Lifeline

“Thanks, Julie.”

My eyes drift shut from how amazing it sounds to hear my name fall over his lips for the first time.

When we finally pull apart, I ask, “Anything to report for yesterday and today?”

“Right.” He lets out an empty-sounding chuckle. “I didn’t report yesterday.” Taking a deep breath, he lets it out slowly. “With the next test, I’ll have to kill someone.”

Even though we knew this was coming, it’s still a shock to hear the words from him. Silently nodding, I get up and return to the laptop and phone.

Pressing dial on the number, I wait for Eric to answer, “Yes, JJ?”

“Put me through to the chief.”

“Going through.”

“JJ?” the chief’s voice sounds over the line.

“We need clearance.” I swallow hard. “The next test will be to kill someone.”

Chief Archer lets out a heavy sigh. “Put me on speaker.”

I press the button, then say, “You’re good to go, sir.”

“O’Brien?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have any idea who the target will be?” Chief asks.

“Joseph just said it would be someone who deserves what’s coming.”

Does it make it any easier?

“We need you to get to the Bregus,” Chief mutters. “What’s the chances of the target being innocent?”

O’Brien tugs his bottom lip between his teeth.

Dear Lord, don’t do that when I’m trying to focus on work.

“If he’s mixed up with the syndicate and did something to piss them off, zero.”

“It’s not like they’ll just let you decline the invite and walk away,” I mutter.

“True,” Chief agrees with me. “You’re cleared.”

“Thanks, Chief,” I say, then end the call.

O’Brien’s eyes drift over my face. “If the second test is murder, what will the third test be?”

Shaking my head, I slump back against the couch. “Smuggling drugs or girls?”

He clenches his jaw, and resting his forearms on his thighs, he links his fingers. “What if it’s worse?”

“Like?”

When he brings his eyes to mine, I see fear in them for the first time since we started working together. “Kidnapping an innocent…”

God.

I instantly start to shake my head. “No.”

With an expression that’s carved out of granite, he bites out, “What if that’s the third test, JJ? What the fuck do I do then?”

Not even thinking, I say, “Then you kidnap me.”

He darts to his feet, losing his temper in a second flat. “What the fuck, Jefferson! No. Never.”

“If you don’t have a choice, I’m the logical target,” I argue.

He pins me with a non-negotiable look. “I said no.”

“Then we have to pull you out,” I say because there’s no way. No. Just no. “Nothing is worth sacrificing who you are.”

“And the Bregus continue to kill, drug, and rape their way through America,” he growls, a desperate look on his face as he tries to find an answer.

“We can try to track Zef Rama. He’s sure to lead us straight to the Bregu brothers.”

Again he shakes his head. “He’s too fucking good at his job. It’s impossible.” Finally, he looks at me. “It’s up to Rama what the third test will be. I’ll be so fucking close.”

Closing the distance between us, I grab hold of his arm, giving him a pleading look. “Then you take me. I’m trained, O’Brien. I’ll be able to cope better than an innocent girl.”

Halfway through my sentence, he’s already shaking his head. “I won’t risk you. That’s something I won’t survive.”

“And you’ll survive taking an innocent girl off the street?”

For the longest moment, he just stares at me. “I won’t risk you.”

Then I’ll pull you out if it comes to that. Even if you hate me for stopping the operation.

Because I won’t risk you either.

O’Brien

Following Joseph into his house, I hear children giggling before two girls come barreling toward us. Joseph crouches down to catch them, and I watch as he hugs his daughters.

A woman comes out of the kitchen, a welcoming smile on her face. “Finally, I get to meet you, Danny.”

Holding out my hand, I shake hers. “Thanks for having me over for dinner.”

“Any friend of Joseph is always welcome,” she says while giving her husband a kiss. “Wash up. Dinner’s almost ready.”

I follow Joseph deeper into the house with the little girls’ laughter behind us. “What’s their names?”

“Nora’s the oldest, and my youngest’s Dori.”

After washing our hands, we all take a seat at the dining table. When Adriel brings out a meal fit for a king, and Joseph patiently cuts his youngest daughter’s meat into smaller bites, I can’t help but smile.

Seeing Joseph with his family makes him more human and less criminal in my eyes, no matter how I try to remind myself he’s going down with all the rest. But it’s becoming hard because I actually like the damn man.

“Thank you, my love. The food looks amazing,” he praises his wife before pressing a kiss to the back of her hand.

Christ, watching them, it all seems so normal. Does Adriel know what Joseph does for a living, or is she in the dark?