“I’m done arguing with you. I’m not going to justify myself. I’ve been doing this a long time. I know you feel one way, but I disagree.”

“You disagree?” he scoffs. “You disagree that you were drugged in DC at a function? Or maybe that only you were targeted? That the waiter doesn’t exist on any paperwork, and the other waiter who was supposed to attend is nowhere to be found? I’m not making any of this up! I’ve been investigating it, and all roads lead to one place.”

My mouth falls slightly agape. Okay, but that proves nothing. “And you think Mandi is involved?”

Mark groans and lifts his gaze skyward. “I think every person in your agency from your handler to your boss is a suspect. I’m pretty sure your brain is working overtime here, but you’re so stubborn you refuse to admit that you betrayed me. Me! The person who has been nothing but honest with you. Take all the other bullshit aside and see what you’ve done to me.”

“Do you think I want this right now? No! I don’t!” I inform him. “I don’t want anything to happen to either of us. But you’re out of your damn mind if you think I entered this carelessly. You dragged me on a plane to California to prove that Jackson was loyal.”

His jaw clenches. Fury radiates from him. “You—” He stops. “I—” He stops again.

“Sucks not being in control for once, huh?”

He steps forward but stops when we’re eye to eye. I wait for his typical mode of shutting me up, but he stands here. His nostrils flare and a storm rages in his eyes. I can see how angry he is.

“This isn’t about control. This is about you and me. This is about you going behind my back for how long? How many other times have you lied to me?”

I open my mouth to speak but close it before I say something I can’t take back.

“How many times have you told me something but it was just some twisted version of your truth?”

“Are you serious right now? I’ve been honest with you.”

“How many?” he yells.

I glare at him, ready to rip his throat out. “So much for not betraying me. You stupid idiot! I trusted you. I gave you something no one else has ever had. I gave you my name! If that isn’t a sign of how much I trusted you, I don’t know what is. Then, you treat me like I’ve been lying about everything? Fuck you!” Instead of allowing him to answer, I turn and leave him standing there.

“Don’t walk away from me!” he yells.

Instead of responding, I lift my middle finger in the air and head out of the water.

Once I reach the shoreline, I turn back. He hasn’t followed. No, Mark turned away, faced the vast ocean, and let me go. It hurts me, more than I care to admit. Knowing that he’s so upset—so ridiculous about me doing my job—breaks me apart.

I won’t let him hurt me. I won’t allow anyone to tear me down until I’m one of those girls. He won’t penetrate the remainder of my heart. Except . . . he already has. If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t be this distraught.

When I bend down to grab my clothes, a tear falls. I hate that he’s now made me cry twice. No more. I wrap a towel around my wet body and trudge back to his house without looking back.

I check my phone and notice a new text.

Mandi: You need to come back to DC. I have something. Text me when you are in a safe place.

I call a cab, pack the rest of my things, and wait. He doesn’t return before I’m done, thank God, but that also says it all. If I were worth anything, he’d have followed. I thought things were different between us. I truly thought he loved me. Steel cages surround me and protect me from the pain. I won’t allow myself to feel it. Instead, I focus on what’s in store for me. I have a man to hunt down, and by doing so, I’ll hopefully save Mark. That can be my parting gift to him.

The driver grabs my bag and tosses it in the trunk. I open the back door and gaze out at the water once more.

“Good-bye, Mark.” I blow a kiss toward the water.

It’s time to go home and get back to work.

Mark

Of all the stupid, irresponsible shit she could’ve done, this takes the cake. To go to the one person I told her could be behind this is unbelievable. My anger toward her is beyond anything I’ve ever felt before.

Then she has the balls to tell me I’m wrong, and of course, she told me her name without me asking. Fuck. If she only knew how close I was to telling her the three little words I never thought I’d say. She’d never believe me, because even I don’t understand it. It’s too soon, she’s too frustrating, and we can barely tolerate each other.

I could almost get past even that. I should’ve known Charlie would go behind my back. It’s my job to protect her, and then she destroys any chance of that. She’s like a fucking maniac. Her mind never stops. She thinks she has it all figured out, even when half the time she doesn’t. She pushes me, and I shove her right back through the wall she erected.

I stand in the water, trying to piece together all the shit that keeps going on between us and the damn job. It’s a wonder I haven’t lost my mind already. Friends dead, friends shot, friends abducted—and then, of course, I’ve been messed up. Not to the extent of those bastards, but I had dark times.

How the hell does a woman like Charlie make her way into my world, and why do I let her? This is the woman who apparently is aware we were all supposed to die. She kept my friend hostage. She lies all the time, about everything, yet I love her—a lot. I need therapy.

After a while, I start to get cold. I make my way back to the shore and notice she’s gone. Of course she is. She wasn’t happy about being in the water to begin with. It’s fine. I’ll just try to thaw her frozen heart when I get to the house. I continue my trek and hear someone call my name.

“Mark!” I turn as my brother Garrett jogs over.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

He’s never out this way. Annika, his girlfriend, lives fifteen minutes from me, but I can count on one hand how many times he’s dropped by.

“I stopped up at the house. No one answered so I figured you were at the beach. Catch any waves?”

We both look at the water where the waves are calm and crap for surfing. “Umm, no.”

He lets out a low laugh. “How’ve you been?”

“Good,” I answer apprehensively. I’m not really sure what the hell the point of him being here is. “What’s up?”

Garrett rolls his head to the side and then releases a deep sigh. “I’ve been thinking about my life. Things obviously sucked in New York. I never should’ve married Emily, but I thought she was the one.”

“I hated her.”

“You hate everyone.”

“This is true.”

We both laugh. “Anyway, when I moved down here, I thought things would be different. I love where I work. Annika is great. But Erik mentioned he talked to you, then Mom asked me this morning why we don’t talk.”

“Doesn’t she always?” This doesn’t really surprise me. Mom learned early on I wasn’t a big sharer. She’s the world’s nosiest person, which means she has the world’s biggest mouth—my brother—to tell her what she needs to know. I didn’t realize my brother was a traitor, so I told him a lot, which meant my mom knew I had porn in my closet. That was the day Garrett got cut off. Don’t fuck with a man’s porn.