“You couldn’t get a driver’s license. Or a passport. Or go to college.”
His stare burned hotter into hers, whether from empathy or the anger stirring inside him, she wasn’t sure. “I see we had a similar experience.”
She stared back, not speaking. This could still be a trap, a way to get her to talk.
He tapped his fist lightly on his thigh. “The FBI was my only option.” He fixed his stare on her. “Project Lazarus meant any person without a real identity had a place with the FBI.”
She gave a faint nod, reeling from what he was saying.
“It was that or disappear for good. But I told you the suits didn’t fit, and I wasn’t kidding. I was born for the military, andeveryone at Quantico knew it. They helped me get into the Navy. I’m a protector, not an agent.”
The sincerity in those words sent a thrill to her core and let her believe him.
Her throat went dry, and some wall inside her broke.
For her entire life, she’d believed she was alone—the only person who didn’t technically exist. A lost, misplaced, useless girl nobody gave a damn about. Hearing his story felt like looking into a mirror she hadn’t known was right in front of her.
Still, the instinct to shield herself screamed at her to shut this down.
“That doesn’t mean we have the same past.”
“No. It doesn’t.”
Silence stretched between them, thick but no longer spiked with hostility.
“You don’t get to ask me for my story.”
“You have the right to keep it to yourself,” he agreed.
The way he didn’t push for more chiseled a crack in the dam holding back the flood of her life.
She braced her spine against the wall to hold herself upright. “I told you we ended up in Virginia.”
When he held on to her gaze, refusing to look away, she realized he was honoring her with his full attention.
“My dad was in a motorcycle club. Not the glamorous kind people daydream about.” Her mouth curved in bitterness. “He got caught selling guns to an undercover. When they saw they could use him to strike a deal, he took the out and tattled on his brothers. He tried to save himself. That same night, my mom took me and left, knowing that they’d turn on us next. Kill us both. We didn’t get far before the agents found us. That’s how we landed in WitSec. But worse…they threw my father in with us.
“Hundreds of screaming matches followed, escalating every time. Until one day…my father never came home. We never knew what happened to him, but we think he just took off.” She paused, breath catching without warning.
She spent a moment gathering herself, arms pulling tighter around her middle. “But it wasn’t over—we had to remain in the program. My mom was sick of living on the tiny checks from the government, so she managed to get a job working nights as a nurse. Always nights. About that time, I met Smith. He kept me safe.”
Since the first time Sinner touched her, she had dialed into him, so when he froze, she felt it.
“He used to sit outside my window on the patio, watching over me while my mom was away. He never came inside. Never crossed a line. He just kept watch to make sure nothing happened to me.”
Sinner’s stare fixed on hers.
“Smith taught me how to fight and defend myself against the bullies at school. Against men who wanted…more than they were entitled to. Smith saved me.”
A quiet exhale left Sinner’s chest, but he didn’t speak for so long that the waiting was starting to make her lose her mind.
Finally, he said, “No wonder you don’t know how to cry.”
Her breath caught. Shehatedthat it did.
Then her nose stung and her eyes smarted.
He held her gaze. “You never had control of your life, and I know you feel out of control right now.”
