and U.S. military.
“Good. They leave on the appreciation tour later this week.”
“I’ll be ready,” Shawn said as he stood from his seat.
“Oh, and, Shawn,” Agent Wolfe called.
“Yes,” Shawn said as he turned his head over his shoulder.
“Can you handle this?”
Shawn knew why he was asking and appreciated the concern. But there was no way he was giving up the opportunity to work on this case. He stood to lose too much and he knew that solving the case would bring him some closure. “Is there anything I can’t handle?” he said sarcastically, demeaning the seriousness of the situation.
“Just making sure,” Agent Wolfe said with a slight laugh.
Shawn then walked out of the office and into the busy hallway buzzing with agents and other personnel ready to start their Monday. Using his thumb to flip through the pages in the file, Shawn familiarized himself with a few new faces he hadn’t originally researched as he shuffled around people walking past him.
When he was halfway through glancing at the pages in the file, Shawn stopped short. “What are the odds,” he said surprisingly as he studied the beautiful brown eyes of the woman who’d been sneaking into his thoughts way too frequently.
“Cydney Rayne, Elite Events, Incorporated. Lead planner for the appreciation series of events,” Shawn said aloud as he read the headline on the page. “Damn.” Yes, he was anxious to see her and continue what they’d started in the closet, but he didn’t mix business with pleasure. When it came to his work, nothing and no one stood in his way, and he couldn’t afford to compromise this case.
Shawn had a reputation as being one of the best undercover special agents in the bureau. A lot of agents were surprised to learn he ultimately wanted to leave the FBI and start his own company. But those who knew his story weren’t surprised by his decision at all. For the past few years he’d tried to avoid coming back to Chicago, the second city he was assigned to when he joined the FBI. But a few months ago, he’d known he had to return and finish what he’d started. It was a miracle he even got on this case in the first place. Agent Wolfe was more than his supervisor. He was more like family. Shawn hadn’t had the pleasure of knowing his biological parents and although he had great guardians, Agent Wolfe had been key in his development from boy to man. Agent Wolfe knew what Shawn stood to lose if he didn’t solve the case, and since he cared about him, Agent Wolfe had appointed Shawn as the undercover agent despite the personal conflict. But Shawn wasn’t too sure how Agent Wolfe would react if he knew about his relationship with Cydney.
“Miss Rayne, Miss Rayne. It seems I have a bigger issue than I thought,” Shawn said as he continued to stare intently at her picture. Since their relationship had been purely physical, he hadn’t told her what he did for a living. He would have given her a fake job, anyway, but that would have further complicated the situation, so he was glad that he had kept his mouth shut. Cydney wouldn’t like the fact that she would be working so closely with him, so she’d probably maintain her distance. At least that was what Shawn was hoping would be the case. He had a feeling that Cydney could be unpredictable at times and that could definitely pose a problem.
He looked from her eyes to her lips as he studied her picture one last time. For his sake, he hoped she would decide to keep her distance because if she didn’t, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to resist her.
“Stay focused,” he said to himself as he tried to reinforce his thoughts before leaving her page to finish scanning the rest of the documents in the file.
* * *
Cyd chanted Beyoncé’s recent hit as she poured herself a cup of coffee and waited for her partners to arrive to the conference room. The song had been playing in her head all weekend and she was feeling good. Even better than good—she was feeling great. She wanted to ignore the fact that Shawn was the cause of her happiness, but she couldn’t. The man had sexed her in a much needed way and she’d been on a high ever since.
After adding the perfect amount of cream and sugar to her coffee, she took a sip and savored the bitter yet sweet taste. She walked to a nearby window to enjoy the brilliant colors of the fall leaves, taking two more sips of the warm deliciousness. Each taste was better than the last.
“Hmm,” she said aloud, not noticing that her partners had walked into the conference room. “Amazing.”
“Okay,” her sister Imani said, disrupting her enjoyable moment. “Who are you and what have you done with the real Cydney Rayne?”
“Very funny,” Cyd replied. “I haven’t been that bad.”
Imani looked at Mya and Lex before turning her head back to Cyd. “You’re joking, right? Do you even remember how you’ve been acting lately?”
“Well, let us remind you,” Lex chimed in. “You’ve been tense over the past few months even though you’ve tried to hide it behind your usual sarcasm. To make matters worse, you missed the bridesmaids’ group dance and the maid-of-honor toast on Imani’s wedding day.”
Whoops! Cyd had definitely forgotten about those last couple details. “Hey, I gave my maid-of-honor toast.”
“Yeah, about thirty minutes late!” Mya replied. “And you disappeared for almost an hour. We couldn’t find you anywhere.”
“So true,” Imani added. “Even though I refused to get upset on the most important day of my life, I honestly can’t believe you pulled a stunt like that on my wedding day.”
Cyd dropped her head backward and stared at the ceiling. She was slightly irritated that she was receiving the third degree, although part of her knew she deserved it. As she twisted her head to crack her neck, she immediately thought about Shawn placing soft kisses along her collarbone. She could still visualize every single moment of their sexual escapade in the closet.
“And you have the nerve to be smiling right now,” Imani said, interrupting her thoughts. “Oh, man, you are so lucky that I leave for my honeymoon in a few days because I could strangle you! But I refuse to get arrested and miss my vacation with my new husband!”
“Sorry,” Cyd said as she sat down at the conference table and thought about how her sister must feel. “If it’s any consolation, I have a very good explanation.”
All three women joined her at the table as they waited intently for her to finish.
“We’re listening,” Imani said impatiently when Cyd didn’t jump right in with excuses. Cyd had planned on telling them about Shawn, but she was hoping they would be a little less tense if she waited until Monday. Times like this made working with her sister, cousin and friend really complicated. They were a large part of one another’s lives and were also founders of a very successful business. Although she loved them dearly, sometimes she wished she could have a day or two to relax and take a step back from the family and business chaos. Luckily, a series of upcoming events would help her do just that.
Taking a deep breath, Cyd put on her big-girl pants and prepared to explain what happened.
“Do you guys remember meeting Shawn at the wedding?”
“Daman’s friend?” Imani asked.
“Yes,” Cyd replied as she watched
