LITMIR.BIZ

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as he was finished dressing, he speed-dialed Jeannie.

      “I was going to call you.”

      Ryan sat on the edge of the bed, leaning his elbows on his knees. “How is this gonna work?”

      “She can do it,” Jeannie said, in her I’m being serious voice. “We spoke last night and she’s completely committed to getting the job done. Just spend as much time as you can this morning going over your personal histories. Between the two of you, you’ll make it happen. I doubt there’s going to be anything heavy on the first day.”

      “We can still postpone this. A family emergency or something. Before they meet her.”

      Jeannie’s silence had him wishing he’d kept that last thought to himself. She didn’t know about the thing between him and Angie. Didn’t need to. No one did.

      “What’s wrong with you?” Jeannie said finally. “Delaying could blow the whole sting. We’ve all worked too hard to get this far. Sometimes we’ve just got to roll with the punches. I figured you better than anyone could deal with that.”

      “I know, I know. You’re right.”

      Again she hesitated. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

      “Nope. Nothing. I’m good.”

      “Okay. You two look great together. You’re the perfect bait. Hey, get the evidence we need to proceed and you can come on home. Easy as pie.”

      “Jeannie?”

      “What?”

      “You can shove that pie where the sun don’t shine.”

      “Why, Ryan Vail, I never.”

      “Yes, you have.”

      Her laugh made him even sorrier she wasn’t here. But their conversation told him he’d better get his act together fast. “The trial going okay?”

      “Same crap, different day. I’m really sorry, kiddo. I would have been there if I could.”

      “I know.”

      “Call me tonight, let me know what I’m missing.”

      “If I can, I will.” He disconnected, shoved his phone in his pocket, hoping like hell there would be nothing to tell. Ever. That he and Angie would pull this sting off with no hiccups, and then he’d be on his way to D.C. to a new job before he had to give her another thought.

      A minute later he still hadn’t moved and room service was at the door.

      THE COFFEE WAS ALL SET OUT on the patio when Angie left the bathroom. Two laptops were open, one on the table which Ryan was staring at, the other on the dresser. That laptop had to be Ryan Ebsen’s because the screen saver consisted of revolving pictures of Ferraris.

      She debated unpacking, but she needed the caffeine too desperately to wait.

      Outside, it was surprisingly warm for February in the high desert, and the view of the mountains was beautiful. Ryan had a large cheese Danish on his plate, but in front of her seat at the round glass table was a yogurt-and-fruit parfait with a bran muffin on the side. She stared at the breakfast, then looked up to meet Ryan’s gaze, but only for a second. “What’s this?”

      “Sustenance.” He poured her a cup of coffee, then put the carafe down.

      “Thank you.” Interesting that it was the exact breakfast she would have ordered for herself.

      “You’re welcome. Look,” he said, meeting her gaze. “I believe what’s required here is to barrel through all notions of propriety and just get down to how the hell we’re going to pull this off.”

      Angie knew she was blushing, she could feel the heat rise on her cheeks. “Can I at least have a cup of coffee first?”

      “Yeah,” he said, easing up, at least somewhat. His posture was still stiff and he could only hold her gaze for a few seconds at a time.

      She proceeded to put the cream in her coffee, to take a few moments as she sipped to catch the view and try to relax. Ryan looked different in his Ebsen clothes. She’d never imagined him in khakis and a too-tailored-to-be-off-the-rack polo shirt. The suede bucks were the perfect touch to put him on the Street Style map on GQ. He’d always dressed sharply, but this change made him look rugged and elegant at the same time, and she’d better stop thinking about him in or out of clothes and get down to work.

      After another big sip of almost hot enough coffee, she gave him a nod.

      “Okay,” he said. “Starting with registration, we’re going to be the Ebsens to everyone at the hotel, so from this moment forward, we’re in character. We won’t be able to pull it off 24/7, but the more we practice, the easier it will get. Your part shouldn’t be too tough. I’m playing a ruthless bastard, so you won’t have to act much, at least not to start.”

      She flinched at his words until she saw the way his mouth quirked up. Joking, just joking. Everyone in the unit, including Ryan, kidded around, often with really black humor, and as of yesterday afternoon, it had never made her blink. Now, though … Pulling out a smile, she said, “I don’t think you’re a bastard. I think you’re going to be very good at this.”

      After a questioning look he cleared his throat as he reached down beside his chair and brought up a thick file folder.

      “All right, then,” she said. “You want to go first?”

      “Go first?”

      “I need you to tell me as much as you can about the parts of your real life you used to fill in your cover background. We let you and Jeannie handle that aspect because she knows things about you that the rest of us on the team don’t.”

      “Right.” He paused, obviously thinking over what he wanted to make public and frowning as if he wanted to be anywhere but sitting across from her. “I, uh. Huh. Maybe we should … How about you tell me what you know about me and I’ll confirm, deny, fill in.”

      Bad idea. Really, really bad. It would be just like her to say some idiotic thing she’d made up in her head about him. Or ask a question that had nothing to do with the sting. “That seems more complicated than it has to be. And frankly, confusing.”

      He looked out at the distant mountains. “I’m not trying to be evasive, but what Jeannie knows, she’s learned over the last three years.”

      “I understand. She’s your partner. Kind of like a wife in a way.”

      “A wife?” He laughed. “We’re not that close.”

      “You know what I mean,” she said, saw the fleeting panic in his face and considered that maybe he didn’t. “Have you ever lived with a woman?”

      “No.” He seemed affronted. “No,” he repeated, this time drawing out the word and meeting her eyes. “You?”

      She started to shake her head but stopped herself. “Nope, never have lived with a woman. I was trying to get you to think in terms of what you’d expect a wife should know about you.”

      He rubbed his eyes, and murmured, “Maybe you should go first.”

      Dammit. Angie was going to have to take the lead on this and she’d been counting on following his example. “Okay,” she said finally, reminding herself to be cool and act her age. “We have one shot at these people, so when I’m finished, you can ask me any questions you like. And then we’ll discuss exactly how far we’re willing to go to see this through to the end.”

       3

      “I KNOW YOU BUILT Jeannie’s tennis playing into the cover story, but I’m just okay at tennis so we’ll have to be careful there. Running is my thing,” Angie said, and Ryan nodded because he already knew that. “In fact, I run every morning and I plan to

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