Page 10 of Exposed

His fingers flexed at his sides, itching to touch her. He balled his hands into fists.

She took a step closer.

“Men like Carlos don’t trust anyone. The fact that he’s letting you even a little bit into his circle only proves that he’s suspicious of you. You need to be really careful, Maddie.” His throat tightened on the words.

She stopped within inches from him, the heat from her body radiated to his, calling him.

His eyes dipped to her exposed belly and his tongue burned with the need to taste her. He dragged his gaze back up to her face. Uncertainty crinkled her smooth forehead. For as long as he’d known Maddie, she’d never shown weakness, never faltered.

Her small, pink tongue came out to swipe her bottom lip and his muscles twitched in response.

“You have to watch everything you say. Don’t trust anyone, no co-workers, neighbors… no one, got it?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t anyway.”

“One more thing,” he said and pulled his phone from his pocket. He brought up the email from his colleague Josh, pulled the images to life and turned the screen to face her.

Her breath hissed out and a tinge of green replaced her golden tan. “Oh my god…” she croaked.

“That’s Fabian Acosta. He was one of Carlos’s men, do you recognize him?”

She shook her head, her knuckles pressed to her teeth.

“He’s the last man to snitch on Carlos. His body was found the other day. Now do you comprehend the game you’re playing?”

Her throat moved as she swallowed, and her eyes, the color of the depths of the ocean, turned glassy. “I know he’s dangerous for god’s sake.”

“Did you know cutting out the tongues of snitches before murdering them is a signature move of his?”

She sucked in a deep breath as if summoning strength from a deep well of water and shook her head. “No, but thanks for the image.”

“It’s not too late to back out, Maddie.”

She snorted and dropped her forehead to her fingers. “Are you kidding? He’d hunt the country looking for me if I bailed. I might as well just tell him our plan.”

She lifted her chin and pulled her shoulders back. “I’m not quitting, Nate. I’ve come too close and am in too deep. This could be over in a couple weeks and he could finally be in prison. We have to continue.”

He rolled his shoulders back but it didn’t ease the tension. He’d been stupid to think Fabian’s fate would sway her. When Maddie dug her teeth into something, she was worse than a bloody pit bull.

“Why Carlos?”

Her gaze flicked over his face. “What do you mean? He’s a monster and needs to be in prison.”

“’Course he does. But so do a lot of other people. I want to know what’s making you so determined to go after him specifically.”

Her line of vision shifted away from his gaze just enough for him to catch that she was hiding something. “Dammit, tell me. Do you really think I won’t be able to find out? Save me the work.”

She sighed, shifted her weight to her other foot making her hip jut out. “Last year my best friend Zoe’s sister came to Miami. She was twenty-one years old and was here on spring break…only she refused to come home. She got involved with Carlos and he got her hooked on cocaine and crystal meth.” Her throat tightened on the next words she had to say. “She died in an alleyway.”

Nate rubbed his hand over his face. “Fuck, Maddie. You can’t—”

She snagged his elbow, shaking his arm. “It’s not just that. What he did to Leila makes me want to see him in prison, but that’s not my fuel. He’s a terrible man, a dangerous one. And since Ethan has put up road blocks preventing me from getting into the FBI—”

He lowered his hand and met her hard, determined stare. “You want to take him down because he’s a big fish and use that as a leg up to get in?” He didn’t need to ask the question. The fire in her eyes spoke volumes. With her background, she was a shoo-in for an agent. She had a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, had worked undercover, and now that he knew her reason for transferring to the Narcotics Unit, he had to question if Carlos had been her motive in the first place.

Hell, of course it was. Knowing Maddie, she’d strategically stacked the deck in her hand of cards.

Add to all that her martial arts training. Maddie was lethal, smart… and more qualified than some of the guys he’d worked with over the years. But he agreed with Ethan… this line of work was dangerous.

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