"I don't think so."
"What?" she asked in surprise.
"I believe it was Cal who tried to run us down the other night, who shot at us a few hours ago, and also saw us at the scene of the blast earlier today."
"Was that today?" she asked wearily. "It feels like we've lived a year in the past few hours."
"I agree, but my point is Cal knows we're on his tail. We're getting to potential witnesses either right before him or right after him."
"So he might want to slow us down."
"Or take us out. I think we should stay together. I'll sleep on your couch."
She thought about his offer, wondering why she liked it so much. She'd always been fiercely independent and worked hard to be a strong woman in a dangerous field. She would usually have said no to his idea before he'd finished the last word. But she didn't want to say no. She wanted to say yes to him. And that made a shiver run down her spine.
His gaze darkened as if he'd just read her mind, which maybe he had, because they had gotten incredibly close in a very short amount of time.
"Kara?" There was a question in his voice, and she didn't think it really had anything to do with sleeping on her couch.
But she couldn't say yes to anything else. She probably shouldn't even say yes to that, except she really wanted to. She liked the idea of him being close by.
"Nothing is going to happen," he said, filling the silence.
"I know that. I don't want anything to happen."
"Well, I do want something to happen, but not tonight, not like this…"
Her breath came faster at his admission. "You really should go home. I'll be fine."
"You will be fine. But I'd just like to make sure that we're both fine."
"I'm not going to believe you're afraid to go home alone."
He smiled. "Is that a yes?"
"Yes," she said, the word slipping off her tongue before she could stop it. "I'll get you a blanket and a pillow."
She disappeared into her bedroom and came back a moment later. "I'll say goodnight. Help yourself to anything you want or need." She flushed as his gaze glittered with amusement. "I mean…you know what I mean."
"It's going to happen one day," he said confidently. "You and me."
"I don't think so."
"Yes, you do," he said.
"Goodnight, Max." She had to get out of this room before that one day turned into tonight.
Chapter Thirteen
Friday morning, Kara emerged from her bedroom, showered and dressed in dark jeans and a blazer, her hair still damp. She'd managed maybe three hours of broken sleep, her mind cycling through Whitney's confession, Cal's cold efficiency, and thoughts of Max sleeping only a few feet away from her.
The smell of coffee hit her first.
Max was in her kitchen, two bagels in the toaster, a container of cream cheese open on the counter, fresh coffee already brewed. He was still wearing yesterday's clothes—dark pants and a button-down that was slightly rumpled now—but he looked more rested than she felt.
"You went out?" she asked. "Because I know I didn't have bagels."
He glanced up, and something in his expression softened when he saw her. "Deli on the corner."
