Page 8 of Mistletoe in the Mafia

The bar option sounds especially enticing when I consider the fact that I haven’t eaten all day. My eating habits leave much to be desired. I’m currently surviving on three cups of coffee and two donuts. If I go to the bar, I can order something to eat while enjoying some shots of tequila.

“Bar it is, then.”

I pack up my things and throw them in my tote bag before switching off all the monitors in my office. After grabbing my coat, I head for the door. As soon as I step out of it, I come face to face with Joshua.

“Hey, boss,” I say with a small smile.

He studies me for a couple of seconds. “You’re just now leaving work?”

“Yep.”

“Do you need a ride home?” he questions.

I shake my head. “Actually, I was going to head over to the bar a couple blocks from here first.”

Joshua arches an eyebrow. “Alone?”

“Yeah,” I answer easily.

“Madelyn, it’s after ten. You shouldn’t be walking around on your own,” he tells me on a frown.

I shrug. “I’ll be fine. I’m an FBI agent, remember? I’m pretty sure I can take care of myself.”

He doesn’t seem impressed by that. “You’re an intelligence analyst. You don’t even have access to any firearms. What are you going to do if someone jumps you? Or worse?”

“I can take care of myself,” I reiterate. “Jeez, you sound like a concerned dad or something.”

“I worry about you, Flores,” he murmurs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Aw, it’s nice to know you care so much about me, boss.”

He rolls his eyes. “I care so much because I’m pretty sure you’re a nut job.”That makes me grin. He continues. “Look, I’ve got to get somewhere, alright? So, against my better judgment, I’m going to let you go. Just be careful.”

“You got it,” I state, offering him a salute. “See you on Monday.”

He nods and watches me with a frown as I leave.

CHAPTER 3

Dominic

“Don’t make me regret telling you this,” Joshua says to me over the phone.

Instead of replying, I hang up the call. He worries too much. One day, he’s going to be crushed by the weight of responsibilities he needlessly carries every day. And I’ll be right there on the sidelines watching it happen.

After ending the call, I turn on the ignition of my car. And then I’m following the dark-haired woman who just skipped out of the FBI building. What Joshua doesn’t know is that I’m already here.

For three days, I’ve lurked in the shadows, tracking her routine like clockwork. Each movement, each smile, pulls me deeper into an obsession I can’t justify.

And while I’ve been doing my best to stay away from her, it’s only a matter of time before the thread of control snaps. I already have a plan in mind, but the execution is a little less clear. Plus, there’s still a part of me that thinks I should walk away from her and just forget everything.

It’s like Pandora’s box. And unfortunately, like the woman herself in the Greek myths, I can’t seem to contain my curiosity when it comes to her.

Especially not after all I’ve been able to glean from surveilling her the past few days. It’s not much. She arrives at the office by eight every morning, with a jumbo-sized cup of coffee. I watched her for three days and her routine didn’t change. She left her house, then stopped at the coffee shop by her office building before heading in to work.

She doesn’t leave the building all day, not even to get lunch like some of her co-workers tend to do. She gets off work anytime between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. like today. Always alone. She then calls for a cab to take her home. Like clockwork.

Oh, and she’s always smiling. I think that’s what irks me the most about her. The constant smile on her face. It’s like she’s putting in an effort to project to the world that she’s happy, which raises red flags.

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