re missing something.” How could her background check only mention her mother? Not a divorce, or a new marriage. Just Emma Sullivan and Mary Sullivan. Sebastian had a sinking feeling the woman in his bed was hiding something. Just how big of a something was still to be determined.

“You know, it struck me as a little weird that most of the information I could find on her was when she got to Bell Ridge.”

“What does that mean?”

“I hate to say it, but it’s almost like her record is too clean, too ordinary, before she landed there. I’m sure there are people out there who don’t start living until after college, but it’s rare Seb. Most people have a parking ticket, or a traffic violation. Even an infraction from partying at school. But she has nothing.”

“So you think, what? She’s using an assumed identity?”

“I don’t know. But if she is, she just messed up by telling you about her stepfather. I can easily search his name, and any marriage records associated with him will give you her mother’s name, and then boom. You’ve got her real identity.”

“Shit.” Sebastian scrubbed his hand over his chin. “I have a feeling that if she had to change her identity to get away, it’s a really big deal that she told me. I’m not going to press her right now, Gage, but I need you to get me all the information you can about him. And I guess that means giving me any information you find out about her mom and Emma, too.”

“Yeah, absolutely can do, Cap. Might take me a few days, but I’ll send everything I find as soon as I can.”

“Good. And listen, I need you guys to wrap up what you are doing in D.C. in the next two days and get your asses down here.”

“Agent Wilson won’t like that,” Gage sighed into the phone.

“I don’t give a fuck. The priority right now is protecting Emma. You can still work on Agent Wilson’s pet project from here, and if he needs you guys in the field, we can rotate through who goes and who stays. But like I said, she is my only concern right now.”

* * *

“Good morning, Sprinkles.” Emma cracked open one eye and groaned.

“What time is it?” She was thoroughly trying to ignore Sebastian standing in front of her in nothing but his pajama bottoms and failing miserably.

“Just before ten.”

Her eyes flew open.

“TEN IN THE MORNING? Sebastian!” Emma jumped out of bed, swaying as her blood rushed from her head and pain throbbed in her leg.

“Whoa.” He grabbed her arms before pushing her back down onto the bed. “Yes, ten in the morning. Why does that matter?” He scooped her legs from the side of the bed and made sure she was lying down.

“You shouldn’t have let me sleep so late. I swear I set my alarm for seven.”

“You did. I turned it off.”

“You did what?”

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