Page 6 of Steinbeck (The Minnesota Kingstons #5)

Now Emberly tried not to jump back into his arms, tried to put her head on straight and untangle the mess of this mission.

“I still need to get Declan’s program. For all I know, the Russians have it, and if they don’t.

.. well, it won’t be long before some rogue nation gets their hands on it and uses it for their own nefarious purposes. ”

“Which means you need to develop the virus.”

“Yes. In other words, back to the mission.”

“And your next step?”

She sighed, waiting to cross the road. Lamplight puddled on the dark volcanic rock that lined the streets, and around her, from the cafés in the square, jazz spilled out, turning the night magical.

“I don’t know. My guess is that the program is still with Declan. Maybe back in Mariposa. Maybe somewhere else.”

The streetcar passed and the light changed, and she crossed the street, hugging the shadows as she walked up to her gated door. “I should have uploaded it directly to you when I broke into his safe on the island?—”

“Hard to do when you’re trapped underground.”

“Details.” She laughed. “I promise, when this is done, I’m coming to Florida.”

“Good, because I’m learning how to surf. And I want to teach you too.”

She punched in the code to her apartment entrance. “I don’t know. You always loved the ocean more than I do.”

“No, Em. You were the one who put this dream inside me. We’d lay in our tiny little bed and you’d tell me stories of how someday we’d have the sand in our toes, the salt on our lips.”

She took the stairs up. “I blame that book I stole from the library?—”

“ Island of the Blue Dolphins. I still have it. Come and get it.”

Emberly laughed. “I miss you.”

“You can fix that. There’s a bedroom here that’s unused, just for you.”

“Roger that. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Don’t make me wait another two months. I... was really scared.”

Me too. Emberly stopped at the door. “I’ll be okay, Nim. You know me. Survival over smarts.”

“Em—”

“Gotta go. Love you.” She clicked off before her throat tightened. Then she keyed in the code and opened the door.

An arm snagged around her waist, whisking her back from the door, which slammed behind her. Then Steinbeck pushed her against the wall. Clearly she was still off her game, because he had her cornered, just like that.

Stormy blue eyes, a grim slash to his mouth, and his breaths escaped as if?—

“Wait. Were you worried?”

“Where were you?” He stood, one arm over her shoulder, his hand braced against the wall.

The other held his handgun.

“Um.”

He was terribly close, the smell of his shower lifting off his skin.

He’d shaved too, and cleaned up from that wretched beard, his hair tousled and dark blond again.

He wore a white T-shirt that outlined his shoulders and his trim torso, and the way he looked at her turned her entire body into a snarl of. ..

Oops. Friend, friend, friend!

Except, why not? She’d kissed him before and?—

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

She blinked at him, her gaze on his lips, then back on those intense blue eyes.

He seemed to notice, because his eyes roamed her face too. Then he swallowed, blew out a breath, and stepped back.

Because, friend.

Even frenemy , if he stood in her way of getting what she needed from Declan. To her knowledge, Stein didn’t work for the billionaire anymore, but things could change while a girl was locked up on a ship.

“You...”

“I scared you?” She raised an eyebrow.

“No.” His mouth tightened along the edges as he put the gun into his belt, in the back. “I thought...”

She stilled. Oh. “You thought I’d ditched you.”

“It’s happened before.” He raised a shoulder. “Let’s see, there was the ocean?—”

“That was panic.”

“And the shooting in Mariposa?—”

“I dragged your body to the hospital!” She walked over, put her pack on the table.

“And—oh wait, the running part in Barcelona.”

Her mouth pinched.

“And what about the dance floor at Boo’s wedding?”

She grinned. “Who knew you were such a good dancer?”

“You took Declan’s phone and slipped it into my pocket.”

He was just now figuring that out?

“And we haven’t even mentioned Krakow.”

“Do we have to?” She opened the pack. “We’ve been over this. I had a mission to complete. Not to mention, I tried to get you away from danger.”

Silence, and she glanced at him.

He stood in the dim light of her under-cupboard kitchen lights, a tired and raw expression darkening his face. She’d taken out the drinks and now set them on her table. Turned to him.

Swallowed.

He took a breath, and the look in his eyes matched the urge inside her, the woman who really just wanted to eat a prego with the man under a star-strewn Lisbon sky and forget...

“I’m sorry.”

He blinked, raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“I’m sorry I, uh... left you. I had to call my sister. And I got us steak sandwiches.” She pulled out the napkin-wrapped street food. “Except they’re a little flattened, thank you so much, Jason Bourne.”

He frowned, then took the proffered sandwich. “You got food?”

She grabbed a bottle opener and her own sandwich, then opened the balcony door. “Of course. I know you.”

He made a little grunt, which made her smile as she stepped over the doorframe onto the narrow space and sat on the concrete on one end.

He came out and squeezed himself down on the other end, his legs crossed in front of him.

She crossed her legs on the other side of his and spread out their dinner. “I hope you like mustard.”

He bit into the sandwich, made a sound of hunger and delight that did strange things to her insides. “This is fantastic. Reminds me of a panino con la salamella—it’s a sandwich with onions and peppers made from salamella, a sort of sausage?—”

“From northern Italy. I’m familiar with it.” She took a bite. “And you’re right. Although it’s not as good as manti from?—”

“Kazakhstan.”

“Almaty?” She lifted her bottle of Sumol in a toast.

He met her bottle with a clink. “Astana.”

“While you were on the teams?”

He lifted the bottle to his mouth and said nothing. But his blue eyes sparked.

Oh, maybe this was a bad, very bad idea. They couldn’t be teammates, especially not friends. She did not have room in her life for Mr. Devastating Blue Eyes. “I remember you saying you missed being an operator, back in Cuba, when we were staking out the embassy.”

He cocked his head.

“I had a lot of time to think while I crossed the deep blue sea.” She took another bite.

His mouth tightened. “It’s going to kill me, but I have to know, Phoenix. How badly?—”

She held up her hand. “Listen. After they figured out I didn’t know anything—or wasn’t going to give them anything—they locked me in a room at the estate and left me alone. Same with the boat. I just had the one scuffle, during which I grabbed the phone.”

He considered her, the slightest pull in his jaw. But he nodded. Set his sandwich down. “I should not have left you in Cuba.”

“You need to let that go. I told you to leave. You had Declan and your sister to protect. I knew I could take care of myself.” She swallowed when she said it, however, because?—

“I know.”

She looked up at the stars, sighed. Looked back at him. “Listen. You didn’t have to come for me. And I don’t know why you did, but...” She nodded. “This isn’t over, Steinbeck. I need that program. And?—”

“I know.”

She stilled.

“I get it. After...” His mouth tightened. “After we left you in Cuba, we got back on the yacht only to have it be overrun with Russians?—”

“Tomas said it exploded.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“The Petrov boss and I had a chatty-chat down at the wharf. You might have caught it on video.”

“Right. And yes. Declan and I blew up his yacht. Got lost at sea for a day or so.”

“Austen?”

“Safe.”

She leaned back. Exhaled.

“What you don’t know is that Declan wasn’t a bad guy, just like I said.”

She eyed him.

“He was working with the Caleb Group.”

Her mouth opened. “No. No, he wasn’t?—”

Stein held up a hand. “Absolute truth. He hijacked the ship with the obsidite the Russians stole from the island and routed it to a processing plant in America.”

“Not a terrorist.”

“Not. A terrorist.”

She gave him a wry smile. “Okay, but we still need that program. It can still fall into the wrong hands, including the United States’. I can’t let the US be the only country that has access to the virus that can shut down his AI program.”

“Agreed.”

She stared at him. “Okay, did you get hit in the head when the yacht blew up?”

He met her gaze then, and under the velvety dark sky, the stars shining in his eyes...

A beat of silence fell between them, thunderous. She swallowed.

Friends. Maybe comrades in arms.

His voice turned a little rough when he finally spoke. “I came for you because I couldn’t... because the thought of something happening to you?—”

“Stop, Stein. Just—” She shook her head. “It can’t work.” Oh, now her voice roughened. “In a different life...”

He stared at her for so long that she thought maybe he hadn’t heard her. Then, softly, “What kind of different life?”

His gaze made her entire body ache. “A life where... when I look at you, I don’t see my mistakes.

The things I’ve done. And where you don’t look at me and see.

.. regret. And anger. And... the truth is, I’m just not built for anything real, Stein.

I’m not a team player. I’m a solo act. And I’m built to survive.

That’s all. I should have told you that from the beginning. But?—”

“But in the beginning, you were just trying to survive.”

She nodded.

He swallowed, sighed, his chest rising and falling, the lights of the city sparkling around them. “So was I. But... I don’t know. Maybe we can figure out how to get past survival together?”

Did he not hear her?

“Stein—”

The alarm shrieked, a blaring shot into the night, and she jumped to her feet.

“Two minutes,” he said and took off for his room.

She looked down into the alleyway. Nothing amiss. Sweeping up her pack, she took off for her room.

From a shelf in her closet, she retrieved her go bag and a tactical vest, then climbed onto her bed, pushed aside the canvas picture, and sprung open the latch that revealed the compartment behind it.

She grabbed one of the two Glock 19s and a SIG Sauer P226. Shoved them into her tactical vest.

Stein came charging in. “You have a bunker above your bed?” He snatched up the other Glock. “You do realize how sexy that is, right?”

She stared at him, her eyes wide, and he grinned, winked. “One survivor to the next.” He grabbed a radio from her stash in the compartment and tossed it to her, then the other. “Let’s roll.”

He took off down the hallway, stopped at the door while she checked the monitor. A man stood in the hallway. And he was armed.

“C’mon. We’ll take the balcony.” She headed for the doors, opening her ottoman on the way.

“You have a fire ladder.”

She nodded, turned, and headed outside. Hooked the ladder on the side of the rail and let it fall.

“Let’s—”

He wasn’t behind her.

She stepped back inside and stilled as she watched Steinbeck unlatch the door, stand back, and let the enemy into her home.