Chapter 1

"Undercover?" Malcolm questions as he and Gil watch through a window as Dani and a detective from another decision talk.

"Their whole team got burned, but they have been working on his Mafia case for over two years now, they need a fresh face to keep them in the game."

"Dani doesn't do undercover."

"Not in the last few months since you've known her, but she's done a few low-level infiltrations. I recommended her because she is the perfect fit for what they are looking for."

Malcom clenched his fist as it began to tremble. Dani would be undercover with the Mafia, that was in no way a low-level op, let alone safe. She would not even be working with her own team, she would be working with another division. They would not know anything about her until she was out and on the other side. How was he going to watch his partner's back?

Dani had been a support for him these last few months, at some points she was the only thing keeping him together. What if something happened to her while she was under and she needed- Malcolm forced himself to take a breath, she would have someone else watching her back instead of them. If she were in danger, he would not be one of the first to know.

"When does she leave?"

"Tomorrow, they need to start crafting her story as soon as possible so they can send her in."

"That's not a lot of time to plan, especially for something as big as this. If they rush they'll be putting her in danger, they need-"

Gil rounded on him, blocking Malcolm's view of Dani. "Major crimes do operations like this all of the time. They aren't in the business of tossing their agents aside, Dani will be fully prepared before she is sent in."

"She'll be no contact."

"That's right, she'll only be talking to her handler, contact with anyone else will put her in danger.."

He did not like that. Obviously from an undercover standpoint, he could understand that the more people who knew about this the greater the risk of something being leaked. Also if Dani was contacting them and the Mafia found out, they could figure out she was a detective and not, whoever she was going to be pretending to be.

"Do we know anything about-"

"Malcolm this is not our case and we have work to do, focus on that. What Dani is doing does not concern us."

"She's one of your detectives."

"Yes she is, but I am only going to be notified if something goes wrong, other than that I am not involved."

Something could go wrong, Malcolm took a shaky breath at the thought that the next murder he was called to could be a Mafia hit, on Dani. Finding her in a brutal state like that might just break his delicate sensibilities altogether. It would definitely be the thing that gets him a padded room in the same facility as his father.

JT leaned out of their conference room, "The DA just called, we're up, there was a murder on the south side."

Gil turned to join him, Malcolm took a long look at Dani as the curly-haired detective looked down at some files. Learning her cover story no doubt, studying it over and over again until it felt real.

"Hey Gil, the group that was burned, any of them still alive?"

The sergeant paused, "Two of them made it."

"Out of?"

"Four." Malcolm's heart jumped in his chest.

"Isn't it a little too soon to be throwing in someone new, they are going to be on high alert now after what just happened."

Gil frowned, "They know what they are doing Kid."

"Dani is one of your detectives, shouldn't you ask more questions and make sure."

"I was the one who refurred her for the job Bright, I have looked over the case I have all the information I need. Now let's focus, we have our own case to solve."

.

As soon as he was out from under Gil, Malcolm made his way to Dani's apartment. He knocked and listened at the door but it was clear that she had already been and gone. She was already undercover and he had not had a chance to see her.

Things with him and Dani were weird, in the sense that he had realized his feelings for her, the ones he'd brushed off for months now. They were so loud and now refused to be ignored. Now he was not sure when he was going to be able to see her again.

Little did he know he would be seeing her again seven months down the line. Her back pressed up against a wall, a man with his hands in her jacket ferociously making out with her. Dani moaned and tossed her head back, clearly, she did not need saving, not the way she reacted to the man's touches.

Her skirt was tight and short, and her top was mesh and see-through to a lace bra. This was no outfit he had ever seen her in. His mind taunted him, maybe because you never worked up the courage to ask her on a date and get to a level where she felt comfortable enough showing her body off in front of you.

He watched the man reach into his pocket, pulling out a little baggie. He pulled away from Dani, licked his finger and dipped it into the white powder. Malcolm clenched his jaw to keep himself from intervening when Dani smiled and the man rubbed the cocaine into her gums.

Dani had confided in him that she had used drugs and gotten addicted during her last undercover assignment. She had ODed and been lucky not to lose her life as well as her job. That was a low-level undercover, she was in with the mob now. Guns and gangs wouldn't frown upon this behaviour as much as they would say it was necessary to maintain her cover.

Being high on the job, it was a risk. If something went wrong Dani was not going to be able to defend herself, it could get her killed. Malcolm knew he had been standing there too long, they could turn around and see him at any moment. But it killed him to walk away and leave her like this, with a man who was touching her so freely. Though for all he knew they were a couple.

Gil had been throwing cases at him left and right once Dani had left. Keeping him distracted no doubt, not giving him a second to think about her and what she could be up to. She had been under for over half a year, the things she must have seen and maybe been forced into doing, he could not even imagine. And she would have to do it, eagerly.

Was it bad that he wanted to rush in there and save her, no, but he knew it was not an option. After so long undercover, he could not ruin all her hard work in a moment of weakness. They were standing outside a nightclub, it was common knowledge the mafia did trading inside of it. He knew where he could find her now, he would come back, another night when he could blend in. Even if all he can do is watch her with another man across the bar.

So he walked away and spun his wheels all night trying to remind himself why it was the best option. It could get her killed, and he had no gun to defend them. He didn't even know her name, she would have a whole other life and back story he was not a part of.

So during the week he injected his opinions and was attentive to Gil and JT and as soon as he was off on Friday, he went home, showered and changed into a black-on-black suit. Mused his hair and slid a couple of rings onto his fingers because he was slipping into a little undercover mission of his own.

The club was gearing up for the night and Malcolm positioned himself in a private booth where he would be able to see most of the action. It did not take long before he started to recognize a few faces, but not the faces he wanted to see. From the research he was able to do without drawing suspicions from Gil, Malcolm was able to find all the major players.

The person Dani had been with was a cousin, Max, in the main crime family. He worked close to his cousin handing supplies and intimidation. A good person for Dani to cozy up with for information and to gain trust. Clearly, she had some to be tagging along to nights when Max was conducting business.

Malcolm sipped on a glass of coke and waited. Finally, he saw her, her curls were slicked back in a straight hairstyle, she wore a metallic charcoal grey dress and when she turned all he saw was smooth skin. The skirt of the backless dress was tight to her upper thigh and hugged her lower waist.

She moved confidently among the dangerous men, her body getting more than a few glances. She made her way over to the bar, ordering a round for their table. After watching her closely all night it was clear that Dani was not drinking. She sat long enough to get the information she needed then took to the dance floor. She grided in a sea of girls and if he had not been watching her like a hawk, Malcolm would have missed the handoff.

Her cover team was here. The woman had a bright red dress on and as the two women swirled around each other, they walked and something passed between them. With a flirty little spin, the detective was gone and Dani was back to dancing in the crowd.

Malcolm thought about getting up and following Dani down the hall on one of her trips to the bathroom but decided against it tonight. He had been able to profile her from a distance, she was alert and sober. The way she sat next to the men seemed professional and interested, but Malcolm knew she was interested and listening for anything she could use against them.

When the night started to wind down and Bright had tested his luck enough for one night, he left for home. It hurt him to know he would be headed back to his loft and Dani would be headed god knows where to continue living her fake life.

Not that he got much sleep on a normal night, but Malcolm found himself staring at his ceiling. All he could think about was Dani and if she was okay and everything that could happen to her if she were exposed or if something went wrong. He had risked her life being there today, he could not go back. He promised himself he wouldn't, but could he really keep that promise?

To keep her safe. He would have to.

.

Max pulled Dani into his side, his hands feeling up her warm bare back. She had been dancing in a sea of women for nearly two hours now, after her handoff with Michelle, she needed to stand aside and let Max conduct business. During one of her pivots around the dance floor, Dani spotted him, Bright was sitting in a booth, drink in hand and his eyes were low on her body watching it wind and dip.

What the hell was he doing here, Malcolm Bright was not a night-on-the-town kind of guy. He was a homebody. To see him in his atmosphere made her do a double take to make sure it was even him. But there was no mistaking that face that she had come to know so well over the last year. A face she had missed over the last several months.

He was watching her, which means he was here for her, there was no other explanation. So Dani danced and she wound her body seductively and touched her body more suggestively than she may have in previous weeks. It felt dangerous having him watch her, probably because it was. If Max or one of the other guys clocked him watching her and dug into him, they could find her.

Dani always made it known that she did not want her picture in the paper or face all over the news. While she never thought she would have another shout at undercover work, she still had gotten into that habit. All the people in the city knew the Whitley family. Malcolm's face was in newspapers and all over social media, he would be easily identified.

She assumed he knew that also, which is why he kept his distance and did not make a move to follow her when she walked into the lady's room.

While she was relieved by his smart decision she was also disappointed. She missed him and just a moment to reconnect, to keep like her old life was still there waiting for her, would have been a relief. The way they had been before she went under, spending time at his place just hanging out, the casual compliments he started throwing her way.

They were certainly building up to something and to have it all abruptly put on hold must have been jarring for him. For her at least she had some heads up and had accepted the assignment and was living a new life. He on the other hand had been left behind and still living their lives just without her there.

Dani racked her brain, trying to remember if she had noticed him here before on other nights. The answer was no, even before she saw him, she had felt a gaze on her as she danced. She had not felt that in the last couple of months. This was definitely the first time he had been here at the nightclub.

Not able to do anything else Dani threw back her spirits and danced the night away until it was time to rejoin Max. Max who had been, despite the whole Mafia thing, a decent enough guy. At some point, she had needed to advance things and had had sex with him. Most nights he was busy with the business and she was busy working at the "family-owned office" She had only had to give her body over to him a handful of times.

While her and Malcolm were not exactly dating per say, she did feel a bit like a cheater in those moments. But who was to say he had not moved on and been with other girls since she had been gone? Her brain reminded her of how he had shown up at the club and how he had watched her, eyes glued to her hips as she moved and shook her ass.

If he had moved on, it would have been hard to tell with the way he was watching her.

That night when she slid under the covers in her penthouse, she could not help but think of him and what he could be getting up to. Was he throwing himself into trouble, or was he actually following the rules and doing what Gil said? Dani chuckled to herself, definitely the first one. That boy never knew how to get out of his own way.

.

Malcolm had kept himself from returning to the nightclub for two weekends and had gotten caught up in a case for the third. So when four weeks had gone by the the traditional family dinner was done Malcolm slipped from his jacket and drove to the club in hopes of catching a glimpse of Dani.

This last month, instead of thinking about his father and having dreams of women in boxes and torture he dreamt of Dani. They always started out safe, her smiling at him sitting cris cross on his couch. Her standing close to him at one of his mother's fancy pants events. They woke up together in his bed, her hand resting over his heart, They never stayed at Stepford for long, they always turned bloody and awful. Leaving him panting and alone in his bed.

So he felt justified by his, not smart decision to be near her. He just needed to see her cheeks rosy and eyes electric as she spun around a dance floor.

When she never laid foot into the club that night he felt sick. Where was she? Max had shown up hours prior and smiled at his cohorts. After hours of hoping and waiting Malcolm made his leave. Maybe this was his sign that coming back here was a dumb idea. The world told him that it was not his place and he should stay in his lane.

He almost convinced himself to never go back until he smelt coconut shampoo in his apartment. His hand froze on the lock, there was no way she would be here right now. Snapping his thumb upward the lock softly clicked into place and he freely turned to face his kitchen.

While Dani was not occupying one of the stools there, she was sitting on his couch. She was in tight jeans and a tank top that was all lace and skin, clearly dressed for a night out.

"I was just about to give up on you. Thought you may have caught a case." She stood and took in his attire. "Or maybe you were hanging out in a smokier noisier place."

Malcolm licked his bottom lip, "You saw me."

Dani rounded the couch, "What were you thinking showing up there?"

"I know it wasn't smart, that's why I kept my distance, Dani, I just needed to make sure you were ok."

"If I wasn't Gil would be notified, I'm making real progress I still have a long way to go. It puts me on edge to think you are going to start popping up places you aren't supposed to be."

"I only went into that club because-" Did he want to admit to her what he saw her doing? "I saw you and Max in the ally way a month ago, I figured you had been previously inside doing business."

Dani's eyes dropped and her arms came up to cross over her chest, a blatant defensive position. Malcolm chided himself for profiling her, he promised a long time ago that he wouldn't do that, not to her.

"It's not the same as before when my mom died. I know what I'm doing and sometimes I have to play their game."

"I understand that." He truly did. "I just needed to check up on you."

"But you came back, that's where you were tonight, right?"

Malcolm nodded, feeling caught. "I was, while you were here breaking into my apartment, your new friends teach you how to do that?"

"The mafia aren't going to waste time picking locks, they are more the kick down the door type."

"Why are you here Dani?"

"It's Thalia, actually." She looked back into his eyes then, "I pushed you, Gil and JT out of my mind as soon as I walked out of that precinct, I left Dani behind too. I had to if I was going to do the kinds of things that are expected of me. Thalia was doing great until Dani saw you a month ago, and now I feel split between two different lives. I hadn't allowed myself to miss this one until now."

"Well Thalia, here you are standing in Dani's life." He took a couple of steady steps toward her. "You look like Dani, you definitely fire back at me like Dani does. You even smell like her, but you have experienced things in the last few months that Dani is going to have to eventually deal with. I want her to know that I'm here when that happens, I want to be there, no matter what she's fighting her way back from."

So he had waited for her. "It's not that easy."

They were within arms reach of each other now but neither made a move to reach out, that felt too personal. It could lead somewhere where Dani wasn't ready for it to go, not while she was still Thalia.

"Of course it is." He promised.