Page 94 of Nothing to Fear

He was the only man she’d ever really been with, and she was on the run for her life. Safe bet she didn’t really know what she wanted. “You’ve come closer to death more times in the last four days than some operatives have in their whole careers. The need to hold on to something to keep from feeling lost is clouding things. In this heightened state, emotions become flawed and can’t be trusted.”

She lifted on an elbow and speared him with a hurt glance. “Don’t dismiss what I feel. My judgment isn’t clouded. I’m asking if you want this too.”

If only the answer was simple and the question not premature.

“This”—he squeezed her tight against him, memorizing the feel of her in his arms—“is complicated. Keeping you alive and proving your innocence are all I can focus on.”

“I’m not asking for anything.” She lowered her head. “I never should have—”

He tilted her chin up with his forefinger and kissed her, hard and fierce. She was the kind of woman who should ask for everything she wanted, and she deserved a man who’d give it whenever she needed. Not when it was convenient.

She slipped her tongue into his mouth, opening to him. He clenched his fist in her hair, locking her lips to his.

His lifestyle came with sacrifices. A razor-sharp edge required emotional distance to keep from dulling. He couldn’t shake the sense it’d be selfish to be in a relationship with her. It wasn’t easy to be with a man like him. Kelli had reminded him of that often enough with agonizing clarity. He didn’t want to disappoint Willow, fall short of her expectations.

Better for her to have the best life possible, loved by someone who had more to offer than the caged heart of a damaged survivor.

He kissed her, funneling his desire to communicate the truth he couldn’t speak—she was special, and he adored and loved her in a way he’d never experienced before or would again. He threw himself into the kiss, into the blistering connection, in a hard freefall. All the time knowing when this came to an end, he’d crash.

37

Grand Cayman Island

Monday, July 8, 8:55 a.m. EST/9:55 a.m. EDT

Willow strode beside Gideon, headed for the Nova World Bank.

Thirty minutes earlier, he’d left the hotel wearing the bulletproof vest under his clothes for a final sweep of the bank. Once he was sure it was safe, he came back for her.

Smoothing her dress from a tepid breeze as they walked, she gathered her wits and concentrated on the instructions Gideon had drilled into her. They’d practiced several conversational models and come up with prompts for him if she forgot anything.

“Remember, you’re an important client. Speak to the account manager with authority and insist on the things we talked about. Cut him off if necessary, but just stay on task.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

He held open the bank door for her. Strolling inside, she adjusted the sunglasses on the bridge of her nose and lowered the brim of the sunhat he’d purchased this morning.

A zigzag of line dividers snaked up to a row of tellers sitting behind glass on the right. She panned one hundred eighty degrees, glancing over a staircase running up the center of the far back wall. Three spacious offices stretched across the left side.

Gideon stopped near the entrance and scoped out the interior while she approached one of the two security guards as he’d instructed.

“Good morning.” She mustered a tentative smile. “Where do I go for concerns with my offshore account?”

The guard pointed to a woman with gray-streaked hair twisted in a chignon sitting at an desk in front of the three offices.

Giving a nod of thanks, Willow took a calming breath and strode to the left. Gideon was at her side, clutching the strap of the backpack slung over his shoulder.

“Hello, I’d like to transfer funds from my offshore account.”

“Please sign in.” The woman handed her an electronic clipboard.

Willow typed her real name and returned the digital notepad.

“An offshore-account representative will be with you shortly. Would you like coffee or tea?”

“No, thank you.”

The woman indicated chairs to the side in front of a large window where they should wait. Once seated, Willow kept her head lowered and shades on.