Page 20 of The Spy Who Ghosted Me

“I’ve done some pretty heroic things,” I defended myself. Not to say I thought I was a superhero, but society at large can sleep better at night because of people like me. That had to count for something.

“Yes, yes you have, darling. I didn’t realize your ego was so fragile today. Tell me, why are you so down?” She offered some fake pity. “Is Sabrina not falling for your charming self? Would you like some relationship tips?”

“No thank you,” I grumbled. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t think I need to use the romantic angle anyway. Sabrina’s mother seems happy enough to involve me in their family activities. I’m actually on my way to a wedding cake tasting that Sabrina and her cousin are putting on.” According to Callie, it was unexpected. I had a feeling Sabrina had taken my advice about keeping your enemies close. She was smart and resourceful. And gorgeous—too gorgeous.

“How quaint. So, if you haven’t been with your lady love, what have you been doing all day?” Ivy sounded more than accusatory.

“My job.” I pulled no punches.

“So you’ve found the diamonds.”

“Not yet, but I’m working on it. I tailed Izan and his fiancée all day, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. He plays the part of the doting fiancé well. He’s obviously sold several of the diamonds, judging by the amount of cash he throws around.” Today I watched him allow Lexi to order over $200,000 of luxury furniture for their new house on Emerald Isle.

“The more diamonds he sells, the more of a target he’s going to become. I don’t think he has any idea the kinds of ties organized crime rings have. Does he realize the target he’s painting on his back and the backs of Lexi’s family?” Ivy asked rhetorically.

Perhaps Izan wasn’t aware, but I knew very well the danger he’d placed them all in. All it took was one miscalculation on his part and Lexi, and even her family, could find themselves in witness protection if they were lucky, or at the bottom of a river if Izan angered the wrong person. The thought made me shudder, which was why I was determined to find the diamonds and Izan’s contacts. I would annihilate any threat to Sabrina, even if it was the last thing I did.

“The better question would be, does he care?” I replied. “We all know what happened to his first wife. I can’t imagine he’s grown a heart in the last couple of years. But he plays the part well.”

“Who knows—maybe he’s fallen in love. I mean, even you know what that’s like.” Ivy got in her jab.

“Enough.”

“So touchy lately. Well, have fun at your little cake tasting. Keep in touch, and please, for the love, stay out of any photos.”

“I’ll do my best. If not, I’m sure you’ll take care of it. Just like the background check you promised me.” I hoped providing that to Sabrina would give me another opportunity to talk to her. Last night’s conversation bothered me more than I cared to confess. I’d said things that I’d never admitted to anyone, including myself. It was true—I’d never wanted to have a family until I met Sabrina. And truer, I had zero clue how to be an integral part of a family, nor did I have any right to think about it. After all, what did I know about that life, other than fathers beat the hell out of their kids and leave them? My mother wasn’t much better.

Hell, I’d already left Sabrina once and was planning on doing it again. Yet I couldn’t stay away from her. From the way she’d spoken last night of our time together in Bordeaux, she’d given me some hope that I could be more than an unfeeling jerk. She was right—I hadn’t been playing a part. It was the most real I’d ever felt, and I wanted to feel that way again, if only for a few days. Part of me craved to know what it was like to be human again. Except humans had emotions, and in the game I played, emotions were dangerous, even deadly.

“I’m working on it, okay?” Ivy snapped. “I know you think all I have to do is push a few buttons and forge some documents, but what I do is an art, love. It takes time. So go play kissy kissy while I work my magic. Toodles.”

I clicked “End,” happy to be done speaking to her. She loved pushing my buttons.

I stared long and hard at Cash Denton in the mirror. I’d used so many aliases over the years, I’d almost forgotten my real name and who that man was. Foolishly, I wondered if the man buried deep inside me could have been husband and father material under the right circumstances. Could Sabrina love him? I let out a deep breath. “You need to stop thinking like this,” I berated myself out loud. “You’re here to keep Sabrina safe. End of story.”

With that in mind, I secured my surveillance equipment and the arsenal of weapons in the false drawers our technical team had provided. They were geniuses—no one would guess the dresser had become a weapons cache.

I walked out the door and locked the cabin, wondering how upset Sabrina was going to be when I showed up tonight. Her mother seemed to think she was just playing hard to get because she was afraid of settling down. I don’t think her mother knew Sabrina very well. The Sabrina I knew in France played no games. She’d been all in, and I should have never let her get that far. It had just been so easy to get caught up in her, and she’d taken me on a ride like none other.

It didn’t take long for me to walk to the lodge. The sun was just setting, turning the sky ablaze in orange and pink. It was easy to see why Sabrina loved this place so much. There was just something so tranquil about it. I breathed in the fall evening with hints of smoked cedar wood chips in the air. It made me want to steal Sabrina away for a moonlit picnic for two in front of a roaring fire.

I had to shake off those thoughts before entering the busy lodge. Guests of the resort and people from the surrounding towns all came to dine at the lodge’s world-class restaurant, where I headed for the cake tasting. The patrons had no idea they would be in the company of a diamond smuggler—one could even say murderer, for how he’d left his wife to die. Sometimes I wished I had the luxury of not knowing. If people knew how often they came in contact with danger, no one would ever leave their houses.

I followed the delicious smells of bergamot and baked bread, eager to taste Sabrina’s confections. The woman had a gift. The restaurant took up a good portion of the main floor, and several patrons sat in the lobby, waiting for a table. As I approached the hostess, Callie saw me and waved me in. “Come on back.”

I weaved in and out of several tables until I reached a smiling Callie. It was easy to see where Sabrina had inherited her beauty and grace.

Callie strung her arm through mine. “We are in a private room.” She patted my bicep and maybe even dug her fingers in a little. Apparently Sabrina came from a long line of handsy women. “How are you enjoying your stay?”

“It’s as beautiful here as Sabrina told me it was.” I couldn’t exactly tell her about my stay, considering I’d spent most of the day surveilling her daughter and Izan. Lexi appeared to be the most handsy of all the women in Sabrina’s family. I was a little queasy thinking of some things I’d witnessed that day—things I was sure Callie Belle would not approve of.

“I just keep thinking of how fortuitous it is that you booked your stay at the same time Sabrina is here.”

“I don’t think she would agree with your assessment.”

“Oh, she’ll come around. Don’t give up quite yet,” Callie begged.

I smiled uneasily, torn between wanting a few more stolen moments with Sabrina and knowing it would be best to keep my distance.

---