Page 77 of Say My Name

“It’s going,” I answer, avoiding her gaze.

“Everything is top-secret,” Allison says as she plops lettuce and veggies on the counter to prepare a salad.

“Well, undercover life is tough when you have to keep details private for the sake of the case. Fortunately—or unfortunately—I didn’t have family to question me.”

A pang squeezes my chest that Addison lost her parents at a young age and never experienced the feel of family until working with Vin. Another pang slices through me that Dev also lost his mother.

“Yeah,” I say, turning to wash my hands. “This is harder than I expected.”

“Tell me about it. I didn’t think Vin and I would ever solve my first assignment and to make matters worse, I got attached to the women I was investigating on my first assignment.” Addison pops a cherry tomato into her mouth. “All that socializing with them caused me to see them as friends. And they were. It might have been against the rules, but I don’t feel bad about it, because I’ve learned since then that you can’t be a robot. Sometimes fate has a path you can’t detour from, no matter the consequences.”

Thankfully, I don’t get to respond that I totally understand breaking the rules since I’ve let my suspect spank me numerous times and Ashley knows pretty much everything because Vin and Mom return to the kitchen.

The topic shifts to eating inside or out before Mom corrals Addison and Ashley to the patio to help her set everything up and I volunteer to finish the salad.

“What’s troubling you, Chloe?” Vin asks.

I peer up into his hazel eyes. “It’s that obvious?”

“Only if you’re in the business,” he says. “Spill.”

He rests his muscular shoulder against the pantry door, crossing his arms over his chest.

“How do you not cross lines when you’re undercover?”

He blows out a breath. “There are no lines. You have to put the guilt aside and do what you’re sent in to do. Whatever it takes.”

“It feels like the lines between reality and fantasy have blurred. How do you keep yourself from believing the lie?”

His brows dip low and pull together, and I know by the concerned look on his face that he gets what I’m saying without me saying it. “Chloe, fuck. Listen, I know I fell for Addison while we were undercover, pretending to be married, but she was mypartner, not a suspected murderer.”

My fingers fly up to my parted lips and I shuffle back a step to put space between me and his terrifying words. “I am not falling for him. I’m trying to solve a case, but…” My shoulders slump under the weight of his stare.

“But what?”

“I’m making no progress. I feel like I’m walking a frayed tight rope that has one thread left, ready to snap.”

He rakes his teeth across his bottom lip before pushing off the door and placing his large hands on my shoulders. “Do you think he did it?”

“No.”

“Evidence or gut?”

“Gut. Both.”

Vin nods like he has all the wisdom in the world. “Look, I know it’s tough not knowing who you can trust.”

“I just wish I knew what to do. My partner keeps telling me to get closer to the subject, but I don’t know how.”

The smile in Vin’s eyes contains a conniving flare, like he knows a secret. “I’ve never been one to follow the rules. I believe they’re made to be broken. To test yourself. If you followed every rule, then you wouldn’t know the extent of your own true self.”

I raise a brow. “You sound like some yogi guru.”

Vin laughs hard. “Well, I’m definitely not. I’m just thinking maybe you should shake things up. You need to do something out of the ordinary to bring you closer to him.”

It’s my turn to laugh. “Like what? Move into his house.”

Vin shrugs. “Sure, why not.”

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