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“My brother the druggie. My brother, who has dabbled in the production of meth and probably knows about every meth lab in the southwestern corner of the United States.”
“A meth lab? You’re going to cook up a batch of T-101 antidote in a meth lab?”
“Exactly.”
“You can’t trust your brother, and you can’t trust anyone who cooks meth.” Hadn’t she learned that lesson about trust the hard way? He balled his fists against his sides. Obviously not, since she was still here with him.
“Who said anything about trust?” She waved her fingers in the air as if she was sprinkling fairy dust. “We rent the lab, cook up our own batch of drugs and leave it the way we found it.”
“You said your brother’s in Utah?”
“That’s right. I know he’ll help us. Cody owes me.”
Max dragged a hand through his hair. “That Tempest agent we located on the computer is in the other direction—south.”
She stopped pacing and marched toward him. She grabbed his arms with surprising force. “Unless that other agent has a storehouse of blue pills that he can share, it’s pointless to warn him. We need to stabilize you first. I don’t care about any Tempest agent right now except Max Duvall.”
With her flushed cheeks and bright eyes, Ava looked ready to take on the world—for him. He reached out and brushed his thumb across her smooth cheek. “Why do you care, Ava? Am I another homeless dog to save? Another broken family member?”
Her words came out on a whisper, her warm, sweet breath caressing his throat. “You saved me. You’re protecting me, and I’m going to do the same for you. Right now, you’re all I have, a-and I think I’m all you have.”
His thumb traced her bottom lip. “You are.”
She met his gaze steadily and something passed between them—a pact, a bond. At that moment, he knew he’d do anything to protect this woman. He’d already killed for her...and he’d die for her. But not yet.
“Can you reach your brother?”
She blinked and nodded. “Yes. Should I call him now or track him down when we get to Utah? I know which resort he’s working at.”
“You know your brother best. Is he going to bolt if he knows you’re on your way?”
“No, but I’m afraid to use my cell phone. Once I used my ATM card and they tracked us down, it got me thinking about other methods they could use to get to us. You said yourself, the program on Dr. Arnoff’s laptop is probably tracking the agents through their cell phones.”
He kissed her mouth because he couldn’t help himself anymore and then chucked her beneath the chin. “I’m going to turn you into a covert ops agent yet. Dump your cell phone, pick up one of those temporary ones or use mine and then call your brother.”
Stepping back from him, she said, “I’ll get a phone at the same place where we buy a power cord for Arnoff’s computer.”
“We have at least a ten-hour drive ahead of us, so let’s get going.”
“What are we going to do about that SUV? Even if nobody saw us careening through Dr. Arnoff’s neighborhood last night, the owner has definitely reported the car stolen.”
“I have a bottomless pit of cash and a few fake ID’s that I haven’t even used yet. I’m going to purchase a car at a used-car lot, so we can drive to Utah in relative safety.”
“That would be a first.” Ava pivoted away from him and started shoving clothes into her bag, her long hair creating a veil over her face.
He eyed her stiff shoulders. He shouldn’t have kissed her. No, the kiss was okay, but he shouldn’t have made light of it after. If he’d never kissed her in the first place, he wouldn’t have had to shrug it off.
Damn it. Being a robot had been a hell of a lot easier than dealing with these human emotions.
He strode across the room toward her, and she made a surprised half turn at his approach. He pulled her into his arms and planted a kiss on her parted lips.
Running his hands through her hair, he tilted her head and deepened the kiss.
One hand still clutching a T-shirt, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her body against his.
