Chapter Four #2
He chuckled again and she was about to ask him what was so funny, but thought better of it. She was here for work. Not to analyze the mystery that was Arlo Harrison. She walked over to the small dining table and pulled out a chair.
“We need to talk about the case.”
Arlo handed her a cup then grabbed his own mug and leaned against the counter, watching her with that sharp, assessing gaze. “By all means, Agent Miller. Enlighten me.”
Violet exhaled, setting her phone down on the table and pulling up her notes.
“I’ve done some digging into Damien Voss.
It seems he was already on the FBI’s radar.
He has offshore accounts that are tied to multiple shell companies, and we have confirmation there’s been a surge in money movement over the past month.
Something’s changed. It’s like they’re preparing for something big. ”
“A shipment of shifter kids?” Arlo mused.
She nodded. “It looks that way.”
Violet had debated sharing this information with Arlo, but she didn’t figure it would hurt.
Even though their methods were most definitely different, they had the same agenda: to shut down the trafficking ring.
Besides, Arlo might be arrogant, but he wasn’t a liar.
She was an expert at sniffing out lies and with Arlo, she was confident there hadn’t been any deception.
Arlo took a slow sip of coffee. “And we think this auction is where everything is going to go down?”
“Ortega wasn’t the most trustworthy of individuals, but I think the information he gave us was solid.” Violet said. “If we don’t get anything more concrete by Saturday, that could be our best shot at shutting this whole operation down.”
Arlo nodded, but there was something in his expression that told her he was leaving a lot unsaid.
“What is it?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
“If we play this by the book,” Arlo said, setting his mug down, “we’re just going to run into brick walls, and we can’t afford to let this guy’s network slip from our grasp. Children’s lives are at stake.”
Violet clenched her jaw. “I know that, but this is how the law works. We have to build an airtight case against him. We can’t just go in guns blazing, hoping for the best.”
Arlo smirked. “Speak for yourself.”
Her hands tightened into fists on the table. “Damn it, Arlo. This isn’t a game.”
He tilted his head, his smirk fading slightly. “No, it’s not. And that’s exactly why your method isn’t going to work fast enough.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but—dammit—he wasn’t wrong. She had been fighting tooth and nail for warrants, approvals, anything that would hold up in court. And in the meantime? Kids were still missing. She let out a slow breath, leaning back in her chair. Arlo watched her carefully.
“See,” he murmured, “you’re starting to get it.”
Violet rolled her eyes. “Don’t act like I’m suddenly seeing the light. I still think your way is reckless.”
Arlo grinned. “But you don’t think I’m wrong.”
Violet scowled, hating how smug he looked.
Desperate to shift the subject, she set her phone down again and crossed her arms. “Fine. You’re a rule-breaker. Big surprise there. But I don’t actually know much else about you. Care to enlighten me?”
Arlo arched a brow. “I didn’t realize you wanted to know anything about me.”
Violet rolled her eyes. “Humor me,” she said. “You don’t seem like the type to have a desk job. What made you join the CIA?”
Something flickered in his gaze, but he shrugged. “I was a cop first. Miami PD.”
Violet blinked. She hadn’t expected that.
“CIA recruited me and right after I trained at Langley, I got sent to work out of the San Antonio field office in Texas. Been there ever since.”
Violet’s eyes widened. “You don’t live in Miami?”
“Nope, not anymore.”
Violet tried to swallow down the disappointment that Arlo’s reply caused.
“My team and I were sent here specifically to look into the trafficking case. We had intel that children and being moved internationally so while we can’t technically operate inside the US, this particular case poses a threat to the American people by persons outside our borders.”
She sighed. “That makes sense.”
“You?” Arlo asked, flipping the question back to her. “Did you always want to join the FBI?”
She hesitated, then said, “My dad was Bureau. I practically grew up in it.”
Arlo smirked. “Ah. That explains it.”
“Explains what?”
“Why you’re so damn by-the-book.”
Violet rolled her eyes. “And here I thought we were bonding.”
Arlo chuckled, that deep, rough sound sending something hot through her chest. The tension between them shifted.
It wasn’t just the case anymore. It was them.
The mate bond was still there, simmering under the surface, waiting for one of them to snap first. And for the first time, Violet wasn’t sure she wanted to fight it.
She cleared her throat, shoving her emotions aside. “Let’s focus. We need a solid plan for Saturday.”
Arlo held her gaze a beat longer than necessary, then nodded. “Agreed,” he murmured. “But let’s get one thing straight.”
Violet narrowed her eyes. “What?”
His voice dropped, his smirk sharpening into something deeper.
“This isn’t just business anymore, sweetheart.”
Her heart stumbled in her chest. And from the look in his eyes, he knew it.
Violet folded her arms, keeping her expression neutral as she processed everything they’d just discussed.
They were on the same page now, at least when it came to the case.
But the problem was, Arlo was still Arlo.
And even worse? She was starting to like it.
Arlo took a slow sip of coffee before casually leaning back against the counter.
“By the way, I already called my brother this morning. He’s getting us an invite to the auction.”
Violet arched a brow. “Your brother?”
He smirked. “What can I say? I have connections in all the right places.”
Violet rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop the corner of her mouth from twitching. “I bet you were an unbearable child.”
“Unbearable? Sweetheart, I was a delight.”
She let out a soft laugh before she caught herself, quickly masking it with a cough.
But Arlo didn’t appear to have missed it.
His grin widened, his blue eyes dancing with something warm, and knowing.
And just like that, the energy shifted. Because this easy, teasing banter between?
It was dangerous. It made her drop her guard and forget that he was supposed to be off-limits.
The mate bond simmered between them, twisting logic into something reckless.
And for the first time, Violet didn’t fight it. Her stomach tightened, her pulse jumping as Arlo took a step closer. She didn’t move. Didn’t stop him. Didn’t do a damn thing to put space between them. Arlo’s gaze dipped to her lips before flicking back up, his voice low, and rough.
“You’re lying to yourself,” he murmured.
Violet’s breath hitched. “Excuse me?”
“If you say you don’t want this,” he continued, voice like gravel and heat, “you’re lying.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
No.
No, no, no.
She needed to shut this down. Right now. She needed to stop playing this game with him. She shoved him, hard, forcing space between them.
“Why do you even care, Arlo?”
Her pulse was thundering, her breaths short and shallow, but she refused to look away, refused to let him see just how deeply he was getting under her skin.
But Arlo clearly wasn’t a man to back down.
His eyes darkened, his shark right there beneath the surface.
And then he grabbed her. His hands were rough, strong, fingers digging into her waist as he yanked her toward him, his mouth crashing against hers, and Violet could do nothing but kiss him back.
Because the second their lips met, something inside her snapped.
It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t sweet. It was heat and desperation, all teeth and hunger, while he gripped her like he was afraid she’d disappear.
She fisted his bare shoulders, dragging him closer, swallowing the low growl that rumbled up from his chest. This was insane.
This was reckless. This was everything she’d been trying to fight.
But God help her, she didn’t stop. Not until he did.
Arlo broke the kiss first, his breath ragged, his forehead brushing against hers as his fingers tightened on her hips.
His voice was rough, dangerous, possessive.
“Because you’re mine,” he said.
Violet’s heart stuttered. She jerked back, her eyes wide and her breath stolen straight from her lungs.
But Arlo just stood there watching her, maybe waiting for her to deny it—for her to tell him he was wrong.
But the problem was she couldn’t tell him that.
Violet’s breath came fast and uneven, her body flushed with heat, her pulse hammering in her ears.
His words had ruined her. They should have pushed her away, should have made her put up every wall she had ever built. Instead, they made her break. They made her splinter apart.
And before she could think clearly and remind herself of all the reasons this was a terrible idea, she grabbed his face and kissed him.
Arlo let out a low growl of approval, his fingers tightening where they still gripped her waist as he yanked her back against him.
And this time, she didn’t fight it. There was no hesitation and no logic.
There was just heat and hunger. Just the wild, aching need that had been simmering between them since the moment they first met.