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CHAPTER 1
MICK
There was a way to turn off the senses. He’d mastered it. A therapist might call it something technical like disassociating. But for him it was a way of managing the waiting. This job had its share of sitting around. Orders would come in. People to be followed or watched. Maybe someone higher up the chain would change their mind about the timeline of a mission and things would shift dramatically. The brakes would be metaphorically pumped.
When that happened, he’d click his brain off. Right now the television was on but he couldn’t make out what it was saying. The faint smell of bacon wafted to his balcony from the breakfast place downstairs. Maybe birds chirped or a breeze blew but he wouldn’t let that in. If he did, he’d remember what he was waiting for. Who he was waiting for. And that would be a bad thing.
Charlize hadn’t spoken to him in two years. They’d both worked hard to make sure their paths didn’t cross. In a job that took them all over the world, it was easy to avoid each other. Carmen probably meant well. She likely thought enough time had passed that the two could have some sort of amicable working relationship. Poor thing. She had no idea how irreparable the damage had been.
Mick knew he could stop glancing down from the balcony, wondering if the next person rounding the corner might be Charlize. She wouldn’t come. She would never work with him again. Not after last time.
But the one thing Charlize always loved was proving him wrong. As he continued to stare onto the bustling street below, his attention was suddenly drawn to a figure walking toward his building. At first, it was just a silhouette, a distant memory that couldn't possibly be real. But as the figure drew closer, Mick's heart quickened the way it always did when he saw Charlize.
There, on the sidewalk below, stood the woman he once called his partner. Best friend. Confidant. And now, stranger.
He was grateful for the chance to see her before she got a look at him. Drinking in every inch of her, he realized she hadn't aged a day since the last time he'd seen her; her golden hair still shimmered in the bright sunlight. Dressed in a sleek, black trench coat and sunglasses, she exuded an air of confidence that had always drawn him in. No one messed with Charlize and lived to tell. That was how she carried herself and when pressed how she handled things.
Mick's mind raced, his senses suddenly fully engaged. Carmen's words echoed in his mind, but he couldn't fathom the idea that Charlize would be willing to work with him again after what had transpired during their last mission.
As Charlize neared the entrance of his building she looked up in his direction and their eyes locked for a fleeting moment; it was as though time stood still. Of course she spotted him. She knew his habits. He’d have the high ground. She didn’t smile, blink too hard, or flinch at all. Nothing on her face changed even slightly as she looked at him. That hurt more than if she’d flipped him off.
Mick felt a jolt of electricity shoot through him, a mixture of longing and regret. He couldn't help but remember the times they had shared, the moments of intense connection and passion.
Before he could gather his thoughts and decide how to react, Charlize entered the building and disappeared from his view. She was coming up. For a brief second he contemplated how hard the hit would be if he jumped from the balcony and ran away. A busted ankle maybe. Some scrapes for sure. But that might be a gift compared to what Charlize could do to him.
Standing, he peered over the balcony’s edge one more time then down on the files Carmen had given him. This job was something different. A whole new challenge. Maybe that was why Charlize was here too. It mattered more than their past. Or maybe she was here to fight him to the death. That was also a possibility. Flashes of all their shared history had whispered endlessly through his mind for the two years they’d been apart. And now, the whispers turned to shouting. Maybe they were saying: Jump.
CHAPTER 2
CHARLIZE
Kicking the door would have matched her feelings, but instead Charlize knocked. Maybe she pounded. It was somewhere between the two.
“Uh, yeah hang on.” Mick’s voice was uneasy and she was glad for that. Let him be back on his heels, unsure what she might do to him when they finally saw each other again. In fairness, she didn’t know either. Maybe she’d ice him out with stifled answers and cold looks. Or maybe she’d punch him in the throat. It could go either way.
When he finally pulled the door open, his eyes darted down the hallway to make sure she wasn’t followed, then he ushered her quickly inside.
“We’re not on duty,” she cut out quickly. “No one is following me. I know how to handle myself.”
“Yeah, of course. Sorry. Old habit.” He gestured to the non-descript couch in the middle of the living room. This was furnished corporate housing. The Kinross family owned hundreds, maybe thousands of these kinds of places all over the world. When they weren’t needed for people like Charlize and Mick to do work, they served as exactly what they were. Temporary housing for relocated employees starting out in a new city.
Today it was the location of a hostile meeting, and Charlize was going to make sure it was a meeting that wouldn’t last long.
“I didn’t know you’d be working on this until five minutes ago,” she asserted angrily. “Carmen blindsided me.”
“I understand if you want to go.” He gestured to the door and she found his dismissal infuriating. He should be groveling. Begging for her forgiveness. He looked nervous but not sorry.
“That’s all you have to say to me?” She propped her hand up on her hip and squeezed at her own bone in an effort to keep from squeezing his neck until he apologized.
“I told Carmen you’d never work with me. I tried to explain this was a bad idea.” He tossed his hands up in defeat.
“It’s a terrible idea. Disastrous. This type of work can only be done with complete trust, and you’ve lost mine. I’ll never partner with you again.”
“You don’t trust me?” He huffed out the words and she was taken aback by his reaction. She’d expected to at least get him to admit he was to blame. “More like I shouldn’t trust you. We were a team and you went rogue. You should have looped me in. But that’s not how you roll, right? It’s all about a team of one with you.”
“Loop you in?” She jabbed a finger in his direction. “You know there isn’t always time to communicate when shit is going down.”
“Bull, you knew what you were going to do long before you did it. You kept me in the dark because you knew I’d talk you out of it.” He puffed his chest out and waited for her to lie. She wouldn’t. It didn’t matter now anyway.
