“So who are you?”
Desperation mounts. I’ll lose her if I say a single wrong word. “Bobbi. I’m still the Noah you know.”
“No, you aren’t. You’re an asset. For who?”
“For the United States government. I belong to an agency nobody knows about because we do things that other known entities like the CIA can’t get involved in.”
Two beats that feel like an eternity. “Did you approach me for the papers?” she asks, her voice hoarse.
I wish I could say anything but the truth. “That was part of it.”
She pales. “Why didn’t you tell me, then? I would’ve cooperated.”
“We weren’t sure if you were colluding with an enemy state.”
Her eyes narrow. She’s working fast to put things together. “Did my father…” Her voice hitches. “Did he take the dossiers to sell?”
I exhale harshly. I never wanted her to find out. “Yes.”
“To a foreign state?”
“Yes.”
“So he was a traitor. Were you ever going to tell me?” Her voice cracks.
“No. It’s irrelevant. Why torture yourself with the knowledge?”
“It isn’tirrelevant,” she hisses. “You approached me for the dossiers. You thoughtImight be a traitor. Is that why you kept ghosting me? Because you couldn’t be sure?”
“No!” My denial rings like a wild gun shot.
“When you came back…” Her breath shudders, and she stops for a moment to gather herself. “Was it because you wanted another shot at the dossiers? You know yours is included, don’t you?”
“Yes, but I didn’t come back for the dossiers. We thought they were gone.”
She regards me. “But our meeting in Mexico. That wasn’t a coincidence.”
Fuck. I wish I could make up some story, but I respect her too much. Furthermore, she’s too smart to buy my lies. There are enough pieces for her to get the full picture. “Our first meeting”—I run fingers through my hair—“was a setup. The thugs who attacked you weren’t really thugs. They knew what they were doing, and they just wanted to scare you, so I could come to your rescue and get close to you. Instead, you kicked their asses, and that was that.” My palms go clammy with cold sweat. Desperation fuels me as I look into her eyes. “Please, Bobbi. I fell in love with you.”
Her composure crumbles a little, and underneath the crack, I glimpse immeasurable pain. Remorse pounds at me. I should’ve done better. Found some way to keep her heart protected.
“But you couldn’t tell me the truth. Even after you came back and said you wanted another chance…” Her jaw trembles, and she clenches her teeth.
“I couldn’t. I’m sorry. Everything I’ve done… What I am…” I sigh heavily. “It’s all classified at the highest level. Not even my brothers know.”
“Your mother knows.”
“Because I report to her. She’s an asset as well.” Regret and self-recrimination congeal in an ugly, bitter mixture. I wish Bobbi hadn’t found out. I wish the dossiers had remained hidden. The hurt and confusion warring on her face isn’t worth it.
“My father’s death… Was it an accident or…” She struggles for the right word to describe what she instinctively knows happened.
Oh sweet Jesus.Terror runs through my veins. If I tell her, she might never regard me the same way again. Maybe even despise me. Otto Bright was a damn traitor, but he was still her father. She and he weren’t very close, but still…
She seems to have guessed the answer from my hesitation. “Did you have something to do with it?”
Don’t tell her. Lie. She’ll never find out.
Even if she never does, I can’t play her for a fool. She deserves better. “Yes.” My voice is hoarse as I struggle to speak through the tight ball of fear, panic and regret lodged in my throat. “He was my mission. I had to stop him from selling the dossiers and retrieve them.”
