Page 3 of Playing With Love

On the surface, all of that sounded great. But I’d learned what looked good was oftentimes the very thing that was rotten.

“Only women were on this retreat?”

“Yeah, Nu Dawn is women-centric. We have men living on the property, but they’re attached to one of the female members. It’s what made me feel comfortable moving into the community.”

What she meant was commune. According to Nu Dawn’s corporate filings, it was a Naturalist Commune. At one point, the leader, Mackenzie Archer had tried to file for tax exemption claiming Nu Dawn was a social welfare organization, but later withdrew her application.

I didn’t correct Allyson.

“So let me get this straight?” I played along with a smile. “You live in a magical place in the mountains with a group of women who are dedicated to inspiring and uplifting one another and there are no single men to bother you? Where do I sign up?”

Allyson gave me a nervous smile back.

Come on, sis, tell me what has you freaked.

“Something like that.”

“How long have you lived there?”

“Three years.”

So, long enough she was probably a trusted member.

“And now you’re here in Georgia because you saw or heard something that has you concerned.”

I knew what had the ATF concerned but without an insider or actual evidence, we couldn’t act on our concerns.

Suddenly, I felt it—the feeling I got when I was in the field and danger was close. That flutter in my stomach followed by a race of chills up my spine.

Before I got a lock on what possible danger was in the room, the door swung open and in walked Tucker Mitchell.

The man who had crushed my heart to dust.

Yes, danger was close.

The walking, talking, sexiest-man-alive kind of danger that made even the smartest of women lose their minds, their hearts, and their panties.

Tucker’s gaze swept through the room and I braced for it—the moment those smoky gray eyes landed on me and reignited the stabbing pain I’d managed to heal to a dull ache.

I’d had a decade to forget one night.

Ten years to forget the man who owned my heart.

Both were unforgettable.

Tucker Mitchell had ruined my life.

When the collision happened, he didn’t seem surprised to see me. Or if he was he hid it well.

Though, that was his specialty. The man had an impenetrable exterior, a master of disguise. It was what had made him so effective, or was it his years undercover that had given him the impassable stare?

He was the DEA’s secret weapon.

With nothing more than a tip of his chin in acknowledgement his attention went to the two other women in the room giving them his smile.

And with that, a little more of my heart shriveled up.

CHAPTER TWO