Jonah (Chicago Blaze 7)

But whether or not Shields is convicted, we stopped him. The children he was using for his sick sex trafficking operation will be safe now. I want it all—a conviction, his public humiliation, the rest of his life spent behind bars, but getting the kids to safety is the most important part.

There are sighs of relief and handshakes all around the room as the tension unwinds. Logan looks over at me and Jonah and gives us a thumbs-up and a smile.

My boss, Angela, comes over to shake my hand, smiling wide. “Great work, Agent Diaz.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

She extends a hand to Jonah. “And Mr. West, thank you for all your help on this case. Agent Diaz told me she couldn’t have done it without you.”

Jonah smiles at me and says, “I bet she would’ve found a way. But I’m glad I could help.”

“How about a week off to recoup before your next assignment?” Angela asks me. “I know you usually like to move from one job right to the next, but with this one, I thought you might have some loose ends to tie up.”

She looks down at my hand, still entwined with Jonah’s, and smiles. As she walks away, Jonah leans into me and says, “She looks freakishly like Angela Bassett.”

“I know, right? And her name is Angela, too.”

“Really?”

“Yep. But call her Special Agent Moore if you address her. I only call her Angela when we aren’t working, and even then it feels weird for me.”

Logan comes over to embrace us both. “Job well done, guys.”

“You too,” I tell him. “This was a team effort.”

“Yeah, but he didn’t have to make nice with that son of a bitch,” Jonah mutters.

“Hey, you want to go get lunch?” Logan asks us.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Jonah says, looking at me. “You want to?”

“I wish I could, but I have a lot of paperwork to do here. You guys go ahead.”

I let go of his hand, and my heart tugs with sadness. It’s not just his hand I’m letting go of. It’s everything. Us. The inside jokes and late-night phone calls while he’s on the road. The killer sex and intense looks between us. The way he makes me feel like everything about me is exactly right.

Jonah’s gaze is just as hungry when I’m wearing sweats and a T-shirt as it is when I’m glammed up like the beauty writer I was supposed to be. He always chooses restaurants he thinks I’ll like. And he looks out for me. I’ve always prided myself on not needing anyone to look out for me, but I’ve realized something with Jonah—just because I don’t need it doesn’t mean I don’t want it or deserve it.

“Are we okay to talk freely outside of here?” Jonah asks me.

I nod and say, “When we’re alone we can. But we need to stay completely buttoned up around other people. Because of the trial and all, we won’t be able to tell anyone the whole story for a long time.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. I just figured maybe…we should talk later. Want to come by my place?”

“Sure, what time?”

He looks at his watch. “I have to go work out and do some drills to make up for missing practice. Is 6:00 okay?”

“Yes, I’ll see you then.”

It’s become our habit to kiss each other goodbye. But now that our fake relationship is officially over, neither of us seems to know what to do. I put up a hand in an awkward wave and Jonah just says, “See you tonight.”

I smile, but inside I’m anything but happy. I’m the worst at intimacy. Other than this fake relationship with Jonah, the most serious relationship I’ve ever had is with my job, which is very important to me. What does that say about me?

All I can do at this point is enjoy the extra time Angela gave me to wrap things up here before my next assignment. Jonah may be the best man I’ve ever been close to, but I have to move on to the next case, so this is the end for us.Chapter Twenty-TwoJonahKit drops his barbell to the floor after a set of deadlifts, blowing out a breath as he rolls his shoulders to stretch them. I nod at him as I walk over to a stair climber machine in our team training room to warm up.

“Hey, man,” he says, following me to the machine.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Why’d you miss practice this morning?”

“I had a thing.”

He pulls up his T-shirt to wipe the sweat from his face and quips, “Dick enlargement procedure?”

“Yeah, it’s just never big enough for your mom.”

My heart’s not really into trading jabs today. Rey and I are over, and she’s leaving. I could tell today with the awkward way we said goodbye. I knew it would hurt when the time came, but it’s even worse than I thought it would be. I’m at a loss.