It didn’t take a genius to figure out what Zack was thinking at this very minute. Whitney watched the different expressions flick across his face – relief, surprise, and lastly, disappointment. But she couldn’t let him sway her.

Once she’d come to her room to find her gun, she couldn’t stop thinking about how frightened she’d been, and especially, the reason for it. She hadn’t planned on having deep feelings for Zack. She loved the way he had looked at her and told her how pretty she was, even though it was hard to take him seriously. She cherished the way he held her affectionately as he kissed her with so much passion.

But all of that would stop. It had to stop. This attraction she felt for him was disrupting her job. She couldn’t focus on anything but him and wanting him to kiss her again or to say words that swept her off her feet. That couldn’t happen to an FBI agent – whether she liked her job or not, and whether she thought herself qualified or not. She still wore the badge, and Zack Greyson was still her obligation. She would not mess up another assignment, not even for his sultry kisses.

“Hey,” he said in a disgruntled tone. “I wondered what was taking you so long.” He motioned his hand to her clothes. “Now I know.”

She pushed him aside and walked out of the room. “You can be mad at me all you want, but the only way for me to protect you is to feel like an FBI agent.” She continued down the hallway toward the stairs. “And so, I decided to become the agent you met – the determined agent who was out to prove to her boss that she could finish an assignment without completely messing it up.”

“Whoa, stop right there, little missy.” Zack grabbed her arm, bringing her to a halt. He turned her around until she met his disheartened gaze. “Are you trying to tell me I’m just an assignment to you?”

Seeing the sadness in his eyes, her gut twisted in knots. She had to be strong. Both of their lives were at stake. She inhaled deeply, trying to gain the courage that might help her convince him that this was the right thing to do. “Zack, until the senator’s trial in two weeks, I must think of you as an assignment and nothing more.”

He gasped, and his eyes widened. “Two weeks? The trial is in two weeks?” His face turned red. “How long have you known this? And why am I just hearing about it now?”

“I’d only just heard, myself. Before you came to me outside this morning, I’d gotten a call from Captain Bott. He told me that the senator’s defense team’s application for a trial postponement was denied by the judge. They set a date – in two weeks. The captain had called me to let me know we need to be extra careful because the senator would be hopping mad that his request was denied again.”

Zack grumbled and raked his fingers through his hair. “Then maybe the shooter outside was the one hired by the senator.”

She narrowed her gaze on him. “You have doubts?”

“Yeah.” He opened his mouth to speak, but then quickly closed it. “Let’s go in your room. I want to talk in private.”

Whitney hesitated. She knew Zack too well, and he would try to persuade her to change back into the woman she’d been hiding for so many years. Then again, he didn’t have that look on his face like he wanted to kiss her. So maybe this time he’d be serious.

Nodding, Whitney led the way back into her bedroom. When they were both inside with the door closed, Zack grasped her arms, yanking her against his body. In one sudden swoop, he’d moved his mouth to hers, kissing her.

The surprise took her breath away, and for a moment, made her weak in the knees. But she quickly shook off the desire creeping over her. She pushed her hands against his chest and broke the contact.

“Zack, no!” She glared at him, not really mad at him as much as she was upset with how weak-willed she was whenever he was near. “You can’t change things. Not until after the trial.”

He mumbled incoherently and stepped away from her. “Fine.”

He folded his arms across that nice, wide chest she liked to caress. Stop it, Whitney! She grumbled under her breath. Perhaps she shouldn’t have agreed to them talking in her bedroom.

“So, you talked to your captain?” he said, pacing the floor without looking at her.

“Yes.”

“Did you tell him where we were?”

“Not really. I just told him we were in a ranch in Maine. I didn’t even tell him that Joe was my stepfather.”

He stopped and looked at her. “Had your boss known where we were heading the last time you talked to him?”

She hesitated as her memory replayed the short conversation with the captain when they were at Zack’s mother’s townhouse. “No, I didn’t tell him.”

“And you don’t think we were followed as we drove here?”

She shook her head. “No. I kept watch on the cars behind us.”

“Then the shooter isn’t the senator’s hitman.”

She shrugged. “I suppose you’re right. There’s no way it could be.”

“And I highly doubt it was a hunter.”

“What makes you think that?” She moved to her bed and sat on the edge.

“Because there was more than one shot fired. And the shots were all toward us. It would have been different if the shots weren’t so close that we felt them pass by our faces.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right.” She tapped a finger on her knee. “So if it wasn’t a drunken hunter or a paid assassin, who could have been shooting at us?”

He moved in front of her and stopped. “Good question. I’m thinking it’s someone on this ranch. Joe said he doesn’t get trespassers.”

Her stomach lurched, not wanting to believe that one of Joe’s employees would want to shoot at Zack – or her. She wrapped her arms around her middle as her tummy continued to rumble with trepidation. “We need to talk to Joe about our concerns.”

Finally, Zack sat beside her. “Are you all right?”

Seeing the unease on his face wrenched her heart. He was so caring. She’d never dated anyone who had bothered with her feelings before. She could get used to feeling a man’s protection. But no, she mustn’t. Not yet.

“I’m okay. I’m just worried about this.”

“I am, too.” He lifted his hand to touch her, but he quickly pulled away. “If we tell Joe, we need to make him promise not to tell anyone.”

“I agree.”

His gaze wandered slowly over her face. His eyes still held a hint of disappointment, but mainly she could tell how he cared about her.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

Since she hadn’t yet eaten, that could be the reason her stomach was queasy. “A little, yes.”

“Gladys wanted me to tell you she made your favorite breakfast.”

“When was this?”

He chuckled, but the humor hadn’t touched his eyes. “Before I went outside to find you.”

“Then I’m sure the food is cold.”

He stood and held out his hand for her to take. “That’s why they have microwaves, remember?”

Without thinking, she slid her hand into his. Immediately, warmth filled her and made her heart flip excitedly. She groaned in silence. She really needed to remember that he was her assignment – not the man of her dreams.

* * * *

WHITNEY SAT IN JOE’S study and listened as Zack explained to her father what they had been discussing earlier in regard to the shooter. She concentrated on watching Joe’s features turn from worry to anger. Because of her and Zack, her father now couldn’t trust his employees. Guilt ate at her gut. Maybe that was why she hadn’t eaten her breakfast.

Soon, her attention strayed to Zack. It didn’t take long before her mind drifted away from the conversation. Gradually, she relaxed and her stomach stopped twisting. His rugged good looks made her breathless. Staring at him for too long also made her mindless. All thoughts of stepping back into her big-girl FBI agent shoes slipped farther and farther away, leaving her with daydreams of being in Zack’s life even after the trial was over.

Would he still want her once he was free and the senator was in prison? She would definitely still want him. And yes, heaven help her, she would seriously consider leaving the FBI after that. She wanted to do something that she was good at – something that her heart would be in, too. Joe would let her stay here and work the ranch with him, she was sure of it. But... would Zack want to be with her?

“Let them believe I’m dead.”

The word dead snapped her out of her thoughts and she sprang to her feet. “What?” She aimed her question at Zack. He held up his hand in an attempt to calm her. It wasn’t working.

“It’s just something I was thinking earlier this morning,” he said softly.

“About being dead?” Her voice rose.

“No, about pretending to be dead.” He placed his hands on her stiff shoulders and slowly massaged her. “I was thinking that if the shooter thought I was dead then he’d think he had won, and he’d leave.”

She shook her head. “If he works with Joe, he’ll know you’re not dead.”

“Actually,” Joe said, “I’ll give my workers a two-week vacation. Didn’t you say that was how long until the trial?”

“Yes, but—”

“Then I’ll tell them I don’t need them for two weeks.” Joe gave a decisive nod.

“What about Gladys and Karen?”

“They can take a vacation, too.” Joe chuckled and winked at her. “Just because I hired them to cook, doesn’t mean I don’t know how to cook.”

She relaxed a bit and chuckled. “I know.”

“And,” Zack said, sliding an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer as he peered toward Joe, “this will be a great time to teach Whitney how to cook. You should see how she makes chicken noodle soup.” He shook his head.

She tossed him a glare. “I know how to cook.”

Zack arched an eyebrow. “I’m not talking about boxed meals or cans of soup.”

Huffing, she pushed him away. “You’re not funny, Zack Greyson.”

Joe laughed. “Actually, I thought he was hilarious.”

She rolled her eyes. “Moving on...” She met Zack’s gaze again. “When Joe gives everyone a vacation, how will they know that you are dead?”

“We’ll figure something out.” Zack grinned. “And it’ll be a doozey.”

“No. I don’t like doozies. I don’t like drama.”

“Whitney, love,” he cupped her face with both of his hands, “we’ll make it believable.”

“And,” Joe added, “I’ll call my employees to tell them the bad news.” He shrugged. “We could even have a gravesite service for you.”

Zack released Whitney and swung toward Joe. “That’s a great idea.”

Her head started to pound, and she rubbed her temples, sitting back in the chair. “Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” She met Zack’s stare. “Haven’t you noticed that things don’t go smoothly in my life?”

He knelt in front of her and took her hands in his. The pads of his thumbs lightly stroked her knuckles. “That’s because I’ve not been in your life until now. Consider me your good-luck charm.”

Her heart flipped, but she tamed the excitement trying to rise inside of her. The question was – how much longer did she really have him in her life?