there. With Mouse hanging on every word, she wanted to goad him some more. “I’m rarely nice to either. Neither one of them know what to do with an independent woman.”
Dodger turned slowly to look at her, his eyes narrowing dangerously, a glint of reprisal appearing. He continued to watch her with the dark, heavy-lidded look. “I know exactly what to do with you,” he said, innuendo loaded in the husky timbre of his voice.
Her insides dropped away into nothingness, and she stared at him, a giddy weakness sizzling through her. For an instant she thought she might just have hit her head too hard because she was dizzy all over again. Hot and bothered, decidedly light-headed, she dredged up a mildly rebuking look and tilted her head. “Let’s get to the real action,” she purred, and it was his turn to melt.
“So, yes,” he said.
“To what,” she responded breathlessly.
“Telling Kat everything?”
Anna looked away, sobering, her jaw fixed, a flickering of unease and frustration unfolding in her. She was at the end of her rope. There was no place but up. “Why not? Just lay it all out. Hopefully, she’s as trustworthy as we think, otherwise we’re both finished.”
He nodded. “So, we go to Rome?”
“Yes, Rome. We have to stop the pope’s assassination.”
“I’ll get busy identifying these three operatives they have in the States and Rome,” Mouse said. “I’ll book your flights for tomorrow.” He rose and closed his computer. “See you in the morning. Good job tonight.”
After they went to bed and made love, Anna couldn’t shake her dark thoughts. She got up and slipped on Dodger’s tuxedo shirt and walked to the doors leading to the balcony. The moon was bright and illuminated the lawn and the gorgeous gardens all the way down to the lily pond. She thought about Dodger’s story of the swan momma protecting her young against an unruly and rowdy boy. She smiled, chasing away a lot of the shadows, but not completely, because a lot of her thoughts were intertwined with them going their separate ways when this was over. She decided she was going to give herself up. It was the only way. She was sure she would be exonerated. She wasn’t going to drag Dodger into her ugly world. He had been nothing short of miraculous for sticking by her when he didn’t have any obligation to. Just his misplaced honor because he was friends with her brother.
That’s the other thing she would rectify. She was going to have a talk with Max. She wouldn’t mention Dodger, but she was going to make him understand that she didn’t need him running roughshod over her and her love life. Especially her love life. She would make her own decisions and fall on her face if those decisions turned out to be bad ones.
Dodger had been a risky decision, but she hadn’t regretted it for a moment.
“Can’t sleep?” his raspy voice came from the bed and she nodded, turning to look at him.
He slipped out of bed, the moonlight limning all those gorgeous heavy muscles, highlighting his dangerous masculinity. “You look good in my shirt,” he murmured.
When he reached her, he caught her under the chin, forcing her to look at him. He winced when he saw her face, then caught her by the neck and pulled her into his embrace, warm and safe. Anna turned her face against him and fought the feelings of fear, inadequacy, and love.
Dodger tucked his head down against hers and tightened his hold, then slowly rubbed his hand up and down her back. “It’s okay, luv. We’re still in this together.”
She shivered and pressed against him, her arms caught against his chest, and Dodger strengthened his hold. It was as if he knew exactly what she needed to hear.
“You want to talk about it?”
“It’s stuff we’ve already hashed and rehashed. I’m just restless. We’re going to have to be at our best for the foreseeable future. The spiritual leader of the West is in danger. We can’t let him down.”
“We won’t,” he said. “Let’s go back to bed and I’ll distract you. Frogs are good for more than just croaking.”
She laughed and let him lead her back to the comfort and passion she couldn’t refuse.
The next morning, before Anna got dressed, she wandered the house while Dodger still slept. Soon she found herself in what had to be Dodger’s dad’s study. The room was lined with books, but in the corner was a full suit of shining