Page 102 of A Tempting Seduction

“He’s not going to be that foolish, he knows he’s under surveillance.” Isaacson rubbed his face. The man looked like he'd aged five years in one night.

“Doesn’t mean he’s not texting. Can your team see his texts?” Jase asked.

“We’re getting everything he’s sending and receiving. This isn’t our first rodeo. It’s just not admissible.”

“That’s got to be killing you,” Simon commented.

The waitress sat down his coffee and Isaacson poured in a quarter cup of sugar. I almost gagged. “We’re depending on the safety deposit box contents to make our case, not whatever he’s texting right now. If he says something to me, or one of my subordinates, that changes things. That would be admissible.”

“What about the safety deposit box?” I asked. “Ruby's risking everything to get you those documents. That has to count for something.”

“If what's in there is what we think it is, then yes. It changes everything.”

We spent another hour going through contingencies. Escape routes if the bank was compromised. Backup plans if Horace's people figured out where we were staying. Alternative transportation if the FBI vehicles were made.

By the time we finished, I felt marginally better about the day ahead. Not good, but better.

I headed back upstairs around five thirty, using my key card as quietly as possible. Martinez gave me a subtle nod from his position in the hallway. Ruby was still asleep, curled on her side with one hand tucked under her cheek. Dark circles shadowed her eyes even in sleep, and I could see the tension in her shoulders.

Today would either give her the justice she deserved or bring more heartbreak. Maybe both.

I slipped back into bed and pulled her against me. She murmured something unintelligible and settled into my arms without being fully awake. For a few minutes, I let myself pretend we were back in Jasper Creek. That this was just another morning in my bed, with nothing more complicated ahead of us than deciding what and where to have breakfast.

But pretending wouldn't make it true.

At six thirty, my phone alarm went off. Ruby stirred beside me, her green eyes opening slowly.

“Morning,” she said, her voice thick with sleep.

“Hey, beautiful. Time to get up.”

She stretched against me, and I felt my body respond despite everything on my mind. Three weeks of intimacy with Ruby hadn't dimmed my need for her. If anything, it had gotten stronger.

“How long until we have to leave?”

“Thirty minutes.”

Ruby sat up, running her hands through her auburn hair. “I need coffee. Real coffee, not whatever passes for coffee in this place.”

“After the bank. I promise.”

We dressed together in comfortable silence. Ruby chose a charcoal-gray pencil skirt and an emerald-green blouse that brought out her eyes. Professional but not intimidating. Perfect for what we needed to accomplish.

Ruby watched me check my phone for messages from the team. She seemed to have gotten used to the security measures, the constant vigilance. I hated that this had become normal for her.

“You ready?” I asked.

Ruby squared her shoulders and nodded. “Let's go get the mongrel.”

Downstairs, the FBI motorcade was waiting. Five black SUVs with their hazard lights flashing, blocking traffic like they owned the street. Other hotel guests were staring through the windows, probably wondering what kind of criminal or celebrity was staying in their budget establishment.

Isaacson gestured toward the middle vehicle. “Same arrangement as yesterday.”

Ruby and I climbed into the middle SUV, with Isaacson taking the front passenger seat. The driver was a serious-looking agent who didn't bother with introductions.

The ride to the bank took fifty-five minutes. I watched the other SUVs maintain their positions around us, forming a protective box that moved through the city streets.

Ruby stared out the tinted windows, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. I reached over and covered them with one of mine.