Friday. Ibiza Town, Ibiza.MELODY STARED DOWN AT their hostages. The first poor soul who'd been stupid enough to follow her. She'd walked straight up to the guy, flirted, touched his arm and the man had gone with her.Grant had come out of nowhere and clocked the hell out of the guy so hard she'd thought he was dead.Their second hostage hadn't gone down as easy. He'd seen where his friend had gone, followed and though Melody and Grant thought they were ready for him, they hadn't been. They'd taken a bit of a beating before getting the best of the guy.The third they'd grabbed on his way back to the house, catching him completely unaware.They all had those pills on them."I can't understand what they're saying." She held out the hand-held radio to Grant.He shook his head. "I'm not going to understand either.""Is this enough?" She glanced at their prisoners sitting bound on the garage floor of the vacation house. It was hard to gauge the worth of a man she didn't k
Friday. Target's Hideout, Ibiza Town, Ibiza.GRANT WAS GRATEFUL FOR the time they'd spent studying the streets surrounding their target's location. He and Melody dashed through alleys, cut across two yards and now crept through the dense, leafy plants running along the neighbor's property.Sirens wailed in the distance.People were out on the street.No matter what happened, there would be witnesses. Whoever was behind this couldn't shut all these people up. That would work in their benefit.They came to a stop at the fence. He turned back to look at Melody."Up and over," she said."I'll go first."She nodded and went to a knee, weapon drawn, looking through the narrow slats in the fence.Grant surged to his feet, using his momentum to vault over the fence. He hit the ground and went low, guns up.Not a soul stirred on this side of the house. All the activity was on the street side.Melody landed softly next to him."Up through that window." She gestured at
Friday. Ibiza International Airport.MELODY SHUFFLED FORWARD IN the security line and tried to not stare at Vaughn leaning on the security agent's desk while his passport and boarding pass were examined. Riley and Nolan had cleared without incident. She'd looked at the documents herself, and while they appeared like a normal passport, the devil was in the details.The pictures weren't clear enough.There was some smudging on the print from the rush forgery job.And the leather cover was a slightly darker blue than it should be.The woman handling Vaughn threw her head back and laughed at whatever it was he said.Melody blew out a breath and glanced at Brenden in the other line going through the metal detector.Their people were one step closer to escaping this island.Grant was behind her and would bring up the rear in case anything happened.Vaughn wavered on his feet as he straightened. His new girlfriend, Carla, was going to demand answers. Melody wasn't sure wh
Friday. Safe House, London, UK.SOMEDAY GRANT WANTED TO come back to London and get a chance to see the city. He'd been in it several times, but never for pleasure. During that short stint backpacking with his brother, they'd never made it to the UK. There were lots of things he hadn't seen or done. Today was not that day.He stood at the windows, staring out on the city lit by millions of twinkling lights. The flat felt a world away from the chaos that had tried to kill them.His team was safe.A doctor had seen Vaughn, Brenden and Riley. Vaughn was pulling through and things were beginning to look up.Still, whatever had begun on Ibiza was far from over.Someone had watched them, planned for this. Which meant they'd been targeted, followed.Melody's reflection in the glass made his body tighten. That man, the one on the radio, had known who she was. Grant was supposed to protect her, and he'd failed. The lump on her forehead was proof enough of that."The doctor ha
Grant continued to stare at her. If he asked, if he begged, would she let him stay?Melody tipped her chin up and looked at him, her eyes shining in the bright lights. "I just want to sleep, Grant. It's notme saying we're over, it's me saying I'm tired and I'd like some space. Okay?"He nodded, and though he believed her, his instincts said to stick close.Melody took a step, went up on tip-toe with her hands braced on his shoulders and gently kissed his lips. Before he could reach for her, she backed away.He grit his teeth, both frustrated and hopeful all at once."Good night," she said."Night, Button. Sleep tight."Her eyes narrowed.Yeah, so maybe he was using the name more often. So what? He was going to remind her at every turn what they were to each other, how much she mattered. At least she was telling him what she wanted. That was some kind of start.Grant let himself out of Melody's room and shut the door behind him. The main space of the flat was empty and
Saturday. Aegis Group Headquarters, Chicago, Illinois.MELODY DIDN'T THINK SHE'D ever been happy to see the original Aegis Group campus. It reminded her of summer camp what with all the painted cinderblock dorm style rooms. After fifteen hours spent at airports and in the air, she'd be happy for a stationary cardboard box.She nudged the door to her private quarters for now and shut behind her and blew out her first easy breath since...she couldn't remember when.For weeks she'd been in a state of anticipation, waffling on what to do between her and Grant, which had made both her personal and professional time tense.After breaking up with Grant at the beach house on Ibiza, she hadn't experienced the kind of relief she'd hoped for. She'd been sad, morose and regretful that things hadn't turned out differently. And then there was everything that had happened between then and now.It was over.At least her role in getting everyone home safe.The responsibility for their
GRANT KNEW HE WAS deviating from their routine. Until this op, they'd been strict about keeping a distinct line between professional and personal time. But even that personal time had set expectations. They did specific activities, almost always followed by sex.The long flight had given him plenty of time to think about that fact.The bedrock of their relationship was built on a couple hate fucks. They hadn't particularity liked each other in the beginning, but after they'd been together it changed.He liked sex with Melody, but he also liked her as a person.It was time they did something else. Started a new routine. And for that, he had a plan."Mind if I sit?" he asked.Melody gave her head a little shake then glanced around the room. There was a desk chair or the bed."Sure." She gestured at the mattress."Want a drink first?"Melody perched on the edge of the bed, staring at him with a kind of shocked expression. He'd surprised her. Good."I'd like that, yes," sh
Saturday. Aegis Group Headquarters, Chicago, Illinois.MELODY STARED AT GRANT, her heart doing cartwheels while her head tried to be reasonable.Her brain was losing.Grant had listened to her. He'd just shown her he knew more about her than she'd given him credit for, and all that had taken was one paper bag. It took real self-control to not just throw herself at him and tell him she loved him.But was he telling her the truth? Did he intend to change? Or was this a bait and switch? Would things go back to the way they'd been once this was over?"It's up to you, Button. You are right, I can't tell you what to do and I don't get to make the final decision about us. You do. Selfishly," he smiled a bit, but it didn't reach his eyes, "I want this to work out. But seeing as how much of an idiot I've been I'm not entirely sure I deserve that chance."Her throat was completely dry. She couldn't speak. His words undid her.He wasn't doubling down, telling her how things were