Marco breathed in Kat’s scent—sweet and alluring with a touch of honeysuckle. Probably the shower gel he’d seen in her shower this morning. Though how he could remember such a trivial fact at the moment, he had no clue.

With Kat’s naked body under his, he was surprised he could form any coherent thoughts. Her body was exquisite—soft curves and smooth skin. And he hadn’t even seen all of it. She was still wearing her bra.

Beneath him, she was breathing just as hard as he was. As her breaths grew lighter, he was tempted to rev her up again. He’d like nothing more than to keep her out of breath all evening and into the night.

The loud incongruous sound of laughter out in the common foyer made him pause.

As the fog cleared from his brain, Marco’s thoughts drastically shifted.

Oh shit. What have I done?

Kat was supposed to be off-limits. He was supposed to be watching out for her, not taking advantage of her in her vulnerable state.

And oh fucking shit.

He pushed himself up, hovering over her. “I didn’t use a condom.”

She blinked, as if it were taking a few moments for his words to register. “It’s okay,” she said. “I’m on the pill.”

Thank Christ.

He sat up and the fog cleared completely. “We shouldn’t be here.”

He stood, looking for his clothes. Kat still lay on the couch, her legs slightly spread and it was all he could do not to ogle her. To taste her sweetness once more. To say to hell with it all and claim her body over and over again until they were both sated and exhausted.

He’d had no right to ravage her like he had—and on her damn couch for fuck’s sake. Couldn’t he have at least had some class and taken her to the bedroom? Since he’d met her, he’d imagined being with Kat, but not like this. Fuck. She deserved so much more than this.

But he couldn’t dwell on that now. His primary mission was to keep her safe and the men from the cemetery knew where Kat lived. They could be back at any moment or even be watching the building right now.

“Okay,” Kat said slowly, sitting up and reaching for her panties. Marco couldn’t help but watch as she pulled them up her legs—those strong sexy legs that had just been wrapped around him.

He turned away, loathing himself. His actions were inexcusable. But he’d have to worry about that later. Right now, he needed to get her out of here, to get her somewhere safe.

He grabbed his bag and stuffed his things inside it. “Pack a bag,” he said over his shoulder. “Be quick.”

Behind him, she was quiet for a few moments, not moving. Then she went into the bedroom and slammed the door.

Aw, hell. Maybe if he’d tried he could’ve screwed that up more.

Maybe, but probably not.

* * *

Kat shoved some clothes into a suitcase, not paying attention to what she grabbed. It wasn’t until it was halfway full that she remembered the damn zipper was broken. She was going to try to fix it but hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

And she wasn’t talking about the suitcase.

She’d thrown herself at Marco and now he could barely look at her.

Tears filled her eyes as she searched in the closet for another bag. She’d done more crying in the past week than she had in the last year.

Suck it up. There isn’t time for this shit.

Marco was right about one thing—they needed to get the hell out of here. If those men came back and found her, it would be totally her fault.

Because she was too busy making a fool of herself.

But damn if her body didn’t feel good, like it was glowing inside.

She grabbed the last of her toiletries and zipped up the bag. Taking a deep breath, she opened the bedroom door. Marco was waiting by the front door with his bag at his feet. He avoided her gaze.

“Ready?” His tone was no-nonsense and very businesslike, like by screwing her he’d checked one item off his to-do list and was on to the next—getting the weepy woman to safety.

But she could play that game, too. If he wanted to be cold and impersonal, he could bring it. She nodded and he opened the door for her to exit. As she passed him, she stopped. “Wait. The letter.”

“I got it.”

Of course he did.

“Let me check things out before you go charging out there,” he said.

It made perfect sense. She needed to check her attitude before she did something stupid that would put both of them in danger. She closed her eyes for a moment and pushed her bitterness and disappointment aside.

He peered out into the lot for a few moments, then motioned her forward. “Be quick,” he said.

She obeyed his command and in less than a minute they were cruising down the road.

She stared stonily out the window, but she could feel his eyes on her. So now he decided to look at her when he could be paying attention to the damn road.

“Kat, I—”

“Just stop right there.” She could tell by his tone he was about to apologize or some other such nonsense. She wasn’t having any of it. “Let’s not do this, okay? I think we have more important things to worry about.”

He glanced over at her and his expression clearly said he didn’t want to drop it, but he sighed and turned his attention back to the road. She wished she were anywhere but in this car with Marco. They both smelled of sex and in this small space, it was overwhelming.

But like it or not, she was stuck with him. So she’d proceed like nothing happened.

“Can I have the letter?” she asked.

“It’s in my bag in the backseat.”

She unbuckled her seat belt and leaned into the back to retrieve it.

“It says X owes them money, but they’ll take his life in lieu of payment.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. He really must have pissed them off.” She was quiet for a moment. “But I don’t know what this has to do with me. Do they want me to deliver a message or something? Because they’re out of luck. I never see the man.”

Marco’s mouth set into a hard line. “I don’t think it’s as innocent as that.”

Kat stared out the window as they traveled down the familiar streets leading to Ryan’s place. She hadn’t told Marco to go there, but he somehow knew she would need to go to her brother. That knowledge make her resolve to ignore what just happened falter.

Despite everything, she’d thought they had a connection. She never would have come on to him like that otherwise. His indifference now cut her like a knife—like the stupid one that had been lodged in her front door.

Only this knife in her back—and her heart—wouldn’t be as easy to remove.

* * *

Despite the cold, the tension in the car made Marco sweat. He’d royally fucked up, not only in sleeping with Kat, but with how he’d dealt with the aftermath.

Damn, he hadn’t wanted this. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Kat and it appeared he’d done exactly that.

Today at Adamo, he was beginning to think he could have a life here. But that was a joke.

He parked in front of Ryan’s apartment and silently they got out of the car, meeting in front of it.

Marco couldn’t go on like this. “Kat—”

“No,” she said fiercely. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

She strode toward Ryan’s apartment, leaving him behind.

“Fuck,” he muttered, staring after her. He waited until she’d reached the door before turning away.

His phone rang and he thought about ignoring it, but it was just as well. This would give Kat a few minutes alone with her brother.

“Yeah?” he said into his phone, harsher than he’d meant to.

“Marco.” Tony’s tone was both urgent and tired. Combined with the fact that his brother hadn’t given him shit over how he answered the phone, Marco knew the news wasn’t good.

He rubbed his brow. “What is it?”

“Veronica was arrested down in Miami.”

“Shit.”

On one hand, Veronica had most likely killed her husband, so she deserved to be caught and put on trial. On the other hand, Marco knew this had to destroy Ginny. She’d been instrumental in bringing Veronica’s wrongdoing to light and from what he got from Tony, it plagued her.

Marco didn’t give two shits about Veronica, but he felt for Ginny.

“Yeah.” Tony sighed. “Ginny wants to go down there, so we’re catching a six A.M. flight. It’s not a good time for me to leave, but I can’t let her go alone.”

“Of course not.”

“Can you take my place at Adamo for a few days? Just continue to help Ingrid and the employees can see an Adamo present. A lot of them have lost faith in the company and my absence isn’t going to help.”

“You don’t even have to ask,” Marco said. “You know I’ll be there.”

Except given his MIA status for the last four years, Tony probably didn’t know that. Granted, Marco had been on active duty, so it’s not like he could have been physically present, but he’d cut himself off, not communicating with the family for months at a time. He could have been there in some ways, but he’d chosen not to.

That changed now. He never wanted his brother to doubt whether or not he had his back again.

“Thanks,” Tony said. “I owe you.”

“No, you don’t. Just take care of Ginny.”