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Instead of arguing with her, Fly
The other two men—Justin, who was still inputting information on his laptop and Maddox, who suddenly found the floor interesting—quickly assumed their poker faces when she put her hands on her hips and said, “I’d like to get this over with as soon as possible.”
“One more minute,” Justin said, not looking up.
Izzy found herself at the center of an elaborate sting operation. Once Justin had the paperwork written up, she would sign the document in which she was agreeing to become a classified informant and work undercover for the San Francisco Police Department. Though they offered her compensation, she declined. Her willingness to find Alex was not, despite what Fly
What had started out a few months ago as a simple snooping around the club for info about Alex had turned into a full-blown federal task force operation she was now a key player in. It scared her to death. She could back out. Instead, she put her trust in the three men in the room. Part of the trust entailed agreeing to re-create a video.
When Maddox, her “handler” as he’d been dubbed, along with his task force supervisor, Justin, asked her to make another video with Fly
“We want Boris to make contact with Agent Ryker,” Justin explained. “Once he does, he’ll show him the video and name his price for not going public with it. We’ll have what we need to bring him in on RICO charges. We’ll offer him a deal if he agrees to talk. While I can’t guarantee he will give us information on your sister, Miss Fuentes, I guarantee you I will lean as hard on him as I can to get the information.”
“What if he doesn’t?” she asked.
“Then we find another way, but you need to understand, there is nothing you can do that will incite Sorlov to give you any information on the whereabouts of your sister. Once he knows you suspect him of being responsible in some way for her disappearance, you’ll disappear next. That I can guarantee you.”
When she glanced at Fly
Heart pounding, she didn’t know if she could do it. Despite Fly
Despite her monumental efforts to erase him from her heart, Izzy had made little progress getting him out of her head since the moment she’d laid eyes on him at the club Saturday night. He’d touched something in her she didn’t know existed. An ache for him far more consuming than the need for recognition from her father. If she did this, she’d have to reboot the de-Fly
She didn’t want to want him. Need him. Ache like she did for him.
Unease rolled through her. Did she even have a choice? No. She didn’t. Not when her choice to give the task force whatever they needed her to do went beyond Alex now. This was for all the other women out there who could fall prey to Boris’s exploitive business practices. An incriminating video was not only key to getting an audience with Boris, but now it was key to the sting operation stinging. Boris would use it to blackmail Fly
“I’m all in. What do you want me to do?”
Jaw tight, his blue eyes intense, Fly
She shook her head. He was wrong. “It’s not about my sister anymore, Fly
Fly
“We’ll do everything we can to protect you, Miss Fuentes,” Maddox said.
“With no guarantees,” Fly
“No, but it’ll be safer for her this way than her flying solo,” Maddox responded.
Maddox set down the thick file folder he’d been holding on to on the coffee table and stepped back as if his nearness distressed her. “It’s your call, Miss Fuentes,” he said.
“I said, I’ll do it.”
Fly
Izzy hurried to reassure him and herself that she would be careful. “I won’t do anything stupid, Fly
Giving her a pointed look, he said, “It’s not you I’m worried about.”
His words stung deep. Damn it, the hot rush of tears burned her eyes. When had she become so vulnerable?
Realizing how harsh he sounded, Fly
“Ryker,” Justin intervened. “We’ll have an army of UCs inside during the hours Miss Fuentes is on the job.” He moved around the sofa, stepping closer. “We’ll put the word out on the street at those times for all units to be on alert. Have them pay particular attention to the area without giving anything away.”
Arms crossed over his chest, Fly
Izzy grasped Fly
Letting out a long breath, Fly
“So we’re all agreed then?” Justin asked. Everyone nodded, including Fly
Not that Justin and Maddox didn’t exude a supreme command presence that left her feeling dizzy. But in her eyes, they weren’t Special Agent Ryker.
“Let’s get the video wrapped up, and go from there,” Justin said.
Maddox nodded and said, “Miss Fuentes, your cell phone?”
Izzy retreated to her bedroom to get her cell phone and heard raised voices in the room behind her. When she returned with the phone, the three men stood angrily glaring at each other.
“Okay, boys,” Izzy said. “Play nice or I’m sending all three of you home.”
She handed Maddox the cell phone.
“Miss Fuentes, if you wouldn’t mind showing me the way to your bedroom.”
“Not going to happen, Price,” Fly
Maddox turned angry eyes on Fly
“Make the call,” Fly
“Ryker,” Justin said moving between them. “We’re just going to establish the date, location, and players, and then let you two do what you need to do privately.”
Fly
Pulling her into him as they entered, he lowered his lips to her ear and said, “Relax, it’s not going to be like Saturday’s video, just follow my lead once we start rolling, okay?”