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took a moment with his response. She couldn’t read his expression, aside from his obvious disapproval.
    “You’re worried about money problems,” he began slowly, “when your continued existence is in jeopardy?”
    Pursing her lips, Joella countered, “What’s the point of ‘existing’ if I’m living under a bridge and having to beg for food?” Sure, that was a little extreme, but times were tough. Losing a good-paying job because she just went AWOL for a while would look terrible on her résumé. No one would hire her, and eventually she wouldn’t be able to afford her rent.
    Luka didn’t seem to like her argument, because his eyes narrowed sharply and he stalked forward until he’d backed her against the stone wall, completely covering her body with his. “You are not getting yourself killed,” he said firmly. “I’ll return you to your life when this is over, not before.”
    Joella swallowed, startled by the ferocity of his response. And then she remembered what he’d said before. He doesn’t want any more blood on his hands. Sliding her hands up to his shoulders, she offered, “What happens to me isn’t on you, Luka. I’m not your responsibility.”
    His brown eyes flashed, he braced his forearms on either side of her, and caught her lips in another powerful kiss. He sucked her tongue into his mouth, stroking it slowly, before sweeping his own past her lips. The kiss was powerful, demanding, and immediately reminded her body of all the wonderful things she’d been feeling just a handful of minutes earlier. Some part of her recognized that he was kissing her to get his way, but in the moment she just did not care. Men as sinfully sexy as Luka didn’t even give the time of day to women as ordinary and overweight as her.
    Her arms slid up, around his shoulders, and her fingers dove into his thick brown hair as she kissed him back. He rumbled with a growl of approval when she dragged her teeth over his tongue and the sensation vibrated straight through her chest to her tightening core. She was starting to wonder if Luka was capable of bringing her to orgasm just with the power of his kiss when he pulled back, putting a full foot of distance between their bodies.
    “Do you have family out of the area you could stay with for a couple of weeks?” His question threw her completely off, as she’d all but forgotten their argument.
    It took Joella a moment to process his meaning and she slowly shook her head. “No,” she admitted. “I have … a job. Just a job.” None of her semi-friends lived near enough to go to and far enough away to be safe. But even if they did, they weren’t close enough for her to go to them. She didn’t have any single person who would voluntarily put their lives on the line for her sake. What was I even arguing for? A job she hated? An apartment she hoped to move out of in the next year or two?
    Luka was frowning again. “Is your job that good?”
    At this Joella couldn’t have stopped the incredulous laugh if she’d tried. “Not even,” she managed. She sighed, then, and moved to sit on a smooth rock. “My boss just pays me fairly well, considering my position, because he’s hoping I’ll sleep with him.”
    “Then you’ve got no reason to throw your life away,” Luka declared on a growl, turning a glare toward the clearing.
    She stared at him for a moment, wondering at the growl in his voice, before releasing a resigned sigh. She didn’t like it, but he had a point. It wasn’t like she wanted to die. Still…. “Maybe not, but people will think I’ve gone missing. Or died, even.”
    “Then you’ll have to prove them wrong,” Luka said as if it were the most obvious thing. He glanced back at her, then, and said, “Come on, breakfast’s cooking.”

 
    Chapter Four
     
    LOCAL WOMAN BELIEVED DEAD
    A poorly enlarged, outdated Driver’s License photo was centered below the abrupt headline on the front page of the newspaper, but it was good enough. Char