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C rouched behind the air-conditioning unit, Jake heard someone laugh. “Some of the young guys come out here to smoke pot,” a man said. “Figure no one’ll be able to tell, but the dumbshits don’t realize they reek of it when they come back in.” He snorted. “Everyone does it now, but if we were ever caught with that stuff? Our old men would beat the crap out of us.”

Jake wanted to look over the edge of the building to make sure that Livvy had made it safely to the bottom, but he didn’t dare move. He didn’t want any flashes of movement to alert the men on the other side of that window that someone was out here.

“Lock it up so we can get out of here,” another man said. “And pay attention to the kids. If one of ‘em is smoking that shit at work, crack their head.”

Keeping completely still, Jake listened as one of the men closed the window and secured the latch. Then he heard the rumble of multiple feet on the metal staircase.

When the sounds were far away, he swung over the edge of the roof and grabbed the chain ladder. Descended as quickly as he could. When he reached the bottom, he jumped to the cracked cement of the alley, and Livvy grabbed onto his arm.

“You okay? You think anyone saw you?”

“Didn’t sound like it, but they found the unlatched window.” He snorted. “Blamed it on the young guys going onto the roof to smoke weed. Thank God they didn’t think to check the roof to make sure it was clear.”

“Yeah,” Livvy said with a shiver. “Let’s get out of here.”

They’d gone halfway down the alley when Jake heard a group walking down the sidewalk. He recognized one of the voices as the guy who was speculating about the pot-smoking kids. So he grabbed Livvy and swung her around until her back was pressed against the wall. Then he cupped her face in his hands and pressed his mouth to hers.

She stiffened against him, and he slid his mouth to her ear. “Play along. I recognize one of those voices as the guy who noticed the window wasn’t closed.”

She sucked in a breath, then she twined her arms around his neck and curled into him. She tangled her fingers in his hair, caressing his head. The sensation of her fingernails on his scalp made Jake suck in a breath and go instantly hard. With thoughts of discovery the last thing on his mind, he took her mouth, kissing her lips then sliding his tongue along their seam. She opened for him, and he entwined his tongue with hers.

By the time he heard the men walk past the alley, Jake’s heart was beating like a drum and his cock was getting all kinds of ideas. He pressed closer, and he felt Livvy do the same. She curled one leg around his, and they were tangled together completely.

Based on the tap of their shoes on the sidewalk, the men were passing the mouth of the alley. But either they didn’t look down the dark space, or they were used to seeing people making out in the dusky light. He kept kissing Livvy until he couldn’t hear the footsteps any longer.

Reluctant to end the kiss, he sucked her lower lip into his mouth. Ran his tongue over the soft inside of her lip, shocked when she moaned quietly. Like this was real and not merely a staged performance for the men. As his tongue tangled with hers, it felt damn real to Jake, as well. When Livvy’s hands tightened around his shoulders, gripping him as if she was into this as much as he was, he forgot all about the Bratva guys and focused only on Livvy.

When he realized he was kissing Livvy as if he’d die if he couldn’t have her, he sucked in a breath. This had become too damn real. The realization was like a bucket of cold water splashed over him.

Stepping away from her, he shoved his fingers through his hair. “I, uh, think they’re gone. Either they didn’t notice us, or they’re used to people using this alley to make out.”

Livvy wrapped her arms around herself like she was suddenly cold. “Yeah. Let’s get out of here. I don’t want to be anywhere near this building if those guys decide to come back and check us out.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” He put his hand on her back to guide her out the alley, and for a moment it felt like she leaned into him. Then she edged away until there was at least a foot of space between them.

“Let’s not discuss anything about this until we’re alone in our room,” she said, swallowing hard. “I don’t want any flapping ears to overhear something they shouldn’t.”

“Absolutely,” he said, clearing his throat. “Do you still want to go to a restaurant?”

Livvy shook her head slowly. “No. I just want to be back in our room. Behind a locked door.” She sucked in a breath. “I could hear guys talking, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I was expecting them to find you any moment. I actually had climbed the first few rungs of the ladder before they closed the window. When I didn’t hear anything else, I figured you were safe.” She blew out a breath. “Let’s just order room service.”

“Sounds good to me.” he said. He glanced down at her. “You want to pick up some beer or wine on the way back?”

She shrugged. “If we see a place, sure. But I don’t want to linger in this neighborhood.” She finally smiled. “I’m afraid people will see the guilty look on my face.”

He studied her for a moment. “No guilt,” he finally said. “But you do look frazzled.”

She elbowed him in the side. “You wanna see frazzled, bud? Look in a mirror.”

He draped an arm over her shoulder, surprised when she didn’t shake it off. Maybe she’d been as shaken as he had been.

He nodded to a neon sign in the middle of the next block. “There’s a liquor store. We’ll get some wine.”

They picked up a chilled bottle of sauvignon blanc, then turned for the hotel. By the time they reached the block the hotel was on, it was full dark. The streetlights and the neon signs on the shops kept the area well-lit, but the alleys were black holes between buildings. Jake picked up the pace. He’d draped his arm over Livvy’s shoulders, and he felt her shivering. She was nervous, and it was contagious. Even though they were a mere block away from the hotel, he wouldn’t feel safe until they were in their room.

When they walked into the lobby and the elevator arrived, he was pleased there was no one else waiting for it. He guided Livvy into the car, pressed the button and only relaxed once the car began moving upward. The first stop was their floor, and Jake had to restrain himself from running to their room.

When they were finally inside, with the door locked and the safety lock engaged, he set the bottle of wine on the table and collapsed onto the couch. Livvy slid onto the chair that was diagonal to the couch, flopped against the back cushion and blew out a long breath. “How’re you doing?” she finally asked.

“Recovering,” he said. “Thank God we got the cameras installed and got out of the room before that group of men reached their floor.” He shivered. “Although being trapped in that tiny closet was no fun.”

“And seeing you disappear onto that roof was no fun, either,” she muttered.

One side of Jake’s mouth curled up. “We work well together, Livvy. Thank God you’re backing me up on this assignment.”

“I’m glad I can do it,” she said. Frowning, she added, “Depending on what we hear and see from those cameras, there may not be a meeting after all.”

Jake studied her for a long moment. “You saying we might just shut this thing down if we hear something we don’t like on the recording?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Jake started to speak, and she held up her hand, palm toward him. “No decisions until we listen to the tape tomorrow and the next day. Because I’m guessing they’ll discuss their plans ahead of time.” She leaned toward him. “On my job in Brighton Beach, after I got away from that kid and his father, I thought about what had happened. I realized it had been set up ahead of time. The kid knew what he was supposed to do, even though he acted like he didn’t want to do it. And his father was insistent.” She frowned. “Like it was some rite of passage to kill a law enforcement person.”

Jake leaned toward her. “You’re lucky to be alive,” he said.

“I know damn well I’m lucky. But my point is, I’m sure those guys I visited had talked ahead of time and planned out their strategy. I saw the father and the kid exchange looks. Saw the kid’s reluctance and the father’s insistence. Which was why I didn’t let the kid get behind me. If he was gonna try to shoot me, he’d have to do it to my face. And I was right. He didn’t want to do it.”

“So we’ll spend tomorrow listening to any conversations they have. Plan our moves accordingly,” Jake said. He slapped his hands on his knees. “Let’s order dinner. I didn’t think I’d be able to eat anything, but I’m starving.”

“Me, too,” Livvy said. She handed him a menu.

* * *

After they ordered dinner, Livvy unscrewed the cap to open the wine. She found two wine glasses and poured. When she handed Jake his glass, her fingers brushed his, and he stilled for a moment. Then he sucked in a deep breath. Nodded at her. “Thanks.”

“I’ll put it in the fridge to keep cold,” she said, irritated that she sounded breathless. Even more irritated that the quick brush of her fingers against Jake’s made her heart stutter in her chest. She didn’t want to be attracted to Jake Dunbar, but she was. She liked her life exactly the way it was, and Jake would be a distraction that could blow her careful plans to smithereens. She’d planned on getting established in her career before getting seriously involved with anyone. Once she was on solid footing at Blackhawk Security, once she knew if it was a long-term job or just a way station on the way to something else, she’d have plenty of time to find someone and fall in love

But when she glanced over at Jake and found him watching her, a tiny voice in her head laughed at her. Go ahead and plan out your life , it said. I’ll get some popcorn and enjoy the show .

As if Jake hadn’t been affected at all by that quick brush of her fingers against his, he took a sip of his wine and set the glass on the table. If she hadn’t been watching very carefully, she’d have missed the way his hand shook slightly as he set his glass down.

She huffed out a breath. At least she wasn’t the only one who’d felt that zing of electricity shoot from her hand to Jake’s.

What to do about it?

She’d do what she’d always done with uncomfortable feelings -- ignore them. If she ignored them long enough, they always went away.

On the other side of the table, Jake took a too-big gulp of his wine. He coughed, setting the glass on the table. His hand shook, and for a moment, Livvy was sure the wine was going to tip over.

Jake reached out and steadied the glass, and she drew a deep breath. The silence between them had become… charged. Almost uncomfortable. So she said, “Nice save.”

He shrugged. “Don’t want to waste good wine. Which this is, by the way. You must have had it before.”

“Yeah, I like it a lot. It’s a great wine for its price.” She mentally rolled her eyes at herself. Was she really this awkward around Jake? This self-conscious? She’d never been before. Once they’d discussed what had happened in Brighton Beach, she’d felt perfectly comfortable with him.

Until that kiss in the alley tonight. It was supposed to be fake. A show for the men walking past the alley. But it sure as hell hadn’t f elt fake. Her heart had been jack-hammering in her chest from the moment he’d put his mouth on hers. She’d been breathless. Shaky. Had to hold onto Jake to keep herself upright. And when he’d curled his arm around her and drew her closer, pressed her against him, his hard length pressing into her belly had made it clear that Jake was affected as well.

Enough of this trip down memory lane. Re-living what had happened in that alley could be nothing but trouble for her. Maybe for Jake, as well, based on what she’d felt when he’d pressed her against him.

She took a too-big gulp of wine, coughed a couple of times, then set the glass on the table, irritated when she realized her hand was shaking. As the silence grew increasingly uncomfortable, neither one of them spoke. A sudden knock on the door released the almost unbearable tension.

“Dinner,” Jake said, jumping to his feet. “I’ll get it.”

He didn’t wait for an answer as he grabbed his wallet and pulled out some cash. He hurried to the door, opened it and said, “Thanks so much.” He shoved the money at the kid delivering their dinner, then pulled the rolling table into the room and shut the door a little too hard. Made sure the door was locked, then wheeled their dinners over to the table where they’d been sitting.

Lifting the lids from the plates, he set them on the little rolling cart and handed her a plate of roasted salmon, asparagus and a mashed sweet potato. Then he put the lid covering his dinner on top of hers, revealing a steak, green beans and a baked potato. Fish for her, steak for him. So sue him for eating red meat.

Livvy’s mouth twitched as she glanced at his steak, but she didn’t say a thing.

They ate silently for several minutes, until the silence felt too… heavy. Too fraught. Finally, Livvy said, “More wine?”

“Yeah, that sounds great,” he said, even though his glass was still a quarter full. She turned and pulled the bottle out of the refrigerator and handed it to him. His fingers brushed hers as he took the bottle, and an electric shock zinged through her body.

When he handed it back, she poured more wine into her own glass, even though, like his, her glass still held wine. Then she swiveled and put the bottle back in the refrigerator.

They’d eaten most of their dinners when Jake cleared his throat. “What time do you figure those guys get to the office?” he asked.

Good. Business. That’s what they needed to break this uncomfortable, awkward silence between them. She swallowed the bite of salmon she’d just eaten and set her fork on her plate. Studied him for a long moment. “They may be different from the Brighton Beach guys I met with,” she said carefully. “But I did some reading after that debacle and apparently the Bratva guys have a routine. They leave their houses and meet their… their gang members, for lack of a better word, at nine or so. They go to a coffee shop, have coffee and pastries, then head to their offices. They’re usually in place by eleven or so. According to a couple of articles I read about them.”

Jake nodded slowly. “That jibes with what I’ve read.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolded it and scanned it. Then handed it to Livvy. “This is what Nelson gave me. Not much besides the address and room number, but at the bottom, he’d scribbled that they’re in the office by eleven. So we should start listening for the recording at ten o’clock or so.” His smile was strained. “They may have a lot of things to discuss. We don’t want to miss any of it.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Livvy said. She set her silverware on her plate, her appetite suddenly gone. She really, really didn’t want to watch Jake walk into that room. God only knew what he’d find there. Those men could shoot him the minute he walked through the door. If she wanted to ambush someone? That’s what she’d do. Strike before they could compose themselves.

She wanted to beg him not to go -- not to meet with those men, but knew that he had to do it. It was his job, and he’d always been very careful to play by FBI rules.

Livvy pushed her plate away, unable to eat another bite. Jake had done the same thing.

Drawing a breath, he said, “You done there?”

“Yeah.” She pressed her hand against her stomach. “I’ll have more of an appetite when this is over.”

“Me, too,” Jake said. He stood up and put the plates back on the rolling cart, then moved it into the hall. Closed and locked the door.

“You want to watch TV?” he asked. “I’m going to bed. It’s been a really long day.”

“I’m turning in, too,” Livvy said, eyeing the two queen-sized beds. A part of her wished they’d gotten a room with a king-sized bed. It would have been plenty big for both of them, but tonight, she wanted to be close to Jake.

And that was a problem. Jake was the very last guy she should want to be close to.