That’s not how it always went down. Sometimes, he was required to play the clueless coworker. If local authorities were able to execute the capture without his intervention, he would pretend to be as shocked by the arrests as any of the other employees at Trendsetters. And then, out of the blue, one of his grandparents would fall ill, necessitating his immediate return to his family.
It always worked like a charm. Everyone would understand when, a few weeks later, he unfortunately had to turn in his letter of resignation. He began laying the foundation for this excuse his very first week on the job, casually mentioning to a sufficient number of coworkers just how important his family was to him. Not a single person would be surprised when he made the hard choice to pack up and leave. They never were.
When it came to this particular job, it would be Dwyer’s call. If his boss decided leaving Trendsetters without a trace was the safest exit strategy, that’s how it would play out. A part of him wanted it to happen that way. At least then he wouldn’t have to see the hurt in Samiah’s eyes. Or, even worse, the hate.
Fucking coward.
Daniel shut his eyes, damn near gasping at the pain that pierced his chest just at the thought of having to explain to Samiah that he’d spent the past two months lying to her. She would despise him. How could she not? She’d become YouTube famous for cursing out a guy who’d lied to her about his true identity. It would be ridiculous to think she would easily forgive him for doing the same.
“You don’t deserve her forgiveness,” Daniel whispered.
He didn’t deserveher. Period. If he was a halfway decent human being, he would turn around right now, drive to that dull, sparsely furnished apartment, pack up his few belongings, and be on a plane to Virginia by tonight.
Any thoughts of doing that vacated his brain the moment he spotted her. She congregated with a group of at least a dozen women underneath the shade of a massive pecan tree. She’d told him to meet her at what was affectionately known as the Monkey Tree, one of the park’s landmarks, and a favorite for outdoor exercise enthusiasts because of the natural cover it provided from the blazing Central Texas sun.
The magnitude of this moment wasn’t lost on him. Introducing him to people outside of their work life was a significant step. It signified a level of trust he hadn’t earned. He was lying to her, dammit. All of this was a fucking lie!
His steps halted. He sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes again.
Walk away.
He could still do it. He could turn around this very instant, before she spotted him. All he would have to do is tell Dwyer that he’d been compromised. He could be back in his little cubbyhole at FinCEN’s headquarters by Tuesday morning. Samiah would be hurt and confused by his sudden, unexplained departure, but how much worse would it be if he allowed this to go on?
He opened his eyes and realized he couldn’t do it.
It made him the worst kind of bastard. Dishonest. Selfish. Unrepentant. Because as inexcusable as it was to continue this subterfuge, that’s exactly what he would do. The alternative—saying goodbye—was unbearable.
He continued on. He would deal with the silos of regret he’d been collecting later, when Samiah was no longer a part of his life. He had her for now. And he would savor every delicious minute.
She noticed him when he was about twenty feet away. He watched as she said something to the statuesque woman he recognized from the viral video—London—before breaking away from the group and advancing toward him. Her eyes were as bright as her radiant smile. The thought of eventually leaving her, of having to live without that smile, caused an ache to settle deep in Daniel’s chest. How could he contemplate giving her up until he absolutely had to? She was like a drug, his own sweet addiction.
“Hey there,” she said as she approached. She grabbed him by both hands, leaned forward, and placed a quick kiss on his lips. “Thanks for coming all the way back out here on a Sunday morning,” she said.
“Did you really think I would turn down an invitation to be next to you when I knew you’d be wearing skintight clothes?”
She tipped her head to the side, her lips tilting in a flirty grin. “I wouldn’t think the thought of seeing me in clothes would be all that exciting after last night.”
“Now that I know exactly what’s hidden underneath those clothes, it’s a thousand times more exciting.”
Her warm brown cheeks darkened even more. Making her blush gave him as much pleasure as cracking a case that had been cold for thirty years. Making her call his name out as he plunged deep inside her gave him enough pleasure to kill him.
Leaving her would destroy him. There was no way around it.
“Come on.” She tugged him forward. “I’ll introduce you to London and Taylor.”
He recognized both women from the YouTube video. Taylor had dressed the part of drill sergeant, her camo-colored workout pants and cropped sports top an exact match to the cap she wore.TAYLOR’D CONDITIONINGwas embroidered in red on the front panel. With those defined arm muscles, she looked as if she could kick ass as thoroughly as any sergeant he’d served under.
London, on the other hand, seemed as if she’d been dragged from bed kicking and screaming. That she was here to support her friend’s endeavor was a testament to the bond the three women had formed in the short amount of time they’d known each other.
“London, Taylor, this is Daniel Collins. Daniel, this is London Kelley and Taylor Powell.”
“Nice to meet you, ladies.” He shook both their hands.
“Same,” London said, her gaze assessing and a touch amused. She looked over at Samiah. “A certain project looks to be complete.”
“Maybe,” Samiah said after clearing her throat. Daniel had no idea what that was about.
She motioned to Taylor. “The two of you have something in common. Daniel here is a military brat. Both his parents served. In fact, he was in the Marines for…” Her forehead furrowed. “How long?”
