Page 25 of Stalking His Target

“Layla, please,” I say with as much love in my voice as I can muster. “I hate having to do this, but I need you to listen to me now.”

I’m pretty sure I hear her scream, “Fuck you!” at me through the gag, but her voice is muffled by the cloth.

“Please, baby, just listen.” I gulp down a breath and try to calm myself. This is exactly what I didn’t want happening. “I admit I’ve been lying to you. I didn’t want to, but I had no choice. Now I’m going to tell you the truth.”

I have two options now and no control over either of them.

Either I tell Layla and she believes me and accepts everything I tell her. Or I tell her and she refuses me and sides with her uncle. Then I’ll have only one choice left with how to deal with my situation. And that choice would destroy me.

“My name isn’t Taylor,” I say, my voice heavy. “It’s Ryder. Ryder Vance. I’m a CIA operative on a mission to track down and eliminate your uncle. I was supposed to use you to get to him. I watched you for weeks before we met. I staged your attack on the street so I could rescue you. Those men were also operatives.”

Layla’s eyes go wide with betrayal. My words are like acid on my tongue.

“I needed a way in with you. To get you to trust me. I needed to get close to you so we could discover your uncle’s location. I thought I could handle it, but then I met you…”

This is killing me. I want to remove her gag. I want to release her. I want to somehow take her away from here–somewhere we will both be safe together and this whole nightmare will be gone. Her legs kick up against me. She wriggles beneath me. I feel her breasts against my chest and the warmth of her body radiating into mine. Even in this terrible moment, I want to strip her nude and fuck her. Maybe I could make her come so hard she just forgets everything that happened since we landed in Mexico. I slip one hand up between her thighs and feel the dampness soaking through the sheer fabric of her pants. Even in this heated moment, her body can’t hide the fact that she craves my touch.

“I met you, Layla, and I fell in love with you.” This isn’t the first time I’ve told her I love her, but for some reasonthistime feels like a confession. “I knew you were my one and only before we even met. All I want to do is protect you, sweetheart. Guard you and love you with all my heart for the rest of our lives.”

Christ, she deserves so much better than this.

I lean down as if to kiss her neck, but stop just before my lips touch her skin.

What am I doing here? I’ve just shattered this poor girl’s entire world, and now I’m trying to get physical with her? Thisis the power she holds over me. The lust she ignites within me whenever we’re close.

I can’t leave her. I can’t.

But I must complete my mission. I’ve come too far to back out now.

“I can’t live without you, Layla,” I say softly, pressing my body against hers the way I would when we were in bed together and had just finished making love. “But I also can’t abandon my mission. Your uncle is a tyrant. He has to go.”

I feel like I’m about to have a heart attack. I was not prepared for this conversation. Not now.

Her eyes are unreadable. Is it fear? Hatred? More betrayal?

I can’t tell, and it’s tearing me apart.

“If I complete my objective, Layla, I could leave the agency. I could be a normal man and be in a normal relationship with you. I know I hurt you, and I’m so sorry. But I love you more than anything. You must know that.”

Her response is muffled by her gag. I release her wrists, and she remains still.

“I’m going to remove your gag now, okay? All I ask is that you don’t scream. Because if you do, and my cover is blown, I’ll have only one choice…” I can feel nothing but agony now. Pain. Disgust at myself and what I’ve put her through. “I’ll have to kill you.”

EPILOGUE

LAYLA

Three days later…

All I see is black.

The room stinks like wet and mold.

My heart is pounding like a drum in my ears. I can feel my pulse in my fingers.

My breath is hot and staggered beneath the hood covering my head. I can’t say how long it’s been since I’ve been here…I can’t even say wherehereis. I only know it’s not my uncle’s, and it’s not my apartment.

I do know that it’s been several days, and I haven’t seen Taylor–or I guess I should say Ryder–since what happened back in Mexico.

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