Page 60 of Close Protection

"More," Ivy echoed. "But you still can't define it."

"Some things resist classification." Julia heard the roughness in her own voice, control slipping in ways that would once have alarmed her.

"Like what's happening between us?" Ivy took a step forward, closing the careful distance they'd maintained. "Or are we still pretending nothing is?"

"I'm not pretending." Julia held herground, surrender taking a different form than retreat. "I just don't have the luxury of exploration while Knox is still a threat."

"And when he isn't?" Ivy pressed. "When this is over?"

"Then..." Julia set her glass down, the gesture deliberate. "Then we'd have choices."

The quiet words hung in the air between them, weighted with possibility. Outside, the city continued its nighttime rhythm, unaware of the battle they were waging within its boundaries—or the one being fought in this room, between duty and desire, between professional boundaries and personal need.

"We already have choices," Ivy said softly. "We're making them every day."

Julia's phone chimed again, offering momentary respite from vulnerability that felt both terrifying and inevitable. She checked it reflexively, professional responsibility never fully absent. "Another shell company liquidating assets. The financial collapse is accelerating."

Ivy nodded, accepting the momentary retreat. "Knox's organization operates on hierarchy and fear. When the structure starts to fail, the fear spreads exponentially."

Julia watched her move back to the laptop, pulling up the monitoring dashboard to check the latest indicators. She followed, standing close enough to feel the warmth radiating from Ivy's body. The professional distance remained, but it had thinned, transformed into something more permeable.

"Phase two implementation begins tomorrow morning," Ivy said, focusing on the screen. "Knox's political connections are the next target. Three City Council members with direct financial ties to his infrastructure acquisitions."

"Morgan has the evidence packets ready for deployment," Julia confirmed, grateful for the tactical focus even as her awareness of Ivy's proximity intensified. "Same secure channels, same strategy."

"And the same result," Ivy added, satisfaction coloring her voice. "Knox's protection network collapsing around him."

She looked up, catching Julia watching her. Julia didn't look away, something shifting in her chest as she observed Ivy in her element—brilliant, focused, fearless despite everything Knox had thrown at them.

"What?" Ivy asked.

"You're in your element," Julia said simply, honesty replacing protocol. "It's…compelling."

"Is that why you're looking at me like that?" Ivy asked, a new boldness in her voice.

"Like what?"

"Like you're calculating risks that have nothing to do with Vincent Knox."

Heat rose in Julia's cheeks, a physical response she couldn't control. "I'm trained to assess all variables in an operation."

"And what variables are you assessing right now, Detective Scott?" Ivy turned fully toward her, close enough that Julia could catch the subtle scent of her skin, the warmth of her breath.

"Distraction versus clarity," Julia admitted, the words emerging from some deep, honest place she rarely accessed. "Professional boundaries versus operational reality."

"And your conclusion?"

Julia found her gaze dropping briefly to Ivy's lips, then back to her eyes. The calculated risk assessment that had governed her entire career suddenly seemed inadequate against the reality of what had grown between them.

"That some barriers exist only because we maintain them."

The admission settled between them like an invitation. Julia felt her heart accelerate, her professional awareness shifting to something more immediate, more personal.

"Then stop maintaining them," Ivy said softly. "Just for tonight."

Julia remained motionless, caught in the battle that had raged since their paths had crossed again—duty warring with desire, protocol battling need. In the silence, the apartment's subtle sounds became magnified: the hum of the laptop, the distant city traffic, their synchronized breathing.

A lifetime of Scott family discipline urged caution. Three generations of Phoenix Ridge officers demanded protocol. Her training insisted on emotional distance for tactical clarity. The mission parameters required professional boundaries.

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