“I still don’t take orders well. Dominic tried to send me back with Stephan.”

Marc chuckled. “I can imagine how that went.”

“He did make a valid point. I don’t want to divide your attention. I’m down on the street. Safe. Just close enough if you need me.”

“Oh, I will need you . . . all night. As often and as creatively as my stamina allows. This may require revisiting our bunker,” he said suggestively.

He heard the smile in her voice. “Seriously? That’s what you’re thinking about right now?”

“Imagining you beneath me, above me, crying out my name as I come inside you. It’s my happy place. Are you saying you didn’t think about me before you rushed into that building to get Stephan?”

“I did,” she admitted. “I also did a little bargaining with God. You might want to try it.”

“What did you offer to give up?”

“Erotica.”

With a judgmental hiss, Marc said, “That’s a shame, but I’ll do my best to replace your smutty literature.”

He imagined her stance, hand on hip, rolling her eyes. “Hurry up and get this guy. Then we’ll see if you can live up to all that talk.”

“Oh, I can.”

In a more serious tone, Alethea asked, “If you have to switch back to the other channel, I’ll understand. I can radio them if I see anything.”

“No,” Marc said. “Stay with me through this, Alethea. You’re not my distraction. You’re my strength.”

“I will kill you if you die today,” Alethea said seriously.

Marc laughed and signaled his men to surround the door. “I’m not going anywhere. I finally have something to live for.”

From below, Alethea could hear what was going on, even if she couldn’t see it. She heard the crash of the door as they broke it in. She heard the light footsteps of the men as they likely dispersed through the apartment. She held her breath.

Marc’s voice rang out, “Sliver. The game is over. You might as well come out. There is no escape route we haven’t covered. Unless you decide to jump to your death out a window, and even then, I have someone to catch you, because we’d want you alive.”

Marc was brilliant.

A promise like that always lured a cockroach out.

A second later a nervous male voice said, “I have your friend trapped next door. All I have to do is touch this button and he and half that building are gone. Tell your men to put down their weapons.”

Marc laughed harshly. “The only reason you didn’t just get a bullet through your head is because Stephan is long gone. So go nuts. Click away.”

“How—” He stopped, then said, “Luckily I have this building rigged as well. Was that Dominic’s helicopter that landed above? He’s here, isn’t he? Probably just outside the door. Too afraid to confront me himself. That’s fine. All I have to do is press this button. If you shoot me, I’ll still have the chance to take you all with me. You lose.”

Alethea spoke spontaneously. “He’s bluffing.” Then her stomach flipped painfully. It was one thing to risk her own life on a hunch, but this was Marc. What if I’m wrong? She’d never played it safe in the past. Never. But she suddenly understood why people surrendered. The life of someone you loved resting on your decision was a terrifying responsibility. She wanted to tell him to give Sliver whatever he wanted. Let him by. Let him have the helicopter. Do anything it takes to get out of there alive.

But that wasn’t an alternative she could live with either.

None of them would ever be safe. He’d come back stronger, nastier, and better prepared now that he saw how they worked together.

No, it ends today.

Alethea said, “He’s a coward, not the type to kill himself. And he never thought we’d get this far. He didn’t plan for this.”

Marc said, “Understood.”

And that was it.

He trusts me.

Oh, God, don’t let me be wrong.

I can’t lose Marc.

I love him.

If you spare him, I’ll . . .

I’ll . . .

She looked down at her feet and imagined her extensive collection of stilettos. “I’ll wear flats from now on,” she whispered aloud. There. It may not be much, but if there is a God, He’ll understand what it means to me.

Marc asked, “What did you say?”

Sliver repeated his threat. “I said, have them drop their weapons or I’ll blow us all up.”

“Not you,” Marc said impatiently. “Alethea?”

Alethea said, “I love you, Marc. I thought I didn’t need anyone, but I need you. I want to go to sleep next to you. I want to wake up to your overly happy morning personality. Come back to me. Marry me. Today. Tomorrow. Just don’t leave me.”

Clearing his throat, Marc said, “I’m sorry, but no.”

“No?”

“No, you don’t get to propose to me. I have the whole thing planned out in my head.”

Marc waved a finger in a circle and then pointed to Sliver. Men from both sides moved in. Sliver dropped the remote and tried to run, but there was nowhere to go. They pulled his arms behind him and raised him up onto his tiptoes. With a grimace, Marc watched a wet area spread down the man’s cargo pants.

Sliver said, “This isn’t over. It’ll never be over. Even prisons have Internet—and something beautiful called parole.”

Marc leaned in and snarled, “Oh, how cute. You think we called the police? I almost feel bad for you. You’ll soon wish you had rigged this place. You don’t fuck with a man’s family. You don’t threaten his children.”

Sliver went to say something else but Marc instructed someone to stuff something in his mouth. Whatever he had to say, there wasn’t a man there who wanted to hear it.

He was half hauled, half carried to the roof of the building. Jake took one look at his soiled pants and said, “Do we have to use my helicopter?”

Dominic glared at his friend. “I’ll buy you a new one.”

Jake shook his head sadly. “This one has good memories, but whatever. I guess we have to do what we have to do.”

Sliver was pushed into the helicopter.

As they watched him being taken away, Jake said, “I feel like we should say something to him.”

“What the hell would we say?” Dominic growled.

Jake shrugged. “I don’t know. In the movies there is always a parting remark. Maybe you should punch him or something.”

Dominic raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “I wouldn’t be able to stop, and I told Abby I don’t kill people.”

Nodding in understanding, Jake asked, “So, what are you going to do with him? We can’t take this to the police.”

“I called Rachid. I told him we were overnighting a package to him. He said Najriad has a wonderful penal system. There is a plane gassed and ready to take Sliver there now. He’s going to the same place Rachid sent his brother’s shooter.”

Jake frowned pensively. “I can’t imagine that man is still alive.”

Dominic shrugged. “Plausible deniability. What happens in Najriad stays in Najriad.” He nodded at the pilot and they backed away from the wind of the rotors.

Once the roof was quiet again, Jake said, “I don’t think you have to worry about Abby with this one. She’ll be glad it’s over.”

Dominic closed his eyes for a moment. When they opened, they were shiny with emotion. He turned to Marc and held out his hand. “Thank you, Marc. I owe you for this. You tell me what you need and I’ll make it happen.”

Out of the corner of his eye Marc saw a blur of red hair rush him. He braced himself, but still had to take a stabilizing step back when Alethea launched herself at him, wrapping her legs around his waist and kissing him wildly. For a few moments Marc forgot where he was and simply savored the shared passion. Finally he broke from the kiss, not putting Alethea down, and said to Dominic, “I’m taking a short vacation. You won’t hear from me for a couple of days. I’ll write up a report when I come back. Mind if I borrow one of your toys?”

Dominic and Jake exchanged a look and Jake shrugged. “At least he asks.”

“Fine,” Dominic said gruffly. “Call Marie, but I don’t want to know the details.”

A siren in the distance warned that someone might have seen the commotion and called the police. Dominic and Jake left the roof with the rest of their security.

Marc and Alethea stayed for one more long kiss, leaving at the last moment before the police arrived. Hand in hand they bolted down the stairs, out of the building, and to a town car and driver he had waiting near the rear exit.

Once inside the vehicle, Marc took out his phone and Alethea stopped him by laying a hand over his phone. “Don’t call Marie.”

“She’s the gatekeeper to his three-hundred-ninety-foot yacht. Have you ever seen it? We could take it out to his private island or wherever you want to go.”

“It doesn’t feel right.”

His stomach clenched painfully. In the thick of the danger, had she spoken hastily of feelings she didn’t really have for him? He’d seen that in the thick of war. People clung to each other while fighting for survival, but that bond was situational and often didn’t hold up in the calm that followed. All he knew for sure was the depth of his love for her. If she needed more time, he could give her that. It wouldn’t be easy, but her happiness was what mattered to him. “Which are you uncomfortable with? The yacht, or running off with me?”

“Involving Marie,” Alethea said, and looked away. “The ladies and I didn’t exactly part on good terms. It’s time for me to admit that Lil and I are living very different lives now. I don’t fit into hers any more than she wants to be a part of mine. I didn’t want to see it, but maybe it’s time to let that friendship go.”

Marc hugged her to his side. He felt her pain and sought the words that would show her how wrong she was. “After today, I’m sure those women would forgive you anything. You saved Stephan and very likely the lives of whoever was next on his list. They’ll love you.”

Alethea shook her head. “No, they’ll be grateful. They may even be nice to me for a short time because of this, but then we’ll go right back to where we were before. Because at the end of the day, they can’t accept me as I am. I can continue to fight with them, or I can accept the reality of the situation and focus on those who do.” She laid a hand on his cheek and brought his mouth down to hers. “You.”

Her kiss held a sweet desperation that tore as his heart. Who wouldn’t want to be the center of this woman’s universe? Not sharing her was tempting, but she wouldn’t be happy if she walked away from the people who had become her family. “You sure about the yacht?”

She smiled, a mix of love and sadness in her eyes. “Don’t you have any toys of your own?”

“Of course, but nothing as impressive.”

“I’m not with you for the size of your . . . um . . . boat,” she teased.