ALEC LISTENED TO THE sounds of Vara's shower for a moment before retreating to the kitchen. He should be dragging and ready to drop. He hadn't slept much on the plane. But he couldn't waste time on a nap. He was under the same roof with Vara and he didn't know how long it would last.In theory, seven days. That was how long they'd booked the condo for. It didn't mean they'd actually stay that long. Anything could happen. She could get called in by the CIA. He could have a job come up. For however long they got, he wanted to use that time to reconnect with her.It hadn't gone unnoticed that she hadn't blinked an eye when he'd put their things in the master bedroom. There'd been no hesitation, no glancing around. Nothing. Which he took as a good sign. Besides, he didn't intend to sleep without her so long as they were together. Every minute had to count. This was his campaign to show her that they could be something together for real this time and not just a lust-driven fling.He'd go

VARA OPENED THE DOOR to the bedroom and found Alec standing on the other side, his hands braced on the frame."Hi." He grinned at her and even though there was plenty of space between them she could feel ghost touches along her cheek and inner knee. Places those lips had been."Hi. Come here often?" She gestured at the master bath behind her."Only when I need to." He lifted one shoulder."Move." She chuckled and shooed him to one side."Done?" He backed up, giving her space, which was a little disappointing."It's all yours." She strolled across the bedroom.The door snicking shut cut off any fantasy of him enraptured by the sight of her.What the hell was up with him?Alec had kept things fairly G rated. Even once it was just the two of them all he'd done was flirt a bit, hold her hand, kissed her fewer than five times-but nothing more. She'd fully expected him to pounce on her as soon as they were behind closed doors. Instead they'd spent a relaxing evening in front of the

ALEC SET THE BEACH chairs down and watched as Vara swept her bikini cover-up over her head. A week of this view and he still wasn't tired of it. She glanced at him and rolled her eyes, one side of her mouth hitching up."Want to take mine off, too?" He grinned at her and unfolded a chair for her."Shut up." Vara set the tote in her chair and draped the top over the back. She rolled her eyes and smiled, but it wasn't the reaction he was looking for.There was a wall there. He could feel it. She'd kiss him, suck him, fuck him, but there was this barrier that kept them slightly apart. Maybe he wouldn't notice it if he was just meeting her or if he hadn't known her better all those years ago, but he did. He'd been with a totally open and uninhibited Vara and this wasn't her.Whatever.He'd wear her down. This was a long campaign. Them clicking so fast was good, it meant he had to do less convincing her. He just needed to show her that this relationship didn't have an expiration date.

VARA TAPPED HER PHONE screen, but the device was sluggish. She needed to switch over to a new cell on an American network. It just hadn't been a priority. Now it seemed silly that she hadn't taken care of that already.Alec hauled himself out of the seat in the row ahead of her and wrangled their bags out of the overhead bins. They'd agreed that remaining in Miami seemed like a bad idea. Somehow they'd gotten home, packed and boarded the plane in an hour and a half. She didn't know where they were headed now or what Alec's plan was, but she was glad to be in another city.She pressed her phone to her ear and followed Alec down the aisle off the plane.Chad's phone rang. And rang. His voicemail picked up.Vara ended the call. She wasn't leaving him another message, not when she had nothing worthwhile to say.Once they were off the plane Alec offered her his hand."What's our plan now?" It was strange to ask someone else that question. For the last few years she was the one making

WYATT CHECKED THE PARKING lot. Again.Still no unusual activity.They'd found a pay by the hour motel and checked in. The aim was to regroup, make some calls and figure out where the hell they were going next.Vara didn't have the package.They'd searched the condo and rental car a few times through the week. The only place it could have been was Vara's tote bag, and all that had yielded was sand, sunscreen and granola bar wrappers.This job was going to hell fast.He glanced over his shoulder at Ivan who'd been glued to his phone for hours.If Wyatt wasn't careful, he'd end up a casualty in this drama, and if he died his mother and sisters would suffer. He didn't know what the damn package was, and he didn't care. Nothing was more important than his family's wellbeing. Whatever secured that was Wyatt's priority.Which was why his path was subject to Kolya's whim. Wyatt couldn't risk having a mob boss for an enemy. Not with his family vulnerable."Misha is taken care of," Ivan