were cameras at toll plazas. There wasn’t much chance their enemy would know what direction they’d gone, but he wasn’t taking any chances.
The countryside was beautiful, lush and green and dotted with small lakes that shimmered in the setting sun, but Bryan hardly saw it. He kept thinking of the confrontation ahead, and wondering if he would have to kill one of his comrades.
And whether he would return to Lucy-or someone else would come for her, breaking the news of his demise.
Now that the shock of Lucy’s almost-kidnapping had worn off, she looked tired. A bruise had formed on her cheekbone, and he noticed her reaching up to touch it, to test the soreness. She probably hadn’t even known she had the injury until the adrenaline had worn off.
They stopped long before they neared their destination to buy provisions, choosing a crowded chain grocery store in the town of Monticello, where they weren’t likely to be noticed or remembered. Bryan included a deli sandwich Lucy could eat in the car. He wasn’t hungry, but he’d had the stew earlier. She hadn’t eaten since God knew when.
She claimed not to be hungry, either, but she did nibble at the sandwich and sip at a bottle of juice to make him happy.
It was almost nightfall by the time they reached the cabin. Bryan was glad he hadn’t had to find it in total darkness. It was up a twisty, narrow mountain road where one false turn could land a car in a ditch-or worse. He’d been relieved to see the cabin when it finally appeared around a bend. It was larger than he expected, well maintained, but old. Probably no air-conditioning or heat.
“It looks nice,” Lucy said optimistically. “I’ve never stayed in a mountain cabin. It’ll be like a vacation.”
“You should be working on your book.”
She grimaced. “Ah, yes. Scarlet offered to put me in touch with a literary agent. What are they going to think when I never write anything? Then again, I won’t be here to explain. You’ll have to tell them we broke up.”
Bryan was sad to say he hadn’t even thought that far ahead. “I dread telling the family that almost as much as telling them I’m a spy.”
“Why’s that? I’m sure women have come and gone from your life before.”
He shook his head. “My family is absolutely nuts about you. Gram is already planning the wedding. And Cullen- Ever since he found love, he thinks everyone should be matched up, married and having kids.”
“Unfortunately, not everyone has a happy ending. C’mon, let’s check this place out,” she said brightly, clearly wanting to drop the subject.
The cabin was quaint, and it had been aired and cleaned recently. They carried the groceries into the kitchen, which was small with outdated appliances.
“I think you’ll be comfortable enough here for a few days.”
“You aren’t going to stay with me.” It was a statement, not a question.
“I have work to do.”
“Couldn’t Siberia do it?”
“This is my case. I owe it to Stungun to see it through. It’s my fault the man is dead.”
“Don’t say that. Of course it’s not your fault. You’re doing the best you can.
We all are.” She slid her arms around him and pressed her face into his neck.
“For that matter, it’s my fault, too. I obviously did something that gave me away to Mr. Vargov.”
“No. He was already suspicious of you. You’d come to him with the problem first, remember.”
“Well, there’s no sense in rehashing. Let’s move forward.”
“To move forward, I have to catch the person responsible.”
She sighed. “I know. I just wish we could have more time…” She sounded as if she wanted to say more, but she censored herself.
“More time for what?”
“For this.” She kissed his neck, then opened two buttons on his shirt and kissed his chest.
“Ah, Lucy. What you do to me.” He needed to leave. The sooner he took care of business, the sooner he could get back to her-and maybe figure out a way to be with her. But he couldn’t bear just dumping her here and taking off.
He wanted-no, he needed-to be with her one last time, like he needed air to breathe.
Lucy thrilled at the way he responded to her touch. She’d never known she could have such a profound effect on a man, but his smooth skin quivered as she raked her palm down the muscles of his back, and his breathing came in ragged gasps as she touched her tongue to first one of his nipples, then the other.
There was no playful banter, no teasing. Bryan took her hand and led her up a flight of stairs, where she presumed bedrooms could be found. They entered one randomly. It was tucked up under the eaves with a window facing a breathtaking sunset. The old-fashioned iron bed had an antique quilt and half a dozen pillows covered in crisp, white cases.
Bryan undressed her slowly, paying special attention to each part of her he bared. Nothing escaped his attention-not her collarbone or the inside of her elbow or her ankle. Every place he touched her or kissed became an erogenous zone. Her senses were magnified so that she discerned the texture of his lips, the warmth of his breath against her skin, the sound of her own blood pounding in her ears.
She couldn’t remember undressing him-maybe she was too engrossed in her own sensations to do it. But he ended up naked somehow, and he gently urged her onto the soft, much-washed cotton sheets, which smelled fresh, as if they’d just been pulled from the line, dried by wind and sunshine and put on the bed awaiting their arrival.
It was like making love on a cloud. The pillows were feather, and as they maneuvered on the bed, rolling this way and that, first Bryan on top, then Lucy, the pillows ended up surrounding them.
When he finally parted her legs and entered her, Lucy wanted to weep, she was so overwhelmed with the joyous sense of completion, the sense of rightness that this was where she belonged, with Bryan, in some dimension apart from embezzlers, terrorists and murderers. She wanted that more than she wanted her next breath. And as Bryan’s strokes grew faster and harder, and warm rivers of sensation coursed through her limbs, coalescing into a cyclone deep in her center, she did cry.
Because this was goodbye.
He hadn’t said it, but he didn’t need to. He was leaving. And whatever happened, they wouldn’t be together again. If he caught the traitors, they would no longer be a threat to her. She would return to her normal identity, get another job.
She would cease to be Lindsay Morgan, Bryan’s hot new girlfriend. And if the unthinkable happened, if he wasn’t successful with his mission…
That alternative was too horrible to think about.
“Are you crying?” he asked a few minutes later, when their breathing had returned to something close to normal.
“No.” But the tears were evident in her voice.
“Lucy, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Oh, I’m just being silly. I know you’re leaving. I know you have to.
And I’m just scared of the future, that’s all.”
“Don’t be scared. Siberia said he had a lead. We’ll catch these guys, and I’ll be fine, and I’ll come back to get you and you’ll be safe.”
“Of course everything will work out,” she said, feeling braver now that she heard the confidence in his voice. “I told you it was silly.”
“I do have to go, though.” His voice was tinged with regret.
“I know. But could you…could you just hold me until I fall asleep? And then slip away? I don’t want to watch you leave.”
“You are in a state, aren’t you?” He laughed, but it was a soft, gentle laugh, filled with fondness. He slipped his arms around her and pulled her tight against him, drawing the sheet up over their naked bodies.
Lucy willed herself to relax, knowing if she didn’t, Bryan would be waiting all night for her to fall asleep. As her muscles softened, one by one, tension turned to fatigue and she managed to drop off.
When next she woke, it was dark outside, the room slightly chilly. And she was alone, the space beside her cold. She turned on a lamp and checked her watch. It was after midnight. She saw then that Bryan had taken her
