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But if she told him about the woman who had questioned her, she would have to explain about her connection to Lucas.

And Casey couldn’t do that.

How was this possible?

The resemblance was uncanny.

The Dragon looked exactly like Victoria Colby-Camp.

Casey was alive.

Levi’s knees weakened a little at seeing her. He wanted to hug her but she was searching their cramped quarters in hopes of discovering a way out. He’d done that already, twice.

There was no way out.

He didn’t want to die but he accepted that fate as a possibility any time he was in the field. Far more than he wanted to survive, he wanted Casey to survive. Watching her search the room, his jacket practically swallowing her, filled him with regret that he hadn’t been able to protect her.

His biggest regret, however, was the idea that he wouldn’t be able to warn Victoria.

He still couldn’t believe it. The woman who’d overseen his interrogation looked so much like Victoria she could be her sister, if not her twin. He’d been seriously rattled but he hadn’t answered her questions. Even after some serious encouragement from her head security man—the one who’d brought them here. Levi gently swiped his busted lip with his shirtsleeve. Bastard.

Had the same woman interrogated Casey? She hadn’t been roughed up as far as he could see. He was glad for that. She also wasn’t saying much. “Did
she
question you?” he ventured. He couldn’t share the one stunning revelation with her. The chances of their walking away from this were minimal at best, but he couldn’t break the promise he’d made to Victoria.

Who was this woman who called herself the Dragon? What connection did she have to Victoria? To Lucas? To Keaton? Levi’s mind reeled.

Casey dropped her arms to her sides, obviously giving up on her search. “Yeah.” She faced him. “It was weird. She kept asking me why I was sent here. She claimed to know who sent me.” Casey hugged herself as if she suddenly felt cold. “She knew everything about me.”

Could the situation get any more bizarre? The woman had listed off an entire background profile on Levi too. “She knew all about me as well. But what she really seemed the most interested in was why I came here.” He shook his head. “The strangest part is that Alayna knows why we came. Why didn’t she ask her?”

“Yeah.” Casey walked past him. “I said as much. Didn’t make her too happy with that comment.”

That just didn’t make sense. Then again, nothing about this mission had.

As Casey examined the door that stood between them and escape he noticed that the hem of her little red dress was only an inch or so longer than his black jacket. A smile tugged at his lips. He really, really liked that damned dress.

“I’m glad you picked that dress.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Didn’t matter. It was the truth. They were way beyond those kinds of pretenses at this point.

Her lips quirked. “I’m glad you’re glad, Stark.”

She stood there looking at him for a long time. A long, honest look. No arguing. No competing. Just looking. This couldn’t be the end. Not yet.

Casey walked straight up to him, toe-to-toe. His heart thumped a couple of times.

“We have to get out of here, Stark.” That vulnerability he’d thought he’d heard just once in her voice was back. This time it reached her eyes. “We can’t die here…now.”

Determination detonated inside him. “You read my mind.” He brushed a strand of hair back from her cheek. “We’re partners. We can make it happen.”

Before he could contemplate kissing her, the door opened.

Levi moved in front of Casey.

“Let’s go.” The same man who’d brought Casey here gestured to the door with the rifle in his hands. “Both of you.”

Levi held his ground. “Where are we going?”

“Let’s just get this over with, Stark.” Casey stepped around him and strutted toward the door, giving the guy a show he wouldn’t soon forget. The guy made a cheap, sleazy comment but didn’t lower his guard. He kept a close eye on Levi.

As Casey reached the door a misstep sent her sprawling across the threshold.

Levi braced.

The red thong did the trick. The slimeball took his eyes off Levi and that was all the opportunity he needed.

Levi rammed the guy’s head into the wall. Casey rolled, grabbing the rifle barrel as she went and twisting it free of his grip. Another slam of his head into the metal casing around the door put him down. Levi dragged the guy to the far end of the room.

“Secure him,” Casey said, keeping watch at the door.

“Roger.” Levi ripped off the guy’s shirt and belt and quickly hog-tied him. He removed a boot and peeled off a sock for a gag. He checked his pockets for a cell phone or a knife. No such luck.

He joined Casey at the door. “We’re clear to move.”

Being the unpredictable woman she was, she thrust the rifle at him. “Follow me.”

“Whatever you say.” He blocked images of that red thong from his mind. His throat felt parched. The woman had one hell of a great backside. He’d have to ask her about her stumble later, when they were relaxing over a margarita some place quiet and calming.

She moved quickly toward the narrow winding staircase that led upward. At the foot of the stairs he touched her shoulder.

“I’ll take it from here.”

She stepped aside, allowing him to pass.

Taking care that each tread was soundless, he ascended the stairs. He paused at the top, scanning the corridor and listening for any sound. Deserted. Not a peep. He moved fully into the corridor and waited for Casey.

Casey padded quietly past him. She stopped at the first door to the right and listened. She gestured for him to take a position on the other side of that closed door. Slowly, she reached out and pressed the door lever.

The stateroom was empty.

They moved from room to room and found the same. No clothes. No food or drink. Not the slightest indication that anyone had ever been there.

Their gazes collided. “They couldn’t have vanished that quickly,” Casey said. Like him, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Only one way to find out.” Levi started toward the next set of winding stairs, this one wider and more elegant than the last. He climbed quickly this time, still taking care to move as stealthily as possible. The crew, or other members of the Dragon’s entourage, could be on the main deck.

But silence greeted him there too.

The sun beat down on his face. The salty air filled his lungs.

Where the hell was everyone?

“Stark.” Casey tugged on his sleeve.

He followed her gaze, saw the pair of booted feet, toes up, protruding past a small dining table and chairs.

A knot formed in his gut as they approached the table. Casey checked the man’s pulse and shook her head. He’d been shot, center chest, his weapon still in his hand.

Casey picked up his weapon, removed the silencer, then checked the clip. The fact that, other than the breeze, the waves and an occasional winged creature, they hadn’t heard a sound since reaching this deck was flat-out eerie. If a housekeeping detail had been ordered, the weapons would have been outfitted with silencers to avoid unwanted attention. But why do this?

They searched the main and upper decks. Six crew members, judging by their uniforms, two security guards, and Jazz were dead. Each shot either center chest or in the back of the head. Only the crew members had ID. Evidently the identities of the others were part of the Dragon’s many secrets. More silenced weapons had been left behind, but no cell phones or radios.

Levi surveyed the water. They were well out of the bay but he could still see the city of Acapulco in the distance.

Who the hell was this woman that she could leave such devastation and simply vanish? Obviously she had taken Alayna with her since her body wasn’t among the others.

But how had they disappeared so quickly?

The other vessel. He surveyed the water. There had been two yachts waiting back in the harbor—this one and a considerably smaller one. It was gone.

“We need to talk to the guy downstairs.” Levi turned to Casey. “He’s the only one left.” If he would talk, he had to know something useful.

“Then,” Casey said, her voice grim, “we have to get out of here. If the authorities show up, we’ll never see daylight again.”

Unfortunately, she was right.

No need to use stealth this time. He and Casey rushed back down to the lower deck. Their captor-turned-hostage was attempting to wiggle loose.

Casey tugged the sock out of his mouth. He shouted a few choice profanities. “Save it,” Casey warned.

Levi stuck the rifle barrel in his face. “Where did
she
go?”

The guy laughed. “Like she would tell me.” He shook his head. “Her security got nervous about someone or something in the water. She ordered everyone killed, and left with her daughter. My orders were to kill you two and go home. I was the lucky one.”

“Home?” Still crouched next to him, Casey dragged the muzzle of her weapon down his torso, allowing it to linger at his pelvis. “Where’s home?”

Sweat had beaded on his brow. “Acapulco.”

“You work for Alayna?” Levi asked. He didn’t remember this guy as part of the security detail.

He wagged his head. “I work for her
madre
. I keep an eye on Alayna. Let her
madre
know when trouble shows up.”

“Like us,” Casey suggested.

“Fernandez warned me weeks ago that trouble was coming.” He swallowed with visible effort. “I did my job.”

Now they knew the connection between Fernandez and this so-called Dragon. At least they’d tied up that loose end.

“What do you mean they got nervous?” Levi had a hard time believing anything would spook Alayna’s mother. Levi banished the mental pictures of her. That part still shook him.

“Another vessel came too close. Someone onboard was trouble. I don’t know.” His worried gaze narrowed. “If you’re going to kill me, get it over with.” He crossed himself as if preparing for the worst.

“How were you supposed to get back to the city?” Casey demanded. “Are the lifeboats intact?”

“The boat that brought you here. I can help you get back,” he offered hopefully, looking from Levi to Casey, “if you let me go.”

“We’ll have more questions,” Levi warned.

“I just want to go home.”

Casey ushered Levi into the corridor. “We need this guy,” she whispered. “He’s the only connection we’ve got.”

“Agreed.” They couldn’t let him out of their sight and they sure couldn’t let the local authorities get their hands on him just yet.

After being untied, the sole survivor led the way topside. They walked through the scattered bodies. The scene rattled Levi though he’d walked through it once already.

“Here.” Their guide gestured to a rope-style ladder mounted to the deck railing. “Throw this overboard and climb down. The boat is waiting.”

Casey checked over the railing to see if he was telling the truth. She gave Levi a confirming nod.

“You go first,” he said to the man.

The only man to survive this massacre turned, but rather than walking to the railing, he dove for the nearest body, snatched the weapon lying next to it.

“Put it down!” Casey warned.

Both had a bead on the desperate man. Levi didn’t want to shoot him. They needed him. “Just put down the weapon,” he urged. “You’ll get to go home. You have my word.”

“I can’t go back,” the man said, his voice quavering. “I have failed.” He stuck the silenced barrel to his temple. “I am dead already.”

“No!” Casey shouted.

But she was too late. He’d pulled the trigger.

Damn. Oh, damn. Levi lowered his weapon.

Casey rubbed her eyes. “What the hell is going on here?”

Levi checked the poor bastard’s pockets. No ID, no cell. He stood and stared out across the water. “I don’t know, but whatever it is, we have to stop it.”

For that, they would need help.

Acapulco Airport, 2:00 p.m.

Casey entered the security checkpoint, Stark behind her, and thanked the heavens there was no long line. She just wanted this over with.

Had it only been hours ago that they’d left the yacht? Making shore had taken several minutes but it had seemed endless. They’d said nothing as the boat split through the blue water. Casey had decided both of them had been a little dazed. And a whole lot confused.

Once they’d stepped onto land, Casey had arranged for her rental car in Pozos to be picked up and she’d called the hotel there to take care of her room. Stark had done the same.

Since they were able to get flights around three o’clock, there hadn’t been a lot of time. A quick shower at the hotel in Acapulco and a change of clothes. They had checked out, grabbed some lunch and headed to the airport.

Every minute, every step had been together as a team. She’d managed to get a call in to Lucas while Stark was in the shower. Lucas had been in a meeting at the Colby Agency so she’d left a message that she would be in Chicago tonight and wanted to drop by the office to see him. It would be late, around eleven. She suggested they go to a late dinner and catch up on all her news. She’d chosen her words carefully so as not to arouse suspicions in case Victoria was in the room when he got the message but he would know the urgency by Casey’s need to see him so late.

She hadn’t heard back. Since her cell phone was long gone, there was no way for him to contact her now that she’d left the hotel room.

Casey suspected Stark had called his employer while she was in the shower as well. She’d thought she heard his voice at one point. She’d been tempted to eavesdrop but decided against it.

They had made it through this together. She’d figured she owed him her respect.

While checking out at the hotel’s front desk, she had overheard some of the staff discussing the bodies found on the yacht just outside the bay. There were already rumors that drug transport was involved. Casey and Stark had separated themselves from that tragedy just in time.

Now it was time for the final separation.

“Well.” Casey sighed. “I guess this is goodbye.” They were traveling via different airlines to their destinations so the best thing was to get this part over with here at the security checkpoint. Why her heart felt as if it were swelling out of her chest she didn’t know. This whole mission had been crazy like that.

Stark accepted her offered hand. “Guess so.”

That wild, tingly sensation rushed up from her hand and spread through her entire body like a California brush fire out of control. The ability to breathe shut down. Casey felt as if she were drowning. Her fingers clenched around his hand… She didn’t want to let go.

“We should make a pact,” she said abruptly, her knees shaking. This was crazy! She was crazy. But she had to do something. This couldn’t be goodbye.

“What kind of pact?” He searched her face with those remarkable green eyes. She didn’t miss the glimmer of anticipation there. He didn’t really want this to be goodbye either.

“In one month we’ll meet somewhere.” They had kept their secrets. No addresses or phone numbers exchanged and certainly not employers’ names. At this point, the addresses and phone numbers weren’t really relevant to protecting their clients but she didn’t want to be the one to ask. This was as far out on the proverbial limb as she was willing to go.

“Where?”

“How about New York.” She laughed. “At the top of the Empire State building. Like in that old movie.”

“We’ll have dinner?” he suggested.

Who cared about eating as long as she could listen to his voice and look into his eyes? Reality intruded, stomping all over her enthusiasm. This was a mistake. She couldn’t trust relationships and what he wanted her to believe was real. She’d end up getting kicked in the heart again.
Dumb, dumb idea, Casey.
No one was this nice for real.

“Dinner and maybe catch a play?” She managed a shaky breath. Didn’t matter what she said now. It wasn’t real. “This will all be behind us and we can reveal all our secrets then.” She laughed again, way too nervous. Pathetic.

He smiled, stealing her breath all over again. “You’re on. One month from today. Eight o’clock?”

She nodded. Casey would be herself again by then. It would be nice to see him, they would laugh and then say goodbye. Or maybe he wouldn’t even show. No. She knew Levi Stark. He would show. If anyone bowed out it would have to be her. That would be the proper choice.

“Eight o’clock.” She drew her hand from his. “See you then.”

Before she could say or do anything else totally stupid, she turned and walked away. Her eyes burned like crazy and she still couldn’t breathe.

What was wrong with her?

Keep walking,
she told herself.
Don’t look back.

“Casey!”

She stopped. She closed her eyes a second, then worked up the nerve to face him. He waited right behind her.

“I can’t let you go without…” He stared at her a moment as if lost for words.

Then he kissed her.

She should have run away. This was another mega mistake. But she couldn’t do it. She dropped her bag and put her arms around his neck. He tasted like sweetened coffee and the chocolate he’d had for dessert after lunch. But mostly he tasted like Stark. And she wanted to taste all of him. His arms felt so good around her…she could stay this way for…ever.

He drew back, pressed his forehead to hers.

What was she doing? Nothing was forever.

Say goodbye, Casey!

“FYI,” he murmured, “that was real. See you in one month.”

Casey watched him walk away.

Something deep inside her shifted.

She was going to miss him.

She’d been outdone, there was no denying it. That truth had her surrendering to a smile. She had a feeling he was right.

Levi Stark was the real thing.