Erin reached out and covered his hand gripping the edge of the tub. She'd already forgiven him. He might still be the wrong man for her, but they'd survived this together.He glanced at her hand on his, then her face."We're good," she said. "You have to figure out how to forgive yourself. For this. For Jimmy. You can't keep blaming yourself.""If I'm not responsible, who is?" Riley turned his hand and squeezed her hand back."Sometimes it's no one's fault. If you'd been looking behind you, do you think you'd have seen the guy who shot Jimmy?""There wasn't anything there..." He stared at the tile, but she knew it wasn't this room he was seeing."Take it from me. You have to figure out how to forgive yourself." She'd made her share of screw ups to know the truth."I'll get there." He smiled weakly at her. "Hungry?""Yeah.""Would you mind some company?"That was a dangerous question right now.She couldn't say no to Riley."This stuff smells good. Want to eat he

Riley would have to be very careful.He dug his fingers into her hair and bent her head backward. She sighed and her body slumped against him. He was learning her ways, the things that made her tick.Riley used his grip on her hair to turn her then walk Erin back until they ran into the mattress."Sit," he said."I didn't think you liked giving orders." She perched on the edge of the mattress, one leg crossed over the other."You like taking them, so I do what I can."She arched a brow at him but couldn't hide the way her skin tinged pink. He bumped her chin with his fingers and buzzed her lips with a kiss. He wasn't stupid enough to think this side of her extended beyond the bedroom.Riley backed away, memorizing the picture she made sitting there on the bed. Her crossed legs seemed almost demure, as though she were hiding herself from view. Her tight nipples telegraphed the message he'd already received loud and clear.He knelt, wincing at the sudden tightness of his

MONDAY. TRANS-ATLANTIC FLIGHT.ERIN TOOK HER LAPTOP from Riley and set it up on the tiny tray table in front of her. Her ears kept trying to pop without success as the massive air bus reached cruising altitude."Anything I can do?" he asked."No. Everything we salvaged was digital.""You want me to go through it? You could watch a movie.""Thanks, but I should do this. I mean, what if there's confidential information or details about a new site? We don't know what we're looking for.""If Mark was involved..."Erin swallowed. The possible connection to Mark had her nervous. There wasn't anyone else who operated in Erbil with the kind of equipment or manpower that had issue with her. Before, when she'd thought this was a personal attack against her, she'd understood what was going on, even if the how didn't make sense. With Mark factored in it was obvious he'd put her kidnappers up to the job.But why?She had no idea.But she had eleven hours to figure it out."

MONDAY, DALLAS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, TEXAS.MARK SAT IN THE SUV parked across from the terminal. Any moment now, Erin Lopez would arrive, and a series of events would be set into motion. Ever since Mark began doing these off-the-book jobs, he'd used others to cover up the end goal. People asked fewer questions about a freak allergic reaction resulting in death than they did when someone was killed during a mugging.With any luck, Erin's story would be neatly wrapped up in a bow.Following her kidnapping by the family members who held her responsible for the deaths of parents, siblings, and cousins, one, lone survivor would finish the job.Khalil would get the revenge he'd always wanted and Mark would have one loose end tied up. There was still the matter of that email to deal with, but Mark could handle that. There were ways.First, Erin. It always came down to her. He'd misjudged her the first time around and suffered from that mistake. Once she was out of the way, it wo

Riley tried the handle and found it was unlocked. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.Erin sat on a padded bench at the foot of the queen-sized bed, bent forward with her face in her hands. He shut the door behind him and crossed the room to sit next to her. The shit she'd been through this last week was the kind of stuff no one should have to deal with, and yet she'd taken it all in stride. It spoke to the strength of her character and her resolve to see this through till the end. She was more concerned about others than her own safety. He admired that about her even if he would like nothing better than to lock her in a closet for her own good."I get that this is frustrating, but we're trying to protect you and take care of Mark. It's not simple," he said."Don't you think I know that?" Erin pushed her hand through her hair and sat up slowly."Then what are you mad about?""Everything?" She blew out a breath. "I should have gone through his stuff sooner. I should ha