LITMIR.BIZ

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met in a different time. Different place.

      Okay, maybe an entirely different life.

      “You don’t have to dress on my account,” he told her. The hint of Texas was back in his voice, thickening the words.

      “I’d better dress on my own account.” Because being mostly naked in front of the agent wasn’t a good plan.

      Mercer would be furious.

      So, what?

      She held Cale’s gaze a moment longer, then scurried around him and headed for her closet. She fumbled quickly inside, grabbing her jeans and a T-shirt. “I’ll change in the bathroom and be right back.” She didn’t glance over her shoulder at him as she hurried into the relative safety of the bathroom.

      She did turn the lock into place.

      Snick.

      Then she dressed as quickly as she could...before hurrying toward the window—and escape. She’d picked the hotel deliberately. She wasn’t staying there because of the five-star dining options or the perfect proximity to some of the main Carnival events.

      She was in that hotel because it offered suites that were housed on the second floor—a floor full of balconies. And, so convenient for her, there was even an old-style lattice on the side of her building. Lattice that she could use in her bid for freedom.

      Cassidy believed in the value of an escape plan. Because plans like that...they sure came in handy during situations exactly like this one.

      * * *

      THEY HADN’T GOTTEN their target. Ian Gagnon glared at the men around him. It should have been so simple. Those rich fools had been too afraid to fight back.

      The plan had been perfect.

      Slip into the party.

      Grab the girl.

      Get away.

      They’d done the same routine a dozen times, all without any mistakes. But this time, with her, everything had gone to hell. They’d had to fight their way to safety.

      Two of his men hadn’t made it out of that fire.

      They’d fallen to gunfire.

      Gunfire.

      The party hadn’t just been filled with helpless fools. The man who’d come so quickly to Cassidy Sherridan’s rescue—her possessive lover with the glittering gaze and the gun holstered under his tux—he was a threat that Ian had not anticipated.

      But the man was a threat that could be eliminated.

      He would study that mysterious gentleman. Learn his secrets and weaknesses. Everyone had weaknesses that could be exploited. Ian knew that well.

      Cassidy’s lover hadn’t been alone in the ballroom. Another man had come to his aid, fighting, battling viciously. And a third person—a shooter, a sniper—had fired on Guan. The bullet had flown through the window and taken Guan’s life. Guan had been a valuable part of Ian’s crew. Strong, cruel, able to kill so easily—he’d been a key asset.

      And he’d been caught unaware.

      At least three men. All centered on Cassidy? It certainly seemed that way.

      He’d get to her, but first, he’d have to separate Cassidy from her circle of protectors.

      Or he’d have to simply kill those protectors. Payback, for the lives of his men.

      He’d always believed in the value of an eye for an eye.

      * * *

      CALE WASN’T A FOOL. Cassidy might think he was misled by a wide smile and flirting eyes—and a very short robe—but this wasn’t his first case. He wasn’t some green soldier who’d be distracted by a pretty face. Or long legs.

      So when Cassidy came shimmying down the lattice outside of her hotel, he was waiting for her.

      The shadows hid him. All of the agents in his team knew how to use the shadows. So he stood in the darkness, watching her jump from the lattice and touch down gracefully on the cement. She was almost bouncing with excitement.

      You thought you got away from me?

      Not even close.

      She glanced back up at the open bathroom window as she eased away from the building. She still hadn’t seen him.

      Time to change that.

      He stepped forward, moving soundlessly, the way he’d learned to hunt when Uncle Sam had first trained him to be an army ranger.

      She still didn’t hear him.

      And she was an EOD agent? Doubt gnawed at him. Cassidy sure didn’t act like an agent.

      He reached out and curled his fingers around her shoulder.

      Cassidy screamed.

      Not like an agent.

      An agent would attack first, not scream.

      But Cassidy’s attack came seconds after her scream. She whirled around, striking out at him with a strong left hook. It would have been a good blow, if it had connected to his face.

      It didn’t.

      He caught her fist in his hand, freezing the blow. “Did you need some air?” Cale murmured, trying to sound mildly curious.

      A shaft of streetlight fell on her face, and he saw her surprise as her jaw dropped open.

      “Because, if you needed some air—” Cale shrugged “—I would have been happy to go for a walk with you. You should have just asked me.”

      She tried to jerk back her fist. Because there was no place for her to run in that narrow alleyway, he let her go.

      Cassidy was caged between him and the side of the hotel. Freedom wasn’t in sight.

      He crossed his arms over his chest and waited, sure that whatever lie was about to spill from her full lips would be interesting.

      “I didn’t expect you to be waiting.” She cocked her head as she studied him. Cassidy rocked forward onto the balls of her feet. “You must have come down here the minute I shut the bathroom door.”

      Yes, he had. Cale wondered why she wasn’t trying to lie to him.

      “How did you know?” Cassidy asked. “You shouldn’t have known.”

      She looked quite different from the glittering debutante who’d been in the ballroom. Different from the seductive temptress in the silk robe who’d made him ache minutes before.

      Now Cassidy was clad in jeans and a loose T-shirt, and her hair tumbled around her shoulders. He still found her sexy—no matter what, he kept finding her sexy.

      Problem.

      Because he wasn’t supposed to want her. That hadn’t been part of his assignment. He’d never mixed business with pleasure before.

      Don’t start now.

      “How did you know I was going to run?” Cassidy pressed. Nervous energy seemed to pour from her.

      “Because Mercer told me that you would run.” If you let her out of your sight, she’s gone, had been Mercer’s gruff words. He hadn’t actually believed the man, at least, not until she’d said...

      I’ll change in the bathroom and be right back.

      “And your voice changed,” he said. A small hitch, barely noticeable, but he’d been paying careful attention to her. That little hitch had put him on high alert.

      He’d known that Cassidy wasn’t coming back to him.

      So he’d decided to go after her.

      “My voice changed?” Her voice rose then. “Impossible. No one can tell when I’m lying.”

      He

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