“How is the chicken?” I asked Vaughn over dinner

“This is what you made when Paul and Aubrey came over, isn’t it?”

I nodded, holding a glass of white wine. I couldn’t say fuck you out loud to Blackwing, but I had subtle ways of saying it just as loudly.

“I thought I would try it again.”

“It’s good.” He looked up from his plate.

I didn’t want the conversation to be stilted, but ever since Vaughn told me he suspected we were under audio surveillance, I wasn’t comfortable talking openly. I knew I had to work on it, or Eloise would become more suspicious of me. I was already dangerously close to making her an enemy.

“I saw Eloise this morning,” I announced.

He eyed me. “What happened?”

“She tracked me down in Marie’s when I was in line for coffee.” I replayed the encounter. I didn’t leave any details out.

“I don’t want you to go through with this,” he lied.

“I don’t have a choice anymore, do I?” I took a bite of salad. “I either get the security code from the Auclairs’ apartment, or Blackwing is going to throw Garrett into the middle of the investigation.”

“I wish you had told me you wanted to call him.” He sighed. “We could have prevented this kind of leverage against you. I could have protected you, but now Eloise has something on your family.”

“I know it was dangerous. I shouldn’t have. But it was right before Christmas and I was homesick. It was a mistake. I realize that now.” I paused. “He sounded good. Strong. Like the brother I used to have.” I still hoped Vaughn would meet him one day, but there wasn’t a plan for that yet. “I can’t let this break him. I won’t. Pulling him into the middle of an investigation isn’t the kind of thing he’s equipped to handle. I’m going to go through with what Eloise wants me to do.”

“I don’t like it, but I agree. You need to get that code. But no more. Do you understand? This has to end.”

I nodded at him. Our dinner theater was bizarre. Our conversation was layered with truths we hid between words. I had started exploring objects in the flat. Picking up lamps, running my fingers along the edge of the drapes. I stared at the light fixtures and the blades on the fans. I never found anything. I never saw the bugs. But even now, I still knew they were there. Somewhere in this gorgeous gourmet kitchen, Blackwing was listening.

Vaughn helped me clear the dishes and put everything way.

“What do you say we get dessert out tonight?” he suggested.

“What were you thinking?”

“I know Marie’s is closed, but what about that place that just opened by the bookstore?”

“Jean’s?”

“I think that’s it.” He threw a kitchen towel over his shoulder, and suddenly looked irresistible. I forgot about the bugs, and reached up to kiss him.

His arms wrapped around my waist. Big strong protective arms that blocked the rest of the world. The kiss burned my lips and my tongue. I wanted him. I needed him. But I wasn’t an exhibitionist. I hadn’t been able to have sex the past two nights. The thought that our most intimate moments were being recorded made my stomach turn.

It was killing me not to touch him. Not to lose myself in him. Not to get naked and wrap my body around his.

He growled. “Or we could stay here.”

I shook my head. “I think I want something chocolate. Ohh, I know. The mousse. I’ve heard people talking about it. I want mousse.”

He laughed. “Of course you do. Come on, let’s get our coats and go out.”

The mousse at Jean’s was everything people raved about it being. Creamy, smooth, and decadent as promised. I scraped the bottom of my parfait glass with the long-handled spoon.

“Should we order more?” Vaughn teased.

“No. One is enough. I’ll run tomorrow.”

“Should we walk back along the river?” he asked.

“Sounds nice. It’s not as cold tonight.”

We huddled close to each other as we strolled along the Seine. The lights reflected off the river. It looked dark. Black enough that there was no bottom. If you fell over, you would keep sinking with no barrier to stop you from being dragged away. We passed the bench where we sat the other night.

“All right. I have the first step of the plan.”

“Are you going to tell me how to get the code from Aubrey?”

“We can talk about that back at the apartment openly. This conversation is between us and the Seine.”

“I wish that was the name of a song.”

“I know, babe.”

We followed the riverwalk under low tree limbs. “I’m listening. What is it?”

“Eloise confirmed what we thought was happening. The FBI is actively looking for us. We know for certain that it would be easy to show up on their radar.”

“Ok. So we just have to stay off it, the same way we have been.”

He shook his head. “No. Just the opposite.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have someone to help us. Someone I trust.”

“Really?” I never thought about relying on another person. How was there anyone we could trust?

Vaughn huffed. “I trust him because I’m paying him well.”

“Oh, ok. What is he going to do for us?”

“I won’t get into the technical side, but he can send data pings to whatever part of the world we choose.”

“And that does what exactly?”

“It starts the goose chase. We’ll use an entirely different alias for you and start social media. Let’s say we choose a spot in the Bahamas. You can start posting and living life as Jane Hawthorne. It needs to look discreet. Tasteful. Maybe we’ll get a wig for you. But the feds’ facial recognition software will pick it up. They will track the accounts to where my hacker points them.”

“But won’t Blackwing know what I’m doing?” I asked.

“No. They don’t monitor security agencies. The company is in practically fifty countries, and they have agents from just about all of those. The resources are expansive, but they can’t watch everyone all the time. They spend the majority of their surveillance on targets or preparing background data for potential jobs. They aren’t running facial recognition software around the globe looking for your beautiful face.” He waggled his eyebrows.

“Ok, so we send Agent Kenneth to some tiny island town. How does that allow us to escape?”

Vaughn rubbed the back of his head. “I’m working on the second phase. We have to get them in each other’s path. So the location is key. And the timing is going to be critical.”

I bit my lip. “Since we’re talking about our options, I went to the library today after my run in with Eloise.”

“Checking out the next book for book club?”

“No,” I snapped. I got it. I had been pacifying myself with book club and wine dates, but things had changed. “I researched sanctuary cities for political asylum.”

“Fuck, Em. No.”

“Listen to me. We need to have backup plans. Why can’t we have all the information? I would feel better if the law was on our side.”

“It’s not. It never has been.” I heard the bitterness in his voice.

I wanted to change all of it for him. I wanted to give him hope. The light he always said was inside me. I never took that seriously until today. There was light in the law, even if it was buried inside dusty old court cases.

“It could be. I think I found something.”

He stopped abruptly. The gravel slid under our feet.

“What kind of something?”

“I think you could qualify as a whistleblower.”

He groaned. “I’m not trying to expose anything from the U.S. I think you know that. I’ve always been in it for the money. My bank accounts prove that.”

“There are plenty of double agents in the world who have used this defense. You aren’t blowing the whistle on the U.S., you’re blowing the whistle on Blackwing and all the countries they have helped infiltrate our systems and data.”

He slouched into an open bench. He buried his head in his hands. “No.”

I pulled his hands away from his face. “Let me take care of this part, ok? It’s what I do. It’s what I can do to protect you this time.”

His eyes landed on me. “It’s not supposed to work that way.”

“And I hope it doesn’t. We might not have to use it. But I can build a proactive case and find out exactly what I need to know if we end up in that situation. Let me do this. It’s just one layer of armor.”

He chuckled. “Armor, huh?”

I nodded. “It’s what I know.”

“Even if it isn’t the truth?”

I twisted my lips together. “I would do anything to keep you out of prison. You know that?”

“I do.” His hand slid to my leg.

I felt the quiver in my core. The subtle reminder that my body belonged with his.

“I want to be with you,” I whispered.

“Stop worrying about the bugs.” He pulled my lips to his mouth. “Let me take you home and fuck you the rest of the night.”

I whimpered, wanting him. Wanting him to make those words come true.

I shook my head. “I just can’t. It’s too weird. I’m sorry.”

He let his head fall back in frustration.

“What about a hotel?” I suggested.

“No. That’s a red flag. I’d never get away with it.”

I chewed my bottom lip. “We could go away this weekend?” I was hopeful there was a solution to the slow burn building between us. It was agony. The worst kind of torture. Talking about it seemed to only make it worse.

I saw the white of his teeth when he smiled. “You’re coming with me.”

“What? Wait,” I shrieked as he pulled me from the bench. I hurried to follow him through the park and to the building.

“Slow down.” I panted, trying to catch my breath.

“No.” He pushed open the heavy set of doors and led me into the lobby.

It was quiet. The lamps in the lobby were lit, but all the overhead fixtures were turned off for the evening. It made the lobby feel soft and welcome, like the whole building had gone to bed and it was time to wind down for the night.

With the look in Vaughn’s eye, I knew the last thing he wanted to do was wind down. He was on a mission. And that mission was to make me come hard.

“What are you doing?” I looked down as he wedged a small tool into the lock of a door handle.

“Taking you somewhere.”

The knob clicked and he pushed it open. The door swung wide and we stepped into the office suite. I had been in here only once before. It was the day I got the mail key for our box. The woman who handed it to me was never here. The office seemed more like a prop in the building. We were all home owners, but I imagined she had responsibilities like overseeing the landscaping, making sure the elevator ran, and that the building always looked beautiful.

There was a small writing desk. No computer. Not even a phone.

I looked at Vaughn. “You can’t be serious.”

He locked the door behind us. “I’m fucking serious.”

I swallowed, knowing he wasn’t backing down. Where else were we going to go? I refused to be intimate in the apartment beyond a few passionate kisses.

“If you don’t feel safe in the flat, then we need a place. There’s no one here. No cameras. No bugs. Just you and me,” he reassured me. “Trust me, babe.”

I nodded. I did trust him implicitly. My chest rose with a full breath. He walked toward me like a hungry tiger. I backed up, letting my winter coat fall from my shoulders with every step I took. I tossed my scarf and gloves. I stared in his eyes. Eyes that conveyed endless amounts of lust and dirty thoughts.

God, I loved those thoughts. What he wanted to do to me. What he could make me feel.

He reached around me, closing the blinds to the inner courtyard. “No one else,” he growled. “Only you and me.”

We were utterly alone.

Hidden.

I sighed when he peeled the shirt over my head. We needed this.