Chapter 2

Loud static crackled through the phone, followed by a long sigh.

"Russell, I know today's wedding hit you hard. Melissa's always been a bit thoughtless, and you have every right to be angry. But you can't treat a mission like this as some kind of joke. Lives are on the line. And even if you're willing, Melissa certainly won't be.

"Once this mission starts, there's no going back to a normal life until it's finished. Think it over carefully."

My mentor's voice was hoarse and sharp. He was trying to use the danger of the mission itself to talk me out of a decision made in the heat of anger. I choked back a sob and made my promise anyway.

"This is my choice," I said. "Melissa and I aren't married yet, so I won't be holding her back from anything. Please, let me do this."

Outside, the light rain was tapering off, and a blinding sun broke through right after. Even the shadows hiding in the dark corners were swallowed up by the light.

My mentor let out a low hum, and when he spoke again, his voice was heavy but tinged with something like excitement.

"On behalf of the agency, welcome aboard. Thank you for putting your life on the line for your country. I'll file the paperwork tonight. Someone will come for you soon."

The call ended, and I pushed down the storm in my chest before picking up the microphone.

"Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to come to my wedding. I mean that. The ceremony didn't happen, but please, enjoy the food and drinks."

I walked off the stage without a trace of emotion.

Melissa sent me a string of photos. All of them showed Ezra Doyle hurt, wrapped in bandages.

She must have thought I wouldn't believe her, and this was her clumsy attempt to prove it. What she hadn't noticed was that the massive floor-to-ceiling window behind them had caught their reflection. She was supposedly taking his picture, but her body was pressed right up against his, and his hands, the so-called injured man's hands, were wandering all over her, anything but still.

So much for being hurt. I smirked and was about to shut off my phone when another message came through.

[You saw for yourself, Ezra's really banged up. I don't feel right leaving him alone at home, so I'm staying to look after him tonight. Don't read into it. Make sure you eat and get some rest.]

Anyone who didn't know better would think Ezra couldn't function on his own. But in the photo, he clearly hadn't been affected in the slightest. That little scrape of his would've healed on its own if she'd shown up any later.

Once I got home, I went straight to the bathroom and showered. When I picked up my phone again, the screen was flooded with messages, all from Ezra.

One moment he was showing off a meal Melissa had cooked for him, the next it was a photo of the two of them in matching couples' pajamas. But what really broke something in me was the pair of custom bracelets.

Melissa had given it to Ezra as an anniversary gift, marking the twenty-fourth year since they'd met. Friends since they were still in diapers. Something worth bragging about, I supposed. Except that bracelet had also been my birthday present.

Back when we were dating, Melissa used to joke that my birthday landing so close to the anniversary of when she and Ezra first met had to be fate.

I hadn't understood their bond back then, and I'd even laughed it off, saying as long as they weren't both in love with each other, fate could do whatever it wanted. It was only a curse if it turned into something more.

Her expression had gone stiff for just a second that day before she laughed it off.

"Listen to you, getting all jealous. Don't worry, Ezra and I are just friends. Tell you what, so you never have to wonder again, take this rubber band. Every year on your birthday, I'll get you something, and the year we finally get married, I'll make you a bracelet with my own two hands."

That was the reason we'd set our wedding date on my birthday. Not long before all this, I'd seen the sketches for that very bracelet lying around the house. More than once, I'd caught myself thinking how romantic Melissa really was.