Page 44 of Undercover Infidel
“Don’t patronize me. I’m well aware of the risks.” I felt heat rising in my cheeks. “I’ve dedicated my career to stopping threats like this.”
“Then, you should understand why rapid response matters more than procedural niceties.”
“This isn’t about procedures.” My voice rose despite my efforts to control it. “It’s about respect. You don’trespect my expertise or my resources enough to fully integrate them with yours.”
“That’s not true,” he said, but his tone lacked conviction.
“It is true. You see me as an MI6 representative first and a partner second.” The realization struck me with painful clarity. “Even after everything.”
Con ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “You’re misinterpreting my concerns.”
“Am I? Then, prove it. Let’s develop a coordinated approach using both units.”
He gestured to the incoming data stream. “My people are already moving into position.”
I looked at him—really looked at him—and saw something I’d missed before. Behind his confident exterior was a man who couldn’t relinquish control, who didn’t truly trust anyone else’s methods but his own. Not even mine.
“I see.” I stepped away from the workstation. “When you invited me into your bed, did you think that meant I’d stop being your equal? That I’d simply defer to your judgment on everything?”
His expression hardened. “That’s unfair.”
“Is it?”
“Yes,” he repeated.
“Prove it,” I repeated.
His jaw tightened. “I’ve shared resources with you that no outsider has ever seen.”
“Outsider.” The word hung between us.
Con looked away, his silence more damning than any argument he could have made.
I reached for my mobile. “I’m returning to London.”
“Lex—”
“No.” I held up my hand. “When you’re ready to work as the team we were assigned to be, you know where to find me. Until then, I’ll pursue this investigation on my own.”
I made the call as I returned to the main level of the castle, knowing he wasn’t far behind. “Viper? It’s Lex. I need transport back to London.” I paused, listening to her response. “Yes, immediately.”
Con followed me to my room, arguing his position the entire way. I changed into the clothes I’d arrived in, leaving everything else behind. Each item represented a connection to Blackmoor—to Con—that I couldn’t bear to take with me.
“This is a mistake,” he said from the doorway as I zipped my bag. “We don’t have time for this,” he said again, frustration evident in every line of his body.
I shouldered my bag. “I don’t work this way. Not even with you.”
The last thing I saw as the car Viper sent pulled away was Con standing alone on the steps of his ancestral home, a solitary figure against the ancient stone. The image stayed with me long after Blackmoor disappeared from view, a reminder of what might have been if only he could learn to share more than his bed.
13
CON
The wind bit through my jacket as I stood, staring at the empty driveway, rooted to the steps as if my presence might somehow reverse time and bring her back.
When the cold finally drove me inside, I headed straight to my ops hub, hoping work would distract me from the hollow space she’d left behind.
I kept replaying our argument, dissecting each word. She was right about one thing—I hadn’t treated her as an equal partner. Yet I couldn’t shake my conviction that my approach to Labyrinth was correct. Time wasn’t a luxury we could afford with a threat of this magnitude.
