“Have you looked into him?” Benson asked.

“Yes. We believe he’s a victim and not involved in any of this. Further, Harrison and his wife had a son together, Damian, who was Mackenzie’s best friend growing up. Coincidentally, he hasn’t been heard from since the day Montgomery was implicated in all those murders, adding yet another level of what the hell is going on to this case. Going forward, what we need to focus on is getting to the bottom of everything, finding out what really happened, including who’s responsible. All of these pieces may lead us to the answer.”

“Why don’t you ask Galloway?” Martin asked, staring at me. “Sir, talk to the girl and convince her to take you to see her father.”

I shook my head. “I’ve thought about it, but I just can’t. I need you all to come up with a different course of action.”

“I don’t think we have one,” Martin insisted. “From where I’m sitting, anyone else who may be able to offer help or information is missing, on the run, or dead, which is a bit suspicious, if you ask me. I don’t think you have a choice. I think you need to do whatever it takes to finally talk to Galloway.”

“But she knows I’m still working this case.”

“True…,” Eli offered, “but it’s not the same case as before, Ty. A lot has changed, including our motive. You’re not asking her so you can bring him to justice. You’re doing this so you can help clear his name. I’m sure she wants nothing more than for her father to finally be able to come out of hiding.”

“He may not know any more than we do.”

“Still,” Eli responded, “it’s worth a shot. He may not think he can help, but maybe he has a missing piece that could bring all of this full circle.”

I sat there, surveying my team members, their eyes intense. In truth, I knew this was a way to find out more information, but things had just gotten back to a new sort of normal with Mackenzie. I hated the idea that I had to do this so soon, which would certainly remind her of why I dated her in the first place, reopening old wounds.

Life sometimes forced you to make difficult decisions, and this was another one of those times. But Mackenzie had urged me to be open and honest with her about everything and I knew this was no different. I needed to see her father. I just hoped she understood and didn’t think I was using her.

“Okay… I’ll see what she says. In the meantime, everyone remain at your posts and keep an eye on Miss Delano,” I ordered the six individuals who had been part of her protection detail. “Report anything suspicious to Eli immediately.”

“What about us?” Benson asked, gesturing between himself and Maxwell, who had both been living at my house and were charged with convincing Mackenzie her reality was anything but.

“You two will track down everything you can about Charles Montgomery. While you’re at it, dig up everything you can about Galloway, as well. I want to know every mission he was on when he was a Ranger, every case he worked in Counterintelligence. No detail is too small. I want to know what he ate. What he drank. How many hours he slept a night. There may be something in his background that could lead us to who’s behind all of this.”

“And what if he is the one behind it all?” Maxwell asked. “What if you’re wrong?”

“I don’t think I am, but if I am, I’m sure you’ll find proof to back it up. We’ll meet again in a week.” I stood up and grabbed my things.

“Sir,” they all said in relative unison. As I left my private office in the back of the club, I hoped this was the best course of action to uncover the truth of what really happened all those years ago.

Mackenzie

I SAT FIDGETING IN the seat of Tyler’s Jaguar Saturday evening as he drove through the streets of South Padre. “So, what exactly do you have planned for tonight?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“You’ll see,” he replied, winking slyly. He grabbed my hand in his and shifted through the gears, a buzz in the air between us as I drank him in. His tan suit fit him perfectly. I was convinced it should be a crime for anyone to look that good in a suit. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him during the drive to wherever we were going.

When he finally pulled into a sandy beach lot, my mouth dropped open as my eyes fell on the same restaurant where we shared that first lunch when I barely knew anything about him.

“What are we doing here?” I asked.

He killed the engine and turned to face me. “We’re making new memories.”

“What do you–”

“I don’t want you to be reminded of my lies whenever you look at certain places.”

“I’m not…”

He narrowed his gaze at me. “I know how it is, Mackenzie. I do it, too. I want you to have better memories of us. I need those, too. Every time I drive by this restaurant, I don’t want to be reminded of the reason I took you here in the first place. I want to be reminded of new memories that we’ll make tonight. Okay?”

Nodding, I smiled. “I’d like that.”

Opening the door, he ran around to the passenger side of his car and helped me out. Before I could react, he pulled my body to his, taking me by surprise. “You look amazing, Serafina,” he growled, his tongue exploring my neck.

My eyes fluttered closed as I lost myself in the moment, not caring that we were out in public. I wanted nothing more than to go back to my place and finally experience Tyler once more. It had been so long since I had felt his body move in perfect harmony with mine, and I was desperate to be consumed by that mind-blowing high only Tyler could give me.

“I love it when you call me that,” I murmured, whimpering as his hands began roaming my body, the silken material of my black dress against my skin only heightening my awareness of him.

“And I like calling you that,” he replied.

“Why don’t you call me that all the time?”

He exhaled, running his fingers through my hair, forcing me to look into his eyes. “I can’t. Not yet. Not until I know that no danger will come to you because of who you truly are. Until then, I only feel safe using your real name in private. Even then, I don’t want to use it too much. I don’t want to run the risk of getting used to it and slipping up. Okay?”

I remained entranced by his sincere green eyes, the sound of the crashing waves echoing in the distance.

“Okay,” I agreed.

“Good. Hungry?”

I laughed. “Always.”

He wrapped his arm around me, keeping me close and steady on my impractical leopard-print stilettos, as we walked up the wooden steps to the restaurant.

We entered the building and I almost didn’t recognize the place. Where I expected to be faced with the sound of dishes and lively conversation, I was met with beautiful music being played by a live band… The same band I had hired to play opening night at my restaurant.

Noticing my bewilderment, he placed his hand on my lower back and led me through the empty dining room. “This way, mi cariño.”

We stepped onto the back deck and I saw that it had been cleared of all the tables except one…a cozy table set for two. I couldn’t help but grin at the amount of thought Tyler put into this evening. I didn’t want to even think what it cost him to convince the restaurant to close for the night just to accommodate us, but I was grateful he did. I needed this. I needed to be rid of the memory of our first lunch here. Instead, I wanted to look back at this place and this evening as the night we got our second chance.

After helping me into my chair, Tyler sat down opposite me, his eyes glued to mine. His gaze was the perfect combination of endearing and carnal, showing me that he revered me but also wanted me in such a way that he had never craved another human being.