“You’re observing the man himself and his interactions with everyone around him, yes.”
“With an eye toward finding the spy.”
“Of course. Using whatever means necessary, with the blessing of our friends who picked up on the chatter. Think of it as cultivating a source.”
Fuck, yes! Camden broke into a huge smile.
Lachlan smirked. “So, how’s that for getting out there?”
“Spec-ops to break my cherry? I’ll fucking take it.”
“Good. Thought you would. I said you could pick your team, but there are caveats. Right now, you, me, and Jake are the only ones who know the full extent of this assignment. To anyone else you pick, this is just a routine bodyguard gig for now. It’s strictly need-to-know as the situation develops. Got it?”
That could be a wrinkle, too. Teammates didn’t like being left out of the loop, but Camden answered, “I hear you.”
“So, I want you to include Jake for the social engagements, including Bennett’s public declaration for his political run coming up in a few weeks.Ifyou can tear Jake away from his new bride.”
Camden laughed.
Lachlan continued. “He knows the terrain even better than you and he’ll blend in like you will. That level of guests won’t blink an eye if they see Jake Collins swanning around.”
Thanks to his family, Camden thought. Jake’s mom, Bette Collins, was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Camden had fallen under her halo of influence ever since Jake befriended him in the marines, which allowed him to mix and mingle with California’s social elite. Not that he was any more comfortable with that scene today than he had been over a decade ago, but at least now he knew how to fake it. “I wouldn’t do this assignment without Jake.”
Lachlan nodded, satisfied. “You’ll meet Bennett on Monday. Learn everything you can about him this weekend.”
“Does Bennett know he’s a target for foreign agents?”
“By all accounts, no. We want him acting normally. Don’t wanna spook Boris and Natasha before we can flush them out.” Lachlan stood up and Camden followed.
“Thanks, brother. I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t.”
As Camden walked back to his office, he thought about his upcoming weekend, which inevitably brought him back to Elena and the last time he spoke to her. Five weeks since he went from thinking he’d never see her again after the wedding, to discovering that she and her daughter Tina were moving from Nebraska to Los Angeles, to learning she wasn’t interested in seeing him romantically once she got there, all in the span of a few unforgettable minutes on the dancefloor at the wedding reception.
True, he had talked her into at least considering seeing him as a friend, but knowing Elena and her devotion to her five-year-old—which came with the belief that she couldn’t afford to divert her attention to someone else—she probably wouldn’t budge him out of the friend zone. He respected her decision, as much as he hated it. In the short time he’d known her, Camden had never seen a braver, more devoted mom, and he wasn’t stupid or arrogant enough to try and get between a mamma and her cub. But, he couldn’t forget about how gorgeous she’d looked in her little black dress and how right she’d felt dancing in his arms.
Tomorrow was moving-in day. Jake insisted Camden and a couple other guys from work help out with lugging Elena’s furniture up the stairs to her new apartment. Camden had played in the sandbox twice, once in Afghanistan and once in Iraq, and he’d faced gunfire stateside as an FBI agent, but he had no idea how he’d get through Saturday in one piece. Just thinking about seeing Elena made his heart race to ER-visit levels. As for Tina, that little girl melted what was left of his racing heart.
Doubt crept into his gut. What if Elena really didn’t want anything to do with him and was just being polite at the wedding? Worse—what made him think he deserved a second chance at happiness considering how badly he’d fucked up his life the first time around?
Could he use his new assignment as an excuse to get out of seeing Elena and Tina?
Did hewantto avoid them?
Both answers were resounding no’s.
Damn. I’ve got it bad. No way forward but straight through. He’d move some furniture, crack some jokes, then he’d be on his way.
Unless Elena still smelled as good as he remembered. Vanilla and sweet peppermint. In that case, he’d try and convince her one more time that he was worth a shot.
Two
I’ll never get over wearing shorts outside of summer or the sight of palm trees, Elena thought as she drove the moving van down the broad avenue lined with palms that must have been thirty feet tall. “Look at those, Pepita. We didn’t have anything like that in Nebraska, did we?”
“Do they have coconuts?” Tina asked. The five-year-old was under the impression that California coconuts were full of chocolate milk, so she asked about them incessantly. And who planted that crazy idea in her head five weeks ago? None other than Camden Bains.
Elena groaned. She’d wring Camden’s neck if she ever saw him again. “No, baby, they aren’t coconut trees. And even if they were, we couldn’t climb that high.”
