Midnight was only minutes away. Parker had long since dismissed Jay and Zeke, encouraging them to go for a run. Without the constant interruptions from Daniel, Simon and the others, she was making headway following the money trail, but it was slow going.

Whoever they were, they knew what they were doing. She was like a pinball bouncing from bank to bank, country to country. To solidify her thoughts, she mapped out the trail on the whiteboard, a practice that often helped her think better. She unplugged her laptop and placed it on the high table beside the whiteboard to monitor her attack on the current bank's databases while she mind-mapped.

A throat was cleared behind her, and she jumped. She swung around and discovered Daniel standing in the doorway, holding a tray of food.

"Jessica said you hadn't eaten. I thought I'd bring your dinner down."

Daniel's constant messages were getting on her exceedingly frayed nerves. She turned back to the board. "You need to learn to be patient. As soon as I find out where the money's going, you'll be the first to know."

He laughed, a deep, genuine laugh. "Yeah, well, that's not my strong suit."

She placed an angry cross through one of the names on the board and tossed the marker down. "It's the same as last time—I don't know how many ways I can tell you. You'll be the first person to know once we have traced it, but we're chasing our tails around the European banking system."

Daniel set the tray down. It contained two plates of food. She raised an eyebrow as she glanced at him. One plate was stacked three times higher than the other.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Thought you might like company." He handed her the smaller plate filled with steak, jacket potatoes, corn, and salad.

The aroma from the food was divine, and her stomach audibly reminded her she hadn't eaten all day. Embarrassed, she changed the subject. "So, how did the Alliance meeting go?"

Daniel eyed her uncertainly. "How did you know about it?"

She waved her fork. "Don't worry, no one here told me. I got a call from Clara this evening letting me know she and Morgan would be arriving tomorrow."

She took a bite of her food, then asked the question that had played on her mind since that morning. "Are you going to tell me who you saw in that picture?"

"No."

Parker's shoulders tensed, and she stabbed at a potato. When will the secrecy end? "I thought we had already been through this. I can't do my job unless I am kept in the loop."

Daniel finished chewing before he answered. "Well, believe it or not, I was all for briefing you on it this afternoon. But as Morgan and the others pointed out, this information moves everything to a new level." He paused and looked at her. "Including increasing the risk to you."

Her head snapped up. "Oh?" Now she was more confused than ever.

For once, Daniel's expression was unguarded. He was telling the truth. "Morgan and Clara have insisted on being present when you are briefed." Daniel paused to take another bite of his food. "In the meantime, I know you ignore every command I give you outright, but I'm asking you, for once, to observe my rule about not leaving the pack village."

She gazed at him and tried to ascertain if this was Daniel being controlling, or Daniel being concerned about her safety. She hoped it was the latter. "Okay."

He looked surprised and then burst out laughing. "Well, that must have almost killed you."

She raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Daniel flicked a corn kernel at her. "To actually concede to something I said."

She ignored him and returned to her meal. Just as she had placed her empty plate onto the tray, a beep emitted from her laptop. She went to investigate, and Daniel followed.

"Finally." She let out a deep breath and pointed to the screen. "Looks like it was rerouted through Commerzbank, a German bank."

Daniel frowned. "Do we know if that's where it ended up?"

She shook her head. "We'll only know after we've accessed the Commerzbank account. We'll have to see if it was transferred from there."

"How long will that take?"

"How long's a piece of string? Could be a few minutes or it could be hours."

She moved onto the next leg of the assault on the money trail, but faltered when Daniel stood directly behind her. He watched over her shoulder as she continued typing.

"I'm seeing if there are any ports open," she said.

Daniel moved even closer and continued to watch her work. His arm came around to rest on the countertop beside her, his body almost, but not quite, touching hers.

Good God, man, mind the personal space.

She shifted and tried to alleviate the building tension. "It's kind of like checking to see if any doors have been left unlocked."

Their bodies accidentally came into contact and his touch ignited a low, burning flame. She struggled to concentrate on the task at hand. He was so close, his breath tingled the shell of her ear.

Her heart raced, and she cleared her throat with difficulty. "Once we get a foothold in the network, we need to ascertain where to attack next. Banks have huge networks with multiple databases, so the trick is to work out which database is the one we are after." She paused and ran a nervous tongue over the bottom of her lip.

She felt Daniel tense and turned her head.

He was immobile, staring at her lips with an expression she couldn't read. His eyes slowly moved up to meet hers. She stopped breathing, and her heart faltered, and then hammered in her chest. He was too close—far too close for her liking. She attempted to put space between them by taking a sideways step, but the table prevented any movement.

The heat from his body engulfed her, and she had to fight the urge to lean closer to him. Daniel's hand came up to gently cup her face, and the world moved in slow motion. Her mind failed to register anything beyond his touch. Everything blurred and the only noise was the labored rhythm of her breathing.

He trailed his calloused thumb along her lips, and she involuntarily parted them. His eyes darkened and his pupils dilated, leaving only a slither of green. His thumb continued from her mouth and lightly brushed the side of her neck, pausing to feel her throbbing pulse. An aroused whimper escaped her lips, and his eyes narrowed.

Without warning, Daniel pulled his arm away, and before she blinked, he had disappeared through the door.

Her mind reeled at her body's lingering reaction to him. She held onto the bench with both hands to steady herself, and she struggled to gather her wits.

What the hell just happened?

How could a single touch make her lose her mind?

Thank God, he stopped before anything happened.

She closed her eyes and tried to regulate her erratic pulse.

The door slammed open, and a moment later, she was pulled hard against Daniel's chest.

***

Daniel needed to sate the growing thirst that had only escalated from the moment he met her.

Four steps.

That's all he could get beyond the building before his self-control disintegrated, and he gave in to his hunger and turned back.

Unable to control his need, he pulled Parker flush against his body and relished the feel of her small frame against his. He threaded his hands through her thick hair, tilted her head back, and brought his mouth down. The instant their lips touched, a current jolted through him, and his body hardened.

His mouth began its assault and his tongue pressed for entrance. At first, she moved hesitantly. When his grip on her tightened, she returned the kiss with as much passion and fury as he was inflicting on her. His hands roamed down her back, pulling her tighter against his aching body.

Fire spread through his veins. He snaked an arm around her, then lifted her up, and slammed her against the whiteboard. Without thinking, he hooked one of her legs around his hip so he could press into her more firmly and feel the heat of her body against his. He groaned as she matched his frenzied exploration.

A shrill beep cut through their desire. The urgent, repeated rhythm demanded attention, almost as if the computers were warning him to put an end to this before it was too late.

It took more effort than he thought possible to pull away. He had been standing on the precipice, ready to cross beyond the point of no return. Had the beep come a moment later, it would've taken nothing short of the world being destroyed for him not to finish what they had started.

"I think your computers are calling you," he said, his voice thick with desire.

Parker, unable to meet his gaze, cleared her throat, and backed away from him. "Um...they've probably found an open port." Her face flushed. She turned her back on him and focused on the monitors.

She had been just as affected by their kiss as he was. Or was she? His brows creased. He should be able to scent her desire, and yet he detected nothing.

Daniel let out a low growl and the muscles on his face tightened. He turned on his heels, and headed for the mountains.

He needed space to think.