Page 128 of Shadow

“Actually. That’s on me. Because…shoot. I knew you were lying. I knew it.” She shook her head. “But I didn’t want to believe my own instincts.”

“Your instincts are wrong, Daphne. You can trust me. I would never let anything happen to you. Or our witnesses.”

She gave him a hard look and, aw, that’s when he grabbed his shirt, pulled it up. “These are real. And so is my nearly dislocated shoulder and the fact I nearly got shot trying to stop Dmitri from killing an innocent bystander and—sheesh, Daphne. Think for one long second. Has anything I’ve done shown you that I’m not for you? That I’m not on your side?”

She held up the phone. “Yep.”

He looked like she’d hit him.

Yeah, well, she felt slapped too. “You should have told me from the beginning. I was your partner.”

“You made it pretty clear that wasn’t true. I provide intelligence. You run operations. That was your deal.”

She shook her head. “So much for providing intelligence.”

Something flashed in his eyes. He opened his mouth. And she very much expected something harsh—something to expose how desperately she’d failed.

The breach at the compound. The complete dismissal of all her rules.

Instead, his voice fell, turned soft. “I wanted to tell you,” Asher said. Voice rough. Desperate. “But the operation was classified. Deep cover. I couldn’t blow eighteen months of work. Couldn’t risk⁠—”

“Risk what? Risk me knowing the truth? Risk me making informed decisions? Risk me actually being⁠—”

“My wife?”

She laughed. “Get over yourself. It was a game.”

“No. Daphne, no. It started out that way, but⁠—”

“Don’t.” She held up a hand. “We’re not talking about that⁠—”

“Of course we are.” He took a step toward her. And heaven help her, she let him. What was wrong with her? “That was the one definitely real thing about this whole…mission.” He took a breath. “I care about you. I might even l⁠—”

“Nope.” Now she did back away. “Nope. Don’t say⁠—”

“I’m in love with you, Daph.”

“No, you’re not. No. I’m not…no…” She held up her hands. “This was just a game. An act. It meant nothing.”

And shoot, now her eyes filled.

She turned. Faced the window. Couldn’t look at him. The kitchen window reflected her pale face, the dark circles under her eyes. Beyond the glass, morning sun painted the mountains gold. Beautiful. Peaceful.

A lie.

She folded her arms across herself. Drew in a breath. “When Dmitri attacked us at the safe house,” Daphne said quietly, “he said, ‘You chose wrong.’ What did he mean?”

Silence behind her.

She finally turned.

Asher just stood there. “He might have known then who I was,” Asher said. “I couldn’t tell for sure. But if he did, he knew I’d chosen to protect you instead of eliminating the witnesses. Knew I’d chosen sides.”

She stared at him. Oh, she wanted to believe him. How pathetic was that? Her voice softened. “How long were you planning to keep lying? How long before you told me the truth?”

“I was going to tell you last night. That’s why I came downstairs. I was going to show you the evidence. Explain everything.”

“But you didn’t.”