Page 108 of The Twilight Theft

“You should get that.”

Drew stared up at the ceiling but didn’t let go of me. The phone buzzed again. “They can leave a message.”

“It might be important.”

He slid his fingers up to my cheek as his eyes reopened. His mouth twitched a few times, as though he was about to say something. But nothing came. He didn’t tell me I was important or that this moment was. Just stared.

His phone stopped buzzing, then started again.

“You really need to answer that.” I sat up, doing my best—and completely failing—not to gawk at his gorgeous body. A girl could get used to having someone like that around. “And I need to put my knee brace on.”

He got up to dispose of the condom and grabbed his phone. “Speak of the devil.”

Which devil?

Drew pressed the phone to his ear while he picked up his pants. “What do you need, Craig?”

I limped into the bathroom to grab a robe and paused in front of the mirror. I was still a mess after ripping my dress and skin while climbing the building, plus Wyatt knocking me to the ground. My face was unmarred, but my hair was chaos.

That was Drew’s fault. My stomach did a ridiculous flip-flop at the thought.

I grabbed the robe from the back of the door and covered myself up.

What was the‘what if’he was going to say before the phone cut him off? What if we did this every time I was in Washington? Not that we came to DC regularly, but it was a short enough flight. Or what if I stayed in town for a sex-fueled few extra days? Or what if…

What if I was getting ahead of myself?

What if I was supposed to be focused on my team? On finding Noah? On figuring out why the huma bird had been swapped, the stolen scarab was on display, and why Wyatt had been extorted into stealing the chip?

And how did it all fit together?

And the cat named Chaos wearing the tracker?

There was a thread connecting everything. There was no way there’d been two separate thefts happening at the same time. It was too much of a coincidence.

I dug my fingers into my thigh, into the muscle that continued protesting, despite every doctor telling me it was fine. I’d broken my femur all those years ago, in five places near its midpoint and above. So why was the pain so much lower? How did Wyatt know just where to kick me for maximum effect?

How could I have believed everything he’d said?Because it sounded so reasonable. So logical. Of course, he made enemies as a CIA agent. Of course, Drew had said I was reckless.

Climbing a building without gearwasreckless.

The truth was hidden inside all the lies. Both with Wyatt’s words and whatever had gone down at Mosaic. And I had to return to the restaurant and help my team figure it out. I was the thief, and I knew how thieves thought.

When I left the bathroom, Drew had already dressed, including his signature clenched jaw. He dragged his fingers through his hair and nodded absently, staring at the floor.

“I’ll be right over.” He hung up. When he looked at me, his face softened, and his lips curved into a smile. As much as that tight jaw was smoking hot, his smile was dazzlingly handsome. Heart-stopping, even. With a pinch of comforting thrown in for good measure.

“So youarecapable of smiling, Downie.”

He closed the distance between us and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me against him. “Seeing a beautiful woman in a state of near undress does that to a man.”

Don’t say it, don’t say—

“Any ole woman?”

Dammit. Zero chill.

He leaned in to kiss me, his tongue gently exploring before his teeth grazed my bottom lip. “Mywoman.”

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