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And yes, the Sweetwater case is the first time I’ve been tasked with infiltrating a criminal organization, but I was killing it. I’ve been fully immersed in Bad Dog’s underworld for nearly a year without anyone in my life catching on. My friends, my family, even the nosy neighbors who make it their business to come poke around my house anytime I’m gone for more than a day or two—none of them suspected a thing.
And then, one day in the park a few months back, I ran back into the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen and saved her from being molested by a horny squirrel.
Overnight, everything changed.
Nora sees things other people don’t, sees throughmein a way no one ever has before. Which makes sense, I guess. According to Melissa, my twin sister, Nora has been studying me since we were kids.
Stalkingwas the word Mel used, but that feels too intense.
If Nora had been stalking me, surely, I would have noticed.
But I didn’t.
Thanks to my big brain and language skills, I skipped three grades, so even though Nora and I are the same age, we never had classes together. But she’s always been breathtaking, one of those shining, perfect people who look like they’re not quite real.
That’s probably why I didn’t pay as much attention to her in school as the rest of the male population. After skipping ahead so many grades, I was always smaller than the rest of the guys in my class. No matter how hard I tried to bulk up, I remained shorter and skinnier than most teen girls prefer when it comes to a boyfriend. I didn’t put on any real muscle until I was well out of high school, and by then I’d been sucked so deeply into the “glamorous” world of a newly minted CIA agent, I didn’t have time for pretty girls.
Only that world turned out to be not so glamorous.
It’s actually deeply and profoundly lonely.
There’s so much I can’t tell anyone, even the people I love the most. After years of keeping secrets and telling lies to ensure my family’s safety, all I feel is isolated, and past ready to retire and find a job where I can just be me.
Just Matty McGuire…whoever that guy is.
Fuck, if I know.
I’ve spent my entire adult life pretending to be someone I’m not. I’m not even sure how to move forward from here, but I know it will be a hell of a lot harder if I botch my last mission and end up leaving Nora in need of witness protection protocols.
“So, then…you’re really a criminal?” Nora’s big blue eyes grow even bigger, filling with disappointment as she adds, “But Matty, why? You’re so much better than that. You’re not a criminal. You’re a hero.”
I exhale a harsh breath. “I’m not a hero.”
If I were a real hero, I would have stayed the hell away from Nora and made damned sure she didn’t end up in a situation like this. A horny squirrel, a pissed off pirate cat, and a ghost are all challenging things to handle on your own—especially if you’re terrified of animals—but they’re way less scary than the mob.
“You are to me,” she says softly. “In just the past few months, you’ve saved me more times than I can count on one hand.That’swho you are. Not the guy who punched Sweaty Fingers.”
“Wimpy,” I correct automatically.
“I hate that name,” she says. “It reminds me of Popeye. Worst cartoon ever.”
“Well, Wimpy is the worst Sweetwater around these parts,” I say. “He’s paranoid as fuck and not above using his fists to get what he wants. And until Cassie Ann gets back from her trip to Winnipeg, he’s in charge. If he’d gotten you into the cupcake shop today, I don’t know what he would have done to you, but I guarantee it wouldn’t have been pleasant.” I swallow, not wanting to scare her, but determined to deliver the wake-up call she clearly needs. “And I wouldn’t have been able to stop him, Nora. Not if the rest of the guys were in there with him. I’m only one man. I would have followed you in there, but I’m not sure if either of us would have walked out again. The Sweetwaters don’t make people disappear often, but it has happened before. And with Wimpy in charge, it might happen a lot more frequently in the future.”
She emits a shaky breath. “I’ve been really dumb, haven’t I?”
“Naïve is probably a better word,” I say, relieved that I seem to be getting through to her. “Which is understandable. Cassie Ann does her best to appear non-threatening. It’s what’s allowed her to fly under law enforcement’s radar for so long.”
It’s also why the CIA was finally called in. Cassie Ann has been a slippery target for years now, evading local law enforcement and probes by the Drug Enforcement Agency. But when she expanded her business into Canada, connecting with people suspected of selling both Canadian and American secrets to foreign governments, she made this an international issue, a CIA issue.
Ameissue, since I’m the only officer working this part of rural Minnesota.
Nora perks up. “Law enforcement! We should go to them. Right now. Don’t you have a cousin who’s on the police force?”
“I have three cousins on the police force,” I say, “but that doesn’t mean they won’t arrest me if they find out I’m mixed up in all this.”
Her forehead furrows. “I still can’t believe it, Matty. Why? For money? I thought handymen made a good living. And I see your name on the winners list for the stock car races all the time. And you live in a van and rent out your house now. Isn’t that more than enough to get by without turning to a life of crime?”
I arch a brow. “So, you’re stalking me?”
