“Sam, is something wrong?”
Her soft voice settled over him, soothing some of the tension. He crumpled the note in his hand after committing it to memory. He shoved it into his pocket and focused again on Sophie. Sophie who sat naked in his bed. Sophie who he wouldn’t ever see again.
He crossed the room and slid onto the edge of the bed beside her. She stared back at him, her eyes puzzled, and there was a hint of something else there. Fear?
He touched her cheek in an effort to reassure her. “I’ve got to go. Something’s come up. Something important.”
She bit her bottom lip. “Okay.”
He inhaled, hating what he had to say next.
“I don’t know when—if—I’ll be back.”
Her face became impassive. Her usually expressive eyes were shuttered and distant.
“I understand.”
Before he could say anything else, she leaned up and wrapped her arms around his neck. The sheet fell, baring her br**sts. She kissed him. Just once. With all the sweetness she’d brought into his life in just a short time.
He savored the taste and the sensation and knew he’d never have this again. Regret tightened his chest.
“Be careful,” she whispered.
He touched her cheek and then kissed her again. “Always.”
SOPHIE waited long enough that she was sure Sam wouldn’t return to the room, and then she hurriedly dressed, making sure she left nothing behind. In the bathroom, she twisted her hair in a quick knot and thrust a pick from her bag through the knot to hold it.
The woman staring back at her in the mirror was young, amusedly fresh-faced and deceptively innocent looking. She felt none of those things but knew people only saw what they wanted to see. No one ever took her seriously or saw her as a threat.
That would end today.
Taking one last sweep of the room, she saw Sam’s knife lying on the floor where he’d tossed it after cutting her bra off. She stooped down to retrieve it and then shoved it into her pocket. There would be no evidence he was here, and she might just need it later.
Taking a deep breath, she cracked open the door and peeked out of the room and down the hall. Satisfied no one was about, she hurried to the stairs, bypassing the corridor leading to the elevator.
On the first floor, there were two doors in the alcove, one leading to the lobby and one leading outside into the alley beside the hotel. She ducked outside to see the car waiting for her.
Squaring her shoulders, she strode to the dark Mercedes. The driver got out, somber-looking in a dark suit and sunglasses that completely obscured his eyes. He was nameless and faceless, just like everyone else in her father’s organization. Just as she was.
He opened the door to the backseat, and she was swallowed by the armored vehicle.
The driver took her through the back edges of town, through crumbling cobblestone streets, some of which had huge gaps where sand and rock took over. The car drew no curious stares. The residents here were well used to her father’s presence and had learned not to ask questions.
They left the rows of shabby houses and turned onto a winding dirt road that led into the hills surrounding the remote town. When finally they approached the stern spires that guarded her father’s compound, the driver slowed and then punched a series of commands into the remote installed in the dash.
The heavy iron gate swung open to admit them, and they zoomed rapidly up the paved driveway. A thick line of trees obscured the view of the sprawling house, and in fact there was only a small hole through the dense line, where the car seemingly disappeared into a forest, only to burst through the other side to a sight that was deceptively idyllic.
To a little girl, it had been fairyland. She hadn’t been that little girl in a long time.
Instead of pulling around front where the circle drive surrounded a huge fountain, the driver parked at the side of the house, under an awning that sheltered three other armored vehicles.
He opened the door, and Sophie blinked at the wash of sunshine that slapped her in the face. She stepped out and glanced up at the driver.
“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” he asked in a low voice.
She merely nodded, not trusting that she wouldn’t be overheard if she responded.
“I’ll be waiting.”
This time she didn’t react. She walked past the driver and inserted her security card into the slot beside the door leading into the house. Her father would be alerted to her presence, and he’d be waiting for her. He never came to her. She was expected to go to him and give a report just like any of his employees.
A maid met her in the hallway to her father’s office. Sophie didn’t meet her gaze. The maid stared straight ahead, but as Sophie approached, the maid reached under her apron and handed a small bag to her as she passed.
It was a designer handbag, something her father would expect her to have. He’d probably bought this one. She tucked it under her arm and stopped in front of the double door at the end of the corridor.
She raised her hand to knock but stopped in midair. She shook from head to toe, and sweat beaded her forehead. Each breath seemed dragged from her, heavy and sluggish. Her heart thumped wildly, until she was sure it was audible in the silence.
Swallowing back her fear, she squared her shoulders and knocked. She’d need every bit of composure she could muster. Her father could spot weakness in a second.
The doors opened automatically, and she stepped forward. Miraculously her fear subsided when she looked across the room to see her father standing against the huge picture window. It, like everything, was deceptive. What looked like a foolhardy extravagance for a man as wanted as he, was in actuality a one-way reflective plate of the highest-tech bulletproof material available. It wasn’t even on the market yet.