Ralph would have won his bet. It wasnat long, as they read through the few scenes that were actually between Romeo and Juliet, and talked through the rest of the story, that the boy was completely absorbed by the play.

And by the time Juliet awakened from her feigned death to find Romeo dead by his own hand from poison, Nick was holding his breath.

a aWhatas here? A cup closed in my true loveas hand?a a Ralph wasnat reading anymore. He knew these words by heart. Eve kept her eyes tightly shut as she felt him gather her into his arms. He radiated such heat, she felt nearly on fire. After he gave it back, her dress would smell like Ralph. She would never wash it again.

She prayed he wouldnat feel the way her heart was pounding.

a aPoison I see has been his timeless end.a a His voice broke. a aO churl, drunk all; and left no friendly drop to help me after? I will kiss thy lips; haply some poison yet doth hang on them, to make me die with a restorative.a a And then it happened.

Ralph kissed her.

It was the softest kiss, just the sweetest, gentlest pressing of his lips to hers.

Eve opened her eyes.

They were nose to nose, and she was in his arms, half lying across his lap.

She expected him to be shocked. She thought he would be appalled at what head done, but instead she couldnat begin to read the odd expression in his eyes. Was it a glimmer of . . . satisfaction? Had he planned this from the start?

aBut wait, methinks I best try that again,a he said. aPerhaps a deeper kiss will do this thing.a The lines werenat in the script, but he spoke in perfect, poetic iambic pentameter.

And he was going to kiss her again.

Eve knew she should move. She should tear herself out of his arms. She should leap up and away before he got himself into even more trouble.

a aGo breath, go soul . . .a a Ralphas gaze was locked on hers, she couldnat have looked away, let alone moved out of his arms if her life had depended upon it. a a. . . with thou who holds my heart.a a aThatas you, sweet Eve,a he whispered, and kissed her again. Not as Juliet kissing Romeo, but as Ralph kissing Eve.

And oh, it was wonderful. His lips were so soft against hers, his mouth was sweet. He tasted of butterscotch and sunshine.

She knew all about kissing from the movies, and shead always been afraid of laughing the first time someone tried to put his tongue into her mouth.

But suddenly, there she was, kissing Ralph, and it wasnat funny or strange or even the slightest bit disgusting. Instead, it was perfect.

His mouth was warm and he tasted delicious. Dizzy and giddy and melting inside, she clung to him, wanting . . . what? She wasnat sure, but it definitely involved kissing him like this forever.

aCan we skip the kissing part?a Nick demanded plaintively.

Ralph pulled back, and Eve knew from the sudden flare of chagrin and embarrassment in his eyes that he was about to apologize for what had to be the best thirty seconds of her entire life anda"God help hera"transform back into a proper, too-polite Englishman.

She wasnat ready for that. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

aNo,a she told her little brother, grabbed Ralph by the front of her dress, and kissed him again.

She could taste his surprise, feel his laughter.

This time, when he kissed her back, he wasnat quite so gentle. This time her moutha"no, her entire bodya"felt on fire.

It was terrifying. And wonderful.

And over far too soon.

Ralph was breathing hard when he pulled away from her. She was, tooa"and her heart was pounding. And if it hadnat been, the heat in his eyes wouldave kicked it into double time.

aYou will have dinner with me tonight,a he told her.

Eve nodded. Yes.

He smiled then, and she knew she had no choice.

She reached around him, into the pocket of her dress, and took out the note shead written just last night.

She scrambled to her feet and flung it over the side of the boat.

Ralph came to stand beside her as she watched it float for a moment, the ink slowly running and turning the paper blue, before it started to sink beneath the surface.

aWhat was that?a he asked.

aNothing.a She wouldnat tell hima"she couldnat tell him. Not now. If he found out the truth now, after kissing her that way, head leave. She knew he would. And shead be unable to bear that.

Instead shead somehow manage to bear deceiving him.

She gave him a bright smile. aShall we finish the play? Where were we? Romeoas dead and poor Juliet just found his body.a aNo more kissing,a Nick said.

As Ralph handed Eve her copy of the play, he smiled, and she knew. Theread be plenty more kissing.

Just not in front of Nick.

Ten.

NILS HADNaT LIED to Lieutenant Paoletti. Not really.

The SEALs had been assigned to continue to be on standby at the K-stani embassy. Even though there was no longer any threat, even though Meg had escaped with Razeen, the FBI wanted them to remain.

The tape loop was going to be kept running, to avoid the embarrassment of having to explain the current situation not just to the Kazbekistanis but to all the CNN and other news cameras positioned outside. The SEALsa presence would help with the charade, at least until Meg Moore and Osman Razeen were apprehended.

Tom Paoletti had looked hard at Nils when head asked for the next thirty-six hours off. aDo you have a guess where Meg Moore is?a aNo, sir,a Nils had said, looking Paoletti straight in the eye. And it wasnat a lie. Nils wasnat guessing. He knew where Meg was. aI need a whole lot of uninterrupted sleep.a That wasnat a lie either. He needed the sleepa"he simply wasnat going to get it.

Paoletti nodded. aGo and crash.a aThank you, sir.a aJohn.a Nils turned back.

Lieutenant Paoletti looked tired, the lines in his tanned face more pronounced than usual. aThis probably isnat going to have a happy ending. You know that, right? Megas either way over her head with Razeena"in which case he may well have already overpowered her and . . .a And killed her. Nils nodded. He knew that. There was a chance he wouldnat be tracking Meg with WildCardas system, but rather Megas body.

aOr sheas working with Razeen,a Paoletti continued, ain which case sheas not who you thought she was. In which case she never was.a aIam aware of that, L.T.a aGood.a Paoletti didnat try to force a smile, the way some people might have. This sucked, and they both knew it. He didnat try to pretend that it didnat. It was one of the many things that made him a great CO. aIam sorry, Johnny. Go get some sleep.a aYes, sir.a Nils turned and went, feeling like shit on a stick for being unable to come clean with the man.

He and WildCard had nearly made it out of the lobby when Senior Chief Wolchonok flagged them down. WildCard was needed back at the other hotel. There was some kind of technical glitch with the backup tape loop that only the boy genius could handle.

WildCard told the senior he was on his way, handed Nils his laptop, and gave him a crash course in his tracking system. Nils would need to use a cell phone hooked into the computer, and he could run the laptop with an extension cord that plugged into any caras cigarette lighter. Easy as pie.

WildCard went in one direction, Nils in another. He rented a car, picked up some coffee, and within thirty minutes was heading south on Route 95.

Nils knew Sam would be pissed that head gone after Meg by himself, but every minute that he delayed, she was getting farther away. And while he wasnat exactly UAa"guilty of an unauthorized absencea"there were elements of potential goatfuck written all over this.

Yes, if he managed to find Meg and bring both her and Razeen back alive, everything would be cool. But if something went wrong, the FBI was going to start shouting about aiding and abetting and obstruction of justice and God knows what else. It was bad enough that Sam and WildCard were involved. Nils couldnat bring any of his other teammates into this mess.

The sound of the tires against the road was much too soothing and Nils turned on the radio to keep himself awake. He didnat have time to be exhausted, but his body was struggling to stay alert. The fatigue came in wavesa"he had to fight harder when it hit. Country music blared, and over it, Lieutenant Paolettias voice seemed to echo, tinny and distant, like some disconnected DJ who didnat realize the mike was still on.

If sheas involved with Razeen, sheas not who you thought she was.

This wasnat a good sign. When Nils started hearing voices in his head, echoes of conversations past, he was well on his way to falling asleep.

And at 80 mph, that could be messy.

He opened the hot top on his coffee and took a sip even though it was still close to the temperature of molten lava. It burned all the way down.

Pain was good. Pain meant he was awake. He took another even bigger slug, making his eyes tear. Christ, even his stomach felt scalded.

Paolettias words still echoed, but he was over the hump. He was awake, and by the time he finished the large cup of coffee, the caffeine would have kicked in.

If sheas involved with Razeen, sheas not who you thought she was.

That was for damn sure.

Best case scenario had Nils catching up to Meg when she stopped to get some sleep at a roadside motel. He could get through the cheap lock on the door in a heartbeat and once inside . . .

Worst case scenario had Nils walking in to find Meg and Razeen together, in bed.

Yeah, that would be just about as bad as it could get.

Well, maybe not. It might be a little bit worse if Meg then told him she and Razeen had hidden a nuclear device back in DC, and it was set to go off in thirty seconds.

aI donat know anything about you.a Megas voice rang so clearly, Nils glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure the backseat of this rental car was still empty. No, her voice had definitely only been in his head.

He took another slug of coffee. Come on, caffeine . . .

Come on, brain, stay alert.

It had beena"what?a"nearly three years since shead said those words to him? Yeah, it was that summer, six months after theyad first met in K-stan. They were having a picnic down by the Lincoln Memorial. Nils had been in DC for over ten days by thena"his inquiry having been postponed for the sixth goddamned time.

Head figured it out. The foreign service office was waiting for Daniel Moore to arrive back in the States. Apparently he was involved in some diplomatic mission that took precedence over the inquiry, something important enough to put a Navy SEAL ensign on hold for nearly two weeks.

Not that Nils had particularly minded.

After head finished helping Meg paint Amyas bedroom, head found other excuses, other reasons to show up at her apartment.

And shead welcomed him.

Probably because he was playing things completely cool, restraining himself from throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her into her bedroom, tossing her onto her bed and . . .

He always greeted her with a smile instead of a soul kiss. He always tried to stay at least three feet away from her, and he never, ever grabbed her in the elevator and nailed her to the wall.

Even though he wanted to more than just about anything.

He played nice, and his reward was that they had lunch and dinner together every day.

And he comforted himself when he was alone in his hotel room at night by telling himself that lunch and dinner were far more than Daniel Moore was currently getting from her.

aI donat know anything about you.a Shead said it while eating a grape Popsicle. Head never been so jealous of a piece of ice before in his life.

aWhat, are you kidding?a head asked. aIave done nothing but talk about myself for the past week. I feel like Iave been interviewed by Barbara Walters. What donat you know? I was born on Long Island, when my mother died I lived with my father and my uncle and his wife. We covered this. I attended Milfield Academya"the best private school in the statea"went to Yale, joined the Navya"a aYou talk about it as if itas someone elseas life,a she said. aAs if youare listing facts youave memorized ora"a He looked at her. aWhat is that supposed to mean?a She instantly apologized. aIam sorry, I didnat mean to make it sound as if I donat believe you.a aBut you donat believe me.a aI do. John, I just . . .a She leaned toward him. aI want to know the rest. I want to hear all the parts youare leaving out.a Nils was silent. What could he say to that?

She touched him then. She put her hand on his knee.

aHow come you never want to walk past the Vietnam Memorial?a she asked quietly.

He looked down at her hand, knowing that if he were flip, shead probably take it away. Still . . . aIam not sure I know what youare talking about,a he said.

aWeave been down here on the Mall three different times this week, and each time youave gone way out of your way to avoid it.a Nils glanced in the direction of the Wall now. He knew he could probably satisfy her with some bullshit response. He could tell her the Vietnam Wall wasnat something he wanted to spend much time looking at. He could admit he found it too intense, without really telling her why. He could say that it wasnat something he could just walk casually past. Being career military and all . . .

And she would probably be satisfied. He took her hand, lacing their fingers together.

aMy father and my uncle Al were both there,a he said instead. aThey both served in aNam.a Meg was surprised, and he watched her try to fit that information in with everything else head told her about his family. Head told her about the family businessa"without going into detail as to exactly what type of business it was. Food industry, head told her, and although it was the truth, it was a very stretched truth. His father and uncle had owned a fishing boat. And after theyad lost that, his dad had had a job as a short order cook at the local diner for about a month or two.

Food industry. Right.

aAl lost his leg,a he told her now.

aIam so sorry.a Somehow shead moved closer, so that her thigh was now pressing against his, so that she could reach up to brush a lock of hair back from his forehead.

Please, God, donat let this woman ever stop touching him. Nils kept talking, wanting her to stay close, wanting her to know.

aNeither of them came home in body bags, but at the same time, neither of them ever really came home.a Head never said this to anyone before. Head hardly even let himself think it. aWhenever I look at ita"the Walla"and I see that list of names, all I can think is, why arenat their names up there, too, you know? They should both be listed among the casualties. You didnat have to die in aNam to lose your life there.a Megas eyes were wide. aI donat get it,a she said. aHow does the son of a Vietnam vet become a professional warrior?a aSEALs arenat warriors, Meg. Weare peacekeepers. What we do is prevent wars. And if they start before we can get there, we do whatever we have to do to end aem, fast.a Nils shut his mouth, embarrassed. What was wrong with him? John Nilsson didnat rant like that. He rarely raised his voice.

aThank you,a Meg said.

He looked up at her. She was so close. All he had to do was lean forward a few inches and . . .

Meg released his hand and moved back, away from him, as if shead just realized shead been nearly sitting on his lap. aMay I ask you another personal question?a Nils laughed. aSuddenly you feel the need to ask permission?a She hugged her knees in to her chest, looking up at the hazy clouds. There was the slightest breeze that ruffled her dark hair and kept the afternoon from being too oppressively warm. aThis oneas really personal.a He lay down next to her on the picnic blanket, dying to take her into his arms, but careful, as always, not to get too close. aShoot.a aDo you have a girlfriend back in California?a she asked.

He laughed as he propped his head up on one elbow. That was an easy question. aNo, I donat.a She turned to look at him. aThen, what do you do for sex?a Nils choked and had to sit up, fast. aI canat believe you just asked mea"a She rearranged her legs so that she was sitting tailor style as she laughed at him. aI told you it was kind of personal.a He looked at her over the tops of his sunglasses. aKind of . . . ?a She actually blushed even though she was still laughing. aOkay, so it was a really rude and intrusive question. Itas none of my business, but I like you anda"a aIf there really is a God, youall finish that sentence by saying that you want to have sex with me.a She laughed even harder, pushing at him slightly. aNo, thatas not what I was going to say. Donat be ridiculous. I just . . . Youare such a nice guy, John, and you probably donat get a lot of time off, and it justa"I donat knowa"seems a shame that you arenat taking advantage of this week. There are probably a million single women in this city who would love to have dinner with you. With hardly any effort you coulda"a aGet laid?a aMaybe find someone special, and yes,a she said, rolling her eyes, aget laid, too. In a good way.a aIs there a bad way to get laid? Gee, I wasnat aware.a aYou know what I mean. Iam not talking about a cheap one-night stand. Thatas dangerous these days, anyway. Iam talking about a meaningful relationship with someonea"a aSpecial. Right. Well, maybe Iave already found someone special.a Nils didnat know what demon made him say that, but it instantly took all the teasing and fun out of the conversation.

Meg wouldnat look at him. She began gathering up their garbage from luncha"sandwich wrappers and the paper that had been around her Popsicle. aI have a friend named Joelle. Sheas single, sheas really sweeta"pretty, too. Sheas about your age and sheasa"a aHorny?a She looked up at him, recrimination in her eyes. Not funny. aSheas special.a She went back to organizing the garbage. aI was thinking about that embassy function tomorrow night. I donat think itas a good idea for you to go as my escort. Iam afraida"a aYouare afraid that you like me too much,a Nils realized. Holy Christ. Thatas what this was about.

aThese past few weeks have been great,a she said quietly, and he tried to focus, to listen, abut itas not real, John. I canat give you what you need, and all youare giving me is . . .a What? He was dying to know, but she broke off, shaking her head. aLook, it would be a lot easier to be friends with you if you were dating someone, anyone. If not Joellea"a aHow do you know what I need?a he asked.