Page 17 of Stalking His Target

Shit. Neal’s no rookie. He’s gonna see right through me.

And he does.

“You’ve fallen for her!” he hisses, wringing his hands in front of him. “Christ, what’s thefirst ruleof undercover work?!”

“I know, all right!?” I snap. “I didn’t expect it to happen. It just did.”

“And now we’re screwed,” he says, pulling out his phone. “I’ve got to pull you off this one.”

I grab his phone before he can dial. “No! You’re not pulling me off anything. I can do this.”

My pulse is rapid. My hands are hot. I’m quivering, doing my best to keep it together.

“You sure about that?”

I nod emphatically. “You’re damn right. I’ll go down with her and take him out myself.”

Neal nods slowly. I can see his skepticism. “I’ll have two teams standing by. You make sure you send us your location when you get there.”

“No teams,” I growl, stepping forward. “This ismyassignment.I’lltake care of it.”

I start feeling better immediatelyafter parking my truck on Layla’s block. The feeling only amplifies as I practically sprint up the sidewalk to the door of her building. I’m a manic mess as I ride the elevator up to her unit and knock on her door. It can’t be more than four seconds before she opens it and throws herself into my arms, but it feels like an eternity.

“Hey there, soldier,” she whispers before kissing me. My body stiffens.

Soldier?

“Why would you call me that?” I ask, forcing a smile so as to not make things weird. Layla shrugs and smiles.

“I dunno. I just thought it was fitting on you. You’re so big and strong and capable. I guess that’s what you get from being in construction, though, right?”

I nod. “Right.”

This feels…off. The way she’s talking to me, the words she’s choosing–it all feels like classic counterintelligence. Like a foreign asset trying to smoke out my cover.

But that can’t be what’s happening here, can it? There’s no chance Layla is anything but who she claims to be. The agency would have picked up on that before signing off on this mission. And I’ve had my eyes on her for weeks. If she was a double-agent of any kind, I’d know.

I hate myself for suspecting her.

What am I even thinking?

Layla is my everything. My shining light in the darkness of my life. The woman I do everything for. My spy training is telling me to be wary of the questions she’s asking, but my heart is viciously scolding me for even thinking she could ever be anything other than my love. My obsession.

“How was work today?” I ask her, carrying her down the hall toward the bathroom. Maybe once I get her undressed and into the shower with me, I’ll be able to get control of myself again. Well, I may lose control when I get my hands on her, but that’s a different kind of control I don’t mind losing. And neither does she.

“Same as always,” she replies. I knead the firm flesh of her ass and close my eyes as I inhale her scent. It’s amazing how quickly I begin to feel at home as her fragrance enters my nose.I reach out to turn on the shower, but Layla stops me. “Baby, are you sure there’s nothing wrong?”

“Wrong?” I ask. “What would be wrong?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “You just seem…off today. And lately if I’m being honest.”

The knots in my insides start to form again. I can see where this is going.

I’m going to have to lie to her. And I hate myself for that.

“Maybe I am just a little jaded by work. We’ve got a couple of new guys who are real pains in the ass.”

Layla pauses before she responds.

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