Page 22 of Concerto of Crows and Cowards

He looked Jade over again slowly, and if he didn’t know exactly how dangerous she was, he wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at her now. She looked softer, and the touch of makeup made her eyes bigger and more alluring. Most of Vassin’s men still wouldn’t believe she was capable of being a bodyguard, even though the four men who attacked them knew the truth. It wouldn’t be long before Vassin learned just how deadly she was.

Jade turned off the white-noise device and put it back in her purse as the limo stopped in front of the hotel, and she pulled down her skirt and wondered how the hell she was supposed to get out of the limo gracefully. It was a lot easier in her opinion to run through the jungle in BDUs than to brave an hour of wearing high heels in polite society. She felt like a fraud any time she had to play the part of sophisticated lover. What did she know? She was an orphan from Nowhere, Louisiana, though she’d worked hard over the years to get rid of any accent that might give her away.

The door opened and she waited until Max got out of the car before she scooted over, and she breathed a sigh of relief that he was thoughtful enough to block the view as he held his hand out to help her.

He didn’t try to keep her hand as they followed the bellman into the lobby. Max knew her habits better than anyone, and he’d never tie up her hands in case she needed to get her weapon free. Just like she knew to always stay to his left in case he needed to get to his.

Max broke away as someone in an expensive charcoal suit and red tie met him with an outstretched hand, and she kept watch, looking for signs of Vassin or any of his men in the crowded lobby.

The hotel was too big to see all of the possible hiding places, but she spotted two men in the main lobby who had the look of professionals, though they were both dressed as tourists. She spotted another at the restaurant across the way, sitting at one of the outdoor café-style tables, eating lunch and drinking coffee. He was better at the façade than the others, but the way his eyes kept skimming across the crowd gave him away. That and the bulge she spotted beneath his sport coat.

Jade kept her eyes sharp as the man in the suit led them through a door marked Private and then to a wood-paneled elevator that opened with a key card. The suit handed Max an envelope with two identical cards and then they were all rising to the top fast enough to have the bottom drop out of her stomach.

“A lovely room,” she said to fill the silence once they were left alone in the penthouse that had been assigned to them.

The main area was wall-to-wall white carpet so thick the heels she wore sank deep into the pile. A long glass dining table that sat ten was on one side of the room and a cardinal-red circular couch like none she’d never seen before sat on the other end. The entire back wall was nothing but glass and looked out over the Strip, but she could see for miles out into the desert beyond.

“I have to say, I prefer the penthouse in my own hotel,” Max said, taking the bug sweeper from his pocket and moving from room to room. “This one is a bit obvious for my tastes. Vassin seems like a man who would overcompensate for certain things in his decorating.” He let out a low whistle when he came out of the bedroom. “That bedroom is the perfect example.” He waggled his eyebrows. “We’ll have fun in there later.”

Jade stopped her task of gathering the two tiny listening devices she’d just found in the living area and looked up to see if Max was serious.

“I didn’t realize you had a hotel,” she said, taking the devices to the table to join the others they’d found.

“Of course I do, love. Seven of them. What kind of self-respecting billionaire doesn’t have hotels to diversify his holdings?”

He looked completely serious, and it was sometimes hard to remember that behind the gutter fighter was an honest-to-God businessman. He’d never talked about it while they were at the DEA and most of the other agents they worked with had no idea about his background or that his family was one of the wealthiest in the world. He was just so normal and down to Earth, and she knew he’d be doing the same job he was now whether the money was there or not.

But thoughts of what he’d told her earlier, about how he should always remember where he came from and what the Devlin name stood for, only cemented the idea that she and Max would never work out. She was so out of her league she could only shake her head at the absurdity of it all.

“In fact,” he said. “We should take a couple of weeks off and head to Australia. We just opened a new hotel there and I need to check to make sure everything is running smoothly.”

Jade watched as Max shook his head at the collection of bugs they’d found throughout the penthouse. More than a dozen sat lined up on the little bar that divided the kitchen and dining room, and she took the neutralizer out of her purse and set it next to them, wondering what to say. Max set the bugs on the floor and then systematically crushed each one beneath his heel before dumping them all in the garbage.

“Why don’t we focus on the job here before we start making other plans,” she said, nerves prickling along her skin. “One day at a time. I figure you more than anyone else would know that’s the best way to live.”

“Yes, except for the fact that I happen to love you, even though every time I say it you get that look on your face that you have right now. Is the thought of me loving you that repulsive, or are your feelings for me that nonexistent?”

The words were angry, and the blue of his eyes seemed to become brighter, sharper, as he stared her down and waited for an answer. She’d known this was coming. He’d tried to bring it up on several occasions, and she’d always changed the subject and ignored the hurt she saw in his eyes.

“And how many women have you said those words to?” she asked. “You know what, never mind. I don’t want to know. It’s none of my business.” Her own anger and ineptitude made her lash back at him. “Why can’t we just leave things as they are?” She turned away and paced back and forth in front of the bar, while Max stayed completely still. That was never a good sign. Max was always in constant motion.

“I’ve never said those words to any woman. Not ever. And it pisses me off that even now you don’t believe me. I understand if you need time to adjust to what’s happening between us, though to tell you the truth it feels like we’ve been adjusting for years. Yes, I want a future with you and all the things that go with it, but that can wait until you’re ready. What I can’t understand is that you don’t seem to want me to love you at all. Explain that one to me.”

“Why the hell aren’t you happy that you’re getting every man’s fantasy? You get to mess around without the nagging and commitment.”

His mouth tightened in a straight line and his nostrils flared at how casually she’d debased what had happened between them, and guilt ate at her insides for deceiving him. But she couldn’t tell him the truth. Not yet. Though she knew the time would come soon. No one but her and her doctor knew she’d never be able to conceive again. Jade had made sure that secret hadn’t gone into any files or reports to Atticus or Max. She didn’t need any more of their pity.

And as much as he’d like her to believe that he really did love her, part of her was skeptical. She was a nobody with no background or pedigree, and she had nothing to offer him. Once he got past the sex he’d realize his version of love and hers were two completely different things.

Max’s muscles were tense with anger. “So just to be clear.” His voice cut like a knife and she would have flinched if she hadn’t been holding herself so rigid. “Everything between us up to this point has been nothing but sex. We shouldn’t try to cloud the issue with emotions or attachments or talk of the future in general. It’s just sex.” His voice got softer the more he spoke, which she knew was a dangerous sign. “Just like it would be with any other warm body.”

“You’re overreacting,” she said. “I’m just saying we should enjoy it while it lasts and not dwell on anything else. You’re the one trying to make things more complicated.”

“Why, because I like to have feelings for the person I’m making love to? I’m not a robot. And we’ve been through too much together for you to tell me to my face that you don’t care for me. Which means there’s some other reason for your resistance and you’re hiding something from me.”

She felt the blood drain from her face, and fear made her words harsh and regretful. “Or maybe you don’t know me as well as you like to think you do. Take what you can get, Max. Or you can take nothing. It’s your choice.”

A knock sounded at the door, but neither of them moved to answer it as they measured each other and where they stood. Jade couldn’t take the waves of hurt she felt coming from him, and she finally turned on her heel and headed to the door that led out onto the balcony while Max went to deal with whoever their guest was.

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