“It’s time to get ready,” he said, massaging her wrists with his thumbs. “About an hour ago, Sawyer brought by our suits plus our IDs to get us into the hotel as part of Senator Hutton’s security team. You slept right through it.”

She didn’t doubt it. She’d probably slept more than eight hours straight through the night, and she was still exhausted. “You and Hunter wore me out last night.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

She rolled her eyes. “Uh, yeah, Soldier Boy. I think my three orgasms proved it. But . . . ”

“But?”

Apprehensive to admit the truth, she sat up and turned to him. “I don’t regret it, but it’s not something I’d like to do again. I know it’s your kink—”

He cupped her face in his hands. “You’re my kink. And if you’re not into it, then I’m not into it. Besides, I don’t want to share you again. I was a bit jealous of Hunter last night. From now on, it’s just you and me. That okay with you, Tiger?”

She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. She’d give almost anything to make love with him again this morning, but they didn’t have enough time. If everything went according to their plans, they’d have the rest of their lives to make love.

And she couldn’t wait for the rest of their lives to begin.

After showering and getting dressed, she and Logan met the guys in the kitchen to go over everything one last time. Nervous around Hunter because of last night, she was put immediately at ease when he acted as if the whole thing had never occurred. She felt as though she was one of the guys as they studied the hotel’s blueprints one more time and reviewed their plan for accessing the mechanical room.

To keep Rachel and Logan from being recognized, Sawyer had helped them alter their appearances. Already in a conservative navy suit to match those of the security agency, Rachel wore horn-rimmed glasses with thick lenses and covered up her long black hair with a honey-blond wig that had been cut into a blunt bob. For Logan, Sawyer had dyed his hair, turning him into a carrot top, and then applied scarring liquid to his face, creating several thin scars that marred his cheeks. While they didn’t look drastically different, it was enough that they shouldn’t immediately be recognizable.

At ten in the morning, she and Logan took Sawyer’s car and headed to the Tuscany Hotel and Casino. Although they had driven by the strip when they’d first arrived in Las Vegas, they hadn’t gotten close enough to give her a true representation of just how large the hotels actually were.

The newest hotel and casino on the strip, Tuscany, was no exception. She’d read up about the hotel, needing to know everything about it before today.

She’d never been to Italy, but if it looked anything like this, she’d make sure to add a trip there to her bucket list. Set on rolling hills of grass, the hotel was created to look like a Tuscan stone villa. Hundreds of Italian cypress trees lined the driveway that led from the street up to the main entrance, and each warm-toned stone that went into building the road and the hotel was imported directly from Tuscany. Olive trees grew on the grass, their limbs tangling together.

It took millions and millions of dollars each month to maintain a landscape that didn’t belong in the desert. The investors had taken a real gamble with this property, but according to their latest financials, it was paying off handsomely for them. It was the “it” place to stay on the strip these days, which was probably why Senator Hutton had chosen it for his speech.

Sweltering in the desert heat, Logan and Rachel had spent the past hour staking out the hotel, watching Senator Hutton and his staff arrive. They were dressed identically in navy pantsuits with white shirts, the only difference being Logan wore a tie. Copying the agents of the security firm, they’d clipped their IDs to the lapel of their jackets.

Sawyer had also set them up with guns, items that made her uncomfortable and comfortable at the same time. She didn’t have a lot of experience with them, other than going to the range with Kate a few times, so she really hoped she wouldn’t have to use hers. Unlike the seasoned Kate, she’d managed to hit the paper target only about half the time and had never hit the bull’s-eye. If a situation arose requiring her to use the gun, Rachel figured she was more likely to shoot herself in the foot than the target.

Senator Hutton’s speech was scheduled to begin in thirty minutes. She and Logan had waited outside to watch the senator and his security detail arrive and enter the hotel, but they hadn’t spotted Evans or Fink so far. It was possible they were already in the mechanical room, waiting for the senator’s arrival. It would be so easy if she could just call the Feds and tell them what Evans and Fink were up to, but as shown by everything they had gotten away with so far, they’d probably just pin the appearance of the tank with the virus on them.

And she was done being framed for crimes she hadn’t committed.

More than ready to end this thing and desperate for air-conditioning, she walked confidently toward the BH22E entrance, her spine straight and her eyes forward as if she had every right to be here.

Logan pounded on the door, and a Tuscany security employee answered.

“We’re here with Banks Security,” Logan said.

The man’s eyes narrowed. “Identification.”

“Here you go,” she said in a fake southern accent, ignoring Logan’s sideways glance as she unclipped her ID and gave it to the guard.

He examined it for a long minute then returned it to her, then checked out Logan’s next. With a nod, he handed it back. “The rest of your team already took the senator down to the bottom level.”

She metaphorically breathed a sigh of relief that their fake IDs had worked. One giant hurdle passed. Within a few minutes, they’d have access to the mechanical room.

“We were just scoping the outside of the hotel for anything out of the ordinary,” she said, wanting to give an explanation as to why they hadn’t shown up with the others so he wouldn’t be suspicious. Of course, it only made her sound more suspicious. “All clear.”

Logan stepped inside, most likely to keep her from saying anything else. “Now we’ll just take the elevator and meet them at the theater.”

“Elevator’s broken,” the guard said. “Maintenance is repairing it now, but as I told your comrades, it will be working by the time the senator finishes his speech.”

She wouldn’t panic. This was why they had the guys on standby. She and Logan were each wired for communication to and from them.

Not blinking, Logan stayed cool. “So which way do we go?”

The guard pointed. “You’ll have to follow the hallway through the double doors, which will take you into the back of the house by the offices. You can use that elevator to the tunnels that lead to the theater. As I told your friends earlier, we’ve emptied the offices of all employees except for those executives who have already gone through security clearance with your firm. A couple of your guys have stayed behind on the off-chance anyone should try to follow the senator.”

Her stomach dropped to the concrete floor. There’s no way they could go that way if anyone from Banks Security was stationed there. They’d know right away she and Logan weren’t part of their company.

“Great,” Logan said, his expression neutral.

Waiting until they were out of earshot of the guard, she remained silent as they began making their way down the hallway.

“Hunter,” Logan said quietly, “tell me there’s another elevator that will take us down to the mechanical room.”

Hunter’s voice replied in her ear. “There is, but you’re not going to like it. It’s just off one of the hotel’s kitchens. Plenty of witnesses, but if you act like you’re supposed to be there, no one should bother you.”