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“Jack.” I say his name the way I’d greet someone I didn’t particularly care for but held a rank higher than mine. “I love your daughter.” I look head-on into his menacing eyes. “I understand I’m not your first choice for her. I promise you, I didn’t plan this. But I love her. And I’m not leaving her. Ever.” If the CIA doesn’t let us work as joint operatives, I’ll step away from the CIA. I’d been thinking about doing that anyway.
“She’s so young.”
“She’s twenty-five, Jack. Fully capable of making her own decisions.”
“I know that.” He spews the words. “But how could you?”
I could ask him if he planned on falling for Ava, his wife, but this isn’t a tit for tat. It’s not about him. It’s about me. It’s about Sophia. It’s about us. “Your daughter is amazing.” She’s intelligent, cunning, driven.” I leave off sexy as hell, but his fists clench all the same, and it’s as if he can read my mind. “She’s many things, Jack, but one thing she’s not is a little girl. Not anymore. And I’ve fallen in love with her. We went into this pretending to be married. You’re correct, I don’t deserve her. But if I have my way, one day we’ll be married legally. I’ll live the rest of my days working to keep her safe.” A visual of Sophia’s wall of connections flashes before me. “I’ll back her. Support her. And die keeping her safe.”
“Damn right, you will.”
The only light comes from a streetlight fifteen feet outside. Jack’s lips are in a flat line. His eyes unreadable in the dimness. He raises his arm, and I instinctively flinch but hold in place. If he needs to punch me again, so be it.
But he clasps my arm. “Not thrilled about it. But there’s no one out there who would thrill me. She could do worse.”
The door slings open.
“Gemma forgot something back in the room. Sophia’s joining her to pick it up.”
Jack and I both push through the narrow alley to the computer and the blue-haired woman, but the screen still shows the lobby.
“Shit. We don’t have eyes?” I snap my fingers. “Can I get in on the audio?”
The blue haired woman clicks away, and static comes through my audio feed.
“Can you hear her?” I look to Ryan and Trevor.
“It’s coming in and out. They’re in the elevator.”
This is fucked up. She’s entering a suite with god knows who, and we don’t have visuals or men close by. One quick scan of the van and it’s clear I’m not the only one thinking of this.
But she and Gemma are friends. There’s no reason to panic. Alejandro is a diplomat. It’s all going to be kosher. They’ll pop in, pop out, go to dinner.
“Wait, hold on.” It’s Gemma’s voice. “I can’t take another step in this shoe. It’s cutting into me.”
“Here, hold. I’ve got you.” That’s Sophia.
There’s giggling. I press my hand over my ear, straining to hear better.
Knock. Knock.
Gemma must be knocking on the suite door. That means someone is inside. My heart rate kicks up a notch. I hate this. I far prefer to be in the field, in the moment. My palms sweat. There’s no reason for this reaction. Gemma will change shoes, Sophia will say hello to whoever is in there, and they’ll leave and be on their way to dinner.
“Hi, Ivan.” That’s Sophia.
There’s a shuffling noise. Steps on a floor. Carpeted.
An audible gasp. Close by.
Shit. That’s Sophia.
“You?”
CHAPTER35
SOPHIA
“Sophia?”
