Page 22 of Last Resort

“I can’t,” he eventually answered. It was the best he could do for his brother. There were too many things unsaid for him to walk away from Maci, even if she’d already done it to him. There was too much potential between them, and Chance had never been one to squander a good thing. “I’ll try not to let it mess with work though.”

Brax threw him a bottle of water and they both took a sip. “I think you and Maci would be good together.”

Chance sputtered his water, coughing when it went down the wrong pipe. “But you just said to look for someone else.”

“That was just a test to see if you were truly interested in her. Seems like you are.”

“Are you telling me you wanted to check my intentions with her? I thought I wasyourbrother.”

Brax grinned. “You are, but Maci’s family too, and she doesn’t have anyone else to step in for her.”

How the hell did Brax know more about Maci than Chance did?

Because Chance had been so caught up in the physical aspect of their relationship that he hadn’t started talking to her about important stuff. He’d thought he’d have more time. That they would take it slow and get to know everything about each other.

It definitely hadn’t been because he didn’t want to know.

They both grabbed their gym bags and headed toward the door. Brax slapped him on the back. “I had to make sure you were ready for the long haul, because a woman like Maci Ford is a lifelong commitment.”

“Don’t I know it,” Chance muttered. Brax laughed and changed the subject to details about tomorrow’s operation. Chance barely heard him, consumed in his thoughts.

What was he going to do about Maci Ford and the secrets she clutched so tightly?

Chapter Seven

“Maci, breathe. You can do this.”

She was glad for Chance’s voice in her ear through the comm unit. It was the only thing keeping her even remotely grounded.

She didn’t look like herself, didn’t sound like herself. Didn’t feel like herself.

And despite the fact that she should be focusing on this mission, her thoughts kept coming back to her pregnancy and her near-showdown with Chance yesterday.

The urge to cover her stomach made her fingers twitch, and it was all she could do to stop herself. Though she couldn’t see them, all four of the Pattersons were close by. She couldn’t give her secret away yet. It wasn’t time.

But she knew she couldn’t keep it from Chance forever. He was a pit bull when it came to solving mysteries, and she’d somehow made herself a mystery he was determined to solve.

She would tell him about the pregnancy after they caught this stalker. Right now, despite not looking or feeling like herself, she had to focus on what she was doing.

“I’m okay,” she murmured into the hidden comm unit. “These are just not my normal type of people.”

Chance chuckled. “I hear that.”

He was in full support mode for this mission—leaving behind their personal conflicts—and she appreciated it. He’d been the one to show her how the comm unit worked and had been the voice in her ear all evening.

“Most of these people seem so fake,” she murmured.

She’d known an art gallery was way out of her norm and had expected to feel out of place and generally clueless about the art. But it wasn’t the art that made her uncomfortable, it was how the people were acting.

The gala was for a new contemporary artist, an in-your-face, Banksy-type multimedia creator. Maci would be the first to admit that she didn’t understand any of it.

But it didn’t seem to matter. The people here were less about the art and more about making sure they were seen and photographed from all different angles. Social media was the true artist here.

Rich was by Maci’s side, constantly touching her—like he would Stella—but it grated on Maci’s nerves. She ignored it, focusing on her smile and posing for pictures herself. They already had some pictures of the real Stella that would be superimposed over shots of the gala. Those were what would be posted online.

But right now, Maci had to be Stella enough to fool the stalker.

An hour later, despite her best attempts and Rich all but fawning over her, Maci was convinced she was failing. Hardly anyone was talking to her.

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