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He’d have to leave her.
* * *
AVA FLUNG HER arm out to the side, clutching a handful of sheet. Her lids flew open and she squinted against the light filtering through the drapes.
She ran her tongue along her teeth in her dry mouth. Had she gotten drunk and passed out? No wonder Max hadn’t spent the night with her.
Max. A spiral of fear curled down her spine. Had he taken his pill last night or did he try to tough it out again?
She scrambled from the bed, still wearing the clothes from yesterday. “Max?”
She shot out of the bedroom and plowed right into his chest.
“Whoa.” He grabbed her around the waist to steady her. “Are you okay?”
Brushing the hair from her face, she studied his clear, dark eyes and the smile hovering around his mouth. “I was worried about you.”
He cocked his head. “Me? I’m not the one who went comatose after one glass of wine.”
“I—I mean, I didn’t know...”
“I took a pill before I went to sleep.” He dropped his hands from her waist. “In fact, you reminded me right before you passed out.”
She poked his hard stomach. “I didn’t pass out. At least, I don’t think I did.”
“You were wiped out after that drive. Anyone would’ve fallen asleep after a glass of wine.”
“At least it was one glass instead of the ten it took to put my mom under the table.” She dropped her lashes. “You didn’t have to sleep in the sitting room. I think we proved the other night that a king-size bed is big enough for the two of us.”
His eyes flickered. “I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“No...incidents last night?”
“If you mean did I start gnashing my teeth and breaking out in a cold sweat, the answer is no. The pill worked just like it always does.”
“Glad to hear it, but now you have just two left, so I need to get to work. Cody’s meeting us at the restaurant at ten.”
“No, he’s not.”
“Oh my God, did he call or something? Is he backing out?”
“I didn’t talk to Cody, but I don’t want him coming over here on his own. He might be followed. We still don’t know who broke into his place and why or if they’re still here.”
“Should I have him meet us somewhere else?”
“Tell me where he is, and we’ll pick him up so I can make sure he’s not being tailed, and we can stop for breakfast somewhere else.”
She ducked around Max and snatched her phone from the charger. “I’ll call him right now.”
When her brother answered the phone, he sounded half-asleep.
“Change of plans, Cody. My friend and I are going to pick you up. Is there someplace for breakfast around there?”
“Tons of places in the town of Snow Haven.”
“Give me your address and wait outside for us. We’ll be there at ten.”
Cody rattled off his address and asked, “Who’s your friend? Is she hot?”
“He is hot—very hot.”
She ended the call and turned to face Max, who had looked up from his tablet. “I think you just disappointed Cody. Is he going to be a no-show now?”
“He’ll be more curious than ever.”
Forty-five minutes later, they were on the road to Cody’s. Ava had shoved Dr. Arnoff’s laptop into her bag and had the printed-out formula folded up and stuffed in her pocket. They’d put the thumb drive in the hotel safe, along with stacks of cash from Max’s bag.
Max followed the directions from the GPS, and when they pulled onto Cody’s street Ava tipped her chin toward her brother, dressed in jeans and a red flannel shirt, his hair scraggly. “That’s him.”
Max rolled the car to a stop at the curb, and Cody bent over and peered into the car. When he saw her, he broke into a smile, wreathed by a scruffy brown beard.
Max popped the locks on the car and Cody climbed into the backseat. “Hey, Ava, good to see ya.”
“Cody, this is Max. Max, my brother, Cody.”
Max looked into the rearview mirror and nodded.
“How you doing, man?” Cody settled against the backseat. “There’s a breakfast place called Holly’s about a half a mile up and to the left. So, what’s this all about?”
