cars, varying my appearance. It makes no sense.” She glanced over at him. “How did you find me?”
“Slipped a tracker on your rental.”
“I tossed that tracker into another car.”
“I saw you do that.” He grinned and shrugged one shoulder. “You didn’t really believe that was enough to stop me, did you?”
“So you’re a ghost now? Or is it a chameleon, blending in with your surroundings?”
He looked a heartbeat away from amusement. “I’d tell you my secrets, but what fun would that be?”
“Hmm.” She gnawed on her lip and clasped her hands tightly in her lap. “You’re good, but I lost my edge while I was inside.”
Inside Bourean’s mafia. The thought made him want to punch the dash. “Hard not to under those circumstances. How long were you under?”
“Four months before I got snowed in with you at the cabin.”
She fell silent again. A stiff, hard silence that filled the cab of the truck and made his jaws clamp together and his fingers grip the steering wheel.
Once more, the urge to kiss her overcame him. He wanted to make her forget the cruelty she’d suffered. Make her remember the passion they’d shared. He’d never experienced anything like those weeks in the cabin with her. Never wanted a woman as much as he wanted her.
Even now, when he knew she was only with him at the moment in order to get her necklace back.
“It’s a key, right?” He tapped his shirt where it covered the cross. “Where’s the safe? The one it unlocks.”
“I can’t tell you.”
He slowed and took an off-ramp. “Well, sweetheart, you’re going to have to since I’m going with you to recover the contents.”
Frustration rang in her voice. “The less you know, the better. If you come with me—and that’s still a big if in my book—you’ll have to trust that I’ll lead you there.”
“Why can’t you simply tell me?”
She looked down at her hands, still clasped in her lap. “If Nico catches you, he’ll torture the information out of you.”
Offended at her lack of confidence in his skills—first that he would get caught, and, second, that he would give up information—Miles had to give her credit for protecting her own backside. She seemed damned good at that. “And you can’t risk anyone giving up that intel to him.”
“I know it sounds callous, but yes. If you choose to come with me, so be it, but I can’t risk the location of the safe falling into Nicolae’s hands before I secure the video that will expose the terrorist he’s working with and prove I’m not a traitor. It’s not personal. Anyone stupid enough to go with me would receive the same treatment.”
There was a hint of teasing in her last statement. Teasing she’d used regularly on him back when he was recovering from his injuries and was desperate to escape the painful therapy sessions she put him through.
The safe house was just ahead on the left, part of a group of large, expensive homes with views of the Pacific. As he crawled through a couple of adjacent neighborhoods, he continued to watch for anyone following him. Satisfied they were in the clear, he circled back to the community he wanted. Nearing the gated entrance, he pointed at the glove compartment. “Small, blue box, looks like a garage door opener. Hit the button, would you?”
She opened the glovie, the tiny light illumination allowing her to see as she rummaged through the napkins, old parking tickets, and miscellaneous hand tools. She produced his backup weapon, a small pistol he usually strapped to his ankle, and laid it in her lap. Finding the box in question, she pulled it out and hit the button as Miles drove up to the gate.
The light next to the unmanned guardhouse went from red to green and slowly, the gates retracted. With one last glance in his rearview, Miles goosed the gas pedal and crossed into a place where he could breathe again.
“Now I need the black box,” he said.
She dug some more and handed a small, plastic
“Slipped a tracker on your rental.”
“I tossed that tracker into another car.”
“I saw you do that.” He grinned and shrugged one shoulder. “You didn’t really believe that was enough to stop me, did you?”
“So you’re a ghost now? Or is it a chameleon, blending in with your surroundings?”
He looked a heartbeat away from amusement. “I’d tell you my secrets, but what fun would that be?”
“Hmm.” She gnawed on her lip and clasped her hands tightly in her lap. “You’re good, but I lost my edge while I was inside.”
Inside Bourean’s mafia. The thought made him want to punch the dash. “Hard not to under those circumstances. How long were you under?”
“Four months before I got snowed in with you at the cabin.”
She fell silent again. A stiff, hard silence that filled the cab of the truck and made his jaws clamp together and his fingers grip the steering wheel.
Once more, the urge to kiss her overcame him. He wanted to make her forget the cruelty she’d suffered. Make her remember the passion they’d shared. He’d never experienced anything like those weeks in the cabin with her. Never wanted a woman as much as he wanted her.
Even now, when he knew she was only with him at the moment in order to get her necklace back.
“It’s a key, right?” He tapped his shirt where it covered the cross. “Where’s the safe? The one it unlocks.”
“I can’t tell you.”
He slowed and took an off-ramp. “Well, sweetheart, you’re going to have to since I’m going with you to recover the contents.”
Frustration rang in her voice. “The less you know, the better. If you come with me—and that’s still a big if in my book—you’ll have to trust that I’ll lead you there.”
“Why can’t you simply tell me?”
She looked down at her hands, still clasped in her lap. “If Nico catches you, he’ll torture the information out of you.”
Offended at her lack of confidence in his skills—first that he would get caught, and, second, that he would give up information—Miles had to give her credit for protecting her own backside. She seemed damned good at that. “And you can’t risk anyone giving up that intel to him.”
“I know it sounds callous, but yes. If you choose to come with me, so be it, but I can’t risk the location of the safe falling into Nicolae’s hands before I secure the video that will expose the terrorist he’s working with and prove I’m not a traitor. It’s not personal. Anyone stupid enough to go with me would receive the same treatment.”
There was a hint of teasing in her last statement. Teasing she’d used regularly on him back when he was recovering from his injuries and was desperate to escape the painful therapy sessions she put him through.
The safe house was just ahead on the left, part of a group of large, expensive homes with views of the Pacific. As he crawled through a couple of adjacent neighborhoods, he continued to watch for anyone following him. Satisfied they were in the clear, he circled back to the community he wanted. Nearing the gated entrance, he pointed at the glove compartment. “Small, blue box, looks like a garage door opener. Hit the button, would you?”
She opened the glovie, the tiny light illumination allowing her to see as she rummaged through the napkins, old parking tickets, and miscellaneous hand tools. She produced his backup weapon, a small pistol he usually strapped to his ankle, and laid it in her lap. Finding the box in question, she pulled it out and hit the button as Miles drove up to the gate.
The light next to the unmanned guardhouse went from red to green and slowly, the gates retracted. With one last glance in his rearview, Miles goosed the gas pedal and crossed into a place where he could breathe again.
“Now I need the black box,” he said.
She dug some more and handed a small, plastic
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