“It’s her,” I say, adamantly.

“At least that explains why you were acting like a tool last night. There are millions of people in the US. Everyone has a doppelganger. She didn’t recognize you when she rejected you.” Stone slaps me on the chest, amusing only himself by his dig.

I stare at the wall of monitors flashing different areas we’re running surveillance on. The feed’s out of focus because my mind is too busy replaying last night. I'm certain it’s her. I figured my subconscious was messing with me again. But when she came over to the table and spoke, her hand in mine, the scar that ran up her arm, there wasn’t a question. Her eyes no longer shine with innocence, rather determination from a woman who’s been through a tragedy. She’s even more beautiful today than when we were teenagers.  

“She has amnesia, asshole.”

“You told me she saw you after the accident and I’m sure she had to have seen pictures of you after you left.”

“Do you remember someone you met once, ten years ago? And I've changed. A lot.”

It still hurts to say. She doesn’t remember me.

Those four words became my motto during trainings. It pushed me to survive hell, I swore to myself that no one would ever forget me again. I was young and stupid then, but it worked. Thinking back, it’s such an oxymoron because they train SEALs to be ghosts.

“So, ask her.”

Running my hand across my unshaven jaw, I grunt. “I can’t. I can’t have her look at me like she did years ago. She changed her name, so she must not want her old identity for a reason. If I tell her I’m from her past, she might push me away again.” I sense his eyes on me, so I glance over to him.

“Dude. She already pushed you away.”

I flip him off. “I made her fall in love with me once, I’ll do it again.”

“If it’s her. If you don’t ask her, you’re presuming it’s Everly, and that’s going to be a jacked-up situation if it’s not.”

“That’s where I need you.” I pull out a shot glass and hold it up, the light from the monitors shining through the prints.

“You didn’t?”

“I sure as hell did. Run her prints for me?”

He stares at me, rolling his tongue in his cheek. “I’ve known Ell for years. I’ve known you for five seconds. Invading her personal life is not on my to-do list today.”

The shot glass makes a ting noise as I slam it on the desk and push up from the chair, pacing the empty space in the dark room. “Come on, man, I need to find out if it’s her. I tell myself that I’m over her, but something inside me woke up the second we locked eyes. If you won’t help me, I’ll find someone else.” We had to collect DNA samples on terrorists to verify we had our target. I know people. This will happen whether he helps me or not.

He grumbles, “You’re a pain in the ass.” More like determined. Opening a drawer, he pulls out a latex glove and shoves his large hand inside it and picks up the glass. “Be right back.”

My heart beats against my chest. Hard. A reality only dreamt about, is slapping me in the face. I could have Everly back. I curse under my breath. Ellie. If I slip, it won't matter if I know it's her. She'll run. The chair slides forward to a stop against the table as I grip the cushion between my fingers and drop my head.

Her dad’s last words to me come back. You ever try to find her, I’ll tell her what you did. It was bad enough the way she looked at me like I was a stranger, I couldn’t let her view me as a murderer too. It's hard to forgive an unforgivable sin. I shake my head in frustration, the chair creaks, holding the weight of my body. I release a sarcastic laugh. I’ve gone from murdering my father to a trained assassin. My job was to protect my brothers, and I was great at it. I’ve never cared what people thought of me until right now.

What will she think? What will her dad do when he finds out I’m back in the picture? I push off the chair and pace again, my nerves frayed like ripped up jeans. The lights from the screens cast a glow around the room. Can I pretend she's a stranger to me? I can’t lie to her forever. She might not remember me, but her parents will. The tense pounding of my heart has moved to my stomach as it knots from her being this close but so out of reach. She has the power to destroy me again.

The door swings open, light flooding the dark space as Stone walks in. I squint my eyes for a beat until they adjust. “Done. It’s being run right now. I did a check first and Everly Cole nor Ellie Keyes is in the system, so this might be a dead end unless Ell ends up being someone else. In which case, I'll kick your ass because you’re opening a can of worms.”

I nod dismissively at him. Stone isn’t a big guy. He works out, but he’s at a computer most of his day and you can tell. “You could try,” I joke.

He settles back in his chair with an exaggerated casualness and his hands behind his head. “I learned a long time ago, I can do more damage to someone with a computer than using my fists. I’ll just take a mil from your account and be set for life.” The smug smile on his face makes mine fall.

I cringe, despising the thought of everyone regarding me as the privileged rich kid, again. “Do the guys know?”

“What Max has me find on potential employees is only between us,” he says with a serious tone. “Dude, I was just joking. I’d never take your money. I've read what you’re capable of.” He holds up his thumb and index finger, real close together. “And I’m this much afraid of you.”

I chuckle, wondering if his ego is bigger than mine. He's a confident bastard knowing what I can do and not be scared. “You should be more than that. You can hide behind your computer, but I can hide anywhere, and you’d never see me coming.”

“Never. I have cat-like senses.”

I smile and nod slowly. He just threw out a challenge. I’m going to scare the piss out of him. He’ll be begging me to stop.

“Go pack an overnight bag, we’re going to New York City.”

“Do we have a new case?” I glance at the screens.

“No. But you’re about to meet Addison and Lexi. Aiden is away for work and Max wants us to check in on them.”

I’ve gathered from the couple weeks working here that Aiden is one of Max’s best friends. I scratch my chin at the obvious question. “Why can’t you call?”

“You don’t know Addison. Shit always finds its way to her, so Max has to physically check on her or have one of us do it so he can relax.”

I mock salute and leave to go pack a bag. Seems like a waste of manpower having to go to a different state to check on someone who isn’t in trouble, but Max is the boss.

The trip is quick and uneventful. I hate these types of trips. I want to see some action, not play with a kid. Although Lexi, Addison’s seven-year-old daughter, is a hoot. I don’t want kids, but if I did, I’d want them to be like her. I look around the stylish private plane and memories flood my mind from the shit-hole planes I’m used to being on. Whenever I headed out on a mission, my blood would be pumping with adrenaline making it hard to sit still. The return ride was a different story. You hoped you were coming back with the people you left with.

“The fingerprint results show no matches." Stone's voice brings me back to the present. Dammit. I lean my head against the chair. There has to be another way. “Before you ask, their DNA isn’t in the database either.”

I jerk straight up, making Stone jump. I grin. Cat-like senses my ass. “Can you hack into Family Tree server and retrieve DNA information they have on file?”  

“Nope.” My shoulders fall in defeat. He shakes his head and gives me an incredulous expression. “Dude, of course I can. Max didn’t find the best hacker in the world to not be able to hack into small fish like Family Tree,” he boasts. I look around for something to throw at him. “What makes you think her DNA is there?”

“When we were in high school, we did the DNA tests so we could view our heritage. Just for shits and grins.” Everly was excited to get her results. I only did it because she wanted me to.

“Ten years is a long time. Not sure they’ll still have it.”

“Here. Give me your computer.” I hold my hand out. I only had one password the day we met, so I'm hoping it still works.

“What are you smoking? You’re not touching my computer.” I drop my hand and stare at him as he caresses the top of his monitor. “No one touches my baby.”

“You’re fucking weird.”

He shrugs. “Go to the website yourself, and type in my info.”

After a few minutes of being lectured on the fact I need to change my password every six months, Stone successfully logs into my account. It’s funny he’s telling this to a person trained to be invisible. I erased all my social presence years ago. I forgot about this website, but we used fake names. 

He spins his computer around showing me he found my results. I punch through the air knowing if mine is still there, hers is too.

“Feel like having a beer tonight?” I say, clapping my hands together.

A few hours later and a strand of Ellie’s hair in hand, I’m ready to find out if she’s Everly. I had a few scenarios in my head before getting to the bar about how I would get a DNA sample, but when she walked up to our table, a strand of loose hair was hanging from her ponytail. It was as simple as that. She didn’t even feel it.

Two days is all it took.

I can’t stop staring down at the text I received from Stone.

Stone: It’s her.