"Did I win? Me versus the bed?" he asked with a sexy smile on his lips.
"Definitely you," she returned.
"Good. Then let's see how I do in the shower."
"Max, we don't have time," she protested, but it was a weak protest at best.
"Then we'll have to be fast." As he stripped off his briefs and headed back to the bedroom, she had absolutely no willpower to say no.
It would be fast, she told herself, but as they got into the steamy shower together, she thought they might need just a little longer…
Max arrived at Bryant Park twenty minutes early. Kara had dropped him off on her way to work, and it had felt strange to say goodbye to her. But they planned to meet up after their meetings and compare notes, so it wouldn't really be that long. And he needed to get his mind back on work. He walked the perimeter of the park, checking for any potential issues. But everything looked normal for a Monday morning.
Located in Midtown, the park was always busy with people cutting through on their way to work, tourists clustered around the coffee and hot chocolate kiosk, and the usual collection of chess players, and people-watchers, occupying the movable chairs scattered through the space. kiosks that were already setting up for the holidays, and the usual collection of chess players, readers, and people-watchers occupied the tables and chairs scattered throughout the space.
He positioned himself near the fountain at the center of the park, where he could see all the main entrances and keep his back to the New York Public Library's imposing presence.
Caroline appeared at exactly the appointed time, entering from the Sixth Avenue side. She looked completely out of place among the casual parkgoers—her tailored black wool coat and leather gloves were perfectly appropriate for a business meeting in a climate-controlled office but made her stand out like a beacon among the joggers and dog walkers.
As she approached, she scanned the crowd, her movements tight with nervous energy. She clutched her purse against her body like a shield, and her usually perfect composure showed cracks of genuine anxiety. When she finally spotted him near the fountain, her relief was visible even from a distance.
"Why the change in location?" she asked.
"Museums are too contained. Here, we can see trouble coming."
He tipped his head toward a nearby empty table. "Let's sit."
Caroline did as he requested, perching on the edge of a chair, but she didn't relax. Her posture remained rigid, alert, like someone who expected to run at any moment.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Dominic is in trouble. I think he's been lying to you, to both of us."
"About what?" he asked, his pulse speeding up. But he cautioned himself to proceed carefully. Caroline was extremely loyal to Dominic, maybe even in love with him, as Kara had suggested. Whatever she was about to tell him could be a setup.
"Last night after he got off the phone with you, he told me that David Hartford is dead, that he was plotting revenge against everyone connected to the tower fire several years ago, that David was responsible for Samantha's injuries, the bomb at the café."
"You're not telling me anything I don't already know."
"Dominic started drinking heavily. Like I've never seen him drink before. I thought maybe it was the shock of one of his friends wanting his girlfriend dead, wanting him dead. But it was more than that. After a couple of shots, he started talking about mistakes he's made, that maybe he had finally crossed a line he couldn't come back from." She cleared her throat. "I feel like I'm betraying him, but I'm scared. I know you're his friend, not just a security guy, and I hope you'll want to help him. Promise me you'll try."
"I can't promise anything. What else did he say?"
She gave him a troubled look. "He said that he never should have made a deal with the devil."
"Who's the devil? Qadir?"
Her eyes widened. "You know?"
"I'm guessing. What deal did he make?"
"I'm not entirely sure. But he said after Cody and Ray were killed that he knew he was going to have to work with someone or he was going to have to give up on the project in Tajikistan."
"So, he made a deal with a terrorist for protection? Why wouldn't he tell me that?" His gaze narrowed on her nervous face. "I'm supposed to protect him at the groundbreaking. Why wouldn't I know about this deal?"
"Because you're part of it," she breathed, her words coming out in a quiet rush. "I didn't know. I swear I didn't. I'm not even sure I'm putting it all correctly now. But?—"
"What did you say?" He interrupted her rambling with a piercing stare. "What exactly are you saying?"
