Ethan walked at a steady pace as he watched the back of Ann’s dark head. She defiantly fit in to the crowd now. Before, heads had turned when she walked down the street and men had seemed to fall aside with their tongues wagging. At least that’s what he always imagined. She had that effect on men, kind of like the coyote in the cartoons when steam shot out of its ears, and its eyes did the slot machine spin.Okay, so it wasn’t that bad. If he wanted to be totally honest, that’s the way he’d felt when he’d first seen her. She’d walked across the room in a hot red outfit, and he’d lost control of his wits. Not only had his temperature risen, well… he shook his head and cleared the image from his mind.They’d been walking for almost an hour and already he could tell she was slowing down. So far they hadn’t run into any trouble. When Ann stumbled, he reached out and took her arm. She yanked it free and glared at him. He smiled at her in return, which only caused her to frown. The small c

Ethan watched Ann across the small space as she slept. He’d sat across from her last night at Javan’s and watched her, much like he was doing now. She slept like he’d dreamed of doing for years, like the whole world had dropped off and she had no cares.He knew the hike had been hard on her. Hell, it had been hard on him, but he was used to being uncomfortable and tired. He’d done it all his adult life and had no plans of letting up any time soon. He liked his job and the travel. He liked helping people out and working with his buddies from his time in the corps. He was very glad that he and Javan had patched up their relationship. He’d been his best friend for so many years. Ethan had hated knowing the man was not around to call when he got in a tight spot.But above everything else about the job, Ethan liked the danger and the thrills he got when he outmaneuvered his opponents. It was like a game to him. He’d always been good at it. When he was a kid, he’d played paintball wars with

Ethan pulled her back into the brush quickly and didn’t wait to see if they’d been spotted as they took off running back the way they’d come. When they’d made it twenty yards he chanced a glance over his shoulder and saw several heads bobbing in the trees, heading their way. Damn!He grabbed her arm and they made a sharp turn, cutting to the right down a path he knew was dangerous. He didn’t think they had any choice.He didn’t know if the men where the one’s looking for them. Hell, they could have stumbled on a drug deal or something else. All he knew was they couldn’t chance stopping and asking them what they wanted.“Sorry, Princess. It’s going to be a bumpy ride. He grabbed her and flung himself off the cliff, trying to take the brunt of the impact himself.The rains the night before helped their muddy journey down the slippery ravine. As they slid down the steep hill, Ethan grunted every time his back connected with a sharp stick or rock. Ann squealed and held onto his shoulders.

Ethan woke to the sun in his eyes and was shocked. He’d never slept so deeply. Then he realized he was alone and panic overtook him. Sitting up quickly, he jolted when he heard Ann say from behind him.“I’m over here. Don’t worry, I didn’t go far. Just had to clean up.” She dropped her bag next to him and smiled. “You look like you could use a couple more hours of sleep.”He’d actually been having a nightmare about a job he’d done a few years back. He’d woken still able to hear the men chasing him, and the client, an old friend, screaming his name as he slowly died. It had been almost seven years ago, but it still felt like yesterday. His back ached where the long scar covered his spine; he’d barely made it out of Afghanistan alive.Having another close friend literally stab you in the back made you reevaluate your friends.Javan had been there for him. He’s the one that had nursed him back to health until he was well enough to fly home. He’d actually thought about retiring then, but

Ethan lay there feeling Ann’s breath on his chest and knew she was fast asleep. He listened to the loud sounds of the cargo plane and wondered what the hell he was doing. The number one rule in this business was, and had always been, don’t get involved with a client.So far, he’d followed that rule. There had been plenty of times he’d wanted to cross that line, but none like this. None like her. He’d felt the shock the first time he’d seen her. He’d known he should call the job off before they’d left for Brazil. He’d even tried to keep her pissed at him by always flaunting women around. It had worked for a while. He could tell she was totally turned off by him, and at one point, he was pretty sure she had called her boss to try and get him fired.But it wasn’t up to Anthony if he stayed or went. Senator Rhodes was the one calling all the shots, and if he knew that he was sleeping with his daughter… Hell, he wasn’t just sleeping with her. He couldn’t fool himself for much longer. She w