Page 44 of Daddy's Little Spy

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Pacing the confines of his cousin’s office, Benny ran the situation through his mind over and over again. And every time, he came to the same, seemingly inevitable conclusion.

He’d fallen head over heels in love with his wife.

A fucking cop, hellbent on destroying him and his family and everything they’d worked so hard for. There was no denying he’d wanted her, but this? Loving her? That had never been part of the plan.

“Are you going to sit and tell me what’s bothering you, or are you going to force me to replace the very expensive rug you’re currently wearing a hole in?”

Emilio’s dry, amused voice cut through the haze of his own confusion. Scowling at his cousin, he dropped into the plush chair in front of the desk — the same chair he’d fucked his new bride over the night he’d informed her of his plans. “We have a problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

“I’m in love with her. My wife,” he clarified when his declaration was met with silence.

“Believe it or not, I was able to piece that together on my own. Are you just now realizing this, cousin?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I just assumed you knew.” The normally fixed expression on Emilio’s face broke into a wide grin. “You didn’t, did you? And now you’re wrapped around her righteous little finger.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” There was no denying he’d softened towards her, more than he’d expected. But he wasn’t completely under her spell.

Was he?

Pushing back up out of the chair, he let loose with a string of Italian that would have gotten his mouth washed out if his mama were still alive. “How the hell did you let this happen?”

Laughing, Emilio leaned back in his chair. “I figured you knew. Does it change anything, really?”

“I suppose not.” Not on a practical level, anyway. Emotionally, mentally, it changed everything. He’d have to be more on guard around her, especially as it was painfully obvious she would never love him back.

Oh, she played her part well. She could be sweet and submissive when it was what she thought he wanted, even if she did have a temper. The only time he was absolutely sure she wasn’t just playing a role was when he was making her scream with pleasure. And he knew better than to believe a woman like his Diana would turn away from everything she believed in for a few good orgasms.

Pushing the problem to the side for the time being, he focused on the reason Emilio had called him to his office in the first place. “All right. Let’s talk about the shipment on Wednesday.”

“Funny that you mention that.” The expression on Emilio’s face went from teasing to serious so quickly, Benny felt his heartbeat jump in response. “Look at this.”

Rounding the desk, dread sitting like a rock in his stomach, Benny scanned the computer screen. “She emailed Internal Affairs?”

“Yes. Turning someone in the tech department was a stroke of genius, by the way. Whatever bug they planted in their email system caught it and diverted the email to us.” Emilio looked up, his expression carefully blank. “How do you want to handle this?”

Hurt, betrayal, anger, and a hint of pride swirled inside of him, but Benny pushed all of that to the side and focused on the issue at hand. “We let it play out. At least as far as she’s concerned. It would be nothing for her to overhear a few more ‘secret’ conversations here and there.”

“She’s not an idiot, Benito. She’s going to see right through all of this.”

“Perhaps. But I’m counting on her curiosity and her blind need for justice to work in our favor.”

Unease flickered across his cousin’s face. “You want her to follow us. You don’t think she’ll be able to resist seeing it all go down for herself.”

“I know she won’t.”

For the first time in his life, Benny watched his cousin fully drop his guard. Grief, raw and real, filled his eyes. “Amara isn’t going to like this. She may never forgive either of us.”

And that would kill him. But there was no other way. “Hopefully she will. With time.”

“I really hope you know what you’re doing.”

“So do I, cousin. So do I.”

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