“I was terrified. The U.S. government considers you an enemy. That’s what he told me.”
Cullen came towards her, pointing at her. “I need to know absolutely everything that happened, Ivy. Every word that was spoken between you two.” He glowered, as if the fury was building, but then his shoulders sagged.
It was as if what she’d told him had broken something in his spirit. “I need to know everything. Everything,” he said softly.
“Okay,” Ivy replied, her arms folded across her chest.
He looked at her with wary eyes. “You understand, if what you’re saying is true, this could cost me my company, my work, my livelihood, my freedom. That’s what you’ve just told me.”
She nodded, biting her lower lip. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before.”
He sighed. “You’re telling me now. So go on.”
She started with Lucas coming to her cubicle, leaving out the part about the email from Xavier Montrose. After all, that was small potatoes compared to the issues with the FBI. And if she told him about Xavier’s email and that she’d kept that occurrence secret as well, then Cullen would surely never trust her again.
So she simply told him that Lucas had approached her in the office and told her he needed to meet with her in private.
And then Ivy continued on, telling the story as accurately as she could remember it, and Cullen listened without speaking.
When Ivy told him about the texts that had been sent to her phone before she passed out, Cullen nodded.
“Of course,” he said, almost smirking. “That’s the real reason you fainted.”
“I’m sorry I lied,” she said.
When she was done telling her story, Cullen went back to the window and looked out of it. “And Lucas never told you the exact reason they’re investigating me,” he said.
“No,” she told him. “He just said that it’s serious, that they consider you a potential enemy of the U.S. government and that I need to start helping them get information about you. Lucas was very clear that if I told you about the investigation or refused to help him, I’d be punished.”
Cullen shook his head. “I wish I could tell you what I believe is happening,” he said. “But unfortunately, anything I tell you from here on out could be used against me someday.”
Ivy realized that this was the death knell of their relationship.
Now that Cullen Sharpe understood the government intended to use her testimony in some way, anything he might tell her—anything she might accidentally even see—would eventually be turned against him.
“I just want you to know,” she said, “that I truly believe you’re a good man.”
“Why do you think that?” he said, looking at her over his shoulder.
“Because,” she said, “I care about you. And I see kindness in you, even if you don’t think it’s there.”
He shook his head. “You don’t even know me, Ivy.”
“Are you sure about that?” she asked.
He didn’t answer for a long time. “The best thing for you is to get as far away from me as possible,” he said.
Ivy stood in the middle of the room. “Cullen, please don’t do this,” she begged.
He came slowly to her and put his arms around her, drawing her close. His cheek grazed hers, and his lips were on her ear.
“I care about you also,” he whispered. “I care too much to let you be destroyed by my problems. I’ll never let anyone harm you—even if it means protecting you from myself.”
“But what if I don’t want to go away? What if I’d rather stay with you now and deal with the consequences later?”
He stroked her hair. “We’ll never be able to trust one another after today. There will always be questions, fears of being turned on, turned in, used against each other.”
Cullen let go of her after kissing her cheek.
She cried a little, wiping her eyes. “I feel like we were only just getting started, and now you’re ending it.”
“We’ll spend the day and night together,” he told her. “One last night, and we make it count. We save it in our hearts forever.”
She nodded, knowing she could never resist another moment with him.
Knowing that she would live with Cullen Sharpe inside of her forever.
They pretended that everything was fine, and if there was an undercurrent of sadness, of desperate longing for what might have been, they both hid it well.
Ivy thought it ironic how amazing this last day together felt, considering how difficult it had been to get this close to him in the first place.
And now that they’d finally broken down some of his highest walls, fate had decided to have the last laugh and play the cruelest trick yet.
Cullen cooked her a lovely late afternoon lunch, consisting of broiled fish that was absolutely delectable, and some rice pilaf and mixed vegetables.