Page 26

I take my leave with all the appropriate pleasantries, but inside I’m in turmoil.

For the past two months, I’ve been caught between two equally horrible choices: watch helplessly as Natalia dances closer to danger, possibly chasing a story so volatile that some people might kill to keep it from the press; or lie to keep her safe and risk destroying the trust we’ve fought so hard to build.

This can’t go on. I must confess tonight, no matter the consequences.

The sun is low as I cruise into the labyrinth’s deserted parking area.

Only one other vehicle is here—a blue SUV with lightly tinted windows.

As I’m removing my helmet and setting it on the back of the motorbike, the door of the SUV opens and Natalia’s unmistakable shapely legs become visible as she pivots out of her seat.

She’s wearing a skirt of tiered pearl-gray ruffles that stop just above the knees, like a cross between a cheerleader and a CEO, a pink cap-sleeve blouse, and strapless low heels.

I dismount the bike and meet her at the halfway point, both of us eager for the greeting.

Sliding one hand lightly into her hair, I attempt to deliver a restrained double-cheek kiss when she intercepts me in transit and lands on my mouth.

Her warmth intensifies as I respond, and she leans in, snaking her arms around me and clutching the back of my jacket.

“ Talia ,” I whisper as we re-angle before colliding again.

Her fists tighten on my jacket, and her lips part. Her tongue skims mine and I groan, one hand coasting down her back and splaying on the generous curve of her bottom, pressing her closer. I pull my head back for an instant, glancing at our surroundings.

Natalia smiles and rises on her toes to reclaim our kiss, murmuring against me, “There’s no one here. They’re closed—we got here too late. Plenty of privacy.” She nips my lower lip with a hum of laughter. “Now give me more of this.”

Every problem, every other person, even the world around us dims, eclipsed by the presence of this woman.

The aroma of Spanish cedar and mastic trees, their mingled piquancy and musk, serves as a setting for the gem of Natalia’s own scent—her skin, her hair, the heat of her mouth on mine.

We feast on each other, hands roaming. Time sags away, elastic, measured in kisses and the breaths to sustain them.

At last Natalia closes the interlude with a quick peck to my lips, tauntingly pulling back when I try to lean in again.

“What a welcome,” I say, cradling her face and brushing a light kiss on each of her soft eyebrows.

“You don’t seem to be complaining from the waist down,” she teases, grazing her hips side to side against mine.

“No complaints.” I trail my thumb below her ear and down the side of her neck. She closes her eyes, tipping her head to encourage my touch.

“I ha—” She breaks off with a happy little whimper. “Mmm. Oh God, that’s lovely.”

The tips of my knuckles define a path from her shoulder back up to her hairline. I comb my fingers into the back of her hair and slowly squeeze a handful of the tresses, watching the convergent dip of Natalia’s brows, which betrays her pleasure.

Blue eyes open, misty as a daydream. “I have something for you.”

“More than this?” I stroke her lower lip with the thumb of my free hand. “You’ll spoil me, kleine Hexe.”

She laughs and takes a step back, catching my hand in hers and pulling me toward the car. “It needs privacy.”

“You have my full attention,” I say playfully. “Lead on.”

We get into the car and she reaches behind my seat, retrieving her handbag and setting it on her lap. She unzips the top, then leans toward the windscreen to peer up and around, as if searching for CCTV cameras. Biting her lip, she zips her bag closed again and starts the car.

“What are you up to, little spy?” I ask. “Quite cloak-and-dagger.”

“With caution, condoms, and umbrellas,” she states, holding a finger aloft as if quoting someone, “it’s better to have it and not need it than the other way around.” She stops at the car park exit, then takes a right onto the road. “So sayeth my auntie Min.”

“Wise woman. I regret to inform you I’ve forgotten my umbrella.”

Natalia lets out a giddy cackle of laughter. “Impeccable comic timing, sir.” She angles a side-eye at me. “Are you saying you do have condoms?”

“Your asking makes me wish I did.”

For the next ten minutes, she explores various roads, settling on a dead end with a large ginkgo tree and no buildings or footpaths nearby. She parks beneath the tree and shuts off the car. It’s sunset, the skies faded to the lavender gray-blue of alpine sea holly, blotched with patches of cloud.

For a long moment, Natalia studies me with concern, until I lift my eyebrows, mouthing a helpless, What?

She digs in her handbag and produces a USB thumb drive.

“I’ve held on to this for a month,” she explains in a rush, “torn about what to do. It contains confidential information that’s…

well, it doesn’t look good, Klaus. You said I have no obligation to go easy on you, and—” The look on my face must be telling, because she stops, mirroring my stricken expression.

“Wait… do you… know what’s on here? You look like you already know. ”

I can’t hold her gaze, seeing the woundedness there. My eyes drop. “Yes. And it was my intention to speak with you about this tonight. I’ve made a terrible mistake.”

She sits back, one hand over her mouth, watching me. Above her eyes—glistening in the dusky light—her feathery arched brows are crumpled with emotion.

Her hand falls away. “Under other circumstances,” she says carefully, “I might’ve taken this ball and run with it. But something about it seemed off.”

She sets the USB drive on my palm and folds my fingers closed.

“It has emails, blueprints, aero testing results. But I don’t know who the source is.

On the screenshots, names and email addresses are redacted.

The mention of money seems too clumsy. It couldn’t be you.

I mean… you don’t even need the money. So you’d have to be protecting someone.

” As I open my mouth to speak, she hurriedly says, “And I don’t want to know who—seriously. ”

“That’s not it at all. You’ve misunderstood.”

“No, I really don’t think I have. I know very well how devastating this could be. And I wasn’t willing to risk Emerald’s reputation on it without being a hundred percent sure.” She swallows hard. “But if I’m understanding you right, you’re saying… it’s all true?”

I caress down her arms and clasp both her hands in my own. “Let me explain. It’s not what you assume. I sent—”

“Stop. Don’t say it. Please? I need to think.” She pulls away from my touch, then pivots to look out the window for a long, quiet minute. “Shit, I didn’t expect this,” she murmurs under her breath.

I know what I have to say. Now is the time. The only time. But in this moment, I’m not sure what’s worse—the mistake she thinks I’ve made, or the real one that’s much worse… and potentially dangerous to reveal. The fact that I thought I was protecting her wouldn’t garner much sympathy.

It’s all or nothing. I’d rather look like a scoundrel than risk her safety.

“Talia. I know you’ll be disappointed in what I must tell you, but I can’t hide this from you if we’re to make things between us work. It’s a serious issue. Big news, with devastating repercussions. I didn’t want you to know about it because I thought you’d—”

“Are you sorry?” She turns back to me from the window and interrupts my preamble to the truth as if she’s heard none of it.

My breath stalls in my throat, then releases in a gasp of rueful laughter.

“My God, Talia. Yes. If I had it all to do over…” I shake my head, and my eyes burn with reluctant tears.

I take one of her hands in mine and cover my forehead briefly with the other.

“I knew immediately it was wrong. But the die had been cast. Please—” I squeeze her cold fingers.

“Let me explain what really happened. You have the wrong idea.”

She puts a finger to my lips, a quick touch.

“But you’ve learned from your mistake? Nothing like it will ever happen again?

” Before I can reply, she rushes on, speaking in an avalanche of words directed into her lap.

“Because one of the most useful things I learned from Phae, back when she was helping me with math in college, is that errors are good information. You learn more by screwing up and reflecting on it.” She scoots closer.

“Talia, wait,” I manage, barely audible.

I know she’s not going to let me say it, and…

yes, I know I could blurt out the full story, but part of me is whispering, This is still salvageable if you say no more.

She’s writing you a blank check on forgiveness, even thinking you’ve potentially committed corporate espionage.

Accept that check and spend it elsewhere.

It’s true that you’ve learned your lesson, isn’t it? That’s all she really wants…

“So, you know what?” she continues, eyes bright, her face so close to mine.

“We’ve made a lot of mistakes, you and I.

” She interjects a tiny, tired laugh. “Maybe we got them all out of the way. And…” She leans in and kisses me, just a brush against my lower lip.

“This time we have a better chance. Possibly because of how hard we’ve struggled to get here. ”

My shoulders sag, and I know she’s confused and hurt by the response, so I force a weak smile. “I believe that too. I do. But only if I tell you everything.”

She sits up straight. “No one can legally ask me about what I haven’t been told. I’m rejecting the intel on that USB stick because I don’t know the source. Let’s keep it that way.”