Chapter 5 #2
While I didn’t give myself much time to dwell on my nonexistent love life, it was pretty hard to ignore with a sparkly ring staring back at me.
It wasn’t the love of my life sliding this up my finger.
It was me. Just like it was me for every dinner, every Christmas party, every event I never got invited to in the first place—and that was for the best. No one had proposed, I wasn’t actually married, and I wasn’t actually pregnant.
And yet, this was the closest I’d ever been. It may even be the closest I’d ever get, too. Something I wanted so much, that I thought would be reserved for sharing with someone who truly loved me, and it was all fake. And who was my partner in all of this?
Colt. Freaking. Dixon.
I looked away from the ring to catch a glimpse of the fake husband of the hour, only to stop short.
He, too, was looking at the silver band on his finger.
His lips were pressed into a tight frown, and his brow was furrowed, but it wasn’t with annoyance or disgust or any of the emotions he typically experienced around me.
No, if I were to categorize it, his expression could only be one of profound sadness.
It almost made my heart hurt.
Almost .
Because then he looked up, met my eyes, and whatever I thought I’d seen was replaced with a loathing so intense I could practically hear it crackle like a bonfire in the space between us. I returned the favor, pouring all my discontent at the situation into the stare-down.
“Well, Jonas, I’d say you picked the perfect pair,” Hattie teased. “They’ll have no problem selling their story. Look, they’ve already got the bedroom eyes down pat.”
Our heads whipped toward her in unison, Colt’s disgust and indignance rivaled only by my own.
I wasn’t sure what hallucinogens she’d ingested to misinterpret the mutual resentment between the two of us, but whatever it was had to be potent.
Never in a million, billion, years would I hook up with Colt. Ever.
Ev-er.
Just so we’re clear.
Colt shared the same sentiment, apparently. “I can assure you, nothing of that nature would ever happen between us.”
Okay, so that was about a thousand times stuffier than I would’ve said it, but at least we were on the same page.
“Good,” McBride mercifully intervened. “I’m trusting you two to remain professional, even if your cover is as a married couple.
” He looked between me and Colt meaningfully.
“You’ll be in so deep that the lines between your cover and reality may become blurry.
I chose you two because I feel you’ll be able to resist what many others in the same situation would not. ”
Yeah, no problems with that one, chief. Done and done.
Colt nodded sharply. “You can count on us, sir.”
I mirrored his nod. Faking anything even semi-romantic between us would be hard enough, so it was safe to say I’d rather eat my favorite pair of fuzzy socks than so much as kiss Colt Dixon.
“Good.” McBride hefted the box off the table before Hattie could grab it.
She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, but I didn’t miss the way her frown of disapproval twitched.
Whatever the history was between them, it was far from over.
“You two stay here. There are a few more details to iron out. Now, as far as preparations go if the assignment lasts longer…”
Their voices trailed off as he showed Hattie out, leaving Colt and me to stew in the uncomfortable silence. The air in the conference room may as well have been molasses for how sticky and heavy it felt. I refused to look at Colt, instead counting the distant cars passing on the street below.
Finally, he broke the silence. “It’s not too late for you to back out, you know. We can still find someone from another squad.”
I bristled and set my jaw. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? There’s no way I’m going to pass up the chance to take Le Chimiste down, with or without you.”
He raised his hands in a mock surrender. “You just seemed uncomfortable, is all.”
“Full offense, but you probably sleep with your clothes iron snuggled under your arm. Your idea of comfort and mine are entirely different species.”
Was I uncomfortable? Well, duh . I wore a fake stomach that threatened to squelch if I so much as thought about sweating, I was fake-married to my nemesis, and Hattie seemed convinced that we were a match made in Heaven rather than a pair of rabid alley cats thrown into a cage match.
We’d team up against a common enemy, but the moment we were left to our own devices, the claws came out.
So, yeah. Uncomfortable was a bit of an understatement.
“So it doesn’t bother you at all to think that we’re husband and wife?”
I grit my teeth, forcing the word past my lips. “Nope.”
“Or that we’ll have to voluntarily touch each other?”
“Not at all.” I might’ve stood a chance of convincing him if my voice hadn’t pitched an entire octave higher. At his dubious look, I added, “I’m a professional, and you have the personality of a bleached calculator. Touching you won’t be an issue.”
It wouldn’t be enjoyable , of course, but the real threat was spending every waking moment around him. That would be enough to propel me up the wall and into the funny farm.
“It won’t?” He raised a cocky brow, his trademark smirk sliding into place.
I rolled my eyes and returned my attention to the window. “I know this might come as a bit of a shock to you, but you don’t have the effect on women that you think you do.”
“And what effect do I think I have?”
I sighed, already exhausted from the day. “I’m not going to tell you something you already know just to stoke your overinflated ego. If you’re looking for compliments, go see the data analysts.”
“Because we both know you’re incapable of saying anything nice, don’t we?”
The corner of my lip twitched. “Only when the source material doesn’t give me anything to work with.”
His chair squeaked faintly as he leaned back.
“I’m not convinced you’ll be able to pull this off, newbie.
You can’t come up with a single nice thing to say about your husband, but you’re going to convince one of the most meticulous, paranoid masterminds of the narcotics world we’re a legitimate couple? ”
I twisted in my seat, realized how impossible that was with my new belly, and settled on swiveling my chair. Much less intimidating. “Really, Colt? You’re fishing for compliments?”
His dark eyes flicked over my face. “Not compliments. Humanity.”
That was rich, coming from a rigidly scheduled robot like him.
Did he really think I was incapable of humanity?
Why did he think I was an agent to begin with?
The chance to spare other families from the fate mine had suffered was the whole reason I’d agreed to this.
If he thought I was the villain, he had his wires crossed.
“That’s a bit overdramatic, don’t you think?”
He shrugged and it was a wonder his shirt moved with the contours of his shoulders rather than standing rigid as a posterboard. “I think it’s perfectly reasonable to wonder whether you’re up to the task given your… track record.”
“My closure rate is just as good as yours, in case you haven’t noticed. I work late, I’m on time—” At his scoff, I narrowed my eyes into laser beams. “I know this goes against your programming, but being exactly on time isn’t the same as being late.”
“Debatable.”
“It really isn’t.”
He turned his attention to watching the conference room door, which was as good as dismissing the matter as far as he was concerned. “That wasn’t the track record I was talking about, anyway.”
My eyes narrowed further until he was barely visible between the lashes. In an ideal world, it would be this easy to block him from my mind, too. “If you’re talking about the animosity between us, then I have just as much reason to wonder about you. Will you be able to convince Gauthier?”
He huffed softly, the corner of his mouth tipping upward. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’ve got it under control.”
“Of course you do. Everything is controlled with you.” I folded my arms, which gave me less of a “don’t mess with me” look and more of a “petulant toddler” with the belly pushing them higher than usual.
As far as the accuracy of that when it came to butting heads with Colt… no comment.
“You can plan out when and how you’re going to wow them with your charm if you want. Write it down to the minute in that little pocket notebook of yours, even. But I won’t be doing that.” I silenced his protest with a raised hand. “And it will be fine .”
His irritation simmered off him in palpable waves, each twitch and miniscule movement tight as he sat back. “It better be.”
I tuned him out, returning to counting the passing cars to keep from throwing something.
It could’ve been the stress or anticipation surrounding our assignment, but most likely it was the natural byproduct of being around Colt.
Would he actually plan out how and when he’d prove his devotion as my husband?
Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past him. But these sorts of social situations could go so many different directions and turn on a dime.
I preferred to watch and adjust as it happened, with only the vague outline of a plan that could be thrown out the window at a moment’s notice. The total opposite of him in every way.
Thankfully, for both our sanities’ sakes, it only took three sedans and an SUV passing before McBride returned.
“Sorry for the wait.” McBride smiled sheepishly. “And most of all, Piper, I’m sorry for what comes next.”
My stomach sank with dread while Colt perked up with interest.
“As you well know, Gauthier is cautious. Extremely so. That’s largely why we haven’t been able to nail him yet.
” At our nods, McBride continued. “Because of this, any attempts by strangers to get close to either him or his wife will be met with resistance. If you can convince him to give you a chance, you can guarantee he’ll look into you.
Not just background checks, but surveillance. ”
“Which is why we’re deep undercover,” Colt added.
“Right. And that means everything—and I mean everything —must make it appear as if your cover story is true.”
“What exactly are you saying?” I asked, not entirely sure I wanted to know.
“I’m saying all your belongings must be in the same room.
” Before I could argue, he pressed on. “I’m not saying you have to sleep in the same bed, or even in the same room, but I am positive Gauthier will send men to snoop in the house while you’re gone.
This means you’ll need wedding photos, vacation photos, ultrasound photos. We’re already taking care of that.
“But, it also means everything has to look as if you’re a happily married couple—clothes in the same room, sharing a bathroom, et cetera.
And, Piper” —his face tightened in sympathetic discomfort— “that means you’ll have to be wearing your accessories anywhere you could possibly be spotted.
Including passing by windows in the house.
The last thing we need is one of Gauthier’s men seeing you obviously pregnant one minute and obviously not pregnant the next. ”
The weight of what he said dawned across my shoulders with the grace of a buffalo. “So I’ll basically only be free of this” —I jabbed a finger at my belly— “when I’m sleeping?”
McBride nodded, while Colt bit his lip to undoubtedly keep from grinning.
Would it kill him to look a little less happy about this? He was getting entirely too much enjoyment out of it.
His words from earlier echoed through my head. You know, it’s not too late for you to back out. As if I’d let him win. As if I’d let this chance to get Gauthier behind bars slip through my fingers because a prissy know-it-all fake-accountant was my partner.
Never.
To save other families the pain of what mine went through, this discomfort was nothing. Even if it meant dealing with Colt every day. While being fake pregnant. All the time.
“Dixon, your job at an accounting firm is already in place, as we discussed. It is there that you’ll be in contact with us to keep us updated on the progress you’ve made. Any communication through phone, radio, or other means is strictly prohibited unless it’s a matter of life or death.”
I swallowed hard. Would Gauthier really bug our phones? Probably. There was a reason he hadn’t been caught yet. Heck, he’d probably bug the house. And car. And if we had a dog, he’d bug it, too.
“You’ll have the weekend to make arrangements to transition into your new lives.
Get a dog-sitter, plant waterer, what have you.
” McBride gave us each a small packet and met our eyes, his voice gravely serious.
. “Your new IDs and documents are here. Memorize your covers like your lives depend on it. Because, if Gauthier’s involved, they do. ”