Page 48 of The Perfect Wrong

The timeline certainly fits.

But his mother brought up that other weird raid over dinner, didn’t she? Something that would’ve happened after he left the service.

I do some more Googling. Eventually, I find this blurb from a big arrest on St. John in the Virgin Islands.

Jordan Warzach was extraditedto his home state of Virginia to face a battery of human trafficking charges. FBI and special tactical teams turned up connections to the Joaquin cartel that are still being heavily investigated—and not without a cost.

Two members of the prestigious Enguard Security tactical unit were seriously injured in a recovery operation to rescue Warzach’s victims.

All were females under fifteen years old. The girls are currently being held in FBI protective custody while the bureau expedites their care and safe return to their families.

My heart stings,and I reach up, rubbing my eyes.

What kind of sicko enslaves literal children?

And what kind of burden does the hero who saves them carry when he walks away, having seen that kind of horror up close?

My greedy little heart skips another beat.

It’s a question I shouldn’t ask—a question Chris would never talk about—but it’s compelling. Especially for an academic blowhard like Thosser, who’s always looking for his next shock and awe piece, including the stories he’s helped cultivate through his students.

Yikes.

I feel like a creeper for wanting to bring my brave, ridiculous, and scary ex-SEAL stepbrother into my final paper...but what else do you do when the universe drops gold in your lap?

It’s all here.

A real-life psychological thriller guaranteed to blow some hair back.

All I have to do is dig and interpret.

While I’m still trying to decide if I hate myself, I open a fresh page and begin typing furiously, bullet-pointing ideas and outlining frantically.

I chew my lip, still tasting the whisper of his kiss on my skin.

If I’m going to do this, I need to get closer.

I have to feel the weight the hell he’s been through left on his shoulders.

What if I justpretendto like him? Would that be so awful?

But what if he takes advantage of that?

Yeah, this feels crazy on the surface. But it could be exactly what I need to finish my degree with flying honors and every door of opportunity kicked open.

A few minutes later, a paper I never thought I’d write is almost born.

There’s only one thing left to do.

Tomorrow, I’ll apologize to Chris and beg him to stick around.

If I can get him to agree, I know I’ll find a way to pull more out of him.

A high-stakes game of truth or dare.

I’m sure I have nothing on his hard military discipline, but I’m sure I can control myself.

Just smile oh-so-sweetly.

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