“So you didn’t turn the guys over to the cops?” asked Hart the second Tristan walked inside the mansion.

Tristan rolled his eyes and debated which of the two men had ratted him out. Probably not Hunter. He wasn’t one to squeal unless there was something in it for him. Gage, however, was probably pissed about the Melissa comments he’d made. “Kids,” said Tristan simply.

“What?”

“Kids. They weren’t guys. They were kids. Three brothers. I’m not even sure if the youngest can legally drive.” He didn’t mention that the youngest had also been stealing cars, but he didn’t see how that would help this conversation go any better.

Hart rubbed the bridge of his nose, a sure sign that this job was getting to him. Tristan felt for the guy, but he’d chosen this. In fact, Hart had handpicked Blackthorne as one of the first evil organizations for their little group to go after.

Speaking of that, Tristan needed to get an update on any progress made on the Blackthorne front during the time he’d been gone, but right now he was too fucking tired. “Yell at me about it tomorrow. Tell Toni that I had the kids call a dirty cop on my burner phone. They said his name was Perlman. See if you can find out anything about him. I don’t think we can use the kids to get us any closer to Blackthorne, but Perlman might be the key.”

“Toni’s already looking into it. You look like shit. Go get some sleep, and we’ll regroup tomorrow.” Tristan started to head for his room until Scott ominously added, “Toni has a little present in there for you.”

Tristan sighed, not bothering to ask what that cryptic remark was about.

He made his way down the west wing toward his bedroom. With three levels, there was enough room for all of them to sleep without getting in one another’s business. He had this entire hall to himself. The privacy was nice, but lighting was tricky. Because it was a foreclosure, they avoided having lights on at night. Toni had worked her magic to get the house back onto the grid because she couldn’t live a day without the internet at her fingertips, but her powers had their limits. They could probably talk their way out of a few nosy neighbors, but they didn’t need those kinds of problems in life. As soon as he walked through his door, he kicked it shut and started to pull his shirt over his head. It was only as he was dropping the material to the floor that he heard a shocked gasp. He looked over at the king-size four-poster bed to see Shae sitting up and staring at him in shock.

Suddenly Hart’s warning made so much more sense. He couldn’t work up the enthusiasm to be shocked. Instead, he just smiled at the sexy woman in his bed. “Well, hello there.”

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Shae stared wordlessly at Tristan for a second. She wasn’t sure what surprised her more: the fact that he was there or the fact that he was shirtless. Then finally, she worked back to shock. “What the hell are you doing in my room?” she demanded.

Tristan seemed completely at ease as he walked farther into the room. “This is Toni’s idea of a joke,” he muttered under his breath.

“Toni? What did she do?”

“This is my bedroom she stuck you in. She’s playing matchmaker.”

Shae scoffed. “Matchmaker? What would make her think that we would ever be a good match?”

“It doesn’t matter. You’re not sleeping here.”

Tristan started out the door, and she jumped off the bed to follow him. Toni had given her pajamas to wear, but Shae hadn’t felt right wearing someone else’s clothes. The little sundress, which had been worn about twelve hours too long now, was the one semblance of normalcy she had left. She was going to cling to this sundress for as long as possible. But now that she was running after Tristan through this massive mansion, she felt rather ridiculous wearing the wrinkled old thing. “Wait! Stop!” she called.

Tristan abruptly stopped and turned to face her. “Stop? Do you want to stay in the room with me? Do you want to share a bed?” He took a step closer, and she took a step back. “Why do you want me to stop?”

Shae’s mouth went dry. “I.... Um.... No. I just want to ask you questions. The last time I saw you, we were in a massive shootout. I thought you were dead, and then I was picked up on the side of the road by some girl I don’t even know claiming you’re some weird secret agent person.”

“I’m not a secret agent. Did she tell you that?”

“She’s told me barely anything. That’s why I need to talk to you. I have no idea what the fuck is going on. But I know you lied to me. You were in that Blackthorne building, weren’t you? You lied about everything. I have no idea who you are, and I... I.... You kissed me.”

“You embarrassed about it?”

“No! I mean, yes. I don’t know what to think about it. Who are you? What do you want from me?”

Tristan’s eyes went up and down her body, and Shae sucked in a gasp. But then Tristan gave an utterly reasonable answer. “I’m just looking into Blackthorne and looking into your connection to it. I wasn’t trying to play you or anything. It was a side effect of everything we’re doing.”

“So I’m just a side effect now? That’s all I am to you?”

His jaw clenched, and she knew her questioning was getting to him. “What the fuck do you want from me, Shae? I had fun with you. I like you. But I’ve only known you for one goddamn day. Do you want commitment? Do you want me to say I love you? What do you want from me?”

She blinked at the harsh words. She didn’t know what she wanted. She wanted something to make sense. She wanted to be back in her house, exhausted from working on floors all day. Not from driving all night to get away from murderers.

“I don’t want anything from you. Just leave me alone.” She backed up, running her fingers over her forehead and through the loose strands of her hair before retreating back to her bedroom. His bedroom. She didn’t even know anymore. But it was the only place she had to go. She turned to tell Tristan to stay the hell away from her bedroom, but when she looked down the hall, he was already gone.

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Tristan pounded on the door to Toni’s room. He hit it so hard, he must be waking up the entire house, but he didn’t care. Who the fuck was she to play games with his life? Who the fuck was she to torture Shae for her own little entertainment? He kept pounding until the door swung open, and Scott Hart glared at him angrily. But he was smart enough not to ask why he was so upset.

“I assume you saw the present Toni left for you in your bedroom?”

“Where is she?” demanded Tristan.

“Hold your horses. I’m right here.” Toni emerged from the attached bathroom, running a towel over her blonde hair. “Is this about Shae?”

“Of course it’s about Shae,” he screamed. “You have this whole giant house at your disposal, but you stick her in my bedroom. What good do you think that was doing anybody?”

Toni raised her eyebrows. “What harm is it doing anybody?”

He knew Toni was a smart woman, so he didn’t enjoy her playing stupid act. “The harm is that she was already pissed off at me, and now it looks like I’m invading the bedroom you gave her, which is actually my fucking bedroom. She doesn’t deserve that on top of everything else.”

“You think?” said Toni. “What exactly do you think she deserves? Should I have her in Gage’s bedroom? Maybe Hunter can keep her company.”

Tristan shook his head and clenched his jaw, holding back some of the choice words that came to mind. “Why can’t she sleep in a bedroom alone?”

“Because she’s a stranger, Tristan. The fact that I even brought her here is a testament to my faith in you and your judgment. Even that has limits. We don’t know her relationship with Blackthorne. We don’t know why Damask is so upset with her. And quite frankly, I don’t want some stranger wandering the halls alone. I had her in your bedroom, and was monitoring the cameras, but I don’t plan to stay awake all night babysitting your girlfriend. You keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn’t call anybody she shouldn’t call, and I’m okay having her here. But she does need to be supervised.”

“I’m not a fucking babysitter.”

“I agree. You’re not. Like I said, there are other people who can watch her. You tell me who you want me to assign and I’ll happily do that.”

The thought of Gage or Hunter sharing a bedroom with Shae filled him with a whole new kind of rage. “I can’t babysit her all day.”

“I know. Melissa is on her way over.”

Tristan frowned. Melissa, Slade’s sister, wasn’t one of them. Sure, she’d been doing paperwork and various other office jobs for them, but she wasn’t a trained professional or anything. “What would Melissa do?”

“Melissa is a normal person. She can interact with normal people in a normal way and not scare the hell out of them. Which is more than I can say for any of us, quite frankly.”

“When is she supposed to get here?”

“The plane lands tomorrow morning. Can you handle babysitting duty for one night?”

One night. That seemed almost manageable. Well, for him. He had a feeling Shae wouldn’t be too happy to see him wander back to her room. But he knew Toni’s stubborn face when he saw it. It was pretty much her normal face. She was steadfast on this. “Okay. I’ll give you one night.”

Toni snorted. “Gee, thanks for your generosity. So happy you’re allowing me one night. Get the fuck out of here, Tristan. Oh, and by the way. The next time you start banging on the door to my bedroom, you’d better be wearing a shirt.”

“I second that,” said Hart, one of his few contributions to the little argument. From the little smirk on his face, it seemed as if he enjoyed watching the fight. Probably because he knew Toni would win. She had an unhealthy habit of doing that a lot.

Tristan made his way back to his room, taking a small detour in the kitchen. He figured after the bad impression he’d just made, he could at least try to make it better. Toni, as much as she annoyed him sometimes, was good at planning. Not just strategically, where Hart excelled, but with little things that he normally wouldn’t think of. Like having the pantry set with a whole array of junk food.

He pulled out some chips and a little plastic container full of brownies. Then he grabbed some beers and sodas out of the fridge. He had to carefully balance the load and tried extra hard to keep the cold beverages from touching his bare skin.

When he made it back to his room, he didn’t bother trying to turn the knob. Instead, he knocked softly. He was sure that by now she had locked the door on him, but he knew he could pick the lock no problem. However, considering he was supposed to be spending the night with this woman, it would help if she opened the door for him. After a few seconds of nothing, he knocked once more. He was about to formulate how he could set all of his stuff down and find something to pick the lock with when the door opened and Shae glared at him through the crack. “What do you want?”

“I, um, I brought a peace offering.” He held up the food.

Shae eyed the items warily, as though expecting them to jump out and attack her somehow. He thought she was going to slam the door in his face, but instead she asked, “Are those brownies?”

“Totally fresh,” he said, hoping he wasn’t lying.

“I don’t want you here.”

Apparently she wasn’t so seduced by the chocolate. “I figured as much.”

“But you’re here. And I’m guessing you’re not just going to go away.”

He nodded. “That sounds accurate.”

“Do you want to be here because you want to be, or is Toni making you?”

He debated being honest with her, but that seemed too out of character. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be alone after everything you’ve been through tonight.”

“Liar,” she said even as she pushed the door open. “Come on in.”

Tristan did as she said, setting all the grocery items on the nearest dresser. “I don’t really know what you like, you know, besides steak, but there’s more stuff in the kitchen if this isn’t good enough.”

Shae just grabbed the brownies and moved to sit on the bed. She sat cross-legged and tugged the sundress down to protect her modesty before setting the brownies on top of her lap.

He pointed to where he’d dropped his shirt when he’d originally walked in. “I managed to pick up your purse before I left. Don’t use your phone until Toni has a chance to disable the GPS. Until then, keep it off.” Her eyes lit up in interest at the possibility of getting her phone back, but she didn’t say anything. “If you want to sleep, that’s fine. I’ll stay here, and I won’t say a word.”

“What does it matter if you’re not saying a word? You lie about everything anyway.”

“I don’t lie about everything.”

“Then tell me one thing you said the truth about.”

“I really am trying to bring down Blackthorne. That wasn’t a lie.”

“And is it true what Toni said? Are you really some kind of weird do-gooder?”

“No,” he said instinctively. “I mean, yes. The deal is, I’m not a do-gooder. I’ve never been a do-gooder in my life. I’m here because I get paid for it. I don’t want you getting misconceptions about me.”

“If you don’t want me to get any misconceptions about you, why lie?”

He winced. He didn’t know how to tell her what he was feeling. Maybe because he never actually talked about his feelings to anybody. “The version that you met of me, the advertising exec who traveled all the time, yada yada yada, that isn't me. I lie. I lie to everybody. Quite frankly, I don’t know how to tell the truth. And I don’t want to.”

“How can you have any friends if you never tell the truth?”

“Do I want any friends? What do I care if people like me? You want to know what friends are? A liability.”

“So Toni isn’t a friend?”

He scoffed. “I barely know her. If anything, she’s my boss.” He felt suddenly defensive. “Hey, it’s not like I see you trying to get a cell phone to let all your friends know you’re okay.”

“I don’t have friends because I move around a lot.”

“What exactly do you think I do?”

“At least I’m nice to people where I go.”

“Hey, I’m really nice to people. When you want people to give you things they shouldn’t give you, you should be very nice to them.”

She was quiet for a moment before she looked up at him and met his eyes. “I’ve never talked to a thief before. You seem so casual about it.”

“Correction. You’ve never known that you’ve been talking to a thief before.”

“Isn’t it hard? Always fearing you’re going to get caught. Never knowing if you’re going to spend the next few months in jail.”

“That’s only a problem if you get caught. I don’t get caught.”

“You’re very confident.”

“I’m very good at what I do. Like you. You know you’re going to sell that house you’re working on for a profit. You’re not worried about it. It doesn’t keep you up at night. You know it. Like a fact. That’s because you’re good at what you do. I’m good at what I do.”

“You got caught that first night. When we were in a closet together.”

“But I also got out.”

“That’s right. You got out and abandoned me. Don’t think I forgot.”

“I’m the one who called the cops. I waited until they came for you. I waited until I saw them bring you out and you were safe and sound. I never abandoned you. I would never—” He broke off before he said anything stupid, but he saw Shae’s eyes narrow. She knew what he’d been about to say, and she looked as confused by it as he felt.

She set the brownies down without taking one. “I think it’s time for me to try to get some sleep.” She looked around the room questioningly and pulled the top blanket off the bed. That still left one more blanket and a sheet. Not really enough, since the old house could get drafty. It might be Florida, but the nights still got chilly. Nonetheless, the alternative was that he slept in the bed with her, and he was happy enough that Shae let him inside. He wasn’t about to push his luck.

She handed him the blanket, and he came over and got it. She didn’t ask where he was going to sleep, but her eyes followed him as he made his way to the armchair and sat down with the blanket over his legs. It wasn’t going to be comfortable, but it would be better than the floor. Also, he had one of his spare guns stashed in the drawer right next to the chair. This house was pretty much Fort Knox, so he wasn’t expecting anyone to come in, but he’d rather be safe than sorry.

She turned off the lamp next to the bed, and the entire room was plunged into darkness.

He stared at the bed. He couldn’t make out her shape, but he could hear her breathing. He imagined her cuddled up under the blanket. As she adjusted her position, her skirt would ride up, and those delicious legs would be bared. He knew he shouldn’t, but he imagined crawling into bed with her. He wouldn’t touch her, but he would lean in close, feeling her heat and inhaling her scent. Tristan clenched his hands into fists, forcing himself away from the fantasy. After today, he knew he was never going to get that with her.

He closed his eyes and willed himself to stay focused. After a few minutes had passed, he knew she wasn’t sleeping. He could tell by the uneven nature of her breaths. And then, through the darkness, he heard her soft voice. “Good night, Tristan.”