With Cal face down, I see two pools of blood soaking his shirt. My attention quickly turns back to Elizabeth who still has the gun in her hand pointed at Cal. Her chest rises and falls at a rapid rate. She doesn’t look at me, just keeps staring at his lifeless body.

I get up, wincing in pain as I do. “Elizabeth,” I say gently. She doesn’t acknowledge me. I repeat myself. “Elizabeth. Look at me, sweetheart.”

She finally breaks out of her trance and focuses on me. With shaky hands, the gun falls from her grasp. “Oh, God,” she says.

“It’s okay.” I slowly approach her.

“I-I k-killed him, Alex.” Her hands go to her mouth as her eyes fill with tears. I wrap my arms around her and that’s her undoing as she buries her face in my chest and starts sobbing.

“I c-couldn’t let h-him do it. I couldn’t let him h-hurt you,” she murmurs through the fabric of my shirt.

“I know. You saved me, Elizabeth. You saved my life.” My hands rub up and down her back. A loud crash comes through the door, making us both jump.

“Police! Hands up!” I release my hold on her and put my hands in the air and she follows suit. The officer rushes over to Cal and checks for a pulse while two others grab us and start to put us in handcuffs.

Turner walks into the room followed by a couple colleagues. “These two are with me,” he says to the other cops in the room while gesturing to Elizabeth and I. They release their hold on us. “Agent Daniels, you guys alright?” he asks me.

“Yeah, we’re fine.”

“Agent Daniels?” I turn to my left and my heart drops. She’s backing up, shaking her head at me in disbelief.

Fuck.

ELIZABETH

AGENT?

At first I don’t know who this man is talking to until Alex answers him. I back up, needing to put distance between me and this—this stranger.

“Just let me explain,” he pleads. Regret is written all over his face, but for what? For lying or for getting caught?

“No.” I back up until I hit the door and have nowhere else to go. “You’re a cop?” I ask in shock.

He lets out a sigh. “No, I’m an undercover agent for the FBI.” He could’ve slapped me and I would’ve been less shocked than I am right now. How could I have been so stupid?

“What? You—you lied to me.” I’m disgusted right now. I feel like a fool. I feel used. “I don’t even know who you are!” I yell, anger quickly overshadowing the hurt.

He looks me in the eye. “Yes, you do, Elizabeth. It’s still me. I’m still the same guy.”

I shake my head again. He makes a move toward me, but I hold up my hand, stopping his movement. I don’t want him to touch me. “Don’t come near me. You could be lying right now! How would I know the difference? You’ve been doing it since the day we met! I don’t even know your real name for Christ sake!” As much as I try to hold it back, a single tear escapes, running down my face. I angrily wipe it away with the back of my hand.

“It’s Bryce Daniels.” He sounds defeated, but I don’t care about his feelings right now. He misled me, probably used me. I need air. I turn and open the door before walking outside. I have to get away from him. My lip quivers as I do my best to hold back and not cry. I won’t give him the satisfaction.

“Elizabeth! Wait!” he shouts after me.

I spin around quickly. “Who were you investigating? Cal?”

He looks over his shoulder at the first guy who came in who shakes his head at him. When he turns back toward me, he can’t even meet my eyes. “It’s still an open investigation, so I can’t—”

“Fuck you and all your goddamn secrets!” I shout, cutting him off. That gets his attention and he quickly looks up at me. “It’s pretty obvious you were after him though. Was I part of the plan too? Get close to the wife to see what she knows? It must’ve been an added bonus to fuck me,” I spit at him. An ache hits my heart, almost rendering me breathless. Oh God, I probably meant nothing to him. While I was baring my soul to him, he was lying to get ahead in this investigation.

My stomach clenches with the need to vomit. I’m going to be sick. He’s just another man to use me for his gain, except this is so much worse. At least with Cal I knew I was being used. I’m absolutely blindsided by this.

He takes on an affronted expression. “Is that what you really think of me? That I’d do that to you?”

“I don’t know what to think because you’re a liar, Alex—Bryce—whatever your name is! You’ve lied to my face the entire time I’ve known you. How am I supposed to know what was real and what wasn’t?” I cross my arms over my chest in a protective stance. I’ve got to shut down my emotions and put my guard back up.

He takes a step back, looking like I took the wind out of him. I try hard not to let his reaction affect me. I dig deep and hold on to my mask. It’s the only thing that will save me right now.

“What do you feel? Do you feel in your heart what we had—what we have—isn’t real?”

I stare straight through him, refusing to let him see the hurt that is crushing my soul. “Betrayal. That’s what I feel right now,” I reply in a monotone voice. He opens his mouth to say something, but I walk away.

“Mrs. Fitzgerald,” I hear someone call out. Turning around, it’s the guy that let the cat out of the bag to begin with. “We have some questions for you before you go. Then, if you’d like, someone can escort you to the hospital to see your mother.”

“My mother?” I ask quietly. “Why would she be in the hospital?” One glance at Bryce tells me this isn’t good. His eyes are closed in resignation.

“Someone broke into their home and assaulted her. She’s okay, but has been in the hospital for a few days to monitor her condition.”

I feel like all the air has been sucked from my body. No, this can’t be happening. “Did you know?” God, please say no. But before he even responds, I already know what his answer will be.

His eyes open and look at me with nothing but regret. “Yes.” My feet start carrying me forward on their own accord, and before I can stop myself, my palm lands on the side of his face. The sound of the smack is deafening as everyone falls silent. He looks back at me with tears in his eyes.

“No, don’t look at me like that! You don’t get to feel sorry for yourself, you bastard!” My fists fly up and pound into his chest over and over.

“I’m sorry,” he says. His remorse cuts through my blind rage as I continue to push and hit him.

“No, you’re not! You’re sorry you got caught. I hate you!” I scream at him. He doesn’t move to protect himself or block any of my punches. He takes it all and that just infuriates me more. I’m vaguely aware of someone’s arms wrapping around my waist from behind. They lift me up and start taking me away from him. I thrash around violently, trying to get loose. I’ve lost all touch with reality and the only thing I can see is anger, hurt, betrayal.

Heartbreak.

“Ma’am, you’re gonna have to calm down or we’ll be forced to handcuff you for everyone’s safety.” I stop fighting against his hold on me. My chest heaves up and down from the exertion. He releases his hold on me and turns me around to face him. “I’m Agent Turner. Why don’t we take this to the station, and you can see your mom when we’re done, okay?” He’s talking slowly, like I’m a scared child or something. I open my mouth to respond, but can’t form any words. My throat is raw from screaming, so I simply nod.

BRYCE

IT’S BEEN FIVE long days since I’ve seen Elizabeth. Five days since everything came crashing down and I was powerless to stop it. In that time I’ve been unable to think about anything other than her. So here I am, in my car on my way to see her. It’s about a three and a half hour drive from my place in Norfolk, Virginia to her house. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost turned the car around. Call me a chicken-shit, but the fear of rejection is real. I’m not sure if I can take it.