Standing outside their motel room, Rora stayed in the shade looking from one end of the parking lot to the other. Torres was in the passenger seat of the car in the far right corner. Strike was striding across the asphalt toward her having just spoken to the men in the truck parked in the furthest left corner.

She breathed in and blew out the air slowly, stealing herself against what she was about to do.

“You’re all set,” Strike said as he approached her. “Crescent’s driving and Spear is his second. They’re both high council, as close to Thane as you can get. They’ll take Leandra back and she’ll be under X protection until Thane gets the all-clear from us.”

Her nerves were making it difficult to relax. She tried to dampen them, but this was beyond risky. Lives depended on them, they had a full operation running, but all she could think about was how much better she’d feel if she could do this with Strike at her side.

Raising his curled fingers to her jaw, he rested them there. “You have my permission and complete support to castrate any man who thinks about touching you, including them,” he said. “They’re both single, but have been warned. Don’t let them play dumb.”

He was trying to make her feel better while meaning every word at the same time. “They’re your friends… by proxy at least. It’s not my virtue I’m worried about… it’s yours.”

Stroking her arms, he pulled her closer. “We’ve been having sex for almost two days straight. My appetite is quenched.” He leaned down. “At least until we see each other again.”

She slid her hands onto his chest. “And Bella’s appetite? How will you convince her to trust you without seducing her?”

“I won’t deny it. If I could use sex as a tool, my job would be easy. But Bella’s into games and loves a challenge. I’ll tease her, tell her it’s all business, but she’ll push for more… and the more I say no, the more she’ll want it. I’ll tell her I’m swearing off women for a while. That you’re all fucked in the head, you’re too easy for me, you bore me. Seems like all I’ve gotta do is snap my fingers and you’re all prepared to drop your panties for me. She knows I’m not into women like that.”

“So you’re going to call us whores,” she said, but smiled. “I remember how disgusted you looked when that blonde stripper was rubbing herself all over you. Maybe that’s why I thought I could tease you with her. I didn’t think you’d follow through… I was devastated when I thought you had.”

His hands slid around to splay on her back. “You play with me, I play right back,” he said, leaning in. Rora leaned away, using his hands to support her weight. “What?”

“You just said you like a challenge. What kind of a challenge would I be if I let you kiss me every time?”

He yanked her body tight to his. “You are a challenge every goddamn minute. Since I met you, I haven’t had a second of peace… and fuck, I love you for it.”

Joy and attraction made her snuggle closer to whisper, “Those three words get you pretty much anything you want.”

She parted her lips to accept his and probably could’ve stood there all day in his arms, making out with him, thinking about how close they were to their sex sheets.

But someone blasted a car horn, making her jump and Strike curse. He glared over her to the car in the right corner.

“Damn Torres,” he growled. “I might kill him as soon as he has Burke’s confession, just for kicks.”

“Well don’t do it before we’re back together. I can’t say I don’t feel uneasy about this whole plan, but knowing you at least have someone at your back makes me feel a teensy bit better… even if he is a narc.”

“You’re sure Leandra doesn’t have internet access?” he asked, centering her thoughts on the plan again.

“Definitely not. There’s barely electricity where she is. I told you that after her daughter’s death she became a recluse. That was why her and Benjamin’s marriage broke down. But she didn’t move out of the city until after Benjamin went missing.”

“And if she’s not where you think she is, if you can’t find her, what are you going to do?”

It wasn’t a question, he was asking her to recite their agreed contingency. “Go to Thane and stay with X until you come for me.”

“That’s right,” he said and kissed her forehead.

Rora sighed. “I wish my directions were better. Leandra’s is so off the beaten path.”

“Don’t worry about that,” he said. One of his hands slipped from her back down to her wrist and he squeezed it in his fist before brushing his thumb up and down against it. “I’ll always be able to pinpoint your location… Opal has the ability to train up to a dozen satellites on you at any given minute.”

Leaning back again, she tried to figure him out. Strike kept caressing her wrist, but held up his own to show her, much like he had the time he’d told her about… Rora gasped. “Your implant,” she said, and his thumb stopped on the center of her wrist. “Oh my god, you put something inside me?” His lips quirked, but she smacked his chest. “You’re allowed to put that inside me. But this…” Pulling her arm from his hand, she clutched it to her chest. “I don’t know how I feel about this.”

“It allows me to protect you, that’s all. I’ll always be able to find you and monitor your life signs. It’s my way of showing you I care.”

His way of being romantic. “Will I get zapped if someone else touches Opal?” she asked, wringing her hand around her wrist.

“No, not unless you want to. I can reprogram it at any time to do pretty much anything you want.”

Relaxing as she absorbed this development, Rora figured there was no point in fighting it, so she embraced it instead. “Will it tell me every time you get an erection?” she asked, her lips curving. “Or every time you put your dick in another woman’s pussy?”

He lowered to brush the tip of his nose against her hairline. “I don’t have a chip in my cock… but I guess that’s something we can look into.”

She shoved his chest but didn’t really want him to go anywhere. Happy to settle into his arms when he pulled her to him again, Rora exhaled. “I love you, Strike,” she said, closing her eyes and nestling herself against his chest, knowing their time was coming to an end. “With all my soul, I worship you, lord.”

“And I love you, my corrupted queen,” he said, cupping his hands beneath her jaw to draw her face up and join their lips again.

Neither of them wanted to go, but there was work to be done, and hopefully this would be over without any hiccups in less than a week. Afterwards, all they would have to look forward to was the rest of their lives together.