She shouldn’t believe him and yet she did. It made a lot of sense. “You’re a spy.”
His eyes turned hard at her accusation. “Don’t look at me like that. You are too.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t expect—” She cut herself off and pulled her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees. “I’ll never learn,” she mumbled to herself. She really was an idiot.
Zoe felt the bed shift as Greg sat up, but he didn’t touch her. She appreciated that. She needed the space to understand what was happening. “What are you talking about?”
He’d just told her that he was an undercover agent and now he wanted to know about her ex? “It doesn’t matter.” She dropped her chin to her knees. Zoe could feel her mind being sucked down a vortex of time.
“Hey…” He placed a hand on the side of her face, his thumb stroking along her cheekbone. “Don’t shut me out. Talk to me.”
She shouldn’t. It was none of his business. It was her failing. A harsh lesson she seemed doomed to repeat, but he had asked. Maybe saying it out loud would help bring things back into perspective. “When I first joined the agency, I was sent undercover to work for a drug dealer. He had me spy on a competitor and get close to their secondhand man. Learn their routes and stuff and steal intel. We got close. I was young and thought I could get close but not too close.”
“Then what happened?” he asked; there was no judgment in his tone which encouraged her to continue.
“We went to a buy together and he knocked me out and left me for the cops, but not before telling me he was hired to do the same thing.” Zoe chuckled. “It’s ironic he could do what I couldn’t.”
“What’s his name?”
Zoe glanced up. Greg had a thunderous look in his eyes. Like a tsunami and hurricane forming in them about to unleash havoc. She sat back, feeling the full force of them. “Don’t go causing trouble.”
“Tell me his name.” His tone didn’t broach for argument.
“No.” His look might be intimidating, but now she knew from firsthand experience he wouldn’t hurt her. At least not physically.
Greg huffed, not liking being told no. It was almost cute seeing a grown man pouting.
“Besides, it doesn’t matter. I’ve learned my lesson about letting people close.” Liar, look where she was now. “Or at least I thought I did,” she amended. It seemed history was trying to repeat itself. Well, she wasn’t going to let it.
“If it’s any consolation, I’ve never gotten close to someone like I have with you.”
“You mean you never went so deep undercover that you slept with someone?” She meant for it to come out snarky, but she heard the warble in her voice. The vulnerability that she wasn’t alone in this attraction.
It was one thing to be physically attracted to someone, but it felt like more than that. She didn’t dare say the “L” word; it was way too soon for something like that. But she did feel something more than just physical with him.
“No, I’ve always kept business and pleasure separate. Just like you.”
That made her feel a little better. “What changed?”
“You,” he said simply.
Her. Just like he’d made her bend her own rules. “After the incident, I didn’t allow anyone close and started the business and pleasure separation rule.”
“I understand why. Being undercover, the lines blur after a while. You need a separation.”
“It was working well too. Until you,” she grumbled as if it was all his fault when it was actually a mutual thing.
Greg sat back against the headboard, his arms folded over his chest, the sheet covering his waist. He appeared so casual and relaxed. A truce was formed. She found herself unfolding from herself and leaned against the headboard mirroring his actions.
“Aren’t we a pair?” She chuckled. “Two undercover agents.”
“How long have you been undercover?”
“A few months with Maxim and close to a year with Viktor.”
“That’s a long op.” He whistled. “Longest for me was three weeks.”
Zoe wished hers could be so short. “Believe me, it feels longer. I’ve been doing undercover for so long that it’s starting to feel like a lifetime.” Over ten years. It might as well be a lifetime. Undercover work wasn’t for the faint of heart. Especially when dealing with drug dealers. A lot of agents fell prey to drugs and had to go to rehab. She’d been lucky she’d never had to sample the merchandise. At some point, this would become her reality and police work the fantasy. Perhaps it was time for a new career path.
