Aweek goes by. I don’t hear from Declan. I try not to worry about him, but fail spectacularly. Meanwhile, Nat and I are like a couple of sorority girls, staying up late watching movies, drinking wine, and obsessing over boys.
Except our boys are dangerous grown men who do bad things for a living.
On day eight, I’m watching the ten o’clock news on TV in the guest bedroom when a report comes on about the sudden death of the deputy director of the FBI. At only forty-eight years old, he succumbed to a fatal heart attack at his home in Virginia.
They found him in bed. His housekeeper said she thought he was sleeping late and left him alone when she arrived to clean in the morning.
The picture on the screen is of the black-haired man who offered me the job as a spy.
I sit bolt upright in bed, spilling my wine all over the comforter.
I know it’s Declan’s doing. I just don’t know how.
Ten minutes later, Kage knocks on my bedroom door. “You up?”
Wearing one of Natalie’s nightgowns, I yank open the door and stare at him.
“Your man called. He wants you ready to leave in thirty. I told him to make it in the morning, but he said he couldn’t wait that long.”
My heart beats so hard, I have to press a hand over my chest. “I’ll be ready. Is he coming here?”
“Unbelievably, yes.”
“Why is that unbelievable?”
He simply looks at me.
“Oh. You could kill him.”
“Yes.”
“But you won’t.”
“No, I won’t.”
We look at each other for a moment, until I say, “Thank you.”
He huffs out an aggravated breath. “Do you have any idea what would happen to me if I harmed him now?”
“Yes. Nat would surgically remove your balls.”
“Correct.” He pauses. His dark eyes grow darker. “But my men aren’t held to the same standard.”
“Understood. Honestly, I think he’d be disappointed in you if it were too easy.”
He nods thoughtfully. “Tell him I said I’d love to know how he came by the information he gave me.”
“What information?”
“That the FBI had been compiling a file on me going back a dozen years with the goal of putting me in prison. He sent me everything. Apparently, they were getting damn close. But somehow, all that information is gone now. Wiped clean like it never existed in the first place.”
His dark eyes drill into mine. “You know anything about that?”
“No,” I say without hesitation, not flinching under his penetrating gaze. “I don’t know anything about that.”
After a moment, he says drily, “And even if you did, you wouldn’t tell me.”
I say softly, “It’s not out of disrespect for you.”
“I know what it is. And I gotta say, I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“You and me both.”
He smiles, shaking his head. “All right. Get your things together and say goodbye to Nat.”
When he turns to leave, I say, “Kage?”
He turns back, waiting.
“How can you be sure all the information about you is gone now?”
His smile is small, so small it’s almost nonexistent. “Your Irishman isn’t the only one with a contact inside the bureau.”
He knows someone who works inside the FBI? Oh shit. What does that mean? Does he know Declan’s a spy?
Panic makes my heart beat like thunder. It’s difficult to keep my expression perfectly neutral, but I think I manage it.
Kage’s smile grows wider. “When I told him that, there was this weird pause on the other end of the line. He was probably wearing the same expression you’re wearing right now.”
I wait until he’s out of sight before I collapse against the wall.
Down in the parking garage of the building, Nat and I stand beside each other, holding hands behind a line of armed Russians. Kage stands in front of his men, arms crossed over his chest.
When a big black Escalade pulls in, the men raise their rifles and point them at the car.
Picturing Declan dying in a hail of bullets right in front of me, I smother a gasp and squeeze Nat’s hand tighter.
The SUV pulls to a stop. Declan opens the driver’s door and gets out. His eyes find mine. The hunger in them is palpable.
Beside me, Nat murmurs, “Whoa. His eyes are so blue.”
Kage shoots her a sour look over his shoulder.
Declan walks slowly around the front of the SUV, adjusting his tie and licking his lips as he looks straight at me, ignoring everyone else and their guns.
“That’s far enough,” orders Kage.
Declan stops. The two men assess each other for a moment. Kage’s men are restless, fingers on triggers, itching to pull. The tension in the air is so thick, I want to scream. Nat’s hand in mine trembles.
Only Declan and Kage remain calm.
Maintaining eye contact with Kage, Declan says, “Say goodbye to your girlfriend, baby.”
His voice is smooth and untroubled, but I hear the need underneath. It fills me with something buoyant and expansive, like helium.
Nat and I throw our arms around each other and hug.
She whispers into my ear, “Holy cow, he’s intense.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Are you sure this is what you want?”
“More sure than I’ve ever been of anything.”
“Because the only time I talked to him, he was threatening to dump your mutilated body on our doorstep.”
“He’s the only person I’ve ever met who’s more dramatic than me. But he’s actually a pussycat. I promise.”
She sighs. “Call me the minute you get settled.”
“I will. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
I give her a final squeeze, then let her go and turn to Kage. “Take care of her for me.”
“You know I will.”
“And thank you.”
He glances back at Declan, and his voice gains a dark edge. “Don’t thank me yet. This isn’t over.”
Nat warns softly, “Honey.”
I kiss his rough cheek and try not to smile. Declan opens the passenger door for me, and I hop in.
“Seat belt,” he says gruffly, his eyes locked on mine.
I missed you, too.
We pull away without a shot being fired. I watch Nat and Kage receding in the side mirror and wonder how this tale of friends, lovers, and enemies will play out without one of us eventually getting hurt.
Honestly, I don’t think it’s possible.
In a story as twisted as ours, someone always dies in the end.
