I approached the stairs into my fake living area slowly. There was more of that sweet scent sprayed everywhere. What was that? It was wrong. All wrong.

  From behind, someone jumped out. I blocked the hit, turned around to cast an elbow behind me, dropped my hips, and shoved them back. Pulling the person overhead and down, I aimed the gun and fired at his chest. Again, green light.

  Before the other person from the doorway leading to the second bedroom could even step out, I hit that target.

  It was like I knew where they were going to be. As if some part of my mind could sense it. I quickly whipped around, pointed at my loft, three, two, one, target hit.

  What the hell? Why did I know where these targets were?

  Saff had run me through all possible scenarios, but we'd never done a version of this. Hell, how would she even know about my flat? So what was this? Why did I know where they were going to be?

  I'd taken down four targets. I had to find my asset. I cleared each room, which finally left the cupboard, and it was the scent in the cupboard that stopped me.

  Oh, fuck. Saff. I searched over my shoulder and saw no more targets were coming for me. When I pulled the door open, there was Saff in her bra and panties. Oh, Christ. I swallowed hard, trying to keep my gaze off her tits, but it wasn't even her state of undress, it was her scent that got to me. I liked how she smelled over the too sweet smell they’d sprayed over my loft. And Saff looked like she had blood on her side. I knew it wasn't real. I understood that. But something deep inside me broke just seeing her like that, lifeless. And the markings on her face… She looked like she'd been cut or something.

  Rage simmered in my blood. I couldn't account for the anger. And maybe it took me a moment too long, but what appeared to be the front door of my flat opened. I aimed. And in that brief second, I knew it wasn't a target. And then I saw the baton and colorings of police issued jacket. The police. Fuck. “You’d better not be actually hurt,” I said.

  I picked her up easily. She was tall but easy to lift. I carried her in my arms and then shifted her in a fireman's hold so that I could still wield my gun. Two police officers walked in and headed for the upstairs loft. And as they were going, one of them turned around and aimed at me, but I fired first.

  Green marker.

  Oh fuck. Over my shoulder, Saff moaned.

  "Are you fucking hurt?"

  "Lock? What the hell?" She sounded disoriented. "What's happening? Is this your flat?"

  I hesitated then. How the fuck did she know about my flat? Another target came round the corner of the hallway, just in the doorframe. I hit them and got a green target on the shoulder, but they pointed their gun.

  I cursed under my breath and turned to tuck Saff behind the door.

  But she got hit. I heard the buzzer. I checked the target sensors on her body and saw they'd shot her in the leg. Fuck. I was going to lose points for that, but I needed to get out to wherever the fuck the exit was. The target was coming forward, sending an array of bullets toward us with not much more than the countertop as cover.

  She was too disoriented to help. "Lock, why are we in your flat?"

  "Why do you know what my flat looks like?"

  “You don't remember." She muttered something under her breath, and I could tell they'd drugged her or something. "Saff, sweetheart, I need you to pay attention to me. Why do you know about my flat?"

  “It's so pretty. So much light."

  Except, my flat was dark, and God, they'd really given her something. I didn't know what it was, but I needed her to shake it off. “I'll be right back, okay? Stay covered. You're hit, I don't know how many points."

  She smiled up at me, the way she’d never smiled at me before. “I'm sorry I left," she whispered.

  I frowned. "Left where?"

  “I really had fun."

  I couldn't understand what the hell she was talking about or what she was saying. Before I could ask, she passed out again.

  Fuuuck.

  Suddenly, the target at the door was more than one target. I peeked out from around the cupboard, fired off two shots, and got one target down, but the other one nicked me. I cursed and saw that I'd taken a shoulder hit, which meant I had to shift my gun to my other hand. Fucking hell. Left-handed shooting. No wonder Saff had insisted I practice it at the range. Two more targets, then I could pick her up and carry her the fuck out of there.

  I rolled out, trying to catch the target that was headed toward the loft. Probably to get higher ground so they could shoot down on me. I hit him, but again, only a hip shot. He fired at me again. I ducked and rolled behind the couch, and then I was up popping off two squeezes.

  Green light.

  Finally, the other target in the doorway was the only one left. I spun on my knee and got him.

  I did a quick sweep, only popping my head barely up out of position to make sure I had all targets down. The hall had a lot of green lights. Excellent. And then I ran back to Saff and scooped her up. “You're okay. I've got you."

  Her scent continued to wrap around me and then pulled at another memory. A fantasy that had been playing in my mind for weeks now. Saff over me, riding me, her perfect tits bouncing with each movement. Me sitting up to shove one of her pebbled nipples in my mouth, and the way she arched her back, smooth and lithe, giving me access. Fuck. Why that fucking fantasy? Why now?

  You don't have time for this. Get out.

  I didn't know how long we'd been in here, but I hoped to Christ I’d beat Saint. At the very least, Rookie.

  As I carried her out toward the exit, I wished I could explain it, but there was that sense of unease that prickled. I put her down and placed her against the door, covered her body with mine, and fired at the target that had apparently been hiding in my cupboard.

  Green light.

  Behind me, gun still raised, I reached for the exit door, shoved it open, scooped her up, and walked through.

  And all I heard after was the buzzer.

  Saffron

  I blinked slowly awake and I winced at the brightness of the room. What the fuck? Why was I in med bay?

  “Good, you're awake."

  Startled, I snapped my head to the left and found Lock sitting by my beside.

  “What are you—why am I in med bay?"

  “I think they overdosed you for my trial."

  His trial? Oh God. "Shit, are you okay? How did you do?"

  That slow smirk I'd come to know and need appeared as he watched me.

  “I passed, of course."

  “So cocky."

  “How about we say I had a good teacher."

  I smiled at that. “Did you beat Saint?"

  He grinned. "By two minutes."

  “Now you'll be impossible to live with."

  “I'm starting to think you don’t believe that.”

  “If I were you, I wouldn't think that. No need for you to get cocky now."

  “I have a question though."

  I nodded. "What’s up?"

  "How do you know what my flat looks like?" His gaze didn’t waver. His voice was soft but direct.

  I didn’t want to lie. But telling him now was too much. I couldn’t have him anyway. “What are you talking about?”

  "My trial was in a mockup of my flat."

  “I don't know your flat, Lock." The lie persisted, but it had to be done.

  “Do you remember anything about my trial?"

  I could feel my brow furrow as I thought it through. I didn't remember anything about his trial. I remember going into his trial space, but before I could open the interior door, Gabe was there and— Blank. Seeing as I was in med bay now, obviously, they’d drugged me. Why had they drugged me? What had they done?

  “I don't remember anything. The last thing I remember is talking to Gabe."

  Lock nodded and swallowed. "Right. You were saying some stuff that didn't make sense, I guess, and you also mentioned stuff about my flat and… I don't know. It doesn't make any sense."

  I searched his gaze. I could tell him. I could just blurt it out, like 'Hey, we shagged three months ago.’ But what good would that do? That would only confuse him, and our entire working relationship would be destroyed. Besides, it was humiliating for me, so it was better to just keep that to myself.

  “I don't know why they had you in your flat. But I don't remember anything about what I might have said in there."

  He nodded. “You're okay, right?" He was watching me warily.

  “I think so.” I could wiggle my toes and feel the coolness of the sheet on me, but when I tried too hard to remember the trial, my head started to throb. “Yeah, if I try to think too hard about what happened, I get a headache. But other than that, I think I’m fine."

  “You were shot."

  I frowned hard at that. "What do you mean, I got shot?"

  He winced. "Well, let's just say I was more concerned about getting you out and didn't anticipate they'd give me an extra target. Actually, a few extra targets."

  "How many targets did you have?"

  "Eight. You know what's weird? As I was going through my flat, it's like I knew exactly where they were going to be. At least the first set. I can't explain it, but it's like I had a cheat code. You haven't been giving me the instructions, have you?"

  I lifted a brow and winced when my head throbbed. “As if I would.”

  He shook his head. "No, I didn’t think so. Are you okay?"

  I nodded. “But no, I haven't been subliminally sending you signals, sorry. You felt strong enough?"

  He nodded. “I felt surprisingly good. All that good training."

  “Don't be a smart arse.”

  He leaned back on his seat, watching me. "Why do you think they picked you as my asset to get out?"

  "Well, because that's the deal. You have to be able to see your trainer down without reacting emotionally, I suppose."

  “You know what's funny? They sprayed perfume all over my flat."

  I swallowed hard at that. "What?"

  "Perfume. They sprayed it all over my flat. It was too… I don't know, flowery, I guess. They like sprayed it on my bed, downstairs, the couch. The couch really smelled like it."

  What was I supposed to say? 'Hey, we shagged that one time, but you don't remember, so I’m trying not to trigger anything. Please, dear God, remember me.' But I didn't say that. "Well, that’s weird. Maybe it was supposed to remind you of a long-term girlfriend or something."

  He shook his head. “I've never had anyone to my flat. I have another place for that. It was one of Charlie's rules. Never bring a girl back to the flat, because then you can't make them leave."

  "Oh, charming."

  "Well, there was an incident once when I was at uni. This girl, she kept showing up. That's when Charlie told me about his no girls at the flat rule. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

  "I’m sure it did."

  "Well, anyway, I just came to see how you're doing."

  "Aw, don't tell me you care."

  He rolled his eyes. "Easy does it. You're going to ruin my rep like that. Who said I care?"

  “I see you, King. You're starting to like me."

  He chuckled then. "Are you sure you're all right?"

  “Yeah. You didn’t react when you saw me, did you?"

  His gaze was mysterious then. "No, of course not. I locked down all the emotions and did what a good agent would do."

  “Glad to hear it."

  When he pushed to leave, I called him back. "Oh, hey, King?"

  “You know, I’m starting to like you calling me King."

  "Ugh, please, get over yourself. But anyway, before you so rudely interrupted me, I was about to say good job today."

  “Thanks. Start feeling better soon. I need my trainer, don't I?"

  A smile tugged at my lips and my heart fluttered.

  You cannot have him. He’s forbidden.

  It’s best you remember that.

  11

  Lachlan

  I hadn't expected to get called back into Gabe's office so soon. I spent the last day training with Saff, unable to shake the idea that I knew her. I couldn’t shake that pull. Every time I was near the woman, I had a really unhealthy desire to drink her deep.

  That would get my arse kicked by Gabriel.

  Ever since we’d almost kissed, I’d been unable to think about anything else. When I was led to Gabriel's office, he was standing and pacing by the window. I didn't bother to sit. Instead, I inspected the books on his bookshelves until he turned around. "Those were my father's. He read a lot."

  "These are all first edition classics."

  “You know your bindings," he mused.

  “You could say that. Mother founded a whole library somewhere."

  “Yes, I feel like I knew that about you."

  "Which one was his favorite?"

  His voice coming soft, Gabe whispered, "The Count of Monte Cristo."

  There was a thread in my memory. Something familiar. Like that was someone else's favorite book, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. And honestly, I was too tired. “Did I fail the mission in some way?”

  He shook his head. "On the contrary. You were the only recruit to even come close. Saint came in second, but he got an extra set of bonus points because he got both assets out. Tough nut to crack, that one."

  I smiled. "He's a good bloke."

  Gabe nodded. “You know Massimo Igno, is that correct?"

  It wasn’t a name I’d heard in years. “Why?"

  "He went to Eton with you?"

  I nodded. "Oh, yeah. That's why the name is familiar. He was a couple of years ahead of me. Friends with my brother. What's the problem?"

  "What were your interactions with him while at Eton?"

  I shrugged. "Minimal. I was on the rugby pitch most of the time. I didn't pay a lot of attention to the upperclassmen. There were some legendary rumors about him and women, but I knew nothing else. Why?"

  He walked over to his desk and clicked something, and when the screen popped up, Massimo was on the screen an older version of Massimo who I could only assume was his father. "This is the Igno family."

  "All right. What is this?"

  "This," Gabe muttered, “Is the mission."

  My blood rushed at the word mission. "Are you shitting me? The Ignos?"

  He shook his head. "No, I’m not. If you can pull off this mission, it will be something Oversight won't forget."

  "What is the mission?"

  "Massimo here has a new girlfriend. Usually, the Ignos stay off our radar. The old man has managed to amass a fortune in the criminal underworld. He’s well connected and untouchable."

  The way he said it, I could tell there was bad blood with the old man. I frowned. "What do you need?"

  “Intel. The whole Igno family is private. Notoriously so. But recently, Massimo proposed to the Spanish actress and model, Graciella Natanya, so he's been more visible. We haven't been able to get close to him for any reason. But we have word that he is taking Graciella to the Winston Isles for a two-week holiday."

  "Okay."

  “I'm sending you in for surveillance."

  I frowned at that. "Me? Don't you want somebody who has more field experience?"

  He shook his head. "Not necessarily. It's strictly a surveillance mission. All you have to do is plant a few bugs, and then you're gone. We just want to be able to listen in on who he's talking to."

  I hesitated. It felt like I wasn't being told something. I studied him. "What's the catch?"

  "No catch. You do this mission, bring us actionable intel, and knock your sessions off to six months."

  Holy shit. “You're fucking serious?"

  “Yes, that's how important this is."

  "And all I have to do is listen?"

  “Yes. It shouldn't be too difficult. One small thing. You won't be doing it alone." Gabe frowned when he muttered this. "We don't want to rouse suspicion, so we are sending you in as yourself, but you will be going in with your wife."

  "What? Who?"

  "Since you two have been working so well together, you'll be going with Saff."

  The other shoe had dropped. It was one thing to obsess about her, have her walk around in my dreams. But it was a whole other kind of temptation to be stuck on a mission with her.

  Saffron

  “Do you want to tell me what your problem with King is?"

  Gabe had waylaid me in the hallway on my way to training and pulled me into his office.

  “I don't have a problem with King," I lied smoothly.

  He lifted his brow and crossed his arms after tossing his tablet on his desk. “You forget, I grew up with you. I know when you're lying. Is he a problem?"

  “What?” I shook my head. "No. He's fine."

  "All right, then what's going on?"

  "Nothing."

  He frowned. "Look, Saff, you and him obviously have a thing, and I need to know if it's going to be a problem."

  I sighed. "No, it's not. He's not bad. He's a little cocky. Hand-to-hand is pretty good, actually. He has never been put in a position where he has had to fight for his life, but I think that he will rise to the occasion. He got a little distracted today, but also, I wasn't actually trying to kill him. I think he’ll be fine. We've got months left before his final evals."

  Final evals were essentially hell week, where we took the recruits out in the middle of nowhere. They had to survive, and we could jump out at any point. Attack, attempt to kill them.

  We did that in a closed environment because the last time we tried to do it in a real-world scenario, we almost lost an agent. That had been mum and dad's era.

  “I need your honest opinion because I’m about to put him on a mission."

  My brows lifted. "What? You're putting someone untrained in the field?"

  “I thought you just said he was pretty good."

  "That was before I knew you were putting him in the bloody field. Are you kidding me? I've been out begging for field duty for over a year. You won't put me in the field, but you'll put him there?"

  Gabe held his hands up. "Settle down."

  "No, I will not settle down. What's the billionaire got that I don't have? Because I have the chaps, I have the heart, and I've been pissing my life away."

 

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