Page 71 of While You Were Spying
I slip my arms around Jayden’s neck—and ignore the twinge in my heart at how natural this feels. “Okay, you’re forgiven.” I lightly press my lips to his.
The kiss was only supposed to be a quick one. But our mouths have different plans. He gently pries my lips apart—which don’t need much coaxing if you ask me. My tongue is the welcoming committee, delighted to be reacquainted with his.
And just like when I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him also feels natural. This time I don’t ignore the twinge in my heart. Instead, I point out to it that he and I would be a mistake.
Do I believe Jayden is capable of cheating on a woman whose heart he owns? No—not after what he went through with his ex-fiancée. He understands what it feels like to be cheated on.
He would end the relationship with the womanbeforetaking up with another.
At the mere thought of having a relationship with him, I mentally shake my head. There’s no doubt about it; we don’t have a future together once this mission is over—beyond our friendship and being colleagues.
For starters, long-term relationships aren’t his thing, especially after what happened with his ex-fiancée. And then there’s the issue of him not being fully supportive of my career goals. As long as he doesn’t believe I belong on the team, we don’t have a chance for anything else to happen between us.
If I ever give my heart to another man again, it’ll be because he trusts that I know what I’m doing. He trusts my choices and decisions—or at least respects them.
He trusts me to be the person I need to be.
24
Isabelle
The next threedays go by in a blur.
But Jayden, Landon, and I are no closer to figuring out why someone targeted the individuals who came forward to Bernard—or if the unknown suspect is still a problem for the resort.
For all we know, the identified victims were the only targets who visited the resort that the individual was interested in.
We also have no idea if he stalked them or made contact with them after they returned home. It’s even possible that he moved on to a new location to find fresh victims.
Jayden also spoke with Tyler Mathews, but he still couldn’t shed any light on the situation. He had no idea if any of his files on the memory stick were copied, and if they were, for what purpose.
“There’re just too many unknowns here,” Jayden says as the three of us walk along the path, next to the lake in Huntington Beach Central Park. A dozen or so ducks peck at the dirt forming the bank, searching for food. Ignoring us.
We decided to meet here because the location is far enough away from the resort to avoid bumping into guests from there. We don’t want to raise questions as to why two guests are hanging out with a resort employee.
The only people we’ve seen so far are the occasional dog owners.
A man walks past with a German shepherd, and I instinctively reach for Jayden’s hand, knowing he’s missing Mojo. I certainly am.
As if sensing my reason for holding his hand, Jayden gives it a light squeeze in gratitude but doesn’t release it. If Landon thinks the hand-holding is strange—because Jayden and I don’t have to keep up the pretense of being married while we’re here—he doesn’t show it.
“We need to interview the known victims,” I say. “All we’ve got to go on is what Bernard and Tyler told us. Which isn’t a whole lot.”
“I, for one, would like to check out Bernard’s computer and see if there’s something we’re missing,” Landon says.
Jayden stops walking. “You think he might be hiding something?”
My best friend’s leeriness toward Bernard hasn’t lessened any since we accepted the mission. Although I suspect it has more to do with Jayden not being thrilled that I’m here instead of behind my desk back in San Francisco, than for any other reason.
If it weren’t for Bernard, that’s exactly where I would be.
I wouldn’t be here, trying to prove to Liam that he should promote me as an operative. Proving that I’ll be a valuable asset to the position.
“I don’t know,” Landon replies. “I just have a feeling he might be covering up something.”
“Like what?” I ask.
“That’s the problem. I have no idea. But while I was casually asking an employee a question, he suddenly got antsy for no reason. When I turned to see what the problem was, I spotted Bernard walking away.”
