The Professional Alibi

Chapter 6: Love & Duty

The idea of having four boyfriends, even if they're fake, horrifies me. I already have a hard time managing Jesse. How am I going to manage four? Maybe that's the difference. They aren't real. I'm not expected to be invested in virtually every aspect of their lives or remember important events or have to think of fun things to do. Really, aside from putting on a good show, we probably won't interact with each other because the guys will be busy doing their jobs, right?

I mentally slap myself. This is the job. Sometimes covert operations mean pretending to be something you're not. We're all professionals here. I'm the newbie. I'm probably making way more out of this than I should be.

I swallow hard, then return Wade's gaze with a determined one of my own. "I'm in."

Wade's shoulders droop and he lets out a puff of relieved breath. With a slight nod, he says, "Okay. Let's do this."

He turns and grabs the duffel bag next to his bed, unzipping it to reveal a file folder on top. He pulls out the folder and hands it to me. "Here's the necessary paperwork to make you an official member of APEX. Once it's signed, I will fill you in on more of the details."

I'd like to say the paperwork is glamorous and easy to understand, but it's not. It's more about insurance, pay rates, accidental death and disability, who to send my personal belongings to if I die, and about twelve confidentiality (or at least it feels like it) agreements.

Wade stands behind me, his hand on the back of my chair, touching my back. He's half hunched over my shoulder, his face near mine, reading the paperwork and answering questions as I have them. I feel the warmth coming from his body and smell his scent of soap and musk. It's freaking distracting.

Maybe that's the point. If APEX uses some hot guy to help with the onboarding process, I'll be too distracted to read the paperwork and fully understand what I'm getting into.

After I'm done signing my life (probably literally) away, I hand the folder back to him. "What next?"

Wade stuffs my info back into his bag, and pulls out another one, bringing it to me. "Let me introduce you to the team."

My brows raise, and butterflies erupt inside my stomach. This is it. My first debriefing. I can't believe I'm actually doing this.

On the outside, I'm a mask of complete calm. On the inside, I'm in full-on SQUEEEEEEE! mode, running around in circles doing a happy dance.

"Do I get to keep the file?" I ask, looking up at him when he hands it to me.

His gray eyes look down at me, and he shakes his head. "Not yet. Not till you're situated in your apartment. We don't want these to inadvertently end up in the wrong hands. It's better to wait till you've moved. This is just a rundown to familiarize you with their faces. We'll get into the nitty-gritty later."

I gnaw on my lip and nod. "High-level debriefing now. Minutia later."

Wade raises a dark brow and smirks. "Big words for such a young thing."

"Young thing? I'm not too young to pimp out to four strangers as their girlfriend. It's not fair that you know everything about me. How old are you?"

His eyes widen and he straightens. His expression hardens. "We're not pimping you out. And you don't ask personal questions of other operatives."

I bite back another snarky comment and place the folder on the desk, opening it.

Wade resumes his infuriatingly distracting position with one hand on the back of my chair, the back of his fingers pressed against my shoulder, and his other hand planted on the table, his body half hunched over me. Our faces are so close it makes it hard to concentrate. But his expression is still guarded.

The first page has a picture of a guy with curly, ginger hair.

No. Ginger doesn't fully describe this hair. It's more like a flaming red nest of unruly curls held back by some sort of headband that frames his face, and makes his green eyes pop. Though the picture is just a headshot, it shows his neck and the top of his shoulders. There's just enough skin to see the chords of his lat muscles running from his neck to his muscular shoulders. The guy's not smiling, but he isn't really scowling either. Makes me wonder what kind of personality he has.

I glance up at Wade. "What's his name?"

"For this mission, he's going by Cosmo."

"Cosmo?" I raise a brow. "What're his parents like? Hippies?"

Wade shakes his head and the pulsing in his jaw stops. "That's not his real name. Just like we'll be giving you one. We don't want anything tying you to your real life in case things go south."

"Makes sense."

He inclines his head. "Cosmo's cover story is that his parents moved across the country for a job and he's staying with relatives to complete his last year of high school. The relatives pretty much let him do as he pleases, which gives Cosmo lots of time to get into trouble."

"Gotcha," I say, memorizing every feature so that I don't accidentally walk past him when we meet.

"He's located in Cheney," Wade continues. "He'll probably live the furthest from you."

"Where am I staying?"

"Have you ever heard of a place called Spokane, Washington?"

I shake my head. "Is it near Seattle?"

"Other side of the state. On the east side. You'll live in the Valley, which is fairly central to all our locations and near the colleges. They'll transfer your papers as soon as I turn in the forms you just signed. You'll attend college during the day while the guys are at their high schools. And do your APEX job in the evenings. "

"That's where we're going? Spokane?"

"That's where you're going. We're already there. We've been doing our thing for a little while now, waiting for you to graduate."

My brows shoot up and something inside me stills, as if in shock. "You've been waiting for me?" I turn and gaze up at him, gauging his response--more specifically those gray eyes of his--for deception.

Wade turns, stares at me unblinkingly, and says, "Absolutely. I took one look at you and had to have you."