Page 5 of Double Take

She wished she’d been able to confide in her the true state of her marriage. But she’d been too embarrassed. And what if Amity didn’t believe her? She had no proof except Mark hadn’t worked where he’d said he did. Maybe he’d lost his job and been too humiliated to tell her. But if that were true, where had their money come from? They always had money and, as he hadjokinglypointed out, it wasn’t because her pottery earned big bucks.

“Of course I forgive you.” Faith wiped her hands and hugged her. “Just don’t do anything like that again.”

“I won’t. I promise.” Amity crossed her heart.

“I’m not ready to date again, let alone marry—and certainly not to a stranger,” Faith said.

Chapter Three

One month later

As long as she doesn’t see me, no harm done. I’m not going to approach her.

Ensconced in the café across the street from All Fired Up, Bragg watched Faith at work. Seeing a lump of clay take shape into a bowl or a vase fascinated him, but everything she did enthralled him. The better to emulate his progenitor, he had studied every vid of the two of them: their wedding, vacations, charity and art galas.

Hammond acted the loving husband, but, schooled in reading body language, Bragg couldn’t help but notice his indifference and how his eyes had strayed to other women. Hammond had used her with Dark Ops’ blessing.

She deserved better.

Better than me,too.Love wasn’t enough. He had no future to offer her. He’d been forbidden from contacting her in any way. If HQ found out he’d followed her to Terra Nova, his ass would be grass on principle alone. That didn’t take into account the potential damage if someone recognized him.

Bragg impersonated a dead man who’d adopted the disguise of a mild-mannered accountant as cover for being a Dark Ops spook pretending to be a criminal to hide that he probablywasa criminal. One misstep could topple the precariously placed dominos and set off a cascade of trouble.

The widow had built a new life on Terra Nova. Bragg needed to accept the situation and move on.

Except he had to see her one last time before letting her go. A farewell visit.

He’d seen her in person once before. How bittersweet it had been. Torture—because he’d realized he wasn’t infatuated—he’d fallen in love.

Alive then, Hammond had needed to be in opposite parts of the world simultaneously. He had a deal going down in Russia but an opportunity to meet with a Chinese spy on a senator’s payroll had arisen. Although risky to send operative and clone into the field at the same time, both meetings were critical, so HQ dispatched Hammond to Moscow and sent Bragg to a Washington charity gala with Faith to rendezvous with the spy.

Did she remember that night? He’d never forgotten the best moment of his life. He squeezed his eyes shut, recalling with vivid detail how he’d held her hand, embraced her as they slow-danced, and stolen a kiss in a vacant moonlit corridor.

Other than a quick meeting with the spy, he’d spent the entire glorious evening with her until he’d been forced to catch a red-eye for a “business trip.” HQ had forbidden him to go home with her. And, despite his numerous affairs, Hammond probably would have objected to his stand-in sleeping with his wife.

Not that Bragg would have done so. While Dark Ops blurred moral lines, he liked to think he maintained some integrity.

Or so he told himself.

Inside the shop, Faith paused, removing her hands from the clay to scan the street. He held his breath, even though he’d concealed his appearance with dark glasses and a growth of scruff. If she noticed him, he would appear to be a stranger enjoying an alfresco snack at a café.

He bit into his tasteless sandwich, and she returned to her pottery.

After Marshall had mentioned Cosmic Mates, he’d checked her profile. Seeing her status marked “pending,” an indication she had an open match request, had given him heart palpitations. When her profile had disappeared altogether, he’dnearly had a full-on heart attack, fearing she’d accepted the match.

She deserved happiness. It couldn’t be with him, so why not with somebody else? Would he condemn her to a life of loneliness because that’s what he faced? No.

But he had to see her in person one more time.

Kicking himself every which way to Wednesday, he’d submitted a furlough request. Regulations allotted clones one month of leave per year, and he had five months of unused time on the books. However, since he’d had to replace a dead man; he couldn’t venture just anywhere. HQ had held up his leave until he’d presented an acceptable, i.e. secure, itinerary—a trip to Patagonia, Argentina. South America was far from Hammond’s normal milieu, so it was unlikely anyone would recognize him.

With the agency’s own regulations on his side, HQ approved the furlough but granted him only five weeks instead of the five months he’d requested.

He’d bided his time in Patagonia until he was reasonably sure no one had followed him and then caught a jumper to Buenos Aires, where he’d booked a space flight to Terra Nova.

He’d spent a week in Willow Wood, becoming a regular at the café where he could watch her from a safe distance. It made him feel like a creepy stalker, but he couldn’t openly approach her.

It wasn’t just the rules forbidding contact. Bragg wasn’t long for the world.

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