A Covert Affair (Deadly Ops #5)(82)

His lips twitched. “Yeah. I was hoping you’d trust me enough to tell me. I’m glad you did.”

She brushed her lips over his, wanting to turn it into something deeper, but she pulled back before she jumped him. “What’s going to happen with Iker? It didn’t sound like he was involved, but what if he figures out you aren’t who you say you were? Or that I killed his daughter?” So far that hadn’t leaked to the media. The only thing they knew was that Amelia had been kidnapped. She gnawed on her bottom lip, not liking the thought of any of that.

“Don’t worry about him.”

“Kinda hard not to.” Because she knew that even if Nathan wasn’t going to be doing as much undercover work, it would be impossible not to worry.

“Let’s just say he’s got his hands full right now. After Collette’s many crimes came to light, he’s being scrutinized by almost every law enforcement agency. DEA, FBI, some I don’t even want to think about. I think he’ll try to run or flip on some of the people he does business with. He won’t ever find out you killed his daughter. We . . . tweaked the final reports. He’s not a problem for either of us.”

Relief and pure happiness slid through her veins. She shifted and straddled him. “Good.”

His expression went white hot. “I used to think I’d built up what we had in my mind, but now I realize that the life we’re going to make together is even better. I love you, Amelia.”

“I love you too.” More than she’d ever thought possible. And this time when she kissed him, she didn’t stop.





Epilogue



Two months later

“I’m never going to remember all these people,” Amelia murmured to Nathan under her breath during a break in the receiving line.

“Yeah, you will,” he said just as quietly as Dax and Hannah approached. Nathan watched as Amelia’s face lit up when she saw Hannah.

The two women had become friends over the past two months, with Hannah giving advice on planning a quickie wedding. Amelia had wanted to wait a year, but Nathan had been insistent on one thing. He’d wanted his ring on her finger and wanted her to have his last name as soon as possible. Partially for completely caveman reasons, but he’d also wanted to be able to tell her more about what he did when off on assignments. Married couples had more freedom.

“You look stunning,” Hannah said, grasping Amelia’s hands in hers.

“I probably shouldn’t say this, but I know. The stylist you recommended is amazing.”

The stylist had nothing to do with it, but Nathan bit his tongue. His wife—would he ever get used to that?—looked damn amazing. Her long white dress was simple and formfitting and he couldn’t wait to take it off her.

“How’s it feel to be married?” Dax asked, drawing Nathan’s attention to him. With a glass of champagne in hand and his tie already loosened at his collar, he looked relaxed.

“Kinda the same.” As he said it, the answer surprised him. He’d expected to feel different, but they’d already been living together and had figured out a schedule that worked for them. He loved her even more each day. The ring just made everything official—something he needed.

Dax laughed. “I know what you mean.” He gently took Hannah’s elbow and started guiding her away. “I know you’ve still got a lot of people to greet. We’ll see you guys out on the dance floor.”

The rest of the day was a blur of talking to people, eating, toasting, and dancing. Neither of them had any immediate family, but they ended up having about a hundred friends at the wedding. Some of whom he’d fought and bled with.

It was the happiest day of his life.

“What are you thinking about?” Amelia’s fingers were linked behind his neck as they slowly danced. Couples surrounded them as the night wound down, but he only had eyes for her.

He leaned down, his mouth skimming her ear. “That I can’t wait until you’re naked.”

She snorted. “You’re such a guy.”

“I’m glad you realize that.”

Amelia snickered, slightly tipsy from the champagne, and leaned closer into his embrace. “I can’t wait to get you naked either.”

She wasn’t as quiet as she clearly thought she was, because over his wife’s head he saw one of his old friends, Jack Stone, and his pregnant wife, Sophie, grin at him before turning away.

The most primitive part of Nathan couldn’t wait to see Amelia pregnant with his child. But for a while, at least, he planned to simply enjoy being married to the woman who’d stolen his heart when he was a seventeen-year-old kid. They had a lot of years to catch up on, and he was going to make every second count.





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Chapter 1


Black Death 9 Agent: member of an elite group of men and women employed by the NSA for covert, off-the-books operations. A member’s purpose is to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gather information or evidence by any means necessary.





Jack Stone opened and quietly shut the door behind him as he slipped into the conference room. A few analysts and field agents were already seated around the long rectangular table. One empty chair remained.