The plan was deceptively simple. Cade stored his bike in a parking garage a rather lengthy walk from the motel, and then he and Jenna set off for the motel via a long and winding route that took them through several trash-filled alleyways and past a boarded-up store sporting suspicious interior lighting Cade thought might’ve been related to a drug operation. After about twenty minutes of sneaking on their tiptoes, they arrived at the rear of the hotel, plastered themselves to the back wall, and slowly crept around toward the front. They stopped at the very edge of the wall to the office—the office lights were off, and the man who’d checked Cade in was no longer inside—and peeked around the corner.

Cade scoured the entire neighborhood for any signs of a biker stakeout. He spotted one guy, two blocks down, hiding in a narrow gap between two stubby buildings. But the guy wasn’t paying attention. He was on his phone, and the tap-tap-tap of his hand on his pants leg indicated he’d grown fed up at sitting there and doing nothing. As long as he kept his attention focused on the bright LCD screen—which would impede his peripheral vision—he wouldn’t spot them heading up the stairs. They were too far away.

He nudged Jenna’s shoulder and pointed to the man.

She gave him a thumbs-up, indicating she hadn’t spotted anyone else.

Together, they stole up the stairs as quietly as humanly possible and ducked into the overhanging shadow of the landing. Half the lights of the walkway that stretched across the second floor were out, but a few were still dimly glowing, which meant they’d have to move quickly if they didn’t want to be noticed. Cade glanced at the biker again; no change. He poked Jenna as a sign for her to continue in front of him.

Just as she took a step forward, a motorcycle revved somewhere down the street, and Cade whipped his head around as another member of the biker crew turned out of an intersection three blocks down. Swearing under his breath, Cade slipped past Jenna, grabbed her arm, and hauled her through the field of light between them and the door to his room. He ripped his key from his pocket, shoved it into the lock, and managed to finagle the door open no more than three seconds before the second biker reached the motel. They were inside with the door firmly shut as he blew past.

Heart pounding, Cade stood with his back against the door for a long moment before he drummed up the courage to peer through the peephole. It was hard to see, but it looked like the second biker hadn’t spotted them. He appeared to be relieving the guy in the alleyway, who must’ve been the lookout for the last few hours. These dudes were literally taking shifts to make sure Cade and Jenna didn’t go undetected. All this from one punch, he thought sourly. Only a fragile, bitter bastard would hold such a big grudge for a single hit—and a well-deserved hit at that.

Cade pressed his forehead against the door. “I don’t think they saw us,” he said to Jenna, who was loitering next to him. “But I also don’t think it’s a good idea to leave now. They’re changing shifts and the new guy is probably going to be more alert for a while. You should stay here for a few hours, at least.”

Jenna tugged on her bun, which had almost completely unraveled thanks to her rides on the bike—and the helmet he had insisted she wear the second and third times around. “I really need to get to sleep though. I have to get up in the morning, get ready, grab breakfast, and get to the convention center before my meeting so I have ample time to scope out the place. I can’t just kick back all night waiting for the new guy to take a nap.”

Cade pointed to his bed. “You can sleep here. I’ll just stay up and play watchman in case the bikers come knocking on the door.”

She frowned. “You shouldn’t have to pull an all-nighter though.”

“Well, unless you want to sleep together…”

She flushed pink. “Uh, well, I mean, I could take the floor, or a chair…”

“You’ll be bent like a pretzel by morning if you sleep in a chair,” he replied, “and I don’t think either of us want to know what kinds of bugs are hiding in the carpet.”

She cringed. “Oh, ew, you’re right.” She rubbed her arms in disgust. “Okay, fine. I’ll take the bed. But not all night. Wake me up extra early so that you can get some shuteye too. I can’t have you dead on your feet if we’re going to be partners in crime again and sneak out of here the same way we snuck in. I can handle a little tiredness. Some strong coffee can give me a boost. You’ll just have to buy me breakfast too to make up for it.”

Cade snorted. “I suppose I can work with that tradeoff.”

“Great.” She looked around his room, perhaps hunting for differences between it and the one she’d rented. “Now that we’ve settled one issue, how about a second? Is there any way I can use your shower? I’m covered in dried sweat, and I’m pretty sure a few bugs splattered against my skin while you dragged me around town on your bike. I feel gross, and I’m not going to be able to sleep until I scrub off the grime.”

He chuckled. “I think the bathroom comes with a couple towels and travel-sized soap and shampoo, so you should be good to go.”

“Fantastic.” She sat her purse on the table, kicked off her beat-up sneakers—which Cade noticed had substantial holes in them—and then stripped off her socks before trudging over to the bathroom. She closed the door with a thud, and a few seconds later, the shower turned on, accompanied by an arrangement of screeching and clunking sounds in the ceiling and wall that told Cade this building had a crappy plumber.

Cade sat in the flimsy chair beside the equally rickety table and rubbed his face, thinking about the absurdity of this situation. He’d taken a funny, pretty woman out for a night on the town, where they’d had a good dinner and a fun time playing games and joking with each other. Now they were back in his room, and instead of rolling around in the sheets, she was in his shower by herself, and they were planning to ration use of the bed. Yet again, he found himself lamenting the fact they couldn’t spend more time together, get to know each other, and maybe grow their tiny bud of a relationship into something more substantial.

After they parted ways whenever Jenna’s conference wrapped up, they would almost certainly never see each other again. Their trip to the pier would fade into nothing but a blip of a memory. Cade would wander on to some other city. Jenna would get dragged somewhere else by her ass of a boss. No more accidental intersections. No more silly collisions at crappy motels. Nothing.

It’s a waste is what it is, said the rational side of himself. And you’re letting it go to waste. Stop being a coward and tell her how you feel, McAllister. Ask for her number. Ask to stay in touch.

Maddie’s face popped into his head again, and that dreadful terror that had been haunting him for two years rose from the depths of his soul once more. No, he had no right to tangle another woman up in his mess of a self. He should leave Jenna be. She’d be better off with some other guy. Someone more stable. Someone who hadn’t already failed a woman he loved. Someone who wasn’t careless with his relationships. She deserved more than he could offer, deserved more than he had left to give in the wake of Maddie’s—

The bathroom door opened.