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Amanda goes quiet.

For the first time since she saw me again, the anger in her eyes fades.

“What are the chances this is real?” she asks quietly.

“High enough that your company called Sigma.”

“And you?”

She studies my face carefully.

“Did you volunteer for this assignment?”

I don’t lie.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

Because I never stopped loving you.

Because losing you once was bad enough.

Because if someone tries to hurt you, they’ll have to go through me first.

Instead, I say the only safe answer.

“Because I’m the best at what I do.”

She watches me for another long moment.

Then, she looks out the window at the grand estate and the California palm trees.

“Well,” she mutters.

“That’s comforting.”

She reaches for the handle.

“Wait,” I tell her and get out, placing my hand on her door.

There is security everywhere.

Lights.

Guards.

Cameras.

I open the door and she steps out. She’s close to me this time and for one split second I stare at her, waiting—wishing.

Then she clears her throat and moves her sunglasses to the top of her head.

“Miss Perkins? This way, please,” Debra says and I follow behind them after taking the suitcases from the driver.

Something about this whole setup still feels wrong.

And Amanda Perkins—the woman I once planned to spend my life with—is standing right in the middle of it.