Page 33 of Pulse

Talia shrugged. “I’m a bit of a workaholic.”

Understatement of the year.

“Anyway, the main entrance makes this annoying squeak we’re constantly meaning to fix, but I secretly like it because it lets me know whenever someone comes into the office. I heard it last night, and a man came into my office a few seconds later. He never gave me his name. He—”

“Describe him.”

“Uh….” She closed her eyes and conjured an image of the unwelcome visitor. “I was sitting, so I’m not totally sure how tall he was. Six-footish, I’d guess. He had tanned skin and black hair, all smoothed back with a lot of product. No facial hair. No wedding ring. His nails were nice like he’d had them manicured, and he wore a suit that fit him well. He wasn’t overly muscular but not skinny either. Medium build, I guess.” She opened her eyes. “Is that helpful at all?”

His lips pressed together in a grim line. “No, unfortunately, that could be a hundred agents.”

“He wanted me to talk you into working with the DEA again.”

He arched an eyebrow at that.

For a moment, it seemed he wouldn’t spill his secrets. He glanced away with his shoulders so bunched and tense that her fingers itched to dig in and loosen him up. But that’d be highly unprofessional, and they were already crossing lines here.

After a few drawn-out moments of silence, he looked back at her. “I was an agent for a little over a decade.”

Wasan agent. Past tense. Did that mean her visitor was right, and he was no longer working for the government? Her instinct had been correct, and Pulse wasn’t a plant in the MC.

“I did a lot of undercover work. A lot. For my last case, I spent four years with the Del Rios Cartel posing as a high-ranking official.”

Talia blinked. “He mentioned that. Pulse, I remember those headlines. That case was insane.”

He nodded.

“I remember it well,” she said as she shifted to face him better. “I was in my last year of law school. We studied the trial extensively in real-time as it was televised. That was you?”

“That was me. My final case. Walked the fuck away when it was over and haven’t spoken to anyone from that world in more than five years.”

The relief shouldn’t have been so substantial, but she’d spent half the night worrying about him destroying the MC from the inside out. For whatever reason, maybe it was the DEA coming after her, she believed him when he said he’d left that life behind. There were so many blanks to be filled in.

“What happened?”

He rubbed a hand across his chin, stubbly with a day’s beard growth. When he met her gaze, his eyes were deep with pain and regret. “I was under for four years straight.”

“That’s a long time.” How did someone survive an operation that long without losing themselves?

“It is. Too long. We kept getting so close, but not close enough to take them down so my assignment was extended over and over. I don’t regret taking them down. The Del Rios Cartel was a violent, evil place most of the time. They did unspeakable things to innocent people and were responsible for hundreds of deaths, be it directly or indirectly, through the drugs theybrought into our country. They needed to go away, and I’m proud to have been part of that.”

“But…” She tilted her head, studying the handsome man whose expression grew bleaker by the second.

“People don’t understand what being undercover in a situation like that does to your head. You spend years with people you hate, but not every second is spent taking them down. You also laugh, hang out, and celebrate holidays and birthdays. You get to know the people behind the evil deeds, and to their friends and family, they are often just people. They love them and treat them well. It fucks you up.” He shrugged. “At least it did for me.”

“They liked you.”

He nodded once, then shrugged. His shoulders moved slowly as though the weight he carried made the movement difficult. “I did my job well and became one of the family. So well, I was permitted to date the cartel leader’s daughter.”

Talia sucked in a breath. “Wait…” She straightened. “She died in the DEA’s raid. The day they arrested everyone. She was killed. Oh my God, Pulse.”

Pain twisted his features. “They fucked up. She wasn’t supposed to be there. I made sure. Booked her at the spa that afternoon, but the DEA moved the time up, and no one told me. She showed up, saw me and her brother in cuffs, drew a gun…”

Talia swallowed around her thickened throat. This poor man. She reached for him, resting her palm on his forearm. “I’m so sorry, Pulse. Did-did you love her?”

He shook his head. “No. She was a means to an end. But I liked her, and I tried to treat her well. She had no part in the family business, though she knew who her father and brother were and benefited from their money. I know that makes her guilty by association, but she didn’t deserve to die. Not that way. Not that day.”

“Of course not. God, I’m so sorry.” She tugged on his arm, and he turned into her so she could wrap her arms around him. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, sending a ripple of goosebumps down her arms. His scent overwhelmed her, erasing any discomfort the position caused.

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