the bathroom doorway.
She looked damned hot in nothing but the thick, ivory robe and her dark hair tumbling down her shoulders. He wanted to forget the note and get back to what they did best, but he couldn’t take the chance.
He slid his thumb under the flap and broke the seal. The brief , handwritten note shocked him. He had to read it twice. Still unable to speak, dread building in his gut, he handed it to Renata.
“ We’ve been played,” he said.
“ What do you mean?” She read it, her eyebrows puckering in a small frown.
“ The guy I thought was helping me has obviously set us up.”
“ The invisible guy?”
He nodded.
“But she said a woman delivered the message.”
“ So he hired someone to drop it off.” He pushed a hand through his hair. “Why would I care about Messenger’s lunch plans today? The man’s under constant guard. There’s not enough time to find a firing solution. If I went at him fast and dirty –”
“ You’d get caught.”
“ Impatience can kill you,” he said, with a jerky nod toward the note. “You know that’s one of the chic restaurants in Manhattan.”
“ True.” She tapped the note against her chin. “Maybe whoever sent this doesn’t want you to kill him.”
“ What then? Begging for mercy won’t work. He wants you dead and he won’t give up until he knows you aren’t a threat. I failed my assignment, which is always a death sentence.”
“ You don’t want to run?”
“ Of course I want to run.” He ran his hand across his chest, dug his fingers into the scar at his shoulder.
“ But that doesn’t really solve it,” she replied. “We’d be on our own, always on guard.”
He nodded, hating the worry he’d put on her face. Solitude didn’t suit her. As much as he loved her, because he loved her, he knew he couldn’t be everything to her. Eventually, sooner rather than later, she’d want a real social life again. And Messenger would be waiting.
“ Don’t think I’ll go into hiding,” she said, pulling him from his dismal thoughts. “Not without you.”
“ You should.” He warmed to the idea. “That gives me time to take him out and join you later.”
“ No,” she said. She paced to the window and then turned, her face brightening with a sudden smile.
How was that even p ossible under the circumstances? Then he remembered that look. It often preceded her enthusiasm for a new adventure. “What are you thinking?”
“ I was raised with the understanding that family comes first.”
He looked away, afraid of where she was heading with this. Leaving her was the smart thing to do, for both of them, but the thought caused him something close to physical pain, exacerbated by the knowledge that she’d never stopped loving him.
“ Relax.” She rushed across the room and wrapped him in a soft, unshakable embrace. “Let me make a phone call or two. Do you think they have a fax machine here?”
“ I don’t know.”
“ Either way, I can make it work. Then we’ll go meet your boss. I’ll tell you the rest on the way.”
Chapter Ten
Manhattan, New Year’s Eve, 1:27 p.m.
Renata watched Matthew square off against the man in the gray suit, hoping with every heartbeat she hadn’t overestimated the value of the angle they were bargaining with. They should have done it his way, she thought, and simply disappeared, assumed dead. This had the potential to backfire a dozen different ways. Why had she argued so hard for this?
Because she was greedy. She wanted Matthew and her family. She wanted closure and security. Now all of her wants might very well cost her everything.
The other man, in his expensive, perfectly tailored clothing, looked like the next mature cover model for GQ magazine. It was easy to see why Matthew assumed the man wouldn’t get his hands dirty with something like a murdered museum curator or dangerous research.
Still, s omething about him put her on edge. Something more than knowing this man had
She looked damned hot in nothing but the thick, ivory robe and her dark hair tumbling down her shoulders. He wanted to forget the note and get back to what they did best, but he couldn’t take the chance.
He slid his thumb under the flap and broke the seal. The brief , handwritten note shocked him. He had to read it twice. Still unable to speak, dread building in his gut, he handed it to Renata.
“ We’ve been played,” he said.
“ What do you mean?” She read it, her eyebrows puckering in a small frown.
“ The guy I thought was helping me has obviously set us up.”
“ The invisible guy?”
He nodded.
“But she said a woman delivered the message.”
“ So he hired someone to drop it off.” He pushed a hand through his hair. “Why would I care about Messenger’s lunch plans today? The man’s under constant guard. There’s not enough time to find a firing solution. If I went at him fast and dirty –”
“ You’d get caught.”
“ Impatience can kill you,” he said, with a jerky nod toward the note. “You know that’s one of the chic restaurants in Manhattan.”
“ True.” She tapped the note against her chin. “Maybe whoever sent this doesn’t want you to kill him.”
“ What then? Begging for mercy won’t work. He wants you dead and he won’t give up until he knows you aren’t a threat. I failed my assignment, which is always a death sentence.”
“ You don’t want to run?”
“ Of course I want to run.” He ran his hand across his chest, dug his fingers into the scar at his shoulder.
“ But that doesn’t really solve it,” she replied. “We’d be on our own, always on guard.”
He nodded, hating the worry he’d put on her face. Solitude didn’t suit her. As much as he loved her, because he loved her, he knew he couldn’t be everything to her. Eventually, sooner rather than later, she’d want a real social life again. And Messenger would be waiting.
“ Don’t think I’ll go into hiding,” she said, pulling him from his dismal thoughts. “Not without you.”
“ You should.” He warmed to the idea. “That gives me time to take him out and join you later.”
“ No,” she said. She paced to the window and then turned, her face brightening with a sudden smile.
How was that even p ossible under the circumstances? Then he remembered that look. It often preceded her enthusiasm for a new adventure. “What are you thinking?”
“ I was raised with the understanding that family comes first.”
He looked away, afraid of where she was heading with this. Leaving her was the smart thing to do, for both of them, but the thought caused him something close to physical pain, exacerbated by the knowledge that she’d never stopped loving him.
“ Relax.” She rushed across the room and wrapped him in a soft, unshakable embrace. “Let me make a phone call or two. Do you think they have a fax machine here?”
“ I don’t know.”
“ Either way, I can make it work. Then we’ll go meet your boss. I’ll tell you the rest on the way.”
Chapter Ten
Manhattan, New Year’s Eve, 1:27 p.m.
Renata watched Matthew square off against the man in the gray suit, hoping with every heartbeat she hadn’t overestimated the value of the angle they were bargaining with. They should have done it his way, she thought, and simply disappeared, assumed dead. This had the potential to backfire a dozen different ways. Why had she argued so hard for this?
Because she was greedy. She wanted Matthew and her family. She wanted closure and security. Now all of her wants might very well cost her everything.
The other man, in his expensive, perfectly tailored clothing, looked like the next mature cover model for GQ magazine. It was easy to see why Matthew assumed the man wouldn’t get his hands dirty with something like a murdered museum curator or dangerous research.
Still, s omething about him put her on edge. Something more than knowing this man had
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