her there. Would it matter? After they were eliminated, what was left? Nothing. She couldn’t go back, only forward. And the future was bleak. Lonely.
Last night she’d felt alive in Luke’s arms…
Worry about getting rid of the Smiths.
She glanced toward the entrance to the suite.
Luke was on the other side.
Last night…she had to stop thinking about it. If she kept this up, she’d lose her head all over again. She’d never felt such…passion. Not like that. It still had the private parts of her mind shaken.
What would it be like to love a man as herself ?
Though who was she anymore? Did she even know?
Maybe after this, once it was all over with, she could find someone. Settle down. There wouldn’t be a family in her future, not in the traditional sense, but she could have something.
“You’re glaring so hard I think you’re scaring people.” Ethan stopped at her side, hands crossed in front of her.
“Am I?” She schooled her face, easing the muscles, forcing herself to appear calm.
“Don’t worry about it. We’ve got everything under control.” He spoke slowly, the double meaning not lost on her.
“You don’t know me.” All across the world, human kindness existed, but never for her. So what did they hope to gain?
Ethan shrugged.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“Don’t break Luke.”
She stared at him, puzzling out what that request meant.
“What?” Ethan shrugged. “He’s a good guy.”
“And I’m—what? The Big Bad Wolf?”
“No, I’m just saying, be nice to him. Most women just use him.”
She nodded, as if that made any sense. It didn’t. Luke was a grown man, likely a lot more accustomed to slipping in and out of beds than she was. The man was a charmer. He even had her thinking she could settle down. Have a life. It was completely unlike her. And strange.
Her wordless answer seemed to appease Ethan. He strolled toward the dining area, keeping to the edges of the room.
The suite doors opened and Luke herded in what had to be the last two guests for the evening.
She stilled an instinctive shudder.
The man was talented. His hands…
She swallowed.
Eye on the prize.
She had a goal. And sadly, it was not to spend another night in his bed.
The dinner would begin in roughly ten minutes. She checked her watch to be sure. What were the chances she could slip into her room, extract the explosives and detonator from the hair dryer she’d outfitted to transport them, and rig something up in the couple’s room?
Low.
The chances were always low.
The Smiths stuck to their hotels. One of them was always in line of sight of their suite. No one went in or out without them observing or supervising it.
Despite their frivolous appearance, they were careful.
It was why she’d left them for last. Because she couldn’t identify a good enough opening. They surrounded themselves with people, changed out their staff, and kept an eye on everyone.
This was not going well.
Tomorrow, without a doubt, the Smiths would slip out, leaving Ethan, Luke and herself at the hotel. She’d have to dump this alias and figure something else out. Already she’d discarded the idea of a hit due to the constant presence of bodyguards. Who knew if the people they’d next hire were like Luke or Ethan? Good men caught up in a job they didn’t want to do.
No, she couldn’t take that risk.
Which meant it had to be done tonight.
She’d find a way.
“Hey, beautiful, what’s on the menu?” Luke’s nearness spurred deep yearnings. The kind of desires that got a woman in trouble.
She tilted her head to the side, glancing up at him. Her breath caught in her throat, somehow managing to also feel like five pounds of added weight.
“Me-n-u?” He grinned.
The line was so bad it was funny. She chuckled and shook her head.
“I got you to smile,” he said.
“You have the uncanny ability.” She allowed herself the smile. It was hard not to when a man like Luke looked at her as if she
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