Page 29 of The Spy Who Ghosted Me

“Sabrina, I can prove it.”

She paused, tilting her head. “How?”

I stood and walked over to flip a light on before I pulled open one of the drawers she hadn’t rummaged through. Damn truth or dare game. Not to say I didn’t like the fact Sabrina had come here wanting my underwear, although I’m sure she’d done it begrudgingly. But that kiss said maybe she’d come somewhat willingly.

I accessed the hidden drawer and pulled out my encrypted tablet. I would probably get fired for this, assuming anyone at the agency ever found out. But I couldn’t let Sabrina leave thinking I was a serial killer. More importantly, I couldn’t leave her knowing what a vulnerable position she and her family were in. And the last thing I needed was for Sabrina to draw attention to me by calling the authorities. If Izan caught wind of who I was, the best-case scenario was that he would flee. I didn’t want to think about the worst-case scenario.

With tablet in hand, I cautiously approached Sabrina, whose expression bordered on disbelief and terror. I hated that any part of her feared me. “Please have a seat,” I offered as I sat on the step she stood on.

Biting her lip, she mulled it over before she sat down, clinging to the stair newel.

“I won’t hurt you. I apologize if I scared you earlier, but if my cover gets blown, you have no idea what could happen.”

A deep shudder went through her.

I placed a hand on her knee. My touch made her stiffen. There had been a time when the slightest touch from me made her melt. I longed for those days. “Sabrina, please,” I begged, wanting to ease her discomfort. “I understand this is a lot to take in, but I’m telling you the truth. I’m here because I want to protect you, not hurt you.”

“How can I believe anything you say? You lied to me and left me.”

“You would have run out the door already if part of you didn’t know I was telling the truth.”

“I’m just trying to see if you need a mental evaluation.”

I chuckled while punching in my passcode to access the tablet’s information that not even people with Tier 5 security clearance here in the States had access to. If anyone ever learned I’d shown Sabrina this information, I would lose more than my job. But somehow, I didn’t care. I needed her to believe me, as well as help me.

Tracking Izan’s every move was getting me nowhere. He’d done nothing out of the ordinary, other than behave like a smitten groom. Even tonight, while the bachelorette party was taking place, he’d helped Callie make wedding favors. I was almost glad Sabrina had triggered my sensors. If I’d had to watch another minute of them carefully rolling and wrapping throw blankets with a special message from the couple, I was going to gouge my eyes out. I had no idea what went into weddings, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. If ever, by some strange happenstance, I took the plunge, I think I would prefer to elope, just something intimate between my bride and me. I couldn’t help but think of Sabrina filling that role.

I turned the tablet toward her. “What I’m about to show you can never leave here. Lives are at stake, yours included.”

Sabrina’s gorgeous face paled.

“I don’t say that to scare you, but you need to understand the consequences. The agency I work for has been tracking Izan for months now, and he’s—”

“Wait. What ‘agency’?” She used air quotes. “Who do you work for?”

“I work for Sector of Private Intelligence. It’s a—”

Sabrina giggled. “Your spy agency’s acronym is SPI? Well, isn’t that precious?”

I groaned. It wasn’t the first time our agency had faced ridicule for its name. Among the spy community, it was somewhat of a joke. Other agencies considered it too contrived. I supposed it was. “We rarely refer to it as SPI,” I grumbled.

“Whatever you say,” she snickered. “So, what is SPI? I mean Sector of Private Intelligence.” She grinned.

“Without going into too much detail, our agency works with governments all over the world. In some cases, we work outside the law, running covert ops to gather intelligence or influence certain outcomes. In this case, I’m here to monitor Izan and make sure the blood diamonds he’s stolen don’t fall into more dangerous hands than his.”

Sabrina closed her eyes as if she didn’t wish to hear any of it.

With the crook of my finger, I tilted her chin until her beautiful eyes met mine. “I’m not making this up. Let me show you. But I want to warn you that some photos are graphic.”

“Okay,” she squeaked. “But how will I know this isn’t some big, elaborate scheme of yours and the photos aren’t fakes?”

“That’s a fair question. But how else would you explain the fact that every photo you take of me disappears?”

“Outside of a radioactive spider, I’ve thought about vampires.”

I laughed and flashed my teeth at her. “Sorry, no fangs.”

“They could be retractable,” she mumbled.

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