Page 18 of My Temptation

“Any reason you’re so anxious to get her close?”

Smirking, I realized I should’ve known Brody would have also picked up on that. “Am I that transparent?”

“Not to the others,” he admitted. “But I’ve worked with you for years, most of the time just the two of us, which means I can pick up on things the others wouldn’t.”

“She’s had a rough time with her ex,” I acknowledged. “I need her close in case he decides he’s not done bothering her.”

Brody narrowed his eyes. “You want Kyle to do some digging?”

“Not yet,” I answered honestly. “The last time I went to Florida, I made it clear that I was watching, and he backed off.”

“But…” Brody encouraged me to continue.

“I don’t trust that he will in the long term.”

“He your niece’s father?”

“Between us, yeah, but he doesn’t know that. They’d broken up, and she found out she was pregnant. She told him the baby belonged to someone else, and he believed her.”

“Birth certificate?”

“She didn’t list a father.”

“She knew better,” he surmised.

“She knew if she listed him, it would give him ammunition. He doesn’t want Riley. He wants my sister, and there’s no way in hell that’s happening.”

“You got a whole team at your back, brother. One call to me, and we’ll take care of it.”

“I know that, but let’s get her here first. I’ll be able to breathe easier if she’s in the same damn town.”

“I get that.”

“Gotta go.” I pointed at the door. “Need to call Mila and my sister.”

“Call me in the morning with an update on both.”

“Will do,” I said before grabbing my bag from the floor and heading toward the door.

I suddenly had a hell of a lot to do, and in both situations, I would have to learn to control my emotions.

And only one situation felt impossible.

5

MILA

Reaching into the bag beside my feet, I grabbed a water for myself and lifted one in Ethan’s direction.

“I’m good,” he replied.

I shoved the extra bottle back into my bag before I settled back against the seat and stared at the house we’d been watching for the last half hour in near silence.

I opened the cap on the bottle and lifted it to my mouth but spoke before taking a drink. “You know, surveillance is really boring if you don’t talk.”

He glanced at me. “What do you want to talk about?”

Taking another drink, I put the cap back on. “How about this case? There’s a lot I don’t know.”

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