Leo (Vigilance 3)

“That’s irrelevant.”

“No, it isn’t because if he—”

“He’s not a spy. He’s not here for someone else. He’s just curious. He reads mysteries all the time, and if your employer was doing secret shit in the back room, wouldn’t you want to know what was up?”

Giorgio smiled. “See? I knew you liked him.”

Fuck. I was being way too defensive. “He’s too nice for me.”

“Maybe that’s exactly what you need.”

“It’s not what he needs.”

Giorgio snorted. “Maybe you should let him figure that out.”

“Is that how it went with Lane?”

“Don’t.” Giorgio’s eyes went cold.

I held up my hands in surrender. “Let me take care of things with Ezra. It won’t be a problem.”

“He could be a liability.”

I hated that he was right. “I should probably send him back to the café.”

“Who else are you going to hire that you trust?”

“No one. I’ll just have to do the extra work myself.”

“When we need you working to get Swain?”

I was already stretched too thin, but Ezra’s safety had to come first. “The easiest way to keep Ezra out of this is to keep him out of the shop.”

Giorgio studied me for a few moments.

“What?”

“You could bring him in on this.”

“Hell fucking no. Didn’t you just hear me say he’s too nice for me? He’s also way too young.”

“He’s twenty-two. Isn’t that how old you were when you started CIA training?”

I chose to ignore that. “He has no experience and too much curiosity. There’s no way in hell I’m going to expose him to Swain and the bastards he’s got working for him.”

“I’m not asking you to use him as bait.”

“Good, because I know you remember what happened when Lane thought that was a good idea.”

Giorgio growled.

“I’ll close the shop for a few days if I have to. Keeping my people safe and bringing Swain down are my priorities.”

“Fine. I’ll leave you alone to figure out what you need to do if you’ll stop denying how much you want your boy.”

Usually I appreciated how perceptive Giorgio could be, but right then, I hated it. “I never said I didn’t want him. Jesus, who could look at him and not want him? But I’m smart enough to know when someone needs to be off-limits.”

Giorgio grinned. “You’re going to learn how hard it is to fight something like this.”

“Do you think I’ve never said no to someone? Don’t you know how much self-control most of my missions took?”

Giorgio tilted his head and looked at me pointedly.

“Fine, it’s not the same, but I’m not dragging Ezra into this.”

“You don’t have to drag him into the shit with Swain in order to see more of him.”

“Being with me puts him in danger. I’m not going to stop working with Vigilance, and we’re going to take down plenty more assholes like Swain. Ezra deserves a different kind of life than the one I could give him.”

“Answer me this, then. When you think about him being with someone else, how does that make you feel?”

I snarled at him. “Enough questions.”

The bastard looked way too satisfied. “That’s what I thought.”

7

Ezra

Tears stung my eyes as I left Leo and Giorgio in the meeting room. I should go back to the front. A customer could’ve come in while I was talking to Leo. I doubted I would have heard the door chime with my pulse pounding so hard in my ears.

I wasn’t sure I could get myself together enough to serve any customers, though, and I wasn’t sure I could ever face Leo again. Instead of returning to my post, I scurried to the employee door that opened into the tiny back parking lot, then headed down the alley and across the street. The café was closed, but I knew Cathy would still be there. I let myself in the back door and called out to her.

“Ezra? I thought you were working. What are you doing here?”

“I… um… I’m supposed to be.” I barely got the words out. When she turned to face me, her eyes opened wide.

“What’s wrong?”

I wiped my eyes with my sleeve as my tears spilled over. “I’m an idiot.”

“Sit down. What can I bring you? Water? Coffee? A soda?”

“Cake.”

She nodded. “Stay right there.”

She stepped into the walk-in refrigerator and returned a few moments later with a ganache-topped chocolate cake with raspberry filling. She put a slice on a plate and handed it to me along with a glass of water.

After a few bites, the rush of chocolate made me feel well enough to keep the tears at bay. I took a few sips of water and felt ready to explain how I’d listened in on Leo, what I’d heard, and what happened afterwards—okay, a slightly more PG version of what had happened. When I was done, I looked up at her. “Do you know what Leo’s involved in?”

Cathy shook her head. “I can tell you that while his former job was dangerous, it wasn’t anything illegal. I’ve seen men in and out of there, and I’ve wondered, but I’ve never been able to figure out exactly what they’re up to.”