Jeff shook his head and rubbed a hand over his face. He had a hard time thinking of Rome as a rogue agent, but this project was bigger than one agent. And one challenging woman.

He’d have to be wary of Agent Rome Lucian from now on. Just in case.

She heard a gurgling rumble as consciousness returned. The rolling and sputtering forced her eyes open, and she blinked, then took in her surroundings. She was in a car. A very loud car. The jumbling ride reminded her of the old red Volkswagen Bug Bobby had when he was in high school. The curved, dotted ceiling and the rounded rear window confirmed it. She was indeed in a Bug.

Flexing her arms, Harper pushed her weary body up to take a peek out the elliptical side window. Dusk appeared to be approaching. They were driving through a quiet suburban area. Wait. They?

Disorientation flushed through her. Hadn’t Rome come to her rescue in his Land Rover?

“Stay down,” Rome’s familiar deep voice filtered from the driver’s seat directly in front of her. “We’re almost there.”

“Where’s there?” she asked hesitantly, her voice scratchy from inactivity. Did it really matter? He could be taking her anywhere. Maybe to an even more ghastly place than before. But right now, this minute, she had a reprieve.

“I have a place just outside of town,” Rome answered, rounding a corner. She slid a little on the slippery vinyl of the backseat. “A safe house of mine.”

Safe. That sounded absolutely blissful. And highly unlikely. But what choice did she have? She had gotten in the car with him, after all. She’d have to trust him for now. Darn it.

“You passed out,” he offered quietly. “I switched cars, just in case.” She appreciated his keeping her in the loop.

Another ten minutes and they were just on the outskirts of Portland when Rome turned the car into an unfamiliar private warehouse area. Harper peeked out the back side window as soon as they slowed down to wait for the gate to glide open. Rome weaved the Bug around several of the buildings to one in the back that bordered a wooded area. The metal door of the midsized structure slid aside just enough to allow him to maneuver inside. She watched out the oval back window as the door skated shut with a loud, ringing clank.

Rome slipped out the driver’s side and walked over to a panel on the wall and punched some of the buttons. Lights illuminated the area, and a red light flickered on the little plate.

He came around to the passenger-side door and opened it. He reached down to pull the seat lever and moved the seat forward, gesturing with the sweep of his hand for her to get out.

Harper unfolded her long frame from the cramped backseat of the Bug. Stiff and achy, she stumbled a little as she crawled out. She felt Rome’s sure grip on her arm steadying her.

Murmuring her gratitude, she stretched out a little, hearing several pops and cracks. Grimacing, she glanced at Rome and saw a gentle smile crease his rugged face. She gave him a small smile in return, and then turned away to study her newest confinement. Goodness gracious. How many resources did an agent have?

“C’mon, Harper.” He placed a large warm hand on her shoulder. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” He tugged on her slightly.

She stared pointedly at the hand on her shoulder and he immediately removed it. Harper saw a pained look of remorse cross his face, quickly replaced by a reassuring one. Good. He should feel guilty about locking her away like some psychotic freak. She knew she had big problems and had done some terrible things, but she hadn’t needed him to dupe her into trusting him and then treating her like enemy number one.

“Harper, you’re safe here. Trust me,” Rome implored.

“Trust you?” She couldn’t stop the burst of laughter, but she wished she had when she started to cough a little. “You turned me in.”

He nodded as his hand started to rub soothing circles on her back. Harper wanted to punch him and sink into his comfort all at once, but held herself in check. Until she knew what he wanted and what he was going to do to her now, she had to be on her guard.

“Look, I know you hate my guts right now.” Rome met her eyes. “I know you think you can’t trust me. Hell, I wouldn’t trust me.” He removed his hand from her back to swipe it across his face, frustrated. She missed his touch. “But, Harper, give me a chance to explain. To convince you I’m on your side.”

She looked away, but turned her gaze back when his fingers brushed her jaw with a touch so light, she might have thought she’d dreamed it.

“Please?” he asked quietly. Goodness, he was intoxicating.

“I guess I owe you for the ride,” Harper whispered, wishing she’d made a different decision back at Bobby’s house and not used her power.

“You don’t owe me anything.” His voice rang with self-disgust. “Please, Harper.”

Well, it couldn’t hurt.

“All right.” She allowed him to take her hand and lead her deeper into the square building. She didn’t have much choice, and realized she didn’t want one. So much had happened recently, she didn’t want to think about much of anything right now.

There were many things worth noticing as she followed Rome. Though crude, the one-floor warehouse had several rooms and cavernous ceilings. Some were finished, but most were just encased by bare two-by-fours, making it feel as if she were walking through a wooden jungle.

One half-completed room they passed sported a flatscreen television with a PlayStation 3 hooked up to it. A video-game nerd herself, she decided she wanted to poke around in there later.

Spying the modest stack of video games prompted her to realize that she was supposed to be returning home to California to resume her training and getting back to her job soon. Her coach, and maybe even her boss, would call when she didn’t show up. And she had no idea where her cell phone or her backpack were. Probably in the hands of the jerks who tortured her.

But there was no way she could go back to her normal life now. At least not until this was all over. If it ever would be. A cold wash of loss rained over her. She really had nothing.

With great effort, she shook the morose thoughts from her mind and resumed her attention to her surroundings.

Moving down the rough hallway, the next space had a humongous bed that looked cheerfully lumpy with goose-down quilts. A little farther in, the area opened wide like a great room with a kitchen and another big flat-screen television in front of three huge rust-colored beanbag chairs. A tacky yellow and red striped couch was at an angle to the television behind a low, chunky wooden table. The place looked to be a work in progress. It wasn’t musty or dingy, just unused and unfinished.

“There’s a bathroom through there.” Rome pointed to a smaller area just to the side of the kitchen. The only room with a door. “I’ll get some towels.” She watched him move toward a far closet as she headed to the idyllic room with a shower.

And what a shower it was. It was at least as big as her whole bathroom in her little studio apartment in San Francisco. A double-headed shower in a waist-high tiled rectangle. She sighed out loud in enchanted anticipation.

She pushed the door shut, leaving it open just a crack. She peeled off her grungy T-shirt and bra and tossed them aside, then reached in to twist the spigots on each side to steamy-hot.

A knock sounded before the door opened wide. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Rome standing there with his arms full of fluffy foam green towels, his mouth agape. His blue eyes darkened to the color of midnight as they swept down her naked torso.

“Harper.” Her name was spoken with a raspy breath of regret and desire. “I am so, so sorry.” He set down the towels and a new box of bar soap on the freestanding wooden towel rack and moved to stand within a breath of her. A whisper of a touch caressed her skin as his fingertips glided gently down her back. Peering over her shoulder, she followed the trail of his hand.