The Executioner: A Love Story by Melissa Silvey Page A

his back pocket and grabbed his wallet and handed it to Arianna.
    And there, staring back at her, was a picture of the man she’d developed feelings for on a federal ID. Just when she thought her day couldn’t get any worse.
    “Are you in on this?” She refused to believe he had only acted like he cared about her to… To what? Get close to her and trap her? “I am pretty stupid, huh?”
    “Trust me; Mr. Stewart isn’t involved in our investigation.” Agent Argento insisted.
    “I’m not a field agent,” Jordan explained. “I’m in a different department.” But he didn’t say anything else.
    “His job is classified.” Agrento raised one eyebrow as he said it. “I don’t even know what he does.”
    Jordan frowned and stared at the table. Arianna handed his wallet back to him, and her fingers lingered a little too long on his hand. Argento groaned when he saw it. Arianna pulled away quickly, then shot him a dirty look. He had no right to comment at all about their relationship, and she opened her mouth to tell him so. But he had a far-away look in his eyes. Then he glanced out the window.
    “I understand,” he said into the cuff of his jacket. “We need to go, now,” he said as he stood up. Jordan followed him immediately, but Arianna hesitated. “Now,” Argento reiterated, sternly.
    Arianna lagged behind the two, and watched as Argento placed his hand on the small of Jordan’s back and led him not to her car, but to the black SUV he drove. She glanced toward Agent Wolf as he moved from the rear of the SUV to the passenger side. And then she turned toward her car. She’d really grown attached to it; although she knew it was as temporary as everything else surrounding her job, including her name.
    She didn’t hear the engine of the car that sped toward her until it was five feet away from her, and she spun quickly out of the way, right into Agent Argento. She wanted to reach for her gun, but it was already in his hand.
    “I can’t take the chance that you’ll use this on me,” he said as he shoved it into the back of his trousers. Her shoulders slumped as he grabbed her wrist and led her to the SUV. Jordan was already in the back seat, and Argento opened the door and practically shoved her in.
    “I’m sorry.” Arianna’s voice cracked as she stared into Jordan’s eyes. He put his hand on hers, and she grabbed it and held it for dear life. And then the tears came. She sobbed loudly, and Jordan wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.
    “I thought the Secretary’s soldiers were tougher than that,” Argento said snidely. “The car wasn’t even that close.”
    Jordan rubbed her hair and made a soft shushing sound. She shouldn’t trust him right now. He was a fed, just like Argento and Wolf. But she didn’t have a choice. Her life, although fabricated, crumbled around her. She knew she ran the risk of capture, incarceration. She assumed, though, that the Secretary would have her back and get her out of any messy situations. Now she knew there was no one she could trust, except maybe the man who held her so close.
     

    “You have ten minutes,” Argento said as he opened the door and held out his hand to help her. They stopped at the apartment building, which she didn’t expect. She thought, for some reason, that they would take her straight to their headquarters, put her under a bright light, and read her her rights. Argento stared pointedly, and flicked his wrist. “You have nine minutes and forty seconds.”
    Arianna heard the other door close, and saw Agent Wolf escort Jordan to his apartment. “I guess you don’t want to grab your clothes,” Argento growled and moved to close the door again.
    “Wait,” she exclaimed, and scrambled out of the seat. He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her to her apartment. Wolf already entered the apartment next door with Jordan, and Arianna realized that he had her keys. “I don’t…”
    Before she could finish