Page 79 of Covert Temptation

She took a step toward him, catching hold of his hand. Squeezing his fingers.

“I need a moment to think,” he said.

Her heart sank. “I get it.”

“I’m going to get us some food. Twenty-four-hour pizza?”

She gave him a watery smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Surprise me.”

He leaned in and dropped a quick peck to her forehead. “I care about you.”

Her lungs burned.

“Deeply,” he added.

She searched his gaze and saw the truth glimmering in the depths of his eyes. “I care about you too. It’s why I would never do anything to hurt you. Or Alyssa. Or the team.”

He nodded. “I’ll be back soon. Okay?”

She released his hand. He turned and walked out. She heard the front door open and close.

The safe house was dark, just like her hope of going forward with Dante, the man she wanted so much more with.

In a flash, she saw the future they might have had—one filled with quiet moments, stolen kisses, and a love as steady as Alyssa and Julian’s. She wouldn’t be alone anymore…and neither would he.

Maybe it wasn’t all lost. He wasn’t running to turn her in. And that had to mean something.

The sound of the front door opening jolted Kennedy like a shock to the spine.

Her heart punched into her ribs, and she scrambled across the room barefoot, the cold wood floor grounding her in motion.

He came back.

Dante.

Her pulse thudded faster—too fast—and not just because of the confrontation they’d had. She was ready to fight for him—for them. She was ready to say and do anything it took to make him see that she wasn’t a liar, not really. She was just a girl who had survived things the only way she knew how.

The hinges gave a soft creak.

She padded quickly into the hallway—ten steps. Her feet barely making a sound. “Dante—”

But the man standing there wasn’t Dante.

She stopped short.

The man standing in the safe house wasn’t familiar. Not even a little. He was massive, built like a wrecking ball with a buzz cut and pale eyes that didn’t move fast, because they didn’t need to.

Her breath caught.

He shut the door behind him gently, deliberately, like he’d infiltrated safe houses a thousand times. The soft clickof the latch might as well have been the slam of a prison gate.

Something icy slithered down her spine.

He didn’t say anything.

Neither did she.

Her feet moved instinctively, one step back. Then another. Until the wall pressed against her spine.

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