“Wherever we were, we can’t go back there, Tom.”

He pulled back and stared at her. “Why not? Because we technically work together? That’s temporary. I’ll fire you if it makes you feel better.”

“That’s not it,” she mumbled.

“Is it because I feel grateful to you for saving my life? You think our relationship’s lopsided? I can’t change the fact that it happened. Tell you what. The next time you’re about to die, I’ll save you. Just put it on account, and call us even now.”

She closed her eyes. It hurt too much to look at him. It wasn’t the saving him part that yawned like a chasm between them. It was the killing him part. “It’s not that simple.”

“Why not?” He stared at her expectantly.

She should tell him now, just get it off her chest before their relationship went any further. He’d hate her, maybe even kick her out. But she still had time to get to the embassy and evacuate with the other Americans.

She took a deep breath and steeled herself. “Tom, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“I’m listening.”

“It’s about…”

A knock sounded in a complicated rhythm on the door. Annie jumped, and Tom’s head jerked up. “That’s Tex. Hold your thought.”

He rolled away from her and pushed himself to his feet. Annie frowned at the grimace of pain that flicked across his face. He wasn’t resting enough. He was going to push himself too hard and get hurt again. She had to get him into bed somehow.

The irony of the thought struck her, and she smiled wryly as she jumped up and straightened her dress.

The door opened to admit Tex and the tall blond man, Dutch. They slipped in fast while Tom shut the door quickly behind him. Tom’s asked tersely, “Were you followed?”

Dutch answered, “No, but there’s a squad of rebels coming down the street looking for someone to harass. We didn’t feel like tangling with them.”

“They’re out in broad daylight?” Tom sounded surprised. So was she. It was brazen behavior for people who’d be killed on sight by the Gavronese Army.

Tex replied, “As big as life. Cocky bast—buggers.”

Tom moved into the bedroom to peer out at the street below. Annie followed, curious to see this rebel menace.

They were impossible to miss. Six young men swaggered down the sidewalk like small-time thugs, while civilians scuttled out of their path. The rebels wore bits and pieces of military uniforms along with the distinctive red berets of the rebel forces pulled down over one ear.

Tom murmured, “Things are moving faster than I expected. From the looks of those kids, we’re about out of time to leave.”

She followed Tom out into the main room. Dutch was examining the contents of the refrigerator, and Tex slouched on a chair, his legs sprawled out in front of him, his chin on his chest. His eyes were closed and violet shadows underscored them. The guy looked whipped.

Tom asked, “Have you gotten any sleep the last couple nights, Tex?”

One eye opened balefully and glared in their general direction. “Sleep’s for wimps.”

Tom answered dryly, “I’ll take that as a no.”

Shaking her head, Annie joined Dutch in the kitchen, such as it was. She shooed him aside and poured iced tea while she water heated on the stove for instant coffee. She carried a mug of the hot beverage to Tex. “Drink up, Superman.”

He looked up at her and grinned. “That’s me all right. Good ol’ Clark Kent himself. Ya wanna be Lois?”

Tom cut in. “Hey, buddy. Put out the fire in your tights. The lady’s not in play.”

Tex might be exhausted, but he still gave his boss a steady, assessing look over his mug. A single eyebrow went up questioningly.

“Besides,” Tom continued, “You’ve already got a girl.”

A beatific smile came across Tex’s face. “I sure do. Kimberly’s the best.”

“Head in the game, bro. Head in the game,” Tom muttered.

Annie watched Tex frown back. The silence stretched out until she couldn’t stand it any longer. “What? Do you guys read each other’s minds, too?”

All three men looked at her blankly.

“You guys are staring at each other like you’re using a psychic phone link or something.”

Tex grinned. “It’s an old Indian trick.”

Dutch rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and he uses smoke signals, too.”

Tex sat up indignantly. “Hey, they worked didn’t they? You guys saw us on our side of the river from your side of the river. It would’ve taken us hours to find each other without my smoke signal.”

Tom chimed in. “Yeah, and half the Bolivian army found us, too. That was one of the worst egresses of my career. I had to crawl on my belly through mud for three days because of your bright idea.”

Tex shrugged. “We made it out.”

“Speaking of making it out, what’s going on out there?” Tom jerked his head in the direction of the street.

Tex answered, “It’s corn-poppin’ hot out there. The Americans started pulling out of the embassy about a half hour ago. That’s why we hoofed it over here. We thought y’all might want to know in case Miss Annie has reconsidered and is going out the easy way.”

Annie jerked as if she’d been slapped. The Americans were leaving now? “I was at the embassy not more than two hours ago and everything was fine! What in the world happened?”

Dutch answered her. “Rumor has it the Americans got a big bomb threat. One of those get-out-now-or-you’re-all-gonna-die things.”

Tex nodded. “The Americans are loading their nonessential personnel into helicopters as fast as they can and doin’ the boot-scootin’ boogie on out of here.”

Tom asked, “Annie, did you see Ambassador Kettering today?”

“No, but I did see my boss, Colonel James. He didn’t say a word about any evacuation.”

Tom responded, “He’d have kept you at the embassy to leave with them if he knew about this. Especially since you’ve lost your diplomatic protection. Whoever threatened the embassy must have done it in a big way. And it’s someone Old Ironsides Kettering takes seriously.”

Tex nodded. “The only serious players in town right now are the government and the rebels.”

She interjected, “No matter how hard the Gavronese government’s trying to distance itself from the United States, no government would threaten another’s embassy. There’d be too many repercussions to their own embassies abroad.”

Tom said, “Good point. It must’ve been the rebels, then.”

Annie frowned. “What weapons do the rebels have that can smoke out the Americans so fast?”

The three men exchanged another one of those pregnant looks before Tex spoke. “While Kim and I were out in the jungle, we saw just about the best outfitted terrorist group I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t put it past them to have anything up to and including surface-to-air missiles.”

Annie recalled with a shudder the high-tech radar she’d dodged when she’d flown over the jungle and the shoulder-held grenade launchers that had greeted her there. “And we have to make our way past that arsenal to get out of here?”

Tom shrugged. “Don’t sound so skeptical. Hardware is only as smart as the people using it. We just have to outthink them.” Abruptly, he changed the subject. “Tex, does Annie still have time to get to the embassy before they’re done evacuating?”

“It’d be tight. They looked like they were in a plenty big hurry.”

“Damn,” Tom muttered. “You’ll have to run, Ann—“

Annie cut him off. “I’m not going. You need me here.”

He glared at her. “You’re crazy to risk yourself unnecessarily for me and my guys. We can handle ourselves.”

“But I can help. You and your men don’t know St. George like I do.”

Goodness only knew she was in over her head already. It was insane to swim even deeper into these shark-infested waters. But she couldn’t just abandon them. She wouldn’t abandon Tom.

“I’m sure you could help us, Annie. But it’s more important to me that you get out safely than it is for you to stay with us.”

Tex and Dutch nodded. “We have to agree with the major, there, ma’am.”

“Thanks for your concern, all of you. But my answer is still no.” She folded her arms across her chest belligerently. “I’m not leaving.”

“How long would it take you guys to get Annie to the embassy? Maybe it’s worth a try.”

Tex eyed her critically. “If she’s in as good shape as she looks, we could make it in a half hour on foot. But that doesn’t take into account getting around our friends outside. With them parked in front of your building, it could take a fair bit longer.”

She interjected, “Excuse me, but what part of the word no didn’t you guys understand?”

Tom ignored her outburst and asked, “How many people will the embassy lift out?”

She scowled. “There were about twenty staff members there this morning, I’d guess about four will stay behind. And then there are the Marines.”

“How many of them are there?”

“A dozen or so.”

Tex interjected, “All of the Marines will stay to hold the fort until the staff weenies get out.” He threw her an apologetic look. “No offense.”

“None taken. I am, in fact, mostly a staff weenie.”

Tex grinned. “And a cute one, too, if I do say so myself.”

Tom cleared his throat. It sounded suspiciously like a growl.

Tex threw a Who-me? look at Tom. “Hey, at least I didn’t throw in any cracks about her buns, now, did I?”

Annie stifled a smile. So Tom was jealous of Tex flirting with her, was he? The notion warmed her insides.

Reality check, girlfriend. Tom’s not for you.

Tom sighed. “Well kid, you’re in luck. I don’t think we’ll be able to get you to the embassy in time. Plus, if we make a mad dash across town, we’ll draw too much attention to ourselves. You’re stuck undercover with us.” His rapier-sharp gaze shifted to Tex. “And no cracks about getting under covers with the lady.”

Tex threw out his hands. “Li’l ol’ me? I’m a taken man.”

Tom grinned. “Uh-huh. Why don’t you go crash in the bed for a while, pal? You look like day-old roadkill.”

“Gee, thanks, boss. I think I will. Wake me up before the sun goes down, will you?”

“Have you got somewhere to be tonight?”

“I need to relieve Howdy. I’ll send him over here when he’s done with his shift on the spyglass.”

“What’s he watching?” Tom asked.

“Rebel headquarters.”

Annie gasped. “You’re that close to the rebels? Are you nuts?”

Tex gave her a lazy, west-Texas grin. “Being nuts is our job, ma’am.”

She shook her head. “You guys are certifiable.”

“Guilty as charged, Miz Annie.” Still grinning, Tex ambled off to bed.

Dutch rose and shrugged into a photographer’s vest. He shouldered the camera he’d been carrying when he came in. “I need to shove off. I’m supposed to be out covering the rebels and doing a piece on preparing yourself to survive in a war zone.”

Tom grinned. “That’ll be a real stretch for you to write.”

Dutch shrugged. “It’s a cover. And I can travel among rebels and government troops pretty freely with my press credentials.”

“Which are beautifully forged, by the way.”

“Thanks. They’re some of my best work.”

Annie looked at the laminated pass around his neck. She’d seen dozens of them at the American embassy. “You made that?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Wow. I’d have never guessed it’s not real.”

“It is real. Just the name and pictures are fake.”

“How in the world did you get a real American press pass? If there’s a breach in security at the embassy, I’d certainly like to know about it….”

Tom laughed. “I wouldn’t worry about it, Annie. There are about to be breaches in the embassy’s walls.”

Chagrined, she watched Dutch leave, her thoughts with her colleagues as they fled for their lives. If she had half a brain she’d be doing the same thing.

Annie jumped as Tom sat down beside her on the couch. He was so…male. Just being near him was a bit overwhelming. Oh, come off it, Annie. He’s only a man.

Yeah, but what a specimen.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t get you out of here today, Annie. It leaves you in a bit of a pickle, doesn’t it?”

He didn’t know the half of it.

“You were about to tell me something when Tex showed up.”

Annie gulped. The other half of her pickle. She couldn’t afford to alienate him, now. He was her only way out of here alive. Nope. She dared not risk telling him about being the pilot who nearly killed him.

“It wasn’t important, Tom. Never mind.”

Those piercing blue eyes of his looked right through her. “You seemed to think it was important a few minutes ago.”

Crud. “I, uh, just wanted to thank you for looking out for me. I know I’m a burden to you guys, and I appreciate what you’re doing for me.”

He reached up and smoothed her hair back from her face, following the strands down to her shoulder with his fingertips. “My pleasure.”

His smile sizzled Annie’s already-raw nerves with more sexual promise than she could bear calmly.

“Why don’t you try to get a little rest before nightfall, angel? It’s going to be hot and heavy out there tonight, and you may not get much sleep.”

“Great. And what about you? You were supposed to stay in bed today.”

“I haven’t gotten my kiss yet.”

Annie bristled. “Then what do you call what we did over by the front door?”

“That was just a little welcome-back peck. That wasn’t a real kiss.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You can do better than that?”

His blue gaze danced. “Most definitely.”

“This I’ve got to see.”

Tom leaned toward her, and Annie’s heart pounded furiously as he drew near.

“Hey, boss!”

Annie jerked back as guiltily as he did. Tex stood in the doorway to the bedroom.

“I forgot to tell you the U.S. Navy arrived last night. The Independence carrier group is sitting off the coast a couple hundred miles.”

“That’s good news, Tex. All we have to do now is get out to it.”

If her ears didn’t deceive her, Tom was breathing a little hard. Good.

“Boss, the bed’s too soft for me. If you’d like to grab a little shut-eye in it, I’m gonna sack out on the floor.”

“Do I look like I need a cushy mattress? Am I turning into an old lady?”

Tex’s usually smiling gaze went dead sober. “You nearly died. Doc said he’s never seen a guy hurt so bad pull through. And if you’ll forgive me for pointin’ it out, you’ve still got a little hitch in your git-along. I just thought you might want to rest a spell.”

Tom accepted the rebuke gracefully. “Now that you mention it, some shut-eye does sound good.”

As the two men retreated into the bedroom, Tom looked back over his shoulder at her and mouthed the words, “You owe me a kiss.”

Grinning, she stuck out her tongue at him and stretched out on the sofa for the nap he’d suggested.

Annie woke more tired than when she laid down. Between the blankets Tex had hung over the windows in preparation for the coming night and the unrelenting steam heat outside, the apartment was stifling.

Unbuttoning the top buttons of her dress as she went, she crossed the room to the refrigerator. A blast of chilled air hit her as she fanned the door back and forth. She fished a couple of ice cubes out of a plastic tray in the freezer and pressed them against the back of her neck. The cold wrenched a gasp from her, but relief from the heat soothed her shock.

The ice cubes dripped between her fingers, sending cold rivulets down her wrist and between her shoulder blades. And then something hot touched her neck. She jumped and would have turned, but Tom’s fingers gripped her shoulders and held her where she stood.

His mouth traced the path of the melted ice, stealing the cold greedily from her skin, replacing it with a fire that made the room seem cool by comparison. She let her head fall forward and gave her neck to him while goose bumps rose on her skin that had nothing to do with cold.

He muttered against her skin, “I could eat you alive.”

She twisted under his hands and came up against his chest. Her arms went around him, hugging until he took a sharp breath. She released him instantly. “I forgot about your ribs. I’m so sorry!”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine, and I wish you’d stop pretending you are.”

“I wish everyone would stop treating me like I’m going to break if I even take a deep breath.”

“We’re worried about you. Is that such a bad thing?”

Tom frowned, considering Annie’s question. “To be honest, you’re a distraction I can’t afford. But damned if I can keep my hands off you.”

She stared, shocked at his candor.

“You relax me. Thing is, a guy in my line of work has to stay sharp. If I don’t get my head in the game, not only will I die, but you will, too.” He set her away from him, and reluctantly, she let him.

Tom said briskly, “Is there any chance you could make Tex a bite to eat before he leaves? If he hasn’t slept in a couple days, it’s a good bet he hasn’t eaten, either.”

“Good grief! Of course I’ll fix him something.”

“Protein and carbs if you’ve got them, and lots of both. He may be lean, but he can really chow down.”

Tex was up and around by the time she finished making an industrial-size batch of spaghetti and meatballs. Howdy arrived just as they were sitting down to eat.

He was medium in height and lean of build, with light-brown hair and medium-brown eyes. Annie’s gaze had a way of passing right over him, even though he sat beside her at the table.

She’d prepared enough food for at least six people, but between Tom, Tex, and Howdy it all disappeared in short order. At least Tom was getting his appetite back.

Throughout the meal, Tex was almost as quiet as Howdy. Immediately afterward, Howdy headed for the couch and went horizontal, and the lanky Texan slipped out of the apartment with no more than a murmured word of thanks.

She asked, “What was up with Tex, Tom? Did I do something to upset him?”

“Not at all. He was gearing up for tonight. Putting on his game face. Behind all those down-home quips, he’s a pretty serious guy. Best spotter I’ve ever worked with.”

She reached across the table to squeeze Tom’s hand. “You’re worried about him, aren’t you?”

He gave her a candid look and lines of worry etched themselves in his brow. “This is a dangerous situation, and my men are out there, split up and exposed.”

“You’ll figure it out. I have faith in you.”

* * *

Easy for her to say. All the responsibility didn’t sit on her shoulders.

Tom helped Annie clean up after the meal while Howdy slept on the couch. The man had gone unconscious the second his head hit the cushion. That worried Tom.

His guys looked and acted worn-out. While he’d been snoozing in a hospital, they’d been living under extreme stress, building impromptu covers and trying to watch a revolution unfold, all without getting caught.

They’d been in the jungle for a solid month before his accident and were exhausted the night he got hurt. Now, on top of that, they’d had to play spy for two more months. Espionage was not what his men were trained for. It had to be draining their nerves badly. He needed to get them out of Gavarone before one of them slipped up.

Tom watched in appreciation as Howdy woke up from his nap, gathered his gear soundlessly and slipped out, ghost-like, in complete silence. He went into the bedroom and pulled back the corner of the curtains to observe the street outside. Even though he looked long and hard, he didn’t catch so much as a glimpse of Howdy as the man left.

Annie banged around in the kitchen for a couple more minutes, and then her soft footsteps scuffed across the bedroom to his side. The deep sense of isolation that had overcome him seemed to have caught her, too. She was unnaturally still and silent beside him. Maybe she’d been in a position of leadership before. Maybe she, too, knew what it was like to worry about her troops, hoping she’d taught them well enough to deal with what she’d sent them into.

Command sat heavy upon him tonight.

As Tom watched the people below hurry to finish their last errands before darkness and its dangers, a deep restlessness welled up inside him. He wanted to be out there with his men, to be in the thick of the action, to watch events unfolding before his eyes. Unfortunately, about all he was good for was looking out a window.

As the streets emptied, his mind shifted into high gear. His senses grew sharper with each passing moment, more alert, faster, lethal. It was the coming of the night. It brought out the hunter in him. Adrenaline surged in his veins, and he itched with the anticipation of pitting his strength and wits against the enemy’s. It was addictive, this feeling.

Annie stirred beside him. “What do you see when you look out there?”

He opened the blanket wider to give her a view, as well. “I see a city preparing itself for war, without any idea of what it’s really going to be like.”

“But you know, don’t you?” Her voice was quiet, almost sad.

Maybe it was a bit sad that he knew precisely what was about to happen to this peaceful, prosperous city. “This is going to be an ugly fight with no mercy.”

He heard her sigh, a soft sound of compassion and regret. “Such a tragedy,” she murmured.

How right she was. As they waited and watched, the silence outside deepened. By gradual degrees the stillness grew heavy with anticipation.

Annie began to fidget. “I almost wish the fighting would start,” she muttered. “The waiting is killing me.”

He grimaced. “I’ll remind you of those words in about six hours. Never fear, the fighting’s getting close.”

“Can you hear it?”

“No, angel. I feel it.”

“How?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. This fight is like being in the same room with a pair of secret lovers. They’re circling around, pretending to ignore each other, but the electricity between them is so thick you can almost touch it. Don’t you feel it?”

She shook her head in the negative.

“Come here.” He pulled her in front of him and put his arms around her. “You see over there on that high hill, the one with the church on it, how there’s a bluish haze hanging in the air?” He pointed over her shoulder so she could sight along his arm.

“I guess so.”

“That’s the army. They’ve got a big convoy of armored vehicles and tanks parked there, and that haze is their exhaust fumes.”

“Are they getting ready to roll?”

“Nah. They’ll wait until after dark. It’s probably just mechanics checking out the equipment. But the tension’s building.”

Annie relaxed back against him as the sun began to set, and he savored her easy trust in him. Since they were so near the equator, the sun seemed to hang motionless in the sky, not far above the rooftops, for a long time. Then, all of a sudden, it dived toward the horizon as if it, too, fled the night to come.

Sunset bathed the city in blood red, and under Tom’s hands goose bumps raised on Annie’s cool flesh. “It’s not an omen, Annie. It’s just a red sunset.”

“I know. But it’s still creepy.”

He smiled into her silky hair. “Our lovers are circling each other, drawing ever closer with each trip around the room. They play at not noticing each other, but they’re so vividly aware of each other they can hardly keep from rushing headlong into an embrace.”

Annie shifted restlessly. Her body felt like silk in his arms, fluid yet substantial.

He murmured, “Our lovers are savoring the anticipation. Imagining the sex to come, the sight of it, the sound of it, the smell of it. The waiting is heady, almost better than the real thing. But then, that’s the reason for taking a secret lover, isn’t it? The thrill of doing the unthinkable, of tasting the forbidden, of breaking the rules.”

Annie’s respiration was rapid, her skin flushed. Sexual heat poured off her. She provoked every unthinkable, forbidden fantasy he’d ever had of a woman. His cock as hard as a rock, and his own breathing accelerated to match hers.

“Are we still talking about the army and the rebels?” Her whispered words were ragged.

“You tell me.”

A long silence ensued, her body alternately rigid and relaxed as she wrestled with her answer. He waited her out.

“Is that why you choose this life? You get a thrill out of it?”

He snorted. “I hate killing people.”

“Then why?” she whispered. “Are you punishing yourself?”

Her words tore a jagged wound in a piece of his heart he’d thought was long ago put to rest. The pain almost buckled his knees. He forced himself answer her, but his voice was ragged. “I do it for Simon. The guy Jackie got killed was named Simon Pettigrew. I led him into a trap that I was too blinded by lust to see. My first command. My fault—”

Annie’s hand was suddenly on his mouth, holding back any more words. “Stop. Don’t tear yourself up like this. It happened a long time ago. What’s done is done.”

He reached for her wrist and pulled her hand away. “It’s never done. Don’t you see? I go from one war to another. There’s always another one’s waiting for me.”

“What I see is a brave man, a good commander, being too hard on himself.”

He whirled away from her, staring, unseeing, out the window. She didn’t get it. She’d never had to make life-and-death decisions. She’d never made the wrong choice and killed someone.

“Tell me what else you see out there, Tom.”

He fought back his turbulent emotions. “I see youth and eagerness straining to prove themselves. I see cynics taking advantage of naive ideals. I see disappointment, disillusionment and disaster coming.”

Annie turned around in his arms to face him. “Is that how you see me? Young and naive? Are we headed for disaster?”

“I was talking about the boys out there who are being sent to war by gray-haired politicians safe in their offices and told to kill each other. That’s not what I see in you.”

“What do you see when you look at me?”

“I see a beautiful woman circling the room, pretending she doesn’t know I’m here. I can taste her now. I can already hear her voice raised in ecstasy beneath me. I feel her body becoming part of mine. I’m willing her to look my way, to catch my eye and signal that she can’t wait any longer to have me.”

Annie’s voice came out muffled against his chest. “Wow.”

Right now he needed her touch worse than just about anything he’d ever needed. He needed to be reminded that he was still a part of the human race. It had been so long since he’d allowed himself this.

“Be my secret lover, Annie. Break the rules with me. Do every forbidden thing with me that you’ve ever imagined.”

“I know better,” she mumbled, “but I want you anyway.”

“Then come with me. Let’s leave the party and have our secret rendezvous. Let’s make the anticipation pale by comparison to the real thing.” His hands roamed up and down her back. Her spine curved as tautly as a bow as she leaned back, staring up at him in terrible indecision.

He gave her a half smile. “Come on, angel. Sin a little with me.”

A reluctant smile lit her face. “How can a girl say no to the Devil himself?”

“The Devil, am I?” She was closer to the truth than she knew. “I promise your fall will be one to remember, angel.”

He leaned down and claimed the kiss that hovered on her lips waiting to be taken. They turned away from the window, and the last, dying streaks of the crimson sunset wrapped around them as if the very gates of Hell yawned open, beckoning.

With a flick of his wrist, Tom pulled the blanket over the window completely, plunging the room into soft darkness.