Chapter Four
I WOKE BENEATH A STRIPE of sunlight and one strong, freckled arm.
Cassidy slept on her stomach beside me, her loose strawberry-blond hair spread across the pillow and one knee tucked against my thigh.
The sheet had slipped low enough to show the curve of her bare back.
I wanted to kiss every freckle I could reach, then convince her seven o’clock was an unreasonable hour for professional honesty.
Outside the cottage, muted voices passed between the agents covering the front path. There were no stage monitors, no crowd, and no manager reminding me where to stand. Beyond the door, quiet comms mixed with Cassidy’s slow breathing against my shoulder.
The clock read six forty.
In twenty minutes, Cassidy would tell Sloane the truth, and Sloane would decide whether she stayed on my detail.
I slid my hand over Cassidy’s back. Her muscles shifted beneath my palm before her green eyes opened.
“You’re thinking too loudly,” she murmured.
“I’m lying perfectly still.”
“That’s how I know something’s wrong.”
I smiled. “Maybe I’m appreciating the view.”
“You’ve been appreciating it for at least five minutes.”
“You were asleep.”
“I was resting with professional awareness.”
“That sounds much sexier than sleeping.”
Cassidy rolled onto her side and pulled the sheet over her breasts. The movement did nothing useful for my concentration.
She checked the clock. “I need to get dressed.”
I caught her hand before she could leave the bed. “I know you do.”
She studied my face. “You’re not going to ask me to wait?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Or leave out the part where you stayed?”
“I won’t ask you to do that either.” I lifted her knuckles to my mouth. “You told me hiding this could cost you more than telling the truth. I listened.”
She loosened her grip on the sheet.
I kissed her fingers. “I just don’t want telling the truth to cost me you.”
Cassidy’s expression softened.
“It might change how we work,” she said. “It won’t change what happened.”
“That wasn’t what I asked.”
“I know what you asked.”
She leaned forward and kissed me. Her mouth was warm and slow against mine, and for one dangerous second, I considered offering several compelling reasons to miss the seven o’clock call.
Then Cassidy pulled back.
“That’s all you get until I talk to Sloane.”
“You’re using affection as leverage.”
“I’m establishing a schedule.”
“You’re extremely attractive when you pretend those are different things.”
She slid out of bed before I could catch her again.
She collected her coral shorts and white tank from the floor, then disappeared into the bathroom. The shower started. Outside, an agent’s shoes crossed the front path, followed by the quiet murmur of a radio check.
The protection detail had continued all night without Cassidy. I understood that. I’d seen the handoff happen. The earpiece lay on the gear case, and I pictured it on someone else.
I got out of bed, pulled on gray lounge shorts, and opened the curtains enough to let in the morning light without exposing the room. The fenced patio held two damp chairs, a small table, and no threatening envelope. Beyond the privacy fence, palms moved against a pale-blue sky.
Cassidy emerged from the bathroom in a pale-blue athletic tank and sand-colored shorts. Her hair was pulled into a loose braid, and the freckles across her shoulders disappeared beneath a thin layer of sunscreen as she rubbed it in.
“You missed a spot,” I said.
“Where?”
I touched the back of her left shoulder.
She went still for half a second, then handed me the tube. “Finish it.”
I spread sunscreen across the warm skin above her tank. Cassidy’s braid brushed my wrist. Last night, I’d had my mouth against the same shoulder while she pulled my hair and told me what she wanted.
Now the sun was up, agents were outside, and she was dressing to protect me from someone who had photographed us together.
I capped the sunscreen.
Cassidy turned toward me. “Thank you.”
“That was a terrible assignment.”
“You suffered bravely.”
“I expect formal recognition.”
“You’ll get breakfast.”
“Positive reinforcement again.”
Her mouth curved before she crossed to the locked gear case.
The change happened piece by piece as she fastened her waterproof watch, checked her compact gear, fitted the earpiece, and tightened her braid. By the time she checked the clock, Cassidy was ready to move me through a crowd, stop a threat, or explain to her boss why she’d slept with her client.
She picked up her phone.
“Do you want privacy?” I asked.
“No, you’re part of the complication.”
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve called me.”
She raised one eyebrow and placed the call.
Sloane answered on the second ring. “Good morning, Cassidy.”
“Good morning. I need to report a professional-boundary issue before today’s schedule begins.”
The voice on the phone stayed calm. “Go ahead.”
Cassidy stood beside the kitchenette counter, shoulders square.
“After the six o’clock handoff, I removed my equipment and went off duty. The relief agent assumed active protection and remained outside with exterior coverage in place. Shane asked me to stay privately. I chose to stay, and we became sexually involved.”
My chest tightened anyway.
Sloane was quiet for two beats.
“Is Shane present?” she asked.
“Yes, he’s here.”
“Put me on speaker.”
Cassidy tapped the screen and set the phone on the counter.
“Good morning, Shane,” Sloane said.
“Good morning.”
“I don’t need details about what happened after the handoff. I do need to know whether Cassidy believed refusing you would affect the contract, your cooperation, or her ability to protect you.”
“No. I told her the coverage wouldn’t change if she left, and I meant it.”
“Did you ask her to keep the relationship from SBS or your manager?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Will you follow another agent’s instructions when Cassidy is off duty?”
“Yes, I will.”
Sloane paused. “That answer came quickly.”
“I’ve had an educational forty-eight hours.”
Cassidy glanced at me, but she didn’t interrupt.
Sloane continued. “Cassidy, you remain close-contact lead. Changing the person Shane trusts most during an active threat would create unnecessary risk. You will not operate as his sole coverage. Relief periods are mandatory, exterior control remains layered, and another SBS agent shares movement decisions whenever conditions change.”
“I understand.”
“You also don’t make unilateral calls about staying on a route, entering a space, or continuing an event if the relationship could affect your judgment.”
“I won’t.”
“If either of you decides this arrangement is interfering with protection, you tell me immediately.”
“We will,” Cassidy said.
Sloane’s voice lowered slightly. “I’m not shaming you for what happened after a documented handoff. I am holding you responsible for what happens next.”
“I expected you to.”
“You were right to call.”
Cassidy’s shoulders eased, but only a fraction.
I stepped closer. “Sloane, Cassidy didn’t become careless last night. She made sure another agent had me before she made any personal choice.”
“I know how Cassidy works,” Sloane said. “That’s why she still has the detail.”
Cassidy met my eyes.
My next breath came easier.
“For this morning, Cassidy keeps close contact during the approved beach walk,” Sloane said. “The perimeter agent remains in place.”
“I’ll stay with him,” Cassidy said.
“Rafi will coordinate the venue changes and assign the afternoon relief. Neither of you changes the route before he clears it.”
“We won’t,” I said.
When the call ended, Cassidy picked up her phone and held the dark screen in both hands.
“You’re still wearing the earpiece,” I said.
“I’m still working.”
“Then I assume the off-duty version of you is unavailable.”
“Until I’m off duty again.”
I stepped close enough to touch her but waited.
Cassidy hooked two fingers into the waistband of my shorts and pulled me down for a brief kiss.
Then she released me.
“That was professionally reckless,” I said.
“That was six seconds.”
“I counted at least eight.”
“You were distracted.”
“I usually am when you kiss me.”
She moved toward the kitchenette before I could convince her to repeat the timing experiment.
Breakfast arrived from the inn ten minutes later. The relief agent checked the covered tray before passing it inside. Cassidy locked the door behind him while I uncovered scrambled eggs, toast, sliced melon, berries, and enough water to satisfy a woman who considered hydration a moral issue.
“You’re eating before the walk,” she said.
“I see Sloane’s ruling hasn’t reduced your authority.”
“It increased the number of people who’ll help me enforce it.”
“That’s mildly terrifying.”
“You’ll survive.”
“I’m beginning to think that’s your entire courtship strategy.”
Cassidy sat across from me. “Eat your eggs.”
I obeyed because I was learning, and because she was watching my fork with the same focus she gave a blocked exit.
Halfway through breakfast, I called Tracy.
She answered by video from a hotel desk, her chestnut bob already smooth and her cream blouse too polished for Saturday morning.
“You’re awake,” she said. “That’s promising.”
“I have something personal to tell you before today gets busy.”
Tracy’s expression sharpened. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m not hurt. Cassidy and I are involved.”
Across the table, Cassidy continued eating fruit.
Tracy shifted her attention from me to her. “Involved as in interested, or involved as in I need to understand whether this affects the security plan?”
“The second one,” I said. “It happened after the formal handoff. Cassidy reported it to Sloane this morning. She’s still leading the detail with added coverage.”
Tracy leaned back. “Thank you for telling me. I don’t need any other details.”
“That’s disappointing. I prepared a presentation.”
Cassidy pointed her fork at me. “You didn’t.”
“I had an outline.”
“You had nothing.”
Tracy pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m already sorry I answered.”
“You’re taking this well,” I said.