"We're leaving."

"When? What about the police?"

"We're not calling the police." Bryan propped himself against the bathroom counter.

"Why not? What about that dead man in our room?" She heard her own voice rise an octave.

Bryan's eyes were cool and emotionless, so different from the man who'd been kissing her less than an hour ago.

"Don't worry about where the guy is. I don't know how he found us, but I do know that he was involved with some bad people, and more of them will come looking for us when he doesn't report back in. So we're getting out of here without a paper trail. The police-"

"Leave paper trails," she finished for him. With the water still streaming down her back, she was surprised at how calm she felt. But she'd seen her world crumble before-her mom's alcoholism, high school, last summer when Trey was arrested. This was just the next layer. Still, she felt cold, despite the hot shower and the steam.

"That's right," he nodded with approval. "We're going to Penn Station."

"Tonight?"

"There's a train leaving for Philadelphia at 12:15. We can start making our way south. But we've got to stay under the radar from now on, so it's travel by train or by bus."

She stared at him a moment. The reality of the situation was finally sinking in. "Are we fugitives of some sort?"

"Not yet, but that could change soon if we don't get out of here."

"What about the body?" The chill she'd felt earlier was turning to ice.

"I think the less you know the better. Right now, I need to rinse off, and we'll be on our way. Hurry up, or I'll a.s.sume you want to share that shower."

Was that a threat or a promise?

Every smart-a.s.s retort she'd normally have to his taunt flew right out of her head. At the same time she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to stand in the tiny enclosure with him.

"Give me two minutes." She fought to keep her voice from squeaking as she dropped the shower curtain. G.o.d, she was so off her game here.

She heard him chuckle.

"You have one."

December 27 Late evening ALMOST TWENTY-FOUR HOURS later, with Sa.s.sy dead asleep beside him, Bryan watched the night sky flash by from the window of the Silver Meteor.

"You're terribly lucky," said the conductor as he took Bryan's cash for the upgrade to a sleeper car. "We had a no-show in Richmond. I'll go make sure it's ready before you wake your friend."

Bryan nodded his thanks and leaned his head back to wait. Earlier they'd caught a 12:15 AM commuter train at Penn Station with moments to spare. He had tossed his phone outside the hotel and bought a burner at the station so they couldn't be tracked.

Once in Philadelphia, they'd transferred to another train, hopscotching across different commuter lines all the way down to Virginia. The typical seven-hour trip from New York had taken them over three times as long. Multiple layovers and trains later, here they were.

Sa.s.sy was only speaking to him when necessary, but that was fine. There wasn't much that they could have discussed about the situation in public anyway. Still, sitting beside her in silence was driving him nuts. Smelling her, hearing the noises she made as she napped off and on throughout their trek south, was a new form of torture for him.

Her head had tilted and slid to finally end up against his arm. There were dark shadows under her eyes. Bryan knew how she felt. He was so tired, he'd lost count of how many hours he'd been awake over the past three days. But he hadn't been able to sleep.

He could barely think, and he d.a.m.n sure couldn't let his guard down as long as they were sitting in a crowded pa.s.senger car. He had texted Leland when they'd managed to board in Richmond with no ID check. Thankfully, there would be no more hopping on and off for them.

The conductor came back with the tickets and directions to their car. Bryan gently woke Sa.s.sy. She was groggy but cooperative when she heard that they had a place to lie down.

Once the door to their compartment was closed and locked, she seemed to perk up considerably as Bryan took the first deep breath he'd had in hours. He shoved his duffel in the corner, sank into the reclining seat by the window, and laid his head back-so relieved he could cry.

The porter had already lowered the beds, but Bryan wasn't going to lie down on that bottom bunk until Sa.s.sy was firmly settled on the sleeping shelf above. If he had to sit beside her any longer, he was going to explode. He'd been hard since she'd fallen asleep on his shoulder between Baltimore and Richmond, and the smell of her skin and the feel of her body against his side had put his mind in places that were dangerous for his sanity. Right now, he desperately needed some distance and some rest.

But Sa.s.sy had a second wind and was now more than ready to talk. "I need you to explain to me exactly why we didn't call the police in New York, and why we're acting like fugitives. Where are we going?"

Bryan opened one eye. He didn't want to do this. If he could sleep for just thirty minutes . . . h.e.l.l, a ten-minute combat nap would put him miles ahead of where he was at this point.

"I can't talk now, Sa.s.sy. I'm wiped."

"When are we going to talk?" She crouched down beside his recliner.

"How about when I wake up?" He didn't try to hide the hope in his voice.

The mulish set of her jaw was proof that she wasn't going to wait. He recognized that look from years ago. d.a.m.n.

He had nothing left in the tank. Zero resources to stop himself from showing her what he wanted to do so badly. Maybe if he let her see all that, she'd leave him alone-at least long enough for him to regroup. In his exhausted state, it seemed like a reasonable plan.

He opened both eyes and stared at her, allowing everything he was feeling and wanting to show in his gaze. He was tired of trying to hide it from her and from himself. He wanted her underneath him in that pitiful excuse for a bed. And he didn't have the discipline or the inclination to stifle his desire anymore.

All the longing and l.u.s.t he'd been trying to bury for the past six months was at the surface for him, spilling over for her to see. And there was no doubt she saw exactly what was on his mind. She swallowed audibly at his scorching gaze.

"We're fugitives. Don't you get it? Someone is after you. I think it has to do with that story you were working on in Africa about the human trafficking and the cartel connection in Mexico. I can't prove it yet, but that's what I believe is going on."

Now she had a dozen other questions in her eyes. But when she opened her mouth to ask them, he couldn't . . . He just couldn't do this anymore. He was at the tail end of a rapidly fraying rope.

So he said the one thing he knew would shut her up. The truth. "Sa.s.sy, either let me sleep or let me f.u.c.k you. I'm open to either option right now, but talking is not on the list."

He cringed inwardly at what he'd just said out loud, but that seemed to have done it. Her mouth dropped open in shocked but blessed silence. The conversation was over, just as he'd known it would be. He was finally going to get some rest, but a niggling voice in the back of his mind told him he shouldn't have gone there. Even if the words were true.

She was still staring at him from her crouched spot when he leaned his head back and closed his eyes again. He took a deep breath, preparing to sleep, when he felt her hand on his knee.

"I'd prefer the latter," she whispered. "If you were serious about the offer . . ."

WHAT WAS SHE doing? G.o.d, what was she saying? He'd said that to shock her. Eagle Scout Bryan wanted to have s.e.x with her. That wasn't exactly how he'd put it, but it was clear he wanted her.

And she wanted him. Plus, she was tired of pretending she didn't. Tired of guarding her feelings, of being so scared, and now, wondering if they would live through the next few hours. She wanted some kind of control in her life, however fleeting.

But would Bryan still feel the same way when he understood the level of her deception? Most likely not. And that alone had her pulling the old Sa.s.sy persona more firmly around her shoulders.

She stood up straight, arched an eyebrow, and shrugged. "You seem so tired, though. Perhaps it would be better to wait till you're rested up and are ready for me?" She was pulling that tiger's tail and d.a.m.ning the consequences.

She smiled her lazy taunt. But he was up and out of the recliner so fast, she didn't have time to step back. Besides, the only place to go was the bed. The converted mattress cushion pressed against the backs of her calves.

Bryan put his hands on her hips and pulled her toward him. He hadn't been joking earlier about wanting her. The undeniable evidence prodded her belly through his jeans. He leaned down and put his face in hers. "Don't say that if you're not serious. I want you, and I'll have you naked and in that bed before you know what happened. But I want you willing, not scared spitless."

Ouch. She deserved that, particularly after the twin freak-outs she'd had in the hotel rooms in Constantine and New York. She stared up at him and gave the barest perceptible nod.

She wanted him, too, and he seemed to sense that this time something was different.

"You're sure?" he asked. Pressed against him, she felt his voice resonate inside her chest.

"Yes," she whispered.

"I don't want to scare you." He touched her cheek as he studied her face. He was looking for something, but she wasn't sure what. "The only promise I can make is that I won't hurt you."

"I know you won't." And in that moment she believed him.

He kissed her like he'd kissed her earlier, before she'd gotten skittish. His tongue tangled with hers, and a warm tingle worked its way through her body as she kissed him back. He seemed to take her response as a green light, pulling at the sweater she was wearing and quickly slipping it off over her head.

Before she could think clearly, his hands were at her waistline, and he was unb.u.t.toning her new jeans. He slipped them down her legs, but they got caught on her boots. She smiled and started to blush. Then he looked up at her, not staring at her chest as she would have expected him to, but staring directly into her eyes with an intensity that she normally would have found unnerving.

His hands were incredibly gentle as he bent down. "I'll get 'em off," he murmured, kissing the top of her knees as he untied the boots and slid them off her feet.

More of those lovely tingles raced up and down her legs, starting a sudden ache at her center. Finally, she stood before him in her socks, her pale pink panties, and the matching bra she'd bought the night before.

He was on his knees in front of her. After putting the boots to the side, he pulled her down to sit on the lower mattress. His hands were still on her hips. He slid them down the outside of her legs then back up across the tops of her thighs, moving his thumbs closer to the lace edge of her underwear.

All the while he was kissing her belly, her hips, her thighs and making her woozy with the wanting and not knowing where he was going to touch her next. He unhooked her front-closure bra with one hand, then his lips were on her nipple, and it was such an exquisite sensation. She was trying to catch her breath, but that was impossible. She'd never felt anything like this before. A train whistle blew in the distance, reminding her where they were, but the rocking of the train only added to the surreal sensations overwhelming her.

He moved his thumbs higher and higher inside her thighs, occasionally brushing against the silky nylon of her panties and sending sparks skittering through her lower body. She wanted something, but she couldn't name it.

He shifted from one breast to the other, and her unattended nipple pebbled. He put one hand on her shoulder and pushed her slowly to the mattress, following her down. His lips transferred from her breast again to her belly and lower.

Checking to make sure she was okay with this, he glanced up once more before he started to pull her underwear down her legs. She nodded and stared back at him, holding his gaze, because she was so much more than okay. His fingers were on her, touching her in that most intimate place. Then his mouth was there, and instead of being scared or embarra.s.sed, she was floating, focused only on what his fingers and his tongue were doing to her.

As much as she wanted to just drift along, she felt herself building up to something else that was bright and shiny but foreign at the same time. He pressed his mouth more firmly against her, and she was flying through s.p.a.ce, shattering into a million pieces.

Floating back moments later, she realized she was lying cattycorner across the bed and naked while he was on his knees in front of her, still fully clothed. Surely they were going to . . .

She had to talk to him. Had to let him know before they- And just like that, her lovely, floating, blissed-out feeling disappeared. She exhaled. He'd never forgive her if she didn't tell him beforehand.

"You're thinking too much." She felt his words vibrate against the inside of her thigh as he kissed her there before easing up beside her on the bed. "Stop that."

She smiled, not at all surprised that he seemed to read her mind. He sat up on the edge of the lower bunk next to her and took his own boots and socks off, then his shirt, jeans, and . . .

She closed her eyes.

He was going to be naked soon, and she had to say something first. He slid up beside her on the mattress and pulled her back to his front, with his back toward the wall. She felt the insistence of his erection against her bottom.

She started to turn in his arms, but he held onto her with an arm clamped around her waist. "Slow down. I just want to enjoy holding you a while. I've thought about this for a very long time."

Really? That came as a complete surprise. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask how long, but when he trailed his fingertips back and forth across her rib cage, she quit thinking. Instead, she sighed in relaxed contentment. "I didn't know it could be like that."

Why had she been nervous about this for so long? She could tell him now. It'd be okay.

He kissed the side of her neck and whispered in her ear, "Well, I promise we're just getting started."

She tensed, and he absolutely noticed but misunderstood the reason.

He gathered her more snugly against his chest. "Don't worry, we can take this as slow as you want."

"You'd do that?" The mixture of relief and disappointment she felt was . . . confusing.

"G.o.d, Sa.s.sy. What sort of men have you-"

The sound of screeching brakes interrupted whatever else he'd been about to say. Sa.s.sy felt the momentum shoving her backward into his chest.

"What's happening?" she gasped.

"I don't know." He tugged his arm from under her body to see his watch. "We're not scheduled to stop for several more hours." The stark change from relaxed lover to alert super soldier was dramatic. "Get dressed. Now."

Bryan hauled himself forward out of bed and started shoving clothes toward her while Sa.s.sy was still playing catch-up. Her panties were inside out, but she slid them on at his urging without fixing them.

"C'mon, Sa.s.sy."

The horrific screeching continued, intensifying as she pulled her jeans, sweater, socks, and boots on. She was lacing up as a rumbling shuddering started.

"f.u.c.k," Bryan mumbled.

"What is it?" She finished with the boots and looked up from her crouched position as the screeching abruptly stopped.

"Hang on!" He grabbed for her.

The rail car shifted, and she felt like she was in a carnival house ride as the compartment swayed wildly from side to side. The car tilted, and the bed she was sitting on flew up in the air. She hit her head on the bunk above, and the world went black.

Chapter Nine.

BRYAN THREW HIMSELF toward Sa.s.sy's body as the car uncoupled from the train. Everything was happening in slow motion. He watched in horror as she flew through the air and cracked her head on the bottom of the top sleeping shelf. The contents of their compartment flipped while the car rolled.

The bathroom door swung open, banging into his back, but he focused on getting to Sa.s.sy. He managed to grab her, and he wasn't letting go, even when battered by bits of the disintegrating compartment that came loose while the sleeper car tumbled from the tracks. Pieces of broken mirror and plastic, seat cushions, something that looked like pink insulation, and blankets swirled around them in a maelstrom as the car continued to roll. The lights went out in the midst of the chaos. Metal screeched in an ear-splitting cacophony of sound.

He thought he heard someone shouting. Like a nightmare, things took forever to stop moving. When they finally rolled to a halt, the compartment-or what was left of it-was pitch black. Bryan heard more screeching metal, as if part of the rail car was settling now that it had stopped tumbling. Distinct screams and calls for help accompanied the eerie aftermath.

He was on his belly and turned his head, squinting into the darkness. Only now it wasn't quite so dark. The moon shone through clouds and their compartment window with an odd sort of white glow. They'd landed right side up, but that was where any similarity to "right" ended.

The door to the bathroom was lying across Bryan's back while also balanced partially on the bed. Sa.s.sy was under his chest. From his vantage point, he couldn't determine the extent of her injuries. But he could feel dampness on her forehead as he ran his fingers over her face. She was out cold.