Prologue
Serena
Location: a karaoke bar
I need a win. My life has been a series of failures; one after another. Will I ever admit such words out loud? No. Only in the quiet confines of the vault in my mind would I ever admit that truth, which is whyIneed to be the one to bring Liam Hawthorne in. No other agent or team. Me.
But the man knows what he’s doing. My partner, Agent Harris, and I haven’t caught him with a hair out of place—literally or metaphorically. It opposes my nature to admit Liam Hawthorne is one of the most attractive men I have ever laid eyes on, but that won’t stop me from hauling his butt into federal prison. The guy is a renowned art thief and potential murderer, and he needs to answer for his crimes.
I flash my badge at the bouncer guarding the stairs leading to the private rooms. His eyes widen a touch before he nods and shuffles his massive body to the side, allowing me to head up.
A couple bumps into me on their way down the stairs, inebriated with booze and their obvious attraction to one another.
I’ve never understood why people drink and allow their senses to dull. That’s when they become weak, subject to being taken advantage of.Imust remain incontrol of my faculties. Always. The second I drop my guard, my whole life will go up in flames.
I pass the room the bartender gave me and glance through the cracked door. It’s too dark to confirm if Liam is inside.
I’m supposed to keep my distance. We don’t want to tip him off the FBI is following him, which is why I’m wearing a stupid black dress Caleb convinced me was less conspicuous than my typical pantsuit. Supposedly, it’s more bar appropriate.
I couldn’t care less and currently hate it and him. I can’t run in a tight dress and heels. And in my line of work, I need to be able to run and fight at all times.
“I’ve been made,” Caleb says, his gruff voice muffling from the communication device in my ear.
“By who?”
“The woman.”
I frown at the flashing lights and pulsating bar. We aren’t following a woman.
“Amelia,” he says again.
It hits me—the woman he kissed last week so he could get rid of her. My partner was stupid enough to kiss someone while on the job.
“Seriously?” I groan. The last thing we need isthatwoman messing things up again. “What are you doing? Throwing out some kind of mating signal?”
He grunts. “Not funny.”
I find it hilarious.
“Did you get anything from the bartender?” he asks.
I fill him in on the situation, but he falls silent and I hear the woman’s voice again. She’s making fun of him for trying to blend in with a red jacket.
“Oh ho ho,” I hoot. “Rookie mistake.”
But Caleb’s attention is solely on her. I should save him. That’s what partners are for—to save each other in sickness and health, from crazy people, and rogue bullets. Or something along those lines.
This is a dead end, anyway. Liam isn’t here. I walk past the door at the same time it opens fully…right into my forehead.
Pain smashes through my skull, and I stagger backward, hand gripping my head while the lights seem to grow brighter.
“Oh no,” someone says. “I didn’t see you. Are you all right?”
My shoulders tense. That deep, charming, yet playful voice can only be one man.
Liam Hawthorne.
I swallow, keeping my gaze on the ground, hoping he won’t recognize me as the waitress from the restaurant the other night.
