One week later…

Quinn perused the shelves of the bookstore. No more romances for her. She needed a thriller of some kind. Or maybe the latest literary bestseller. Tonight she planned on having a glass of wine and reading a good book. She had two weeks left of leave and she was going to put them to good use and enjoy herself.

She’d considered a beach vacation or a cruise, but she’d just spent five months in a gorgeous country. She missed the UK. And the idea of being stuck on a boat with a bunch of strangers for a week made her freak out. So she spent her days working out, reading, and wandering different parts of the UK. She spent a weekend in London and another camping in the Lake District, but all of it left her a bit deflated. She usually enjoyed being by herself, but she couldn’t seem to muster up the energy to have fun.

It’s because you miss him.

How could she miss a man she barely knew?

Her phone rang.

“I’ve booked you a flight to Montréal,” her brother said. “I have to go there for my new liaison post, and you should come.”

She smiled. It had been so nice to see Jack these last few weeks. “I still don’t understand why the SAS needs a liaison for a civilian security company.”

“You’ll understand when you see this company. Maybe you’d like to work for them too.”

“Doubt it. I’m not sure how you stand not going on missions, Jack. I’ve had six weeks off, and I’m going out of my mind. I think I’d go completely crazy working for civilians.”

He laughed. “Hereford isn’t exactly a hotbed of fun. Just come to Montréal with me. You’ll enjoy it.”

She’d never been to Montréal, let alone Canada.

Marc lives in Canada.

Maybe. She wasn’t really sure where he lived. Just because he’d said Canada didn’t mean he hadn’t lied. They’d both lied a lot to each other. And Canada was a big place. There was no way she would run into him.

She would go only to see a new place and spend some time with her brother before her next mission. She wasn’t going because of Marc.

“Okay,” she said, suppressing her burst of excitement ruthlessly. “I’m in.”

* * *

Two days later, Quinn followed her brother into a tall office building in downtown Montréal. She’d resisted coming yesterday and had spent the day exploring the gorgeous city. “Why do you want me to see this place so bad?” she asked her brother again.

“Seriously, Quinn, can’t you just trust me? Stop asking questions and let me show you EDGE Security.”

As soon as she entered the building, she knew something was off. Tiny cameras that she’d been trained to spot covered the lobby.

Jack strode toward an elevator set off by itself. Private. Probably reinforced. But against what? The call button was a biometric palm print scanner.

“What is this place really?” she asked Jack.

“Wait and see.”

The elevator doors opened, with two more cameras and another scanner inside. This one was a retinal. “This is pretty high security.” She studied her brother and then the scanner again. “The type of security you’d find in a military or covert government unit.”

Jack’s face gave away nothing. But she knew her brother, and sensed rather than saw the smugness in him. The humor.

“Is this some kind of joke?”

His lips twisted, and she knew he was covering up a smile. “We’re almost there.”

The doors didn’t ding but slid silently open. She was out and in the hall, assessing the place for threats. Something about this made her feel as if she were walking into enemy territory.

There was a receptionist behind a large semicircle of a desk. The woman had steel-gray hair, glasses, and the demeanor of a dragon guarding her lair.

“Relax, Quinn,” her brother said. “You look like you’re about to kill someone.”

“Tell me what this place is,” she said quietly.

“I don’t have permission to do that.”

Her gaze snapped to his. He’d just confirmed what she thought. This was some sort of covert government unit. “But Canadian?”

He smiled. “Liaison, remember?”

A military liaison. So this place had military ties. “EDGE Security” it said on the wall. The words below read, “We go to the Edge so you don’t have to.” She snorted. “That’s just a tad cheesy.”

“I’ll be sure to tell the boss that. Estelle, is Commander Knight in?”

The woman glared at them. “Mr. Knight will see you now, but not your companion.”

What?

“Don’t worry,” Jack said in a low voice. “I’ve a friend who’s coming to show you around.” He paused and his lips pressed together. “If you don’t want to see the bloke, just tell Estelle to grab me and I’ll take you home.” He strode off to a door behind the dragon lady.

Quinn blinked. If she didn’t want to see his friend…? She almost snarled. What was going on? She prowled around the reception area, ignoring the dragon lady’s pointed remarks about couches being put there for guests. Three more cameras hid in unobtrusive places and every time she came close to the dragon lady, the woman’s hand veered under the desk.

Panic button.

* * *

Marc watched Quinn prowl the reception area like a caged tiger. He stood in the computer room while Mike, the head of IT, used cameras to track Jack and his sister into the building and up to EDGE.

She looked beautiful. Her face was a bit paler, making her hair seem brighter. All the bruises were gone, and she moved well, so she’d healed without incident. He was glad. That was why his heart had squeezed at the sight of her.

He’d been so disappointed when she hadn’t come yesterday. Jack had promised to make her come today.

He couldn’t believe it had been five weeks. It hadn’t taken more than twenty-four hours to realize Quinn Sinclair was Jack’s sister. Jack, who’d helped EDGE take down a terrorist in London only a few months previous and currently dated Dr. Charlotte Singh, EDGE’s head of research.

That had helped immensely with finding her. Marc would have set out the next day to track her down, but they’d been assigned a new mission almost immediately. And for some stupid reason, he hadn’t asked for the time off. Because he hadn’t known how she’d react to him. Not after their parting on the HMS Iron Duke.

He should have just taken the mission off. It had been a month-long surveillance operation. Cat had chastised him daily to stay focused, but his thoughts had kept returning to the battered face of his do-gooder.

As soon as he’d returned, he’d spent the next week convincing Jack to bring his sister over to Montréal. If she came to EDGE, it would be easier to explain without him breaking his promise not to reveal anything about the operation.

Quinn stalked closer to Estelle, her face almost in a snarl, her quick gaze catching everything the woman did.

His heart beat faster, and he grinned. Time to face his tiger.

* * *

Quinn was being rude to the receptionist, but she was tired of not knowing what was going on. Was her brother testing her in some way? She wanted to shake some answers out of the receptionist, and the woman seemed to know it. Her hand strayed again to that spot under her desk.

Quinn tried to smile, which only made the receptionist frown.

Okay. So the smile might have been more of a teeth-baring grimace.

Footsteps echoed from down the hall, distracting her. Jack’s friend finally deigning to show himself. Quinn turned from her pacing to face the newcomer.

Her breath didn’t just catch, it stopped.

He’d shaved off his scruff.

She devoured him with her gaze, his intense blue eyes capturing hers.

Marc walked with confidence toward her. There was no surprise on his face. She stiffened. There was no surprise on his face.

She looked around. This company…

“This company is a cover for the unit you work for?” she asked.

Marc smiled and nodded. “Your brother works with us from time to time.”

A thought had her clenching her teeth. “Did you know who I was from the start?”

His eyes widened. “Hell, no. I wouldn’t have touched Jack’s little sister.”

A lance of pain went through her. She crossed her arms. Hold it together. “I’m not sure if that’s an insult or not.”

“It’s not, Red.”

Hearing the nickname he used for her made her heart twist into a painful knot. She rubbed a hand over the spot. “So…is that why you didn’t come see me?” She hated the way her voice was so quiet, as though she’d lost her confidence somewhere.

Marc moved closer. “I meant to find you, but I was called out for a mission.”

A mission. Her shoulders slumped. “The mission always comes first,” she quoted. This had been a mistake, coming to this company, coming to Montréal. Secretly she’d hoped to run into Marc. But what did she think seeing him again would accomplish? He had his job and she had hers.

“No.” Marc’s hands gripped her arms. “I was stupid. I shouldn’t have accepted, except…the last time I saw you…” He pressed his lips together in a slight grimace. “It felt like you were done with me. So I let myself go on a mission.” He shook his head. “I was wrong. You were injured and couldn’t find me. I should have reached out to you sooner.”

He should have. Those words made her sound like an obligation. But reaching out was a far cry from what she actually wanted.

“You wouldn’t have been able to find me,” she said instead.

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I was in custody for a week and on my way to civilian prison.”

Marc took a step closer. “What the fuck? What happened?”

She shrugged off his concern. “It’s fine now. Fletcher worked his magic. My name is clear, and I’m back with my unit.” She had to remember that. Her place was with her unit. It was a place she’d struggled and sacrificed for. She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. She was a fucking SRR operator. She wouldn’t be his second choice, even to a mission.

“You don’t look fine. You look pissed.”

She was.

“Don’t worry,” she said, connecting their gazes. A jolt passed through her when they did, but she ignored it and pressed on. “I understand why you didn’t reach out. Missions come first. It’s the same reason I didn’t contact you.”

“You understand?” Marc stepped back and tilted his head, studying her. “I’m not so sure you do.”

“Look, you weren’t expecting me to show up today—”

He laughed.

Laughed!

Her fists clenched. The urge to hit him almost overwhelmed her, but she controlled herself. “I’m out of here.”

Marc stepped in front of her and blocked her way to the elevator. “Of course I was expecting you.” He tilted his head to keep eye contact with her when she would have looked away. “The moment I got back over a week ago, I’ve been bugging your brother to tell me where you lived.”

She frowned. “Jack didn’t tell you?”

“The fucking ass told me you wanted to be left alone.” Marc grabbed her hands in his and squeezed. “I was going out of my mind. He finally relented and said he’d bring you to me. That way if you didn’t want to see me again, I wouldn’t be able to track you down.” Marc shrugged. “Of course, he doesn’t know how skilled I am. I would have eventually found you.”

He’d wanted to see her. He’d looked for her. Something tight started to unfold inside her.

“Why?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

He blinked. “What do you mean, why?” He tightened his grip on her hands as if he was afraid she’d run for it. “Do you not want to see me?”

“Yes,” she said. “I do.”

His smile lit his eyes and she caught her breath. “Good, because I want to see you too.” He was quiet for a moment and his face turned serious. “I want this to work. Because…we fit. Even though you distract me and,” he waved a hand in the air as if searching for words, “make me crazy. I can’t keep my fucking hands off you. But most of all…I trust you, with every part of me.” He traced a finger down the side of her face before he let his hand drop. “I’m falling hard here, Red.”

Her heart swelled. “I’m falling for you too.” She leaned up on her toes and kissed him gently. “You make me believe that anything is possible. That love exists. That…That we might find it. Together.”

Marc gave her a slow and way too sexy grin, and the way his eyes shone made her heart skip. But she took a step back. They had to be practical.

“But what about missions?” she asked. “We work for two different agencies. What about the distance between us?” she asked. “How can we make this work?”

He snorted softly. “One problem at a time, Red.”

She crossed her arms. “Missions?”

Marc mimicked her and crossed his arms. “We both have busy and important jobs. It means we won’t see a lot of each other, but we can still see each other.” Then he frowned. “Exclusively.”

His words sparked something inside her. She kept her face blank as if she were making a business deal, though warmth spread through her chest. “Exclusively,” she reiterated.

“Next?”

“Distance?”

Marc tilted his head at the doors to the main office behind him. “Company plane privileges. Jack doesn’t always come to us. I can request to be the one who handles most of the liaison duties.”

“Will you tell me who you really work for?”

He grinned. “I’m sure that can be arranged.”

She understood why he had secrets. She had them too. It would take time to figure out where they were going in this relationship, but she loved the idea of heading there with Marc.

“Have we gotten all the formalities out of the way?” he asked, snagging her hand.

Formalities? But she nodded. “I’ll have more questions.”

He pulled her toward him. “Of course you will, if only to be contrary.”

“I am not—”

He kissed her.

She’d missed his soft lips, the way he angled his head. His hands cupped her face, the rough callouses igniting memories of what they felt like skimming down her body. She moaned when his tongue slipped into her mouth, tasting her. Heat crested with each press of his lips, each stroke of his tongue, swelling higher after every stolen breath.

“Ahem!”

They broke apart. The receptionist frowned at them and then pointed to the elevator. Quinn giggled as Marc pulled her toward it and pressed the call button.

Marc slid his arms around her waist not letting her back away. “How long before you have to go back?”

“Three weeks.”

His arms tightened. The elevator doors slid open. He backed her in until she hit the wall. His mouth on hers before the doors closed. “Three weeks aren’t going to be enough for all the things I want to do to this delicious body of yours.” His voice rasped against her skin.

She twinned her hands through his hair, holding his head close. “One problem at a time.”

* * *

I hope you enjoyed Marc and Quinn’s story. If you enjoyed this book, make sure to check out the rest of the series at .

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The End.