Page 285 of The Trouble With Bad Boys

Only I couldn’t because I had sworn to do my duty when I’d signed on with the Drug Enforcement Agency. While I had some control over what I did and where I went, they still owned my life. I had a job to do, and it wasn’t always easy. Still, I needed to find some way to help Shelby while not jeopardizing the case. As I tried to think quickly, something finally came to mind.

Moving back over to her, I gently clutched her arms. “Shelby,” I rasped, and she looked up at me with tear-stricken eyes. “If you don’t want us to set a trap for her, there’s only one other option short of bringing you in and waiting for her to develop enough of a conscience to tell the truth.”

“What would it be?” she asked nervously while shifting on her feet.

“We won’t set up a sting, but we have to follow her.”

“And if you find nothing?”

“We will find something because despite whatever she’s told you about wanting to create a new life for herself, her old one is still her current one, and it’s followed her here to Colorado.”

“I really do believe she’s changed,” she tried to plead, and I finally shrugged.

“Only time will tell.” I then moved away from her and returned to my cell phone.

“What do you mean that we won’t trap her?” Bob asked the moment I put the phone back to my ear.

“Let’s move the surveillance from Shelby to Carley and give it a few days to see what happens.”

“Shelby could tip her cousin off, then we’ll never find anything,” he pointed out which had been my worry, too.

“Let’s put her up somewhere–”

“Like a safe house?” he asked.

“Yeah. We’ll have Shelby tell her cousin that she has to leave town on business immediately. Once alone, Carley will carry on with her life without having to hide things from her cousin and current roommate.”

“So we set a trap another way, and we wait for her to fall into it.”

“Something like that,” I said, and I noticed the widening of Shelby’s eyes. Speaking to her this time, I softened my expression. “Giving her free rein to be whoever she is will either confirm our suspicions or debunk them. We’re not going to coerce her into doing anything, but rather watch in wait for her to do what she’s never stopped doing since leaving Cali.”

“There has to be another way.”

“There isn’t, so what’s it going to be?”

Shelby relented in that moment, and the resignation only added to her current pain. I then got the sign off from my boss, and by the time I hung up the call, I had Shelby make one of her own. She told her cousin she needed to fly out to California right away to talk business all while letting her know she’d be back in a few days. By the time that call ended, my submissive looked up at me, and this time I didn’t even hesitate to pull her into my arms. I held her in them for several minutes until there was a knock on the door. Leaving her to handle her call with the hotel investors, I left to arrange her lodging accommodations.

Twenty

SHELBY

Today had been the most surreal experience of my life. I not only learned that Easton Bradford was a DEA agent, but I also learned my cousin was potentially a prolific drug trafficker. Those were definitely not discoveries I had on my calendar. I also didn’t have being alone in this small house on my to-do list, either. The place was likely half the size of the condo I owned, and twice as outdated. I’d spent months redoing many of the spaces in my own place, and I never thought I would miss it the way I currently was.

“I know being here is hard on you,” Easton told me.

I looked over at him, then simply huffed in displeasure. The Dominant had insisted on watching over me. I suspected it was just to make sure I didn’t tip off my cousin in any way. I wanted to, and knowing what I’d always heard about twin intuition, I wished the two of us had it. We didn’t because, despite our appearances and upbringing, we were completely different in every other way.

“I don’t know why you have to watch over me like a child who needs to be babysat.”

He grinned. “I like watching you, Shelby.”

“I’m sure you do,” I retorted, then threw out another word. “Pervert.”

He got up and as he now stood in front of me, I swallowed hard. “I’ve never shied away from being called one in the past, but with you, it is a given.”

I huffed once more and waited for him to move back to his seat, but he stood there in front of me. My eyes dropped from his face to his groin, and I could see how hard he was behind his jeans. My core ached for him. Hell, nearly every cell in my body was screaming out for him. It didn’t matter that I had thought of a hundred different ways to kill him in my mind.

“Being this close to you is hard enough, but watching you–”

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