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I had spentthree long weeks healing and secluding myself from the world. My arm was doing better. It still hurt when I moved it wrong, but it was a major improvement over how I had been before. The pain pills had been tossed into a drawer the second week, and I stopped sleeping all day while the girls were at school. I checked in on work, but was quickly told in no uncertain terms to stop worrying and go away. I knew my team was looking out for me, but I needed to work, needed something to occupy my mind.

Today was finally the day. I would be taking back over from Agent Klein and have my team back. I almost looked forward to it, the hustle and bustle of the office and the knowledge that I was doing my part in the world. Normally, I was the first one to come back early when I was sick and the last one to take off time when I really needed it. I had been a workaholic for as long as I could remember and it suited me. Even though I loved the extra time with my daughters, I was eager to walk back through those doors and put my mind on something else than the endless loop of doubt and discouragement that went through my mind when I was alone.

Until I remembered Paul.

I”d been avoiding thinking about him for the past three weeks, but he still found a way to slip into the forefront of my mind. Even when all I wanted to do was forget about our little arrangements and where it had led us, there was Paul infecting my dreams.

We hadn”t parted on the best of terms. The way he”d acted had shocked me. I had never seen Paul Gallo lose his cool, not even once. But at the mere suggestion that I only looked at him like a booty call, he”d slammed my door and stormed away, leaving me in a haze of confusion that only continued to grow. I wanted to believe he was telling me the truth, but how could I? There were people lying all around me. I didn”t know who to trust.

”Morning, Agent Washington,” a woman called.

”Good morning,” I returned, without even thinking about it. My mind was too focused on the one man I wasn”t so sure I wanted to see.

I made my way to the conference room, shutting the door behind me. I didn”t have to turn around to know that every pair of eyes was trained on me. When I faced them, they were. Everyone shifted in their seats as I made my way to the front.

”You”re back,” Hunter said. ”How”s the shoulder?”

”Better,” I answered shortly.

”Are you sure? I mean, I”m glad you”re back, but we don”t want you killing yourself for us,” Summer added.

I smiled at them. My team were all very caring, but I couldn”t imagine sitting at home for another second. I was going to lose my mind.

Finally, I met the gaze of the man I had been avoiding. Paul. He stared back at me, not even a hint of a smile on his usually cheery face. His eyes flickered down my body and up again, and he gave one single nod.

”Glad you”re better, sir.”

My chest squeezed. Sir. Not boss. Everything about his look, his speech, his voice was so flat, and impersonal. It was like someone had hijacked his body, because this wasn”t Paul. I usually had to tell him to pipe down in meetings. This time he was ready, laptop open, studious face on.

”Thank you,” I said.

He gave another nod before his eyes moved from me to his computer. I stared for a little while longer. When he didn”t look up again, I swallowed the feeling of disappointment that twisted in my gut and turned down the lights. I couldn”t focus on Paul when I had a meeting to run.

By the time I was done, everyone filed out except for Hunter. I expected Paul to stick around, poke fun at me, say something completely inappropriate for the setting, anything. Instead, he was the first one out.

”Is everything all right with Agent Gallo?” I asked.

”Oh, Paul? No idea.” He shrugged. ”He”s been like that for two weeks. No jokes, no BS, just focusing on the job. I guess it”s a good thing.” He grinned. ”Maybe someone broke his heart for once. Wouldn”t that be funny? I don”t even think it”s possible.”

”Yeah,” I muttered. ”Not possible. Excuse me.”

I gathered my things and made my way to my office. As I passed by Paul, he was hunched over his computer, fingers flying over the keys as he typed up a report. He didn”t even acknowledge my presence. Something stirred in my belly. Was that anger? Irritation? I couldn”t put a finger on it. Instead, I walked into my office and slammed the door a little too hard. Once the lock was thrown, I stormed over to my desk and plopped down.

My eyes briefly drifted over to the doorway. Images of Paul on his knees, his hand on my abdomen, his mouth wrapped around my cock, plagued me. I sucked in a shuddering breath. Why did things have to change? Why couldn”t I just enjoy a brief moment of happiness?

Paul made me happy.

However, I couldn”t ignore the fact that something was off about him. There were small things, little tidbits of information that made me twitchy. Who was that man he had been speaking to who”d shot me? Why was he protecting him? Why had he defended these monsters that one night? Who was Paul Gallo, really?

I opened my eyes and quickly tapped into the database once more. This time, I dove deeper on Paul. A mother and father that loved him dearly. No pets. Not many friends. Had done well at the academy. No negative marks in his file despite some complaints about interpersonal relationships in the office. I went back through again, searching for something, but not knowing what.

Didn”t he say he had a sister?

I checked the file what felt like a hundred times. No sister. There was no mention of her, at least, and FBI files on agents were in depth. We had to know everything about family, friends, acquaintances. That was how you kept moles out of the office. Not that we didn”t still have a problem with that considering what was currently happening.

My hand hovered over my phone. I wanted to text Paul and ask him straight up who his sister was. Where was she? Did she even exist? But knowing felt like it would be another knife in the gut. If I crossed that line, there was truly no going back. I would insult him. He would think I didn”t trust him. Everything I had seen of Paul said he was good at his job, he put away the bad guys as much as I did, and he seemed so upright.

So why couldn”t I shake the feeling that something was wrong with Paul Gallo?

”I need some friends,” I muttered.

I had neglected making any over the years, too busy with the girls and work to bother to give a fuck. Now that I was on my own, and questioning myself in a place where I was always so certain, I wished I had someone to talk to. Someone to confide in. Paul had been that person for me. What did you do when the person you trusted suddenly became the person you questioned?

There was a knock on my door. I glanced up and hit a button on my computer. The security camera on the other side of the door picked up the very man I couldn”t get out of my head. I hesitated before I walked over and unlocked the door.

”Come in.”

Paul stepped inside before he quickly closed the door once more. I made my way back over to my desk and quickly exited out of his file as he stood in front of me, arms locked behind his back. When he met my gaze, his blue eyes were steely.

”Can I help you with something, Paul?”

”Yes,” he said. ”I”ve finished the reports you gave me, and I was wondering if I could head home early today. All we”re doing is waiting for one of the families to make a move, so I don”t need to be here doing paperwork,” he spat.

I laced my fingers together. ”We both know that”s not how this works.”

”No, but I would like the day off regardless. I don”t feel well.”

I looked him up and down. ”Is there a problem, Agent Gallo?”

”No problem.”

I stood up slowly. ”It feels like you”re still angry at me. You didn”t text for weeks.”

”Neither did you,” he said evenly.

”No, I didn”t, but I thought you wouldn”t want to speak to me.” I stood in front of him. ”If I hurt your feelings...”

”Never that,” he said, lifting his head in the air as he glared at me. ”I don”t want to talk about personal things at work.”

Seriously, who was this man? It really felt as if someone had come in, plucked Paul up into a spaceship, and gave him a personality transplant. My stomach ached as I realized I missed his easygoing smile, his cool demeanor. The man before me was completely different.

”Take the day off if you need it,” I said, evenly. ”Maybe you can go visit your sister. You do have a sister, don”t you, Paul?”

I”d meant to be coy about it, to do my own research without him beating around the bush or making shit up. I couldn”t help myself. He was getting under my skin. I watched as his eyes went from confused to realization. He quickly composed himself.

”What are you saying?” he asked.

”Do you have a sister?”

”Yes, I do,” he snapped. ”Not related by blood, but an old friend of mine. I”ve called her my sister since we were kids.”

Of course, you have.

No matter how much I tried to dive into Paul”s past, it seemed like someone was working hard to make sure everything was in place and accurate. That it was all very neat. My stomach turned. Is he really lying to me? I could no longer tell. His face had fallen expressionless, as if he didn”t have a care in the world.

”Dismissed,” I said as I turned my back on him and ignored that constant ache. ”Take all the time you need.”

”Thanks.”

The door to my office slammed, rattling it. I stared at it for a while, wondering if Paul really could be involved with all the insanity. Once he was gone, I paced back and forth trying to figure out if his story made any sense. I couldn”t though. Instead, I groaned and sank back into my office chair.

Focus on work, York. That”s all you have to do.

I pulled up my email. There was a hell of a lot to catch up on from the past three weeks. I”d tried to stay on top of it, but I could only do so much locked up in my penthouse with no real access to the work I needed eyes on. I scrolled through them, deleting as quickly as I opened if I didn’t answer them. Until one caught my eye.

Dear Mr. Washington,

You won”t back off. We know where your girls go to school. Saint Laurence is vulnerable. Leave the families alone. Resign. If you don”t, they will die because of YOU.

Anonymous

A cold sweat broke out over my skin. My heart squeezed. Another threat, this time directed at the only people I loved in this world. My daughters. I shot out of my chair, shut down the computer, and grabbed my things. I had to go get them, discuss things with the school, get some affairs in order, and remind them of their training. My first job was to do anything and everything to protect them. Screw my career.

Nothing else mattered but their safety. I couldn”t live without my daughters.