10. THIS ISN’T US
THIS ISN’T US
The next morning, Chris knew something was wrong before Camila ever opened the passenger door.Not with her.With the street.He sat behind the wheel of Mateo’s black SUV outside the Vargas estate, one hand resting loosely on the steering wheel, the engine idling beneath him.Everything looked normal.Guards at the gate.Landscapers working along the western wall.A delivery van several houses down.Morning traffic moving beyond the gates.
Nothing obvious.But Chris had learned a long time ago that danger rarely announced itself.Sometimes it was simply a feeling.A pattern that didn’t fit.A car where there hadn’t been one yesterday.A face looking away half a second too late.A silence that shouldn’t exist.
His eyes moved to the mirror.Black sedan.Farther down the road.Different from the one he’d noticed last night.Or maybe not.Hard to tell at this distance.Chris watched it without appearing to.The front door of the mansion opened.Camila walked out.And immediately, Chris’s attention betrayed him.Again.Jeans.Black top.Dark hair loose.Sunglasses pushed onto her head.Coffee in one hand.Another cup in the other.She descended the steps and came straight toward him.Chris unlocked the door.Camila climbed in. “Morning.”
“Morning.”She handed him the second coffee.Chris looked at it.Then at her.“You’re becoming alarmingly considerate.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
“Too late.”She buckled her seat belt.Chris took a sip.Black.No sugar.Of course.Camila caught him looking at her.“What?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s twice in two days.”
“What is?”
“You saying nothing when there is very clearly something.”Chris glanced toward the mirror.Black sedan still there.“Maybe I’m mysterious.”
“You’re annoying.”
“That too.”He shifted into drive.“Where are we going?”
“Lunch.”
“It’s ten-thirty.”
“I have errands first.”
“Of course you do.”She smiled.Chris pulled away from the mansion.The gates closed behind them.He checked the mirror.The sedan stayed parked.Good.Maybe nothing.Maybe he was seeing ghosts.It happened.Undercover work rewired a man’s brain until harmless things looked suspicious and suspicious things looked ordinary.You survived by figuring out which was which.Chris turned onto the main road.Camila reached for the radio.
He slapped her hand away.She stared.“Seriously?”
“Driver.”
“Control freak.”
“Princess.”Her eyes narrowed.“Keep it up.”Chris smiled.There she was.Normal.Teasing.
Safe.He should have enjoyed it.Instead his attention stayed split.Road.Mirror.Side street.
Camila.Mirror.Nothing.For the first ten minutes, the drive remained uneventful.Then a silver SUV appeared behind them.Three cars back.Chris noticed because it made the same turn they did.Then another.Could mean nothing.Camila was talking about a restaurant she wanted to try.Chris barely heard half of it.
“…and apparently their pasta is handmade, which Mateo says is pretentious, but Mateo thinks anything that costs more than twelve dollars is—”Chris changed lanes.Camila stopped. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“You did it again.”
“Did what?”
“That.”
“What?”
“The thing where you pretend you aren’t watching something.”Chris looked at her.“You’ve known me, what, a week?”
“Long enough.”He checked the mirror.Silver SUV changed lanes.Not immediately.
Smart.Chris’s jaw tightened.Interesting.He slowed slightly.SUV slowed.Camila noticed.“Chris?”
“Seat belt.”
“It’s on.”
“Good.”Her expression changed.“What’s wrong?”
“Probably nothing.”
“That is never reassuring when you say it.”Chris made another turn.Silver SUV followed.
His pulse stayed steady.The rest of him went cold.Then another vehicle appeared.Dark pickup.Two cars behind the silver SUV.Chris watched.The pickup stayed.Camila looked back.
“Are we being followed?”
“No.”Maybe.Chris’s hand moved subtly beneath his jacket.Not toward the weapon.Not yet.Toward the concealed emergency transmitter mounted beneath the edge of the console.He didn’t activate it.Not yet.Could still be coincidence.Could also be FBI.His expression darkened.They’d better not.After the staged pursuit with Mateo, Chris had made it very clear he did not want another surprise operation.Not with Camila in the vehicle.
Not without warning.He took another turn.Silver SUV.Still there.Pickup.Still there.Chris muttered under his breath.“You have got to be kidding me.”Camila looked over.“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Chris.”He checked the mirror.“Stay facing forward.”That wiped away her teasing.“Why?”
“Because I asked you to.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I know.”Another intersection.Chris turned right.The silver SUV accelerated.His eyes narrowed.There it was.Not subtle anymore.Chris reached beneath the console and pressed the concealed signal once.A silent check-in.If this was the task force, someone would respond.He waited.Nothing.He drove another block.Pressed again.Still nothing.Anger started rising.If Logan was behind this—Chris was going to break his nose.Camila watched him. “You’re mad.”
“Little bit.”
“At who?”
“Depends.”
“On?”
“Whether somebody is about to admit they’re an idiot.
”She stared.“That somehow raised more questions.”Chris glanced in the mirror again.The SUV was closer.Too close.Now he could see the driver.Baseball cap.Male.Passenger.Another male.Neither familiar.That bothered him.Maybe FBI contractors.Maybe surveillance team he hadn’t met.Maybe—
The SUV surged.Chris’s entire body tightened.“Camila.”
“What?”
“Put your phone down.”Her eyes moved to his face.She obeyed.That alone told him she understood something had changed.The silver SUV closed behind them.One car length.Chris’s jaw clenched.No.Too aggressive.Not with a civilian passenger.
Not even the FBI would—The impact came hard.Metal slammed into metal.Camila screamed.The SUV lurched forward.Chris corrected immediately.“Jesus Christ!”
“What the hell was that?”Chris’s eyes went to the mirror.The silver SUV hit them again.
Harder.Camila grabbed the door handle.“Chris!”
“Hold on.”His hand went beneath the console.This time he activated the emergency transmitter fully.The hidden device vibrated once.Signal sent.Chris accelerated.
The black SUV surged forward.The silver vehicle stayed with them.His secure handset buzzed beneath the seat.Chris reached down without taking his eyes from the road and pulled it free.One message.Three words.Chris looked down.Then everything inside him changed.THIS ISN’T US.For half a second, the world went completely silent.No music.
No engine.No Camila.Nothing.Then Special Agent Chris Walker took over.The phone disappeared.His voice changed.Gone was the teasing.Gone was Roman’s lazy sarcasm.
What replaced it was low.Flat.Commanding.“Camila.”She looked at him.“Down.”
“What?”
“Down.”
“Chris—”
“DOWN!”She ducked instinctively.At the same moment, the silver SUV moved alongside them.Chris saw movement inside.Passenger leaning.Window lowering.His right hand went beneath his jacket.Camila saw it.His handgun came free.Her eyes widened.“Chris—”
“Stay down!”He kept the weapon low, controlled, away from her.Camila stared at it.Not because she’d never seen a gun.She had grown up around Mateo.She’d seen plenty.But this was different.The way Chris held it.The way it became part of him.No hesitation.No fumbling.No panic.Natural.Practiced.Too practiced. “You carry a gun?”
“Not now.”
“That is definitely a gun!”
“Why do you have a gun.”
“Camila.”His tone stopped her.Chris checked the mirror.The pickup behind them accelerated too.Two vehicles. “Fuck.” He could not tell if they were trying to force them off the road, abduct Camila, kill them, or simply scare them.He didn’t need to know yet.
He only needed distance.He pushed the SUV faster.Camila remained low in her seat.Her voice was tighter now.“Who are they?”
“I don’t know.”
“Mateo’s people?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“I know.”Another impact.Rear quarter panel.The SUV shifted.Chris corrected.His gun remained low near his thigh.Camila looked at him.She had never seen this version of Chris.He could feel that.He didn’t have time to care.“Listen to me.”She nodded.“When I tell you to move, you move.”
“What?”
“No questions.”
“Chris—”
“Can you do that?”She stared at him.His eyes met hers for one second.Whatever she saw made her nod.“Yes.”
“Good.”Chris returned his attention to the road.His mind was already moving.
Where were they?How far from Vargas security?How far from FBI response?
Which direction gave them space?Which direction kept civilians out of the middle?
And most importantly—how the hell did he protect Camila without showing her exactly what Chris Walker was capable of?The answer arrived immediately.He couldn’t.Not anymore.This wasn’t an operation.This wasn’t about cover.This was about keeping her alive.
Roman could go to hell.Chris tightened his grip on the wheel.The road ahead opened.The SUV behind them accelerated again.Camila looked at his gun.Then at his face.
“You’ve done this before.”Chris said nothing.Her eyes narrowed despite the fear.“Chris.”
“Stay down.”
“Where did you learn—”
“Not now.”A sharp crack sounded behind them.Camila flinched.Chris’s head snapped toward the mirror.He couldn’t tell what it had been.Impact.Road debris.Something else.Didn’t matter.
“Lower.”She ducked farther.Chris’s phone vibrated.One coded notification.Response team activated.Good.But backup wasn’t here.He was.Camila was.
And two vehicles were still hunting them.Chris looked ahead.Intersection.Green.
He continued.The silver SUV tried moving alongside again.Chris shifted enough to deny it.No collision.Just space.Keep them behind.Buy time.“Chris!”
“I’ve got you.”The words came out automatically.Camila froze.Chris didn’t realize he’d said them until he heard himself.“I’ve got you,” he repeated, quieter this time.Her eyes locked onto him.For one strange second, fear gave way to something else.Trust.
Complete.Immediate.She believed him.That scared Chris more than the men behind them.Because she shouldn’t.Not yet.Not when everything she knew about him was a lie.
The silver SUV hit them again.Camila cried out.Chris’s anger snapped.Not panic.
Not fear.Anger.Cold and vicious.He changed direction.Fast.Camila grabbed the handle.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting you out of here.”Chris checked the mirror.Silver SUV followed.Pickup followed.
Perfect.Let them focus on him.Not the mansion.Not Camila’s usual routes.Him.The secure phone buzzed again.Another message.Backup moving.Chris almost laughed.Too slow.The SUV behind them accelerated.Camila looked at the gun in his hand again.Then at the scars barely visible beneath the open collar of his shirt.Her mind was working.He could see it.Questions stacking up.Driving.Weapons.Exits.Threats.The way he had changed the instant the message arrived.She whispered:“Who are you?”Chris looked at her.The question hit harder than anything else had.Not yet.Please.Not yet.His eyes returned to the road.
“Not now?”Camila stared.Chris tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
“The man getting you home.”Then the silver SUV surged forward again.And Chris Roman disappeared completely.