Instead of arguing with her, Flynn shut up, but he didn’t take his eyes off her for a minute.

The other two men—Justin, who was still inputting information on his laptop and Maddox, who suddenly found the floor interesting—quickly assumed their poker faces when she put her hands on her hips and said, “I’d like to get this over with as soon as possible.”

“One more minute,” Justin said, not looking up.

Izzy found herself at the center of an elaborate sting operation. Once Justin had the paperwork written up, she would sign the document in which she was agreeing to become a classified informant and work undercover for the San Francisco Police Department.  Though they offered her compensation, she declined.  Her willingness to find Alex was not, despite what Flynn said, to get back into the family fold, but for Izzy’s own peace of mind.  If she was honest with herself, she wasn’t doing this for Alex.  She was doing it for herself.  Had she met her sister when Alex begged her to, she might have been able to help her.  But she hadn’t.  She loved her sister and didn’t bear her any ill will.  If there was a way to get her back, Izzy would do everything she could to that end.

What had started out a few months ago as a simple snooping around the club for info about Alex had turned into a full-blown federal task force operation she was now a key player in.  It scared her to death. She could back out. Instead, she put her trust in the three men in the room. Part of the trust entailed agreeing to re-create a video.

When Maddox, her “handler” as he’d been dubbed, along with his task force supervisor, Justin, asked her to make another video with Flynn, her initial reaction was no way.

“We want Boris to make contact with Agent Ryker,” Justin explained.  “Once he does, he’ll show him the video and name his price for not going public with it.  We’ll have what we need to bring him in on RICO charges.  We’ll offer him a deal if he agrees to talk. While I can’t guarantee he will give us information on your sister, Miss Fuentes, I guarantee you I will lean as hard on him as I can to get the information.”

“What if he doesn’t?” she asked.

“Then we find another way, but you need to understand, there is nothing you can do that will incite Sorlov to give you any information on the whereabouts of your sister.  Once he knows you suspect him of being responsible in some way for her disappearance, you’ll disappear next.  That I can guarantee you.”

When she glanced at Flynn, he looked even less inclined to recreate a video than she did.  It had pissed her off.  Did she repulse him that much? Out of spite she knew she’d agree to do it.

Heart pounding, she didn’t know if she could do it.  Despite Flynn’s hands-off approach with her, he affected her on such a deep level she was afraid that if they engaged in any type of physical act, staged or otherwise, she’d fall harder, deeper, and drown. And what if she, well, became so aroused she embarrassed them both?

Despite her monumental efforts to erase him from her heart, Izzy had made little progress getting him out of her head since the moment she’d laid eyes on him at the club Saturday night.  He’d touched something in her she didn’t know existed. An ache for him far more consuming than the need for recognition from her father. If she did this, she’d have to reboot the de-Flynning process.

She didn’t want to want him.  Need him.  Ache like she did for him.

Unease rolled through her.  Did she even have a choice? No. She didn’t. Not when her choice to give the task force whatever they needed her to do went beyond Alex now.  This was for all the other women out there who could fall prey to Boris’s exploitive business practices. An incriminating video was not only key to getting an audience with Boris, but now it was key to the sting operation stinging. Boris would use it to blackmail Flynn and then they’d have him.

“I’m all in.  What do you want me to do?”

Jaw tight, his blue eyes intense, Flynn said, “You don’t have to do this.”

She shook her head. He was wrong. “It’s not about my sister anymore, Flynn. If she’s gone I can’t save her, but maybe I can save someone else.”

Flynn shot his buddies a dirty look and stepped toward her.  “They have other ways to get the information.  Let them figure it out.”

“We’ll do everything we can to protect you, Miss Fuentes,” Maddox said.

“With no guarantees,” Flynn bit off.

“No, but it’ll be safer for her this way than her flying solo,” Maddox responded.

Maddox set down the thick file folder he’d been holding on to on the coffee table and stepped back as if his nearness distressed her. “It’s your call, Miss Fuentes,” he said.

“I said, I’ll do it.”

Flynn scrubbed his hand across his face, exhaling loudly.

Izzy hurried to reassure him and herself that she would be careful.  “I won’t do anything stupid, Flynn.”

Giving her a pointed look, he said,  “It’s not you I’m worried about.”

His words stung deep. Damn it, the hot rush of tears burned her eyes.  When had she become so vulnerable?

Realizing how harsh he sounded, Flynn quickly reassured her. “You misunderstood, Pink. I’d chop both my nuts off if would change your mind.” He traced the line of her cheek with his fingertip. “I’m worried about what Boris or Andre would do to you if they suspect something.”

“Ryker,” Justin intervened.  “We’ll have an army of UCs inside during the hours Miss Fuentes is on the job.”  He moved around the sofa, stepping closer.  “We’ll put the word out on the street at those times for all units to be on alert.  Have them pay particular attention to the area without giving anything away.”

Arms crossed over his chest, Flynn stared down Maddox, who wasn’t in the least bit intimidated. “This isn’t my first rodeo, Ryker,” Maddox said.  “I haven’t lost a CI yet.”

Izzy grasped Flynn’s forearm and looked up into his stormy eyes.  “I don’t need your permission to do this, but I’d like your blessing.”  Heat rose in her cheeks.  “I don’t want to make the video with anyone but you.”

Letting out a long breath, Flynn acquiesced.  “You don’t have a choice in that, Pink.  One, no one else is going to touch you and two, Andre has seen me and expects me to be your mark.  So you’re stuck with me.”

“So we’re all agreed then?” Justin asked. Everyone nodded, including Flynn, who Izzy desperately wanted to be in on this, if only because if he gave his seal of approval somehow she’d feel like she wasn’t in imminent danger. Secondly, she wanted him around.  He could say what he wanted, and act like he didn’t care about her, but she knew he had a higher stake in her safety than the other two.

Not that Justin and Maddox didn’t exude a supreme command presence that left her feeling dizzy. But in her eyes, they weren’t Special Agent Ryker.

“Let’s get the video wrapped up, and go from there,” Justin said.

Maddox nodded and said, “Miss Fuentes, your cell phone?”

Izzy retreated to her bedroom to get her cell phone and heard raised voices in the room behind her.  When she returned with the phone, the three men stood angrily glaring at each other.

“Okay, boys,” Izzy said.  “Play nice or I’m sending all three of you home.”

She handed Maddox the cell phone.

“Miss Fuentes, if you wouldn’t mind showing me the way to your bedroom.”

“Not going to happen, Price,” Flynn said stepping in front of him.

Maddox turned angry eyes on Flynn.  “Do I have to call your SAC and have you removed?”

“Make the call,” Flynn challenged.

“Ryker,” Justin said moving between them.  “We’re just going to establish the date, location, and players, and then let you two do what you need to do privately.”

Flynn stepped past them both, caught Izzy’s elbow, and proceeded to the bedroom.

Pulling her into him as they entered, he lowered his lips to her ear and said, “Relax, it’s not going to be like Saturday’s video, just follow my lead once we start rolling, okay?”