His Word: A CIA Military Romance

by Monroe, Lilian

  Plastering a polite smile on my face, I turned to the art dealer and gallery manager. “Mr. Russo, thank you for having me.”

  “I knew last night that you were an art lover,” Gianni Russo beamed, spreading his arms wide. He clapped his palm into mine and shook it vigorously. “I knew by the look on your face that you’d be back. Who could resist Miss Ford?” He kissed her cheek and I stiffened. Anger tripped up my spine at the sight of his lips so close to hers, his hand gripping her shoulder…

  I caught myself. I needed to calm down.

  Hailey’s eyes lifted up to mine as my nostrils flared, and a hint of a grin tugged at her lips. She liked seeing me like this.

  “Now,” Gianni continued in his sing-song accent. “Amelia tells me you want a certain special painting.”

  I nodded, gesturing to the one in the corner. “I saw this one yesterday, and it looks like it’s still available.”

  “You want that one?” Hailey said, laughing. “I made that in about two hours. The others—those are better.”

  “I like that one,” I said, not taking my eyes off her.

  Gianni made a tsk-tsk sound and sighed. He put a hand to his heart and looked at me with a sad look on his face. His eyes stayed shrewd. “You hurt me, Mr. Langston. I had plans to hang this one in my dining room. It speaks to me.”

  “Well, perhaps I could commission one.” I glanced at Hailey, whose eyes widened. Her lush, pink lips fell open and I imagined them wrapped around my—

  “What a thought!” Gianni exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “What do you say, bella? Your list of commissions is getting longer.”

  Hailey gave him a tight smile. She seemed different around him than she had yesterday—stiffer, colder. Or maybe she was reacting to me?

  But when her eyes flicked up to mine, I saw the heat in her gaze and I knew it wasn’t me. The same fire that was burning up my veins was igniting inside her, too. She tortured me again by swiping her tongue over her lower lip, and then dipped her chin down.

  “I’m warning you, though, I don’t come cheap.”

  Gianni’s smile stayed stuck to his face, but his eyes glanced from Hailey to me and back again. He could feel an undercurrent between the two of us—we all could. It was going to blow my cover and get both Hailey and me in a lot of trouble.

  So, I turned away from her and nodded to Gianni. “Deal. I have a meeting to go to, so please send the details on to my assistant. Thank you for your time.”

  I turned on my heels, and Amelia showed me out. I hated turning my back to Hailey and leaving her with Gianni, but I had no choice. I had to leave, go regroup, reassess, and come up with a plan.

  By the time I made it to the van, sweat was beading on my forehead and my heart was thumping in my chest.

  Gary glanced at me over his glasses and arched an eyebrow. “You gonna tell me how you know her, or what?”

  11

  Hailey

  Gianni gave me a funny look when Freddy walked away. “I didn’t know you were here this morning.” His eyes searched mine, and for a moment he reminded me of Jayden. It was the same kind of probing comment Jayden would ask, the same mistrust, the same feeling that I was walking on eggshells.

  At least it meant I had practice keeping a straight face. I nodded. “Got here early to work.” I lifted my headphones and smiled at him. “I’ve been in the zone. Better get back to it.”

  His shoulders seemed to relax, and I knew something was wrong. He didn’t want me to know about this morning’s delivery. He didn’t want me to see what I saw… whatever it was.

  And it scared me.

  This was my last safe haven. It was the last place I felt good. If I lost the studio…

  I sucked in a breath and forced a smile. “I’d better get back to those commissions.”

  “Popular girl.”

  “I owe it to you.” I smiled again, a bit more genuinely. I did owe him everything, and I was grateful. Whatever was going on with that truck this morning… that had nothing to do with me. I had to focus on my work. I had no one to rely on except myself—that’s how it had always been.

  I glanced toward the exit where Freddy had disappeared, and resisted the urge to touch the card he’d slipped to me. I wanted to hate him. Everything in my mind told me to stay away from him.

  But that kiss…

  Every time Freddy walked into a room, it sucked all the air out of my lungs. His presence was everywhere. His eyes made my whole body burn up, and his gaze made me want him.

  Really want him.

  And the fact that I’d seen that truck this morning? It made me think that Freddy was telling the truth—that there was something going on, and that Gianni wasn’t the man I thought he was. Against all odds, I was starting to trust Freddy.

  And that scared me, too.

  Gianni visibly relaxed some more—he believed me when I said I owed him my success. It felt like I was having a kind of out-of-body experience. I could see every reaction of his clearly. This whole charade was set in a new context of Gianni not being the innocent—if slightly handsy—art dealer I thought he was. Instead, he was up to something.

  Slipping my headphones back over my head, I went back to the studio. I’d come out to look at my pieces already hanging on the wall, to remind myself of how many paintings I’d sold the night before. To calm myself down as Jayden called my phone over and over. To tell myself that I could do this.

  But I slinked back into the studio and breathed a sigh of relief. Being with Gianni felt stifling this morning, like I had to keep up an act that I didn’t quite understand.

  My phone rang as soon as I walked in, and I sighed. Jayden again. I walked over to the wall where I’d left my phone on charge, with the intention of turning it off and flinging it against something hard. But it wasn’t Jayden’s name that flashed on the screen—it was Tanya’s. The tension in my body lessened as I swiped the screen to answer.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey, you. What’s up? I woke up to this cryptic text of yours telling me you left Jayden. What does that mean?”

  “It means I left Jayden last night. I slept at the studio.”

  “What? I mean, good! He was a piece of shit.”

  “You want me to say it?”

  “Say what?”

  “You were right.”

  Tanya chuckled, but there was a hint of sadness in her voice. She took a deep breath. “What do you say I come pick you up and we go out for some waffles? I have the day off, and you shouldn’t be alone.”

  “Only if I can also have a mimosa.”

  “Girl, you can have as many mimosas as you need. I’ll be there in half an hour.”

  We hung up and I slumped down on the couch. Talking to Tanya—knowing that she was coming, and that everything that had happened last night had, in fact, happened—it made it all seem all the more real. I was tired. My body was running on no food and little sleep. I’d been elated last night, and then crushed, and then… Well, then Freddy happened.

  I knew that Tanya would want to talk about Jayden, but there was too much to process. I felt sad, betrayed… and relieved. The fact that an undercurrent of relief buoyed me made me feel guilty.

  Yeah—I was a mess.

  Using the sink in the corner of the studio, I gave my face and armpits a wash and put on some clean clothes. Tanya texted me shortly after that she was outside. As soon as I entered the car, I sank into the seat and smiled.

  “You okay?”

  I nodded. “I’m fine.”

  Tanya snorted and started driving. We crossed the city in silence, and it wasn’t until we slid into a booth at our favorite diner that she really looked at me. “I’m worried about you.”

  “I’m worried about me, too.”

  Her face scrunched into a smile, with her blue eyes sparkling. She tucked a strand of curly brown hair behind her ear and sighed. “I’m glad you left Jayden.”

  “I haven’t exactly told him yet. He never came to the exhibition last n
ight and I found out that he…” I couldn’t say the words. I couldn’t say that he had been cheating on me for who knows how long. It felt like an anvil was sitting on my chest and I shook my head. “He went out last night, so I just packed my bags and left.”

  Tanya’s eyes widened. “Where did you sleep?”

  “At the studio.”

  “Nope. Nuh-uh.” She shook her head. “Not going to happen. I have a spare bedroom. After waffles, we’re going to the studio and grabbing your things and you’re staying with me.”

  “Tanya…” Tears threatened to spill onto my cheeks.

  “Why didn’t you call me last night?”

  “It was so late, I didn’t want to wake you, I…”

  “Hailey.” Her voice was stern. She was a third-grade teacher, and right now I felt like one of her students. My cheeks reddened, and she sighed. “You are my best friend. If you can’t call me in the middle of the night, who can you call? You look exhausted. Have you showered?”

  “Sort of.” I scrunched my napkin in my hands, tearing at the edges. I couldn’t meet her eye.

  She reached over and squeezed my hand, forcing me to look up at her. “Hailey, it’ll be okay. Everything will work out. You’ll come stay with me, and you’ll tell Jayden it’s over. What did he do? Did he cheat on you?”

  My tears answered for me.

  “I knew it. That bastard.” Her curls shook as her eyes flashed. “You’re staying with me and if you ever go back to him, I swear I will knock you out. You know I do Jiu jitsu now.”

  I laugh-snorted. “I’m not going back to him.” There was strength in my voice. I tried to tell myself was the success of the exhibition that gave me the confidence, but deep down my thoughts flicked to Freddy.

  Finchey. His old nickname played in my mind and I pushed it down, just like I always did. I couldn’t trust him—not after everything that had happened. I couldn’t trust anyone but myself… and maybe Tanya.

  Our food arrived, along with two mimosas, and Tanya smiled at me. “Eat. After that, we go get your stuff and get you settled at my place. I’m not taking no for an answer.” She bit her lip and reached into her purse, pulling out a small black box. It had a big bow on top, and she slid it over toward me. “I wanted to give this to you last night, but you got whisked away before I could. Congratulations, Hails. We should be talking about your success, not that cheating loser you used to date.”

  Tears welled in my eyes again as I opened the box. It was a small, silver pendant of a lion. I laugh-cried and hugged her awkwardly over the table. “Thank you.”

  “My lioness. I’m proud of you. You’re fierce and determined, and you’ve overcome so much. You deserve every bit of success that you’ve achieved.”

  I felt like my heart was going to explode. I couldn’t take this much emotion. I needed at least a week away from everything and everyone just to recover from the past twenty-four hours. And once I was done my waffles and mimosa, that was exactly what I intended on doing.

  12

  Freddy

  “Why didn’t you tell us you knew her?” Berk slammed his fists down on the conference table, making everything on it jump up from the impact. His big, bald head loomed over me. His dark skin looked even darker silhouetted against the lights. I tried my best not to flinch, even though everything inside me was screaming to move away. After my conversation with Hailey at the gallery, the entire team knew I had a connection with her. I’d told them she was a childhood friend.

  “I only found out yesterday. She changed her name, and it wasn’t until I saw her in person that I put two and two together.”

  Berk huffed, and I swore that steam actually blew out of his nostrils. “And yet, here we are—almost twenty-four hours later—and I’m just learning this now.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was relevant.”

  “You didn’t think it was relevant?” His eyebrows drew together, anger radiating from his every pore. His breath trembled, and I knew my next words had to be chosen carefully.

  I took a breath. “I wanted to make sure it wasn’t going to jeopardize the operation before I brought it to the table.”

  Berkeley inhaled deeply and straightened up. He rubbed his head with his palm, closing his eyes for a moment. I was waiting for the thunder. I’ve seen him angry, and this was nothing. Still, I could see the tension rippling just under the surface, waiting for any excuse to be unleashed.

  But Berk didn’t explode. He just exhaled and opened his eyes. They were dark and angry, but his voice was calm. “You’re going to bring her in.”

  “Berk—”

  “You’re going to bring her in,” he interrupted. “And we’re going to use her. She’s our connection to the Russos—exactly what we’ve been looking for this entire time. We’ve needed an inside man, and now we’ve got it. She has access that we will never get.”

  “I can’t—”

  “Bring. Her. In.” His tone of voice was final. I knew that the best course of action was to leave the conference room and do as he said, but it still killed me. I dragged myself up to my feet and glanced at him. His eyes were trained on me, dark and imposing. I looked up to Berkeley as a mentor, a role model… Up until this moment, I’d done my best to impress him. My position as the lead of this operation was predicated on Berkeley respecting me as an agent.

  I nodded. “Fine.”

  “Today.”

  I stomped out of the room. Other agents poked their heads over cubicles like gophers out of their holes, knowing that I’d just been dragged in there by a very angry director. I ignored them.

  I wanted to protect Hailey. Bringing her in meant using her as an asset and inserting her into the center of our operation. That was putting her directly in the line of fire. She was already too close. She was relying on Gianni for her career, and I didn’t know how to disentangle her from it. And now Berkeley was asking me to push her closer to him?

  Gianni wasn’t an altruistic art lover. He was using her for something… or at least I thought he was using her. Then again, at the gallery opening, he actually seemed like he appreciated her paintings.

  I flew down the hallway, digging my nails into my fists to try and contain my anger.

  Hailey was innocent in all this, but because of me, she was in danger. An asset in the field lived a dangerous double life, and if Gianni found out who I was, and who she was… Well, that would be deadly. For both of us.

  Thunderclouds gathered over my head and the whole world turned grey. I slipped on my sunglasses and went outside, taking deep, gulping breaths of the crisp autumn air. I needed to think this through. Whatever I’d hoped to do before to keep Hailey out of trouble, that opportunity was gone. I had to bring her in or else risk my career.

  I’d worked too hard, for too long, to be exactly where I was in the Agency. This operation was supposed to be my big break. It was meant to buoy my career and get me to the top.

  But how could I pursue that and still keep Hailey out of danger? She hadn’t spoken to me in ten years after what happened between us—after I broke her trust.

  And now…

  Now, I was going to do it again. I might ruin her career right when it was starting to look promising.

  “You like her, don’t you?” I jumped at the sound of Gary’s voice. He’d followed me outside and pulled a cigarette out of his breast pocket. He extended it to me, but I shook my head.

  “Forgot you don’t smoke,” he said, putting it between his lips and lighting it. Gary was tall and lanky, with a haircut that looked like it was from Supercuts in 1999, and the same glasses he’d worn since I met him four years ago. He wore a short-sleeved button-up shirt that was more than a little wrinkly.

  Exhaling a puff of smoke, he glanced at me. “How do you know her?”

  “We went to the same school.”

  “That prep school?”

  I grunted in acknowledgement. “She was my friend.”

  “Was?”

  “Yeah. Haven’t se
en her in ten years.”

  “You think she’ll come in? Berkeley seems to think she’s the key to all this.”

  I thought of last night—of the kiss. And then I thought of the day that I broke her heart, when I did the worst thing I’ve ever done and she took the fall for it. She expected me to stay by her side, to support her while she saved me from being ostracized and expelled, and I didn’t.

  I left. Well, I was incentivized by her father and I felt like I had no choice, but I still left.

  I let her take the fall, and I kept my mouth shut. Then, I graduated from our prep school with honors and took off to college with a scholarship. I got a job as an analyst at the CIA and then moved over to the Special Activities Decision. I was in my job now because of that decision.

  If she hadn’t taken the blame for me, I wouldn’t be here. I owed her Hailey my career, my life… everything.

  And she’d been disowned, she said. Her life had been ruined… by me.

  And now I had to ask her to be an informant for the CIA? I had to ask her to give up her opportunity with the Russo Gallery to help me out?

  Yeah, right.

  The logical part of my brain knew that she was in danger, and she was better off distancing herself from the Russos regardless of whether or not she was a CIA asset. The logical part of my brain knew that the Russos were vicious, and that she shouldn’t be near them.

  But Hailey’s artwork was good. She was good. She’d been through so much and I felt like I owed her something.

  Gary cleared his throat. “Finch? You think she’ll come in?”

  I blinked. “I don’t know. She has my number. I’ll wait for her to call.”

  “Did something happen between you guys?”

  For someone who was glued to his computer 95% of the time, Gary was surprisingly perceptive. I snorted. “Yeah. I ruined her life.”

  “Oh.” He sucked on his cigarette beside me, and I was glad that he was there. Mostly because he was quiet.