Chapter 24
Rocco did not kiss her because he wanted to.
There was only one way to defuse any suspicion about their meeting.
Pretend to be on a date.
It made perfect sense.
But it didn’t change anything between them.
He’d made the rules crystal clear.
He needed her support and her strategic expertise. Nothing more.
The attraction between them had to be ignored if they were going to have a successful handler-undercover agent relationship.
Jemma would never do anything that could put Rocco at risk.
She wouldn’t lose someone on a mission ever again.
Jemma repeated the mantra over and over in her mind until it took root deep within her. Damn that fucking kiss. She wouldn’t let herself think about what it did to her because it didn’t matter.
She could not act on it.
Jemma lifted her laptop from the rickety desk crammed in the corner of her motel room on the outskirts of Dajabon and took the four steps to the bed. Sitting on the worn mattress, she focused on the video conference call. The faces of Lenny, Tank, and Fallon stared back at her.
Lenny provided a recap of the strategic session they’d finished. He summarized possible next moves for Rocco now that drug shipments would start going through the Dajabon clinic.
“I’ll make sure Rocco is briefed on our session,” Jemma said.
“On a side note, how did he take you as his new handler? I’m sure that was unexpected and could’ve been … jarring,” Fallon said, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
“As you’d expect,” Jemma said, deciding that a professional slant on their intimate conversation was prudent for this update. “Of course, he was worried about you, Tank, and concerned about how he would continue to receive the same support you’d given him now that I’m taking over the role. We had an honest conversation about ground rules and expectations. I think we landed in a good place … until we got interrupted.”
She was definitely going to leave out the part about the dizzying kiss Rocco laid on her that damn near took her breath away.
“Interrupted? By who?” Tank asked, eyebrows raised in curiosity.
“We saw Vance with Eddie Baez. There’s definitely something going on between Eddie and the cartel,” Jemma said, then rose from the bed and paced the room, holding the laptop in one hand. “What’s more interesting is that Eddie pretended he didn’t know Rocco. Like this was the first time they’d ever met.”
“Makes sense if you ask me,” Lenny said. “The best way to ruin a new deal with El Sombro is to have him find out that Eddie used Rocco’s clinic in San Juan to meet with the DEA and hand over intel about his rivals.”
“Might make a drug lord think twice about doing business with you, for sure,” Tank said.
“Vance implied that Eddie would be involved in the shipments going through the Dajabon clinic. Not sure if it’s as part of the transportation or as a partner picking up product. Rocco will need to find out and confirm why Eddie wanted to keep their history a secret,” Jemma said.
Fallon frowned, her steely gaze leveling onto Jemma. “Something doesn’t make sense about your story.”
“My story?” Jemma asked, affronted by Fallon’s bluntness.
Tank and Lenny looked uncomfortable and interested in seeing what Fallon would say next.
“Based on what you’re saying, Vance and Eddie caught you in a meeting with Rocco,” Fallon surmised. “That’s bad news for a UC to be caught talking to his handler. How the hell did the two of you explain what y’all were doing together?”
“Good … question …” Tank said.
Jemma’s face burned as all eyes focused on her. She kept her voice nonchalant as she responded, “We pretended to be on a date.”
“You did what?” Lenny sputtered.
“You’re joking?” Fallon said, her mouth agape.
Tank leaned back on the hospital bed with a bright smile. “Kind of brilliant if you ask me. Gives you unquestionable access to Rocco anytime you need to talk to him. That’s a setup I definitely couldn’t have pulled off.”
“It was a hasty move. But our only option considering the secluded place we were caught,” Jemma said, then paused, considering how that admission would sound to her team.
“I think you should move in with Rocco,” Tank said.
“What!” Jemma, Lenny, and Fallon said simultaneously.
Tank held up his hands. “Hear me out. This couple thing is the best way to keep you close to Rocco and give you more opportunities to talk about how to handle the op. I always knew things would get harder for me when Rocco reached the point where he gained access to significant intel. I’d need to be in Dajabon more often and meet with him more, but I hadn’t worked out how. You won’t have that problem if you’re Rocco’s live-in girlfriend from the States.”
Lenny said, “It’s hard to argue with that. Do you think Rocco would go for it?”
“I don’t know …” Jemma said, stunned by the unexpected turn in the conversation.
Tank said, “Run it by him. Rocco is willing to do what’s best for the op, and this is it. I gotta go. The nurse is here to help me bathe.”
“Have you seen Tank’s nurse?” Lenny said, laughing. “Lucky bastard. I have to run, too. I’ll be in touch, Jemma.”
Jemma waved at the two men as their cameras turned black.
Fallon stared at her with a perplexed and suspicious gaze.
“What’s that look for?” Jemma asked.
“Are you sure you can handle this?”
”I’ve been a handler on multiple ops. It’s not my first rodeo.”
”That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it.”
Jemma’s mouth was dry.
“Pretending to be the girlfriend of a UC when you’re the handler has disaster written all over it,” Fallon said.
“Right, Captain Obvious. Tell me something I don’t know.”
“How about you let me finish.”
“Go ahead, doctor.”
“When the UC is hot as fuck like Rocco, you could be in serious trouble. He’s as irresistible as they come.” Fallon”s concern was genuine, but her words landed like a dire warning. “You’ve never let yourself get close to any man, Jemma. You indulge in a few one-night stands with colleagues in other agencies, but there’s never a connection with any of those guys. You’ve been married to this job for your entire adult life. Because of that, you could be … extra … vulnerable in a fake romance like this. Especially with Rocco.”
“Slow down,” Jemma said. “We won’t be faking a relationship alone in the house. I’ll have my room. He’ll have his. The likelihood of crossing paths with Vance and Eddie again is small. So, we won’t have to act like a couple in public much, either. It’s low risk.”
“Are you listening to me? I get that it’s low-risk for the op. That’s not what I’m talking about,” Fallon insisted. “I’m talking about the risk to you. To your heart.”
“I don’t need you to shrink me right now. It’s not helping.”
“I’m not. I’m talking to you as a friend, not a psychologist,” Fallon replied earnestly.
“Then, as a friend, you know I have no choice. This is the hand I’ve been dealt. I have to make it work.”
From the look on Fallon’s face, she definitely wasn’t convinced. “Okay. Watch yourself. Don’t go catching feelings for this guy.”
“I do not catch feelings!” Jemma screamed as Fallon winked at her, then signed off.