Elena laughed, the sound bubbling up from somewhere deep in her chest. “Why not?”
“Because—” he sputtered, looking so thoroughly flustered that she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing again. “I am the man. I propose toyou.”
She laughed again, delighted by his indignation, by the way his traditional values collided so spectacularly with his love for a woman who had never done anything the conventional way.
But then Reed’s expression grew serious, and he took both of her hands in his, holding them between their bodies like something precious. His thumbs traced gentle circles on her palms as he met her gaze.
“You may be brave,” he said quietly. “Very brave. And you terrify me.”
Elena felt her own expression shift, the laughter fading as emotion welled up inside her. She might cry—actually cry—at how much she loved this man. At the way he looked at her like she was the most important thing in his universe, even when she was driving him crazy with worry.
“But I get to ask you to marry me,” Reed finished, voice rough.
Elena leaned up and kissed him, soft and sweet and full of promise. “Fine,” she whispered against his lips. “You win. You can ask me.”
She pulled back slightly, her eyes finding his in the dim light from the house. “After we catch Webb.”
Reed hesitated, and she could see the internal battle raging behind his eyes—the part of him that wanted to drop to one knee right now warring with the part that understood why she needed to finish this first.
“Fine,” he said finally. “After we catch Webb.”
Elena smiled, her heart so full it ached. She was about to kiss him again when a sound from inside the house made them both freeze.
Her iPad. The notification chime she’d set specifically for the encrypted email account.
Elena’s heart lurched. She pulled away from Reed and rushed through the balcony doors, crossing the living room inthree quick strides. The iPad sat where she’d left it on the dining table, its screen glowing with a new message notification.
She snatched it up, her fingers trembling slightly as she unlocked the device and opened the email client.
Lo and behold, Webb had answered.
Elena’s breath caught as she read the message, her eyes scanning the words once, twice, three times to make sure she wasn’t imagining them.
Tomorrow evening. Los Angeles. La Prince restaurant. 8 PM.
Come alone.
“What is it?” Reed appeared at her shoulder, his body tense with anticipation.
Elena turned the iPad so he could see the screen. “He wants to meet tomorrow evening in L.A. A restaurant called La Prince.” She swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry. “And to come alone.”
Reed’s expression hardened as he read the message, his jaw setting in that familiar stubborn line. But he didn’t argue. Didn’t try to talk her out of it.
He simply nodded once, his hand coming up to rest on her shoulder with gentle pressure.
“Then we’d better start planning.”
CHAPTER 18
Reed stood in the cramped living room of the FBI safe house, watching Terrel make final adjustments to the listening device concealed in Elena’s hair clip.
They’d flown into Los Angeles that morning on one of STAR Enterprises’ private jets, landing at a small airfield in Van Nuys where Agent Quinn had arranged ground transportation. The safe house was a nondescript bungalow in a quiet neighborhood east of downtown—close enough to La Prince restaurant for rapid response, far enough to avoid detection by any surveillance Webb might have in place.
“Hold still,” Terrel murmured, his fingers working with delicate precision. “Almost got it.”
Elena sat motionless in a wooden chair, her dark hair swept up in an elegant twist that would look perfectly natural at an upscale restaurant. The hair clip securing it—a simple gold design with small crystals—contained technology worth more than most cars. Terrel had spent the better part of an hour calibrating the miniature transmitter, testing its range and clarity until he was satisfied.
“There.” Terrel stepped back, admiring his work. “You can’t even detect it. I ran it through three different scanningprotocols, and it reads as nothing more than decorative metal and glass.”
