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Chapter Two
Jayden
I hadn’t wanted to involve Skylar. Hell, I hadn’t wanted to involve anyone else in my mess, but I needed a man on the inside. Or rather, in this case, a woman.
Could I trust the spunky little sister of my military brother? Jaxson and I had barely spoken to one another.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He’d offered me a job with his team at Eagle Tactical.
I had no choice but to refuse.
Jaxson was completely unaware of my connection with Enzo Ricci. On occasion, I also worked alongside Sheriff Nelson and the tri-county task force, but even they didn’t know my connection with Don Ricci.
Bringing Skylar into the job was against every protocol, but I needed her help.
My work went deeper than just bringing down the off-gridders. Nearly every last one of them was dead, except for Emma. She was now in prison, awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty.
Maybe I should have thanked the mafia for slaughtering my enemy, the one who I had to live with, sleep beside, and pretend to be one of, to gather their trust and intelligence.
It wasn’t Don Ricci who had murdered the off-gridders. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy…
A firm knock resounded against the wooden door.
“Just a sec,” I shouted and grabbed my Glock. I wasn’t taking a chance, ever. I glanced through the peephole to see the five-foot-two beauty on the opposite side.
My hormones raged at one glance at her. Her shirt was cut with a low V dipping into her cleavage, leaving little to the imagination.
Down boy.
She was here for a job, not to fuck me.
That was too bad.
I unlocked the door and made sure she was alone.
I let her inside my apartment, and I shoved my Glock into the waistband of my pants.
The apartment was dark. I left the window shades closed to make sure no one could see inside.
Was I paranoid?
Yes, but for a good reason.
Skylar folded her arms across her chest. Her long locks fell across her face.
The longer I stared at her, the more irritated she looked.
“So, what’s the job?” she asked.
I stalked across the room to a dresser drawer and yanked open the top handle, and pulled the drawer hard. I dug in between my socks and retrieved the tiny jewelry box. I tossed it at Skylar.
She fumbled with the box, nearly dropping the black velvet before flipping open the lid. “You were engaged?”
“Just something I keep around,” I answered. That was all she was getting in the way of an explanation. “We need to spend the afternoon together, taking lots of pictures, making it look somewhat believable that we’re happily engaged.”
Skylar’s brow furrowed. “Somewhat believable? You don’t think I can do my part and act madly in love with you?”
I merely shrugged. “I haven’t seen your acting skills. Besides, it’s not me who you have to convince.”