Page 116 of Vicious Temptation

“Don’t leave me, Val,” I whisper, my voice breaking. “I need you.”

“I’m sorry,” she says and pulls me against her chest. “But you’re going to be okay. I know you will. And I’ll be back sooner than you think. I promise.”

My sobs shake both of us, and she only holds me tighter. Learning to live without Valentina has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I don’t know how I’ll make it through tomorrow, let alone every fucking day she’s gone.

My tears eventually dry up, and our cries subside until only the occasional sniffle fills the room.

“Remi, I need you to promise me you’ll be careful. Ease up on Furia for a while until things die down.”

I hate feeling like I have to stop living my life. For the past four years, I’ve looked over my shoulder, dissecting and analyzing every detail, from sideways glances and unfamiliar faces to anything that even slightly feels out of place. It’s exhausting. Suffocating, even for me.

But I understand it.

“I know.”

Valentina turns to look at me, her expression serious. “And no more mugshots. Don’t let these fifteen minutes of fame go to your head.”

I scoff. “I’m internet famous now, Val. There’s no going back.”

“Oh, my God.” She sits up, laughing as she wipes the last trace of moisture from her cheek.

“People are probably making edits as we speak.”

“Absolutely they are.”

“I might even have a fan club.”

It’s her turn to throw a pillow at my face.

“One mugshot, and you think you’re a celebrity.”

“Not a celebrity,” I correct, crossing to my vanity to apply my favorite red lip. “An icon.”

Thirty-One

Thiago

Eyes closed, head resting against the seat, hands clutched tightly around the steering wheel, I try to decompress after my shift.

Today was a day from hell.

Two back-to-back calls, a drug bust, and a hostage situation. Three dead perps should be cause for celebration, but I fumbled more than once. Nothing serious enough for anyone else to notice or to put my team in danger.

But I noticed.

I hesitated when I should’ve moved and missed a detail at the hostage scene that normally would’ve jumped out at me. They were small mistakes, but mistakes all the same, and the kind that become dangerous if they turn into habits.

The truth is simple. I wasn’t fully there today because every chance my mind got, it wandered back to Remi. The way she felt in my arms, her legs wrapped around me, the way she looked at me when she finally stopped fighting what was happening between us.

Goddamn.

I scrub a hand over my face and let out a slow breath. This is exactly what Elena warned me about. Getting attached, losing perspective, and compromising the mission. Every operative thinks they’re immune to it until it happens to them. I always thought I’d be smarter and more disciplined.

But now I understand it.

Nobody wakes up one morning and decides to betray everything they believe in. You make one exception, then another, convincing yourself you still have control until you realize you crossed the line a long fucking time ago.

That’s where I am with Remi.