Page 121 of Risky Obsession

“Let’s finish this first,” I said. “Then I’ll tell you.”

His expression shifted from curious to confused. “Sounds ominous.”

Ominous didn’t even begin to describe the dread oozing through me. I had no idea how to tell the man who had captured my interest in so many ways that I was a liar.

In my life, I’d switched from innocent to guilty twice. I hadn’t even finished working off the first round of guilt and my new wave weighed as much as it did when Tory had died in my arms. I had been young, naïve, and brainwashed back then, but I knew what I was doing this time and I struggled to convince myself that I was just doing my job.

I am not what I have done . . . I am what I have overcome.

I would need every ounce of my resolve to live up to the tattoo on my arm this time.

I felt the heat of Kane’s gaze as we worked together to clean the car, progressing from the doors to the seats. As he wiped down the steering wheel again and the gear stick, I shifted my attention to the outside of the car.

I shut my door, and as I wiped the handle and trimming, my brain seemed to squeeze so hard it was a wonder I didn’t pass out. I pulled our bags from the back seat and shoved in the items from the plastic bag and our rubbish.

“I think I’m done,” I said as I shut the back door with my elbow.

“Same.” Kane locked the car, wiped down the fob, and then pegged the keys into the woods.

“There,” he said dusting his hands. “We were never here.”

He gathered the handles on his grandfather’s duffle bag. “You ready?”

I nodded and grabbed my suitcase. As we walked away from the BMW, the wheels on my case bumped over the loose stones on the dirt track beneath our feet.

“Damn it’s cold,” I muttered, tugging the collar of my jacket under my chin. A gust of wind howled through the trees as if suggesting it could be a hell of a lot worse.

“Welcome to Germany nearing winter. I could never live here.” He shifted the duffle bag to his other hand. “So, shall I start guessing what you did to result in your fingerprints being taken?” Grinning, he bumped his shoulder to mine.

I huffed out a breath. “No.”

Kane slowed his pace and glancedat me sideways.

When I stopped, he faced me. In the moonlight, his expression was troubled, as if he knew what I was about to say would ruin the trust he’d built in me.

“I’m not who you think I am,” I blurted.

His brows swooped upward. “What do you mean?”

I forced the words out: “My name isn’t Tory. I’m Lacey Brooks.”

Raw anger blazed across his eyes. “What?”

“I’m an undercover cop.” That admission was both liberating and painful.

His face twisted into pure disdain. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Aria hired me to go undercover with you.”

“To spy on me?”

“No, to work with you.”

“Bullshit! You’ve been lying to me all this time?”

“Only my name and my career.”

The air crackled with tension.