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Of course it is. But I’m an assassin. He’s a government employee. And he’s Matteo. He’s by the book.

Either he’s already losing it.

Or I don’t know him as well as I think I do.

“Are you cleared for concealed carry in this country?” I ask.

“Report me.” His voice sharpens. He’s pissed.

I need to disarm him another way. Emotionally.

I hold his gaze. Search for vulnerability.

He could tell me it was all fake. That I was always just a source.

That would hurt, but it would be fair.

I let the pain sink in. Let my shoulders tighten and my chest sink. Then I look him in the eyes and damn, I really do want his forgiveness. I really do believe it. “I meant everything I said when we were together.”

His voice is soft. “You used me.”

I don’t bite. He’d win an emotional fight as easily as he’d win a physical one.

I hold out my hands. He doesn’t take them, of course, but I leave them there anyway.

“I loved you,” I say, stepping closer, but it doesn’t feel right, so I say something that does. “I miss you.”

I bring one hand to his waist. The other to his cheek. My thumb brushes his temple. My body melts into his as I stroke his skin.

This is where I want to be.

“I don’t expect you to believe me,” I whisper. “But it’s true.”

“I’m not here as an old flame,” he says. But he doesn’t move. He stays close. “We have a trade. I give you access to the kill. You offer me information until I’ve decided you earned that access. That’s all this is, Jamie. Or do you go by something else now?”

“Jamie is perfect.”

He doesn’t reply to that. “How does it work at your organization?”

“I have a handler.”

“And?” he asks.

“We use an app. Or drop sites if there’s more to send. We have one in Rome.”

He opens his eyes, pulls slightly away. “When are you expecting more intel?”

“Two days.” That’s not true. I’m not expecting a drop here. But I have to give him something. “But I’m just supposed to check. We don’t always have something.”

“I’ll make sure you do.”

“How?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he says.

Is he looking for a mole? Giving fake information to a wide range of sources is the easiest way to do this.

Or maybe he’s after something else.