That solidified in his mind that he wasn’t going to leave her side again until she was back on US soil. Charley and her orders be damned.

  But then what? Would Angela even be safe back home? He was going to have to talk her into hiring security. A team he had vetted personally.

  He knew a couple of SEALs, DEVGRU guys, who’d left the teams a few years ago and opened a private security firm in Virginia. He’d contact them. Jon Rudnick was a good guy. And a damn good operator. Rudnick would set Angela up with the best security available.

  Then, maybe he’d be able to go on with his life knowing she was safe.

  That was a big-ass maybe.

  He let his glance sweep over her and couldn’t help remembering their night together. The worry on her face told him she wasn’t thinking about the same thing.

  All righty, then. He was forgettable.

  Too bad she wasn’t. At least, not for him.

  She’d go back to her life and never think again about their one-night stand.

  And him? What would he do after all this?

  Yeah, that was the big question, wasn’t it?

  Hell, maybe he’d ask Rudnick for a job. That would sure beat kissing bored rich housewives’ asses.

  He’d just reached for the last fry from his plate and popped it into his mouth when he saw her. The woman he’d been waiting for.

  “Ask for the check and wait here.” He was on his feet and out the door of the restaurant before Angela could say a word.

  Assuming she would do as he’d asked, he focused on the mission at hand and pulled the hood up on his sweatshirt to cover his hair and obscure the view of his face.

  After sliding on the sunglasses he’d left stuck in the neck of his T-shirt, he tipped his head down and strode as fast as he could without breaking into a run after the woman.

  He caught up easily. She was overloaded with a laptop case on one shoulder heavy enough to have her listing to one side, and a purse on the other shoulder.

  And damned if her passport wasn’t sticking right out of the outside pocket of that purse.

  She moved into an area more congested with travelers as a plane unloaded from the nearby gate and those waiting to get on the next flight already filled the waiting area.

  Perfect.

  With bodies bumping into each other like balls in a pinball machine, he sidled up next to her, plucked the passport out of the purse and slid it into his sweatshirt pocket in one smooth move.

  Three more long strides and he made the right turn into the men’s room.

  Inside he was shaking with adrenaline as he moved toward the stalls. He caught a glance at his reflection in the mirror. He looked shady as fuck. But the hood and sunglasses had been necessary to throw off the program authorities used to identify people in case a security camera caught the action of him lifting her passport.

  But now it was just as important that he look as different as possible. Inside the stall, he took off the sunglasses and stuffed them out of sight in a pocket of his cargo pants.

  Taking the passport out of his sweatshirt, he flipped it open to look at the picture, hoping the woman wasn’t carrying her kid’s or boss’s identification rather than her own.

  Bingo. Her face stared back at him. It wasn’t a perfect match, but it was good enough. He’d have Angela pull her hair back. That would help. And if she walked up to TSA with confidence, they wouldn’t look twice at her or the photo.

  He shoved the passport down deep into the pocket on his thigh, then straightened and stripped off the Navy blue hoody. He turned it inside out, sleeves and all, so only the white lining showed, before tying it around his waist.

  The automatic toilet flushed behind him, which was fine. It reinforced his pretend reason for being there.

  Unlocking the stall door, he forced himself to take it slow and walk casually to the sink where he washed his hands. He dried them and took a step out of the quiet of the men’s room and into the crowd.

  One quick glance in both directions didn’t yield the woman or any security personnel, so he pivoted back toward the restaurant.

  His gaze met Angela’s through the window before he turned inside and walked to the table.

  “Where did you go?” she whispered with such force, she might as well have spoken in a normal voice.

  “Bathroom,” he said simply, reaching for the check.

  “I’ll pay this and we can go.” He pulled cash out of his pocket and tossed it on the table, anchoring it beneath the edge of his plate, before reaching for the backpack he’d left under the table by Angela’s feet.

  The server spotted him standing and came rushing over.

  “It’s on the table. Keep the change.” He tipped his chin toward the pile of Korean bills and turned to Angela.

  “Go where?” she asked as she stood.

  “Home.” As soon as they bought tickets and could hop on a flight back to the States.

  He couldn’t have asked for a better reaction from Angela as a storm of emotions crossed her face. There was shock in there, for sure, but also hope.

  He’d put that look on her face, and it was even more satisfying than all the times he’d made her come last night.

  Smiling, he looped an arm around her shoulder and drew her in to him. Partly because couples were less suspicious. Mostly because he just wanted to feel her close.

  It might be the last time.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  “You’re pouting.”

  She glanced at Adam, seated next to her on the final leg of the long flight back to the States.

  “No.”

  “Yes,” he countered, his brows raised. “I told you. The airport in Baltimore might be under surveillance.”

  Under surveillance.

  Adam and all his spy terms. She should have never told him that was where she was from. That piece of information was what sunk any chance of her stepping off the plane and being home tomorrow.

  “You get to go home,” she mumbled, remembering how he told her he lived in Virginia and, lo and behold, guess where they were flying to. Virginia.

  “You’re adorable.” He sniffed out a laugh. “And I’m not going home either. I can’t be sure my place isn’t being watched.”

  “I am not adorable. And I’m not pouting,” she added for good measure.

  She was the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. CEOs were not adorable. And they didn’t pout.

  “Laying low for a few days, or even weeks if necessary while I figure this all out, is the smart and safe thing to do.”

  Adam was still trying to justify not letting her go home. It wasn’t helping.

  “I need to get home,” she bit out between clenched teeth.

  Hiding away with him for weeks might make a good fantasy but this was reality and she had to get back to it.

  “Why?” he asked turning in his seat to face her. “What’s at home that’s worth risking your life over?”

  She shot him a sideways glance before reaching for the seat pocket in front of her and taking out the in-flight magazine. “Never mind.”

  He’d done the impossible. Gotten her through airport security and onto this flight, but now that they were over that hurdle, all the worries she’d sidelined previously came rushing back to the forefront. About what waited at home and at work.

  If she ever got back to either.

  She pivoted to look at Adam again. “If we’re not going to your house, then where?”

  “A hotel.”

  After Shanghai, just the word made her skin itch. “I’ve had enough of hotels to last me a lifetime.”

  “I know. But I’ll be with you this time.”

  “That’s convenient.”

  Adam drew in a breath. “All right. Let’s talk about that.”

  “About what? You and me?” she whispered, eyes wide.

  The last thing she wanted to do was talk about how she’d jumped into bed with a man she barely knew and had sex with him in more positions than she’d known existed.

  “Yes,” he said, without even lowering his voice.

  “Nope. Nothing to talk about.” She shook her head and turned to face forward as she felt her face heat.

  How could she face down a table full of rich, judgmental old men in the board room and not even be able to look at Adam now? Just because they’d been naked together.

  He cocked up a brow. “According to my recollection, there’s a lot to talk about.”

  “Please don’t make me,” she begged softly.

  He was quiet for so long, she dared to glance at him. She found him watching her.

  Gone was all the humor in his expression that had been there before. He looked almost hurt as he said, “Okay.”

  “Thank you.”

  He huffed out a humorless laugh. “You’re welcome.”

  That was the end of all conversation for the rest of the journey. At least all meaningful conversation. The few things Adam did say were all business.

  He kept her close to him, physically shielding her from everyone around them on the shuttle they took from the airport to the hotel. But that was because he was in protector mode. Not because he cared about her.

  That was obvious from the way he was ordering her around. Constant commands about everything. She knew he expected her to follow every order as they traveled and checked in, without question. And she did. She was so happy she’d made it through customs with the fake ID she didn’t even care he was needlessly bossy.

  Yup. She’d been silly to think she could have hurt his feelings by not wanting to talk.

  His silence on the flight was probably because he was pissed off she wasn’t giving in to that particular order that they had to discuss a situation that didn’t need discussion. She might have had to let him choose their destination, but she’d be damned if he got to direct the conversation too.

  To be back on US soil affected her like a drug. She went from being totally hyped up to crashing, completely exhausted.

  When Adam opened the door of the hotel room, she dragged her feet as her legs felt too heavy to move.

  She shuffled to the nearest of the two beds he’d specifically requested at check-in—which was pretty telling about the current state of their relationship. She collapsed face-down on the bedspread, not even caring how horrible the cheap fabric felt against her cheek.

  “Angela—”

  “No. Later.” Whatever it was he wanted to talk about would wait.

  She needed to sleep. She’d argue with him after that.

  It was hours later that Angela woke to semi-darkness as one light burned on the desk in the corner. Adam must have covered her with a blanket as she slept. She pushed it off her now, freeing her legs from the tangle.

  Sitting up on the bed, she glanced around the room and found it was empty. Frowning, she twisted to look toward the bathroom. The door was open but it too was empty as far as she could see.

  “Adam?”

  No answer.

  She shimmied to the edge of the bed and stood. His backpack was there on top of the dresser.

  That had to mean he hadn’t gone far.

  She peeked inside and found some clothes but no weapons. Of course not. Those were still sitting in the locker at the airport in Seoul.

  There were no cell phones either. He must have them with him.

  But actually, she didn’t need a cell phone, did she? She had the hotel’s phone, right there in the room.

  She was shaking as she approached the desk and picked up the card with the instructions on how to call outside the hotel.

  Adam would kill her if she made a call to anyone connected to her. But he wasn’t here. And she desperately wanted—needed—to get home.

  As much as she didn’t want to listen to him, she believed he knew his stuff. So she did need to be cautious. Selective about who she contacted.

  Fern was out. The office was out. Her poor parents who must be worried sick were out. All of those numbers could be monitored.

  What numbers did she know by heart besides home, Fern, her parents and the office?

  She wracked her brain. The one other phone number she knew by heart, because she’d called it a million times, was her best friend since middle school’s home number. She’d dialed it plenty of times on her childhood home’s landline back in the days when parents didn’t let kids have cell phones.

  Of course, Kim had moved out of her parents’ house years ago, after graduating college. She and Kim hadn’t seen each other in person, or talked much at all, for at least five years. Angela had been too busy working on building her career.

  As sad as that was, and as guilty as she felt about it, it was a good thing they hadn’t been in touch a whole lot. Kim wouldn’t be on the kidnappers’ radar.

  Neither would Kim’s parents. And if they still lived at the same house and had the same phone number… It was worth a try.

  Angela punched in the old number and listened to the ringing.

  “Hello?” The familiar voice of an older man came through the receiver.

  Tears filled her eyes as she said, “Mr. Brown?”

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s Angela. Kim’s friend from school.”

  “Angela. Girl, do you know everybody thinks you’re missing?”

  She laughed through the tears. “Yeah. I’d heard something about that. I’m okay. But I’m kind of stranded and I need help. I’m stuck in a hotel in Virginia not too far from Dulles Airport.”

  “Virginia? Well, I’ll be… Kim is in Virginia.”

  “She is?”

  “She got a job teaching at George Mason University.”

  George Mason was close. Kim was close. Help was close.

  Her heart fluttered faster as she reached for the logo-embossed pen and paper the hotel provided. “Do you have her phone number?”

  “I sure do. You have something to write with?” he asked, before he rattled off the number.

  Angela started to shake. She was so close. To freedom. To home. She could cry.

  She glanced at the door. Kim would come and get her, but she had to make the call to her before Adam got back.

  “I’m going to call her now. Thank you so much, Mr. Brown. You saved me.”

  “Happy to help.”

  She hit the button, waited for the dial tone and punched in the numbers she’d written. When she heard Kim’s voice she did start to cry for real.

  “Kim. It’s Angela.”

  “Oh my God. Are you all right? The news said you were missing.” Kim sounded so much like her father, Angela would have laughed if she wasn’t so desperate.

  “I was, um, kidnapped. But I got away,” she rushed to add so she didn’t panic her friend. “I’m in Virginia with no car, no money and no ID. If I give you the address, can you come get me?”

  “Oh my God. Of course. But shouldn’t you call the police first?”

  Adam’s paranoia must have infected her too. She wasn’t sure she could trust the police. What if the bad guys monitored the police scanner? Or if they’d bribed one of the local cops to call if they heard anything from her?

  Angela jumped to nix Kim’s suggestion before her friend got the idea to call the police on her behalf.

  “No. No police. Listen, I’ll tell you everything when you get here but don’t call anyone. No one at all. I’ll give you the address.” And hope Kim got there before Adam got back to the room.

  She rattled off the name and address of the hotel, which was conveniently printed multiple places in the room, then hung up, shaking, after Kim promised to be there within the hour.

  There was a very good chance Adam would be back by the time Kim arrived.

  And if he was? Too bad for him. She was doing what she wanted and he couldn’t stop her.

  When Kim knocked on the door, she was going to leave with her and Adam couldn’t stop her.

  He’d done his job, gotten her out of Shanghai and back to the States safely and she was grateful to him for that, but he didn’t control her.

  She needed to get home. She’d be safe there. She had an alarm system. She had neighbors.

  No armed men were going to swoop in and attack her house.

  That kind of stuff happened in other countries. Not in Montgomery County, Maryland where she lived. A former US senator’s home was a few miles away from hers, for God’s sake. The area had to be safe.

  The sound of a key in the lock had her jumping. She drew in a deep breath and let it out, actively trying to calm herself so she could play it cool. No good tipping her hand before Kim even arrived. Adam might whisk her away to somewhere else if he knew about the call. Actually calls, plural, when she counted the first one to Kim’s dad.

  Yeah, he’d lose his mind about that.

  “Hey. You’re awake.” He smiled as he closed and locked the door behind him.

  “I am. Where were you?” she asked, mainly to make conversation as a distraction so he didn’t ask her what she’d been doing since she’d awoken.

  “I grabbed us some chow.” He held up the paper bag. “It was slim pickings as far as restaurants, so don’t expect much. But it’ll fill us up.”

  She glanced at the bedside clock keeping an eye on the time as she anticipated Kim’s arrival. If he filled up on food, maybe he’d take a nap or something and she could sneak out.

  “Then let’s dig in.” She smiled.

  He’d gotten hamburgers. Normally, her meal of choice for take-out, her one indulgence, was pizza rather than fast-food burgers and fries.

  It didn’t matter. It wasn’t as if she paid much attention to what she was eating.

  As her heart pounded, she mindlessly chewed and swallowed then went back for another bite. Rinse and repeat. All while keeping one eye on the time and straining to listen for Kim’s arrival.

  That was how the meal went, without discussion. Thank goodness for that. She was grateful for the reprieve.

  She was even more grateful when he stood and tossed his empty to-go container in the trash and announce he was going to take a shower.

  “You’ll be okay out here while I’m in the bathroom?” he asked, always the overprotective type.

  “I was fine when you left the room to get the food. I think I’ll be all right while you’re right there in the next room.” She forced a cheery and hopefully reassuring smile.