Page 111 of My Temptation

Brody grinned and dropped his head before meeting my eyes. “He’s right, I screwed up. Before you and Ethan left, I pulled him aside and told him not to pursue anything with you.”

“He told me, but I don’t understand why you told him that.”

“Because I didn’t want either of you to be distracted. I wanted this fucking case over. For Striker, for Beth, hell, for all of us. We’ve been chasing these damn Sullivans for years, and this was our shot at ending it. I didn’t want anything to get in the way.”

I wanted to be honest with Brody and Jax, but I also didn’t want to admit to anything that happened between Ethan and me. It was personal, and I wanted it just to be ours. That was hard to do when everyone worked so closely together. If I was being honest with myself, I also didn’t want them to judge me for anything that happened.

“You were right to do that, Brody. We did need to stay focused. The truth is Ethan’s better at working on a team and respecting team boundaries. I’m used to being undercover, and that’s an entirely different animal.” I shrugged. “Most of the time, whatever happened on an undercover case stayed with the case. This team doesn’t work that way, so you were right to ask Ethan to keep everything professional.”

Brody’s eyebrows drew together. “You realize there’s no judgment here, right? Shit happens.” He gestured back and forth between himself and Jax. “We know that. We knew what could happen if we brought you on.”

My back straightened at his choice of words, and I immediately felt defensive. “I worked this case as hard as I’ve worked every case in my career. I never lost focus. I never…”

“Whoa.” Brody held up his hand. “Mila, this isn’t a personal attack. You did a hell of a job. We trust you, and we trust your judgment.”

I looked back and forth between them. “Then I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“We’re just pointing out that there’s an obvious divide between you and Ethan since you got back,” Jax said, and I looked in his direction.

“We’ll fix the divide,” I promised adamantly. “We just need a little time. Our situation was intense. We practically lived together for a month. We just need time to get back to what we knew before Kevin Samson hit our case list.”

Jax nodded, but then he leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his desk. “At some point in this conversation, we hit a nerve with you, but you can relax. You no longer work for your father, Mila. We are not micromanaging every step you take or every decision you make. We respect you. We trust you. You wouldn’t be here if we didn’t.”

My shoulders relaxed as he spoke, and I realized I was reacting exactly as I always had when my father would call me into his office for what could only be deemed an interrogation.

I swallowed hard and nodded. “Sorry about that.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Jax replied. “You need to change how you think you’re perceived. You have a place here. Your abilities are equal to everyone else’s on the team. You have no reason to hide shit that you think is going to put you in a poor light, including your sexual preferences.” My eyes widened slightly while he talked. “I get why you said that, and I might have to in your position, but those issues were Striker’s, not yours. We let it slide because it helped you transition easier, but that’s the survival shit you brought with you from the FBI, and we don’t want it here. Secrets have no place on this team.”

“That includes a relationship with someone else who works here,” Brody concluded.

“We’re not in a relationship,” I answered immediately, but I could tell by their faces that they suspected something.

“We don’t give a shit if you are.” Jax sat back in his chair. “We just need to know when or if that changes so we can make the necessary adjustments to keep this team together. We built this team very carefully, and we’re not willing to lose anyone. Honestly, we can’t afford to lose anyone. When we saw what skills you could bring to the team, that completely overshadowed any possible relationships you might have with another employee. I don’t give a fuck what people do in their personal lives, but in our business, personal and professional shit often collides. We’re not asking for details. Hell, if you started giving them, I’d shut you down, but we can’t manage this team effectively if we’re kept in the dark.” Jax lifted his eyebrows. “Fix it. Whatever that looks like, we’ll deal with it.”

“Understood,” I agreed, and I did understand. I just had no idea how to fix something that was so broken.

“We’re already dealing with Striker and Beth.” Jax shook his head. “You two would be easy compared to them.”

I glanced between them. “What do you mean?”

“He means Striker’s a pain in the ass whenever he knows Beth is in the office and he doesn’t have eyes on her.” Brody snorted. “I wish he cared as much about our opinion as you do.”

I smiled. “You and Striker have history. I think he feels pretty confident he’s not going anywhere.”

“And neither are you.” Jax pushed to stand, and I took that as my cue that the meeting was over. “You’re worth a hell of a lot, and it’s a fucking shame that your father convinced you otherwise.”

I nodded, but I couldn’t deny that because he had, and he’d obviously done a good job, considering how I’d been handling myself.

I turned toward the door but looked over my shoulder when Jax called out. “We’re not only having this conversation with you. You just got to us before we could call you in.”

They couldn’t possibly know how much it meant to me that they weren’t just singling me out. Or maybe they did. Jax and Brody seemed to know a lot that was never spoken.

“See you at the meeting in an hour.”

“I’ll be there,” I promised as I closed the door behind me.

What I didn’t say was how much I was dreading it.

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