Sinner knew lust. He’d experienced it often enough in his life to recognize it easily.
What lingered now was warm, like a thick blanket covering his senses.
And it was much more dangerous than lust ever was.
The sensation followed him through his morning routine. After dressing, he paced to the window to peek through the blinds. Even though he knew Opal’s car wasn’t parked out there, he looked for it anyway.
Since it was Saturday, she wasn’t working at the government office. But early this morning, she’d received a notification that she had a dog walking job.
She’d issued the cutest little groan of despair and glared at the scab on her knee before hurrying to get ready. When she emerged from the fastest shower he’d ever seen a woman take, she muttered about going to walk monster dogs when she should really be scoring drugs.
A crooked grin formed on his lips at the absurdity of their situation. But while Opal did her part, he had a role to play too.
He stepped out onto the narrow balcony and leaned against the rail, letting his posture sag just enough to sell the story. The street below was active with foot traffic and a delivery truck idling at the curb.
He felt the presence of a person on the neighboring balcony and glanced over. A man with a cigarette in his mouth stared at Sinner from a cloud of smoke. Sinner wanted to ask the guy to quit interrupting their sex by pounding on the wall between rooms. Instead, he pulled out a pill bottle from his pocket, shook one loose and dry-swallowed.
The man looked away almost immediately.
Sinner lingered on the balcony another beat before he went back inside.
He grabbed his phone and checked the tracker for Opal’s location. Her path zigzagged through the map, looping in a way that made his brow crease. Then the line curved again, slower this time.
He watched as the lines formed a shape.
A…heart.
His chest tightened.
It couldn’t be intentional. He doubted she’d meant to do it. The dog was just dragging her through the park.
That didn’t stop the happiness spreading through him, or the thought that maybe, just maybe…she was feeling it too.
First, he placed a call to Dante. His brother-in-arms answered on the first ring. “My man. I was about to call you.”
He stilled. “What’s going on?”
“Con wants to share his concerns.”
“About?”
“Opal.”
“What about her?” His chest grew tight.
“He’s been in touch with her handler. There’s intel that Cipher’s making his move—soon. They’re questioning if she’s right for this op. After the incident with the drug dealer—”
“She’s right,” he grated out through his locked jaw. “There’s no one better and they all know it. So what’s this really about?”
A beat of silence followed, and Sinner let out a growl. “Is it the whole ‘she’s not a team player’ bullshit?’ Because it’s just that—bullshit. She’s dialed down, locked in every single day. She’s busting her ass to get noticed by Cipher and has my back in every corner. Besides, I can handle myself.”
Another pause flooded the line with dead air. Finally, Dante spoke. “Noted. I’ll relay it to Con. Let’s get to the reason you called.”
It took him a moment to recover from their conversation. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he pulled in a breath.
“I need you to do something for me.”
“I’ll try my best.”
