Everything to Lose by Katie Reus Page A

normal.
    The girl rolled her eyes. “Yeah and no surprise, he’s in a foul mood. Third floor.” She pointed behind her with a pen. “The elevators are down that hall to the right.”
    Caitlyn already knew that but she nodded and murmured thanks anyway. She’d secretly hoped he wouldn’t be in. He did so much undercover work, the chance of him actually being at the station was slim.
    Apparently not slim enough.
    The short ride to the third floor did nothing to calm her nerves. She turned left in the hallway and tried to avoid eye contact with everyone. This wasn’t the best of circumstances and she didn’t feel like explaining why she was there to any of Sean’s coworkers.
    “Caitlyn? Caitlyn Sullivan, is that you?” a familiar looking man asked. She thought his last name was Ramirez but couldn’t be sure.
    “Yes, can you tell me where Sean is?”
    He completely ignored her question. “I thought you were in Afghanistan.”
    “I was. Where is Sean?” Her words came out more forcefully than she intended but she couldn’t do small talk. She was close to vomiting on her shoes and she couldn’t shoot the shit with a stranger in the hall.
    “Oh, right. Sorry, he’s just going over some paperwork in the one of the interrogation rooms.” He pointed down the hall. “Second door on the left.”
    “Thanks.” She pulled out the manila packet she dreaded giving him. Bile rose in her throat but she pushed it down.
    “No problem. Hope to see you around more.” He waved and disappeared into one of the other rooms.
    She stopped in front of the door and peered through the square glass window. Sure enough, there sat her husband. Heat involuntarily pooled between her legs and all the air left her lungs in one whoosh. His dark brown hair was, of course, too long and he still had that familiar semi-permanent five o’clock shadow. And he looked tired. Lean, tired and as sexy as ever. She took the quiet moment to admire his profile. His brows furrowed as he pored over papers.
    That was an expression she was accustomed to in more ways than one. When Sean did something, he gave it his all, whether at work or in the bedroom.
    She squashed the longing threatening to bubble up and opened the door.
    He looked up once then glanced back down. She stopped in her tracks, shocked by his response but his head whipped back up just as quickly. He blinked once. “Caitlyn?” His voice was strangled and he immediately stood. The scraping of the chair against the tile was deafening in the small room.
    “Hey, Sean.” She stood in the doorway, suddenly unsure of herself.
    “Come in. Please.” He motioned with one hand, his eyes never leaving hers but at least he didn’t make a move in her direction.
    The door shut behind her with a resounding thud. “You look good.” And he did. Way too good.
    “So do you. Better than good though, beautiful.” She felt heat creep up her neck when he assessed her from head to toe. Then she reminded herself why she was there. She couldn’t afford to fall under his spell again. Couldn’t afford to let his charm break down her resistance.
    “Listen Sean—”
    “How long are you here?” He took a step closer so she forced herself to stand her ground.
    “A few weeks. I’m not sure… That’s not important though. I came here to give you this.” She held out the manila envelope and when his eyes darkened, it was obvious he understood what was in her hand. Hell, if he didn’t know by now why she was here, then he needed his head examined. She’d only been sending him the same familiar packet for the past twelve months.
    “What the hell is this?” He snatched the envelope from her hand but didn’t open it.
    “Don’t start that. You know exactly what it is.”
    “I’m not signing these.” He started crumpling and twisting the pack in his hand.
    “I don’t understand why not. It was your idea in the first place.” She felt as if her insides were literally shaking but she managed to keep