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“I want you, of course.” His lips glanced across her cheek to the corner of her mouth, and she sucked in a breath that brought her body even closer to his.

After everything he’d done, he was still the only man who could make her feel less than whole when their bodies weren’t fused together.

She hated him for it. She hated herself for it.

“Go to hell.” She struggled against him, but he shifted his weight to hold her down.

“I’ve been there, thanks.” He cupped his hand against her cheek—gently—softly. “You still feel good against me. Stop wiggling and we’ll talk. Don’t you want to at least hear my offer? Especially since I did your dirty work for you.”

She stilled her body and relaxed, hoping he’d get distracted long enough for her to make a move, and she spoke through gritted teeth. “I don’t want anything you have to offer. Just give me the flash drive.”

“I figure we have exactly four minutes to get out of this place before the new guards show up for the shift change and Armageddon begins. All I’m asking is that you come back with me and hear me out.

If you decide to turn me down, then I’ll give you the flash drive with no hard feelings, and you can claim your bounty. ”

Grace stared at him and tried to decide if he was bluffing. “You know I don’t trust you.”

“Yes, I believe you’ve told me that before,” he said, his gaze hard. “But what I’m offering will pay more than double any of the jobs you’ve recently taken. Hear me out.”

“Fine.” She knew her options were limited. “What are we waiting for?”

“Our rendezvous point is on the other side of the border,” he said, rolling off of her. She ignored the hand he reached out to help her up. “We’ve got twenty minutes to get there or we miss our ride.”

Grace had no choice but to follow him out of one hell and into another.

***

The woman hadn’t changed a bit in all the years he’d known her.

She still kept her deep auburn hair braided tightly down her back while she was working.

But he knew what it looked like spread across his pillow, and he knew what it felt like as it slithered like silk across his chest—glorious—a bright flame that was cool to the touch.

He looked at her critically, trying to decipher exactly why he was still attracted to her after the two years they’d spent apart.

There wasn’t just one thing about her that stood out, but the entire package.

Her face was thinner now—her cheekbones more pronounced—but it was still the face of a sea goddess.

Eyes the color of emeralds, slightly tilted at the corners, and full lips that haunted his dreams. She was every desire he’d ever had wrapped in one tiny package.

He let his gaze drift down her body. She was thinner all over. The lush curves he remembered were gone, replaced by a compact body of pure muscle and athleticism. She glanced back at him and raised a brow at where his gaze had landed.

Gabe smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

He’d been wrong. She’d changed a lot. There was a hardness about her now that hadn’t been there before.

When she’d first started with the CIA, there had been hope and an ideal of the greater good.

Now there was just emptiness—a cold, green stare that didn’t believe in anything—and it scared the hell out of him.

Because it was no one’s fault but his own.

“We’ve just crossed the border into Venezuela by my calculations,” she said, slowing to a jog. “How much farther is your rendezvous point?”

“About another mile. Keep the sound of water to your immediate left.” He put his hand on her arm before she could take off again. “Wait.”

She stopped dead in her tracks, and Gabe could tell she was trying to hear what he had. They were silent for a few more seconds before the sound came again.

She blew out an annoyed breath. “It’s the new guards. You always did have ears like a bat.”

“What do you have on you?” he asked.

“My SIG and a hunting knife. How many do you think there are?”

“No more than a dozen. They’re noisy bastards. And not too fast.” He pulled his own pistol from the small of his back and checked the magazine. “I’ll give you a boost.” He replaced his weapon in his pants and laced his fingers together. He arched a brow as she looked back at him with irritation.

“I’m really tired of climbing trees.” She exhaled and put her foot into his hands. He launched her up so she could reach the lowest branch, and she swung herself up with ease.

“Do you have good visibility?” Gabe asked.

“Yeah, I see them,” she said. “You’ll have to draw them close enough so I’m within range.”

“Try not to hit me by mistake.”

Her grin was sharp as she looked down at him. “Oh, it wouldn’t be a mistake.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Gabe left her there to go meet trouble head-on.

He found cover behind a tree trunk the size of a small car and waited patiently.

Heavy footsteps crunched over twigs, and he stuck out his foot as two of them passed by.

One of the guards tripped and went sprawling to the ground, and Gabe struck out at the other with a palm to the chest, stopping his heart instantly.

He broke the neck of the one who was already down before the man could rise off his knees.

Gabe ignored the steady stream of fire that came from behind him—despite her wanting to kill him, he trusted Grace to fight at his side during battle. It was after the battle that worried him.

He went searching for his next victim.

Only a few minutes passed before he stood in the middle of a ring of twelve guards—all of them dead. None of them had fired a shot. She was even better than he remembered.

Grace was waiting for him when he caught up to where he’d left her.

“Time’s ticking,” he said, looking at his watch.

They picked up the pace and ran the last mile in silence and slowed as they came to a winding dirt road with deeply rutted tire tracks, making footing tricky.

“Did we miss the pickup?” Grace asked.

A forest-green Humvee coated with a thick layer of dust came out of the trees behind them and pulled to a stop. Grace had her weapon out and her finger on the trigger.

“He’s mine,” Gabe said, opening the back door.

Grace slid across the hot leather seat.

The driver turned and looked at Gabe. Logan Grey had worked with him on other missions.

He was a quiet man, tall and sinewy with muscle.

He wore his dark-blond hair long, not as a fashion statement, but to help cover the terrible scars on the back of his neck.

Logan was former MI6, but an almost fatal accident had gained him retirement before he was ready.

Gabe hadn’t hesitated at snatching Logan up to join the team.

No one knew explosives better than Logan Grey.

“You cut it close, boss,” Logan said. “In thirty seconds I wouldn’t be here.”

“Let’s roll,” Gabe said. “Be on the lookout for company.”

Logan glanced once at Grace and then nodded, putting his submachine gun in his lap.

Gabe closed the window that divided the front and back seat so he and Grace had complete privacy.

“Who’s your friend?” Grace asked.

“Logan Grey. Don’t worry. He’s heard all about you and still agreed to help me find you.”

“I’m sure he’s a real stand-up guy.”

“He’ll grow on you,” Gabe said, keeping his gaze on the terrain around them, looking for threats. “So what do you think? It’s just like old times. We always made a great team.”

“Tell me what you want, and then let me go,” she said. “I’ve got a tight schedule to keep.”

“You don’t have another job lined up once you deliver the flash drive to the South Koreans.

Looks like you’re a free agent.” Gabe watched for a reaction, but she showed no surprise that he’d been keeping up with her movements.

She waited him out with her silence and a hard look, and he decided to give in to the unspoken standoff… just this once.

“I’ve left the CIA,” he told her.

“I heard. Congratulations. Let me go.”

Gabe smiled and stretched out across the seat, crowding her with the length of his legs, but she didn’t budge an inch. “Did you hear I’d joined the private sector and opened my own agency?”

She laughed, low and sexy, and the smoky sound swirled around him until he was dizzy with desire. “So, good boy Gabriel Brennan has decided to become a bad boy and go rogue. I assume the agency is displeased by your decision?”

“Not at all,” he said, shrugging. “They know when something is out of their control. My agency is privately funded and our reputation is above reproach. Even the CIA recognizes the benefits unknown money can buy. Governments are still hampered by rules, for the most part. Sometimes there are jobs where the rules need to be broken. That’s when they call me. ”

“Well, bully for you,” she said. “You always did manage to get what you wanted. Everything Gabe Brennan touches turns to gold.”

“Nothing could be further from the truth, and you know it,” he said quietly. Gabe waited patiently for her to make eye contact. It didn’t take her long. She’d never been a coward.

She tilted her chin defiantly. “I don’t know anything about you. I never did. Our life together was a lie. I’m not even sure you know the real you.”

He kept his face impassive, even though her words pierced his heart. “How long are you going to pretend she’s not sitting here between us?”

“Don’t mention her!” The quiver in her voice was quickly controlled. “I’ll get out of this car and disappear off the face of the planet. If you want me to stay, then the past stays in the past. It’s nonnegotiable.”

“Fine,” Gabe said. “Whatever you say.”

The SUV slowed to a stop, and Gabe pushed the door open, not waiting to see if she’d follow. It was a stupid idea to think he could fix things—to heal the wounds that had been bleeding for the last two years.

Gabe’s Gulfstream sat ready for takeoff on the hard-packed dirt the small Venezuelan city called an airport. He went up the stairs and then turned to face Grace, sure she’d still be in the car. But she stood at the bottom of the steps, her face carefully blank.

“You can either come with me or you can leave. The choice is yours,” Gabe said without emotion, tossing her the flash drive.

She caught it one-handed and stared at him, studying him, trying to read every angle of the situation as she’d been trained to do at the agency. She finally nodded and started up the steps. “I’ll come. A deal is a deal. And my word means something.”

Gabe flinched before he could control it and let the pain roll through him. He had a feeling that before this job was over, she’d have one more reason to hate him.