THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

– her half-covered in his shirt and sleeping in his bed.
    Her hazel eyes flashed with fire when he annoyed her, but they were pure whiskey – warm and intoxicating – when he kissed her.
    He shook his head at his wandering thoughts. What was he going to do? He couldn’t keep walking this damned fence between right and wrong. Indecision was ripping his insides apart.
    Go back to the basics. Stick with what you know .     
    Ben was right. If Zane did corral Angel again, he should turn her over to the authorities. They had more time to deal with an uncooperative female in trouble.
    Right?
    He parked the truck and sat there, watching the halogen parking lot lamps begin to brighten.
    Who was he kidding? He snorted at his lack of honesty.
    Even if he didn’t have concerns over their ability to shield her, would he really hand her over to a bunch of strangers? No way. If he found her, he knew what he’d do – drag her into his arms and kiss her senseless. There’d never been a woman he’d been driven to have in the way he desired Angel.
    Correction. If he got her in his hands again, he’d do a hell of a lot more than kiss her.
     
    Chapter 26
     
    CK needed to do some housecleaning. And he would when this job was finished. Joe was one of his best men, but one more mistake and he’d be demoted.
    Demotion in CK’s world was permanent, all the way down to the bottom of a lake.
    “I don’t have wings,” Joe complained, his exasperation coming through. “Not much we can do when she takes off on foot through six lanes of traffic. Besides, we had company.” 
    “Who?”  Had Mason gotten nervous and hired a backup group? He’d called CK twice in the past twenty-four hours. Mason was high-maintenance but not usually a nuisance, which meant someone had his nuts clamped in a vise.
    Who? Now that would be valuable information.
    Joe said, “Don’t know, but I think that’s why she ran. Some guy jumped out of a dark blue Yukon not far behind her and the pilot in a turn lane. When the girl took off like a bat outta hell, the guy from the Yukon jumped back in the passenger side and the truck turned at the light. They were too far away to nail a tag number.”
    Joe had just added another demerit point to his next evaluation. CK couldn’t believe this bitch was outmaneuvering some of his best men.
    “Cover all the bases and don’t lose the pilot. She thinks she’s safe with him. She’ll go back to him at some point.”
    “How long we going to do this? Be easier to grab her.”
    Joe echoed CK’s thoughts. “My orders are to pick her up only when she’s alone and without drawing any attention. If those orders change, you’ll know.”
    CK ended the call and set the phone on the desk in his hotel room. This didn’t fit Mason’s MO. What was stopping Mason from turning CK loose to grab the girl, and disappear anybody else who got in the way?
    Mason wanted the girl in hand no later than Saturday and CK wasn’t leaving without getting his bounty. That meant, as far as CK was concerned, that deadline would override the “don’t draw attention” orders if his men couldn’t corner Angel before tomorrow morning.
    And if that happened, Mason would just have to live with the consequences.
     
    Chapter 27
     
    Zane parked the truck then trudged to his apartment, hating the emptiness that awaited him inside. He unlocked the door. When the alarm system failed to sound its warning beep, he tensed.
    He’d set his alarm when he left.
    Reaching down into his boot to retrieve his Keltec, Zane eased the door ajar. Through the dark shadows cast across the room he could just make out a figure in the low light filtering into his living room from the kitchen.
    His throat closed.
    Angel. He couldn’t believe she was there.
    She stood with her back to him, but he’d seen her tense when he’d opened the door.
    He stepped inside, closed the door, and dropped the gun back into his boot. He moved gradually into the room, afraid she’d vanish. His lungs struggled to draw air.
    She was really here.
    How? The how didn’t matter so much right now as his relief that threatened to take the starch out of his knees.
    An arm’s length away, he stopped. She knew he was here, but hadn’t moved to acknowledge him. Scattered thoughts raced across his mind, but only one broke through to the surface.
    She’d come back to him.
    He swallowed and whispered, “Angel?”
    A soft glow from the under-counter lights in the kitchen barely