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Seth suppressed a wince.
“Yeah. That probably wouldn’t be a bad idea. Hopefully when this is
finished Sebastian won’t rip my brains out through my eyebrows for
leaving her behind.”

“
She’s
better off.
She’s
probably home in her nice warm loft instead of this drafty
flea bag motel.” She rubbed her arms through the sweatshirt. Seth
frowned. It
was
a
bit cold in the room. “There’s probably bedbugs…Bedbugs with
frostbite.”

“
Hey, we can always cuddle
up together. Ward off the cold by creating our own body
heat.”

Al looked at the man
responsible for all the trouble the last day had brought. “I don’t
do casual sex. So if that’s what you’re thinking, just forget
it.”

“
A man can’t look at you
and not think sex. It’s just the way we’re made.”

“
And I’m
made to want more than that. And
not
with a man like you.”

“
What’s wrong with a man
like me? I’m clean, have my own teeth, and am reasonably successful
at my chosen career.”

“
Yeah, and that’s why you
woke up in a trunk? You’re reckless, and I don’t do reckless,
either.”

“
Sure you do. Didn’t you
get in the car with me? That was reckless. As was taking off and
leaving your pal behind. So don’t say you don’t take
chances.”

“
Maybe I do, sometimes.
When the situation calls for it. But not in my personal life. Ever.
And I’m not about to start now.”

Chapter
Twenty

***

Seth passed half the night
in the arm chair, listening to his companion’s soft breathing and
the sound of that bitch Mother Nature howling at the window.
Finally around three he said
screw
it
and stretched out on the bed. He’d keep
the blanket between him and little Miss Sensibility, if that’s what
it took to make her happy.

His ego had taken a hit,
but he’d survive. He’d been turned down before. Right now he was
just too damned exhausted to care about her sensibilities. Besides,
they’d slept together before. What would it hurt again?

They’d be up and on the
road by seven, anyway. And that was less than four hours away. Four
hours of decent sleep was better than eight of nothing.

***

She woke him up three hours
later with a smack to his chest. He opened his eyes and stared at
the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen and wanted to strangle her.
How did anyone wake up so perky in the morning?

“
What time is
it?”

“
Time to
get going. I take it you want to get to the fiancé’s house before
she leaves?
If
she’s even home. She wouldn’t have gone somewhere else after
the funeral, would she?”

Nina. Shit. He’d forgotten
about her. “I don’t know.”

“
I suggest you hurry, then.
Gainesville is less than two hours away. We can make it. And then
maybe we can finish this up and I can get back to my
life.”

“
Didn’t know my presence
was weighing so heavily on you.”

“
Sure you didn’t. Think I
want to spend forever with you?”

“
Well, why not?”

“
You snore. And you hog
both the covers and the center of the bed.”

“
Better to keep you warm,
my dear.”

“
Uh huh.” She yanked the
covers off of him, exposing him to the chill of the room. Cheap
motel equaled cheap heat.

He grabbed her hand and
yanked her down on top of him. She actually cursed. That surprised
him—he hadn’t heard her utter a single curse since he’d met her.
Miss Goody Two Shoes. “Give me a kiss, toots.”

“
That’s attractive. Morning
breath kisses from my kidnapper.”

“
Partner
. You made the choice at that
truck stop, remember. Now, pucker up.”

***

He was an idiot. A
grinning, rumpled, and if she admitted it to herself, sexy idiot.
“I’m not going to kiss you.” Why did she feel all of her resolve
slipping? His hands were warm on her back, firm. But she could get
away from him by simply shifting to either the left or the right.
But she didn’t. Why wasn’t she doing that?

He kissed her, a quick, hot
press of lips on lips and then he was finished. And was rolling her
off of him. “Mmmm. Good morning, baby. Sleep well?”

Al tried
not
to shake her head, to
wipe her lips. To not let him know his kiss had affected her in any
way. “Hardly. I’m used to sleeping alone.”

“
And that is something I do
not understand. A woman like you was made for
snuggling.”

“
Yeah, and I could have any
guy I want?”

He grinned again, and did
an exaggerated leer. “You look in the mirror lately?”

A stab of hurt hit her.
“And that’s what it’s always about, isn’t it?”

Confusion was in his voice
when he said her name. “Hey, I was only joking.”

“
Sorry. I’m a bit
sensitive.” She turned and started to climb off the bed. “We need
to get going.”

“
Baby?” His fingers wrapped
around her wrist and he kept her from walking away from the
bed.

“
Please don’t call me that.
Sebastian calls Carrie that, and it’s just too weird hearing his
voice coming out of your mouth.”

“
Alessandra, I didn’t mean
to be an ass…”

Something
he
had said had put that
wounded look in those blue eyes. And it made him feel like a total
dick. What had he said? Something about the way she looked. Was she
actually insecure about the way she
looked
? Surely not. Surely she knew
that she was beautiful?

And he didn’t just mean on
the outside. It was in her words, the way she carried herself, and
it was in how she’d spoken of her family, and how she’s treated and
protected Carrie. She was loving and loyal—he had no difficulty
seeing that.

She was a beautiful and
wonderful woman, regardless of how she
looked.
Surely she didn’t
think
he
was that
shallow?

But then again—what other
impression
had
he
given her? He’d joked and leered and flirted with her the entire
time they’d been together. Dammit, he really did feel like an ass
now.

He jumped up from the bed
and spun his girl around. “Listen, I wouldn’t care if you were the
ugliest woman in creation, I’d probably still find
you
sexy. And you
probably
could
have any man you wanted—once he got past your snarky
attitude. It’s your one flaw.”

She just looked up at him.
She wasn’t that much shorter than him—maybe half a foot less than
his six-four. So pretty. So annoying.

Dammit, he really wanted
this woman.

But she didn’t do casual
affairs. A man just had to look at her to know that. And that was
all he could do right now. “I didn’t mean to be an ass. And I’m
sorry.”

“
Don’t worry about
it—you’re not the first guy to try to score just because of the way
I look. Think you’re special?” She tried to look away from him but
he wouldn’t let her. It really bothered her. Stung deep. And he had
never meant to do that.

“
Whoever made you think
they only wanted you for the way you look was both stupid and
lying. Understand that? If you weren’t so annoying, you’d be the
perfect woman.”

She smiled but it didn’t
meet her eyes. “Annoying, am I? Maybe you just bring out the worst
in me."

Chapter
Twenty-One

***

“
They
found Agent Sparks. The sister-in-law. They’re bringing her in
now.”
George Keeney had never admired or
respected people who could not control themselves in tense
situations.
He
had
always worked hard at not letting others know how they affected
him. That was one benefit from the third grade that he had actually
been thankful for.

This was supposed to be a
routine audit of an FBI division. It wasn’t supposed to have
anything to do with
his
other problem. The one he’d been trying to get himself out of
for over a month now.

But George was holding on
to his self control. The situation had changed; he understood that.
Either he provided the information requested of him, or he’d be
exposed. Every last sin he’d committed would be out there for his
wife and daughters to see. He couldn’t do that to them. He
couldn’t. They needed him.

And he needed to control
himself.

Sebastian Lorcan had held
on to
his
control
with more strength than he would have thought possible. Sebastian
Lorcan’s wife meant a good deal to him, and to the other members of
this Complex Crimes Unit. The very unit he and his colleagues had
been sent to audit.

When that girl had been
found
he’d
panicked for a long moment. What had Seth Lorcan told his
sister-in-law? At first he’d figured Seth had known who the
girl—and the other one, Agent Brockman—was. Why wouldn’t he? She
was married to his damned triplet. Crazy, that they didn’t know who
the other was.

The tension noosed around
his neck had lessened a bit after that, but he’d had a few ups and
downs over the past several hours.

Since he’d gotten that
phone call demanding everything he could find out on the
whereabouts of one Seth Lorcan.

He’d find the man and then
do what he had to do.

Not something he was proud
of, but as a father it was his job to put his family’s welfare
above anyone else’s. And that included putting his family’s needs
above his own.

“
I understand. My people
are on the lookout. They’ll find him. Them. He kept one of the
women with him.”

He lowered his voice. The
last thing he needed was for one of Sebastian Lorcan or Edward
Dennis’s people to hear him. That would earn him a one-way ticket
to death row.

***

He would have to watch his
step with this girl. Her husband hadn’t stopped touching her since
she was brought in by Missouri State Police officers twenty minutes
earlier. He took a moment to study her. His people were only there
to
review
PAVAD
cases and procedure. That they had taken point on this kidnapping
incident very obviously rankled Dennis and his unit chiefs and team
leaders.

They probably rightly felt
that this was an internal issue and should be dealt with by their
people. Hell, it was what he’d insist on if he’d been in their
shoes.

But he wasn’t.

And he had someone
breathing down his neck to preserve
their
own interests. And like it or
not, by choice or by force, until he could figure out who
they
were, their
interests had to be his own.

But he’d be better served
by
not
alienating
this woman or her husband.

She seemed remarkably calm
for a woman who was supposed to be autistic. Didn’t they just rock
and hum and count things? He’d be the first to admit he didn’t know
much about autism and disorders like it. He’d heard of it; it was
all over the television and internet, but he’d done little research
on it. Hadn’t had much need to.

Now he wished he had. Just
to know how to handle this girl with the unusual eyes the color of
whiskey. “Agent Sparks, I’m glad you’re ok.”

“
Thank you.” She studied
him as intently as he studied her. “I’m not sure what you’ll want
from me.”

“
Information. I understand
that you’re an agent, and a good one from what I’ve heard. We need
to know what you’ve observed. Did Agent Lorcan—your
brother-in-law—mention what he was involved in? We are running on
the assumption he’s working this on his own. There’s some question
to the legality of whatever he was involved in.”

“
He’s
not dirty.” The girl stared at him, then looked at the big bulldog
husband of hers. The guy kissed her on the forehead, and glared at
him. If Seth Lorcan was anything like his brother, it would be
difficult to contain him. “He was running from something, but I
don’t think
he
was
involved in anything illegal. I think he found
something.”

“
What would that have
been?”

“
I don’t know. I didn’t
talk to him or see what he’d found. He just took one of my
computers and let me go. Once he realized who I was.”

“
And Agent Brockman? Why
didn’t he release her?”

“
I’m not sure. He didn’t
tell me.” She leveled a look at him, one that seemed to pick apart
his very soul. He fought the urge to wipe sweat from the back of
his neck. The husband continued to run his hand through her red
hair, while staring at him. No. This girl would not be allowed to
be intimidated. But was she telling him everything? He couldn’t
read her.