The adjoining door to Silbie's room banged open, and Maia charged in like a rhino.  Silbie could almost see the steam billowing from her nostrils. "The nerve of that man! I take back everything I said about him being perfect."

Silbie slammed her laptop shut and sat up straight. "What happened?"

Maia stopped short and propped her hands on her hips.  "Why are you whispering?"

"I'm losing my voice," she pressed a hand to her chest. "Laryngitis. Pretty sure the shower scene I did brought it on. Something happen with Zach?"

"He gave me a line about how he could fall in love with me. Can you believe that? He must be psycho. You know—the kind who sleeps with a woman then follows her home and lurks outside her house with binoculars." Silbie's eyes tracked her as she paced the area in front of the bed, back and forth. "He's Joe Goldberg, from that You show we watched on Netflix! I mean, give me a break. No way he thinks he could fall for me already. That's insane." Maia raised her eyebrows, as if to say, Right? Right?!

Silbie smiled and shook her head. "I'm afraid I disagree." She had no choice. She'd fallen in love just as quickly. Even if she had been a teenager, Owen had loved her, too. Even though it took him twice as long to realize it. "I knew Owen was the one within an hour after meeting him. I don't understand why you're so mad."

She fixed her with a glare. "Whose side are you on?"

"Yours, but just a few hours ago you said, and I paraphrase. "He's a shepherd and a dog—and everything I've ever wanted. Clearly, he isn't saying shit to get his way."

Maia rolled her eyes and resumed wearing out the carpet. "Oh, that's for sure. He shepherded me out of my panties and into his bed without any effort. Well, there was the kiss list."

Silbie chuckled. "That'd be a great movie title."

"I know. Right?" Maia threaded her fingers through her hair and held her head as if it might explode. "He isn't leaving."

Silbie raised her brows. "What?"

She slumped onto the bed and clutched the edge of the mattress. "He's thinking of expanding his business."

"Some type of training facility, right?"

"Yeah. Security consulting and tactical instruction. With so many celebrities and high-profile professionals here, California might be a gold mine."

Silbie nodded. It made sense. "Had he planned to do this all along or is it because of you?"

Maia drew a staggering breath. "All along, I guess. It'd be weird if it was just to be around me."

Silbie joined her on the bed and took her hand. "Do you want him to leave?"

Maia stopped in place and considered. "No."

"Then forget about all your past rules of dating. Tell me how you really feel about him. Not how you think you should feel. And be honest no matter how crazy you sound."

"I can't stop thinking about him. When I'm with him, I feel safe. Like nothing bad can happen to me. The sound of his voice excites me. Just the thought of his touch makes my body come alive. No man has ever affected me like this. It's terrifying."

"You want some sage advice from a woman with practically no experience?"

Maia dramatically threw her arms over her face. "Why not?"

Silbie smiled. "I think everything that's happened to you over the last few months has led you to this moment. Dante. Quitting your job. Moving to California. Like your abuelo would say. God works in mysterious ways. You wanted a shepherd, and one showed up—literally. And the way you describe your feelings for him sure sounds like you could fall in love with him, too."

Maia shook her head, further muffling her voice beneath the arm barrier. "Not possible. I just broke up with Dante like—ten minutes ago. It doesn't make sense to fall for someone this fast."

"You weren't in love with Dante."

"I wasn't?"

"You wanted to be, but I don't believe you were."

Silence reigned supreme. For a moment, Silbie thought she'd either given up on conversation or had fallen asleep.

"Why not?"

"Because you were more mad than hurt."

Maia rose up and held her head in her hands and lowered it as if praying. "I'm so confused."

"I know.  It wasn't supposed to be this easy." Silbie laid her hand on Maia's shoulder. "But sometimes it is."

Maia stood, headed back to the doorway, then stopped. "I don't know. Maybe I have Stockholm Syndrome."

"Except—you weren't held hostage."

She rolled her eyes. "Not physically. Emotionally."

Maia's kooky ways made Silbie love her more each day. She cocked her head, widened her eyes, and chuckled. "Seriously?"

Maia leaned against the jamb and sighed. "I don't know what I feel."

"You will."

Silbie's phone rang, and her stomach spiraled. There was a problem, or her sister-in-law wouldn't be calling. She sucked in a deep breath and steeled herself.  "What happened?"

"Owen got arrested today."

"For what?" Twenty scenarios immediately coursed through her head. "Is he okay?"

"Bar fight. He's okay, though. Some guy was violating a restraining order and causing a scene with his ex-wife. Thought you'd want to know."

"Where is he?"

"Still in Dallas."

"Is everyone else okay?"

"Yeah... you sound weird? Are you sick?"

"No. Just losing my voice a little. Thanks for letting me know."

Silbie curled her fingernails into her palms. Maybe it was from seeing love bloom around everyone around her, or she was feeling sorry for herself. The updates weren't enough. One way or another, she had to see Owen. He didn't get to just write her off without telling it to her face. Wasn't sure how he'd go about it, but she needed a plan.

Logan and Maia could help her come up with a plan. She texted both.

Urgent meeting. My room. 15 minutes.

While she waited for their arrival, she contacted the director and gave him the bad news about losing her voice. From past experience, she wouldn't be back to normal for at least five days. During that time, he agreed to shoot scenes that didn't involve her.

Next, she called and set up plane tickets.

Two major hurdles out of the way. Now, if Silbie only had a strategy. Perhaps a chance meeting? Catch him off guard. And if it happened in public, surely he wouldn't cause a scene. Or would he? What if he confirmed her worst fear-that he didn't love her anymore? She'd been operating on the belief he was just feeling sorry for himself and keeping her at arm's length, and he wouldn't be able to keep up with that once he saw her in the flesh.

Before she gave it any more thought, Maia arrived with Zach in tow. Guess Maia decided to give him a chance since they talked earlier.

"What's wrong?" Maia asked.

Silbie eyed Zach, then pinned Maia with her gaze. "I take it the two of you worked things out."

Zach stiffened as if in defensive mode. His eyes scanned the room. "Why are you whispering?"

She pressed a hand to her throat. "Laryngitis. I think the jungle shower scene I did brought it on."

A knock on the door drew Silbie's attention. She pulled it open, and Logan and Liz strolled in.

"What's up?" Logan said.

"I have some bad news. Owen got arrested."

"Oh, no! What happened?" Maia asked.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "He lost his temper. Something he does a lot according to Dante. Luckily, the guy didn't press charges. Turns out, this voice problem couldn't have come at a better time.  I'm done playing by his rules."

"You're going to Dallas?" Maia said.

"Yes. If Dante's right, Owen won't agree to see me. I'll have to force my way into his room, and even then, he'll probably send me away. Not sure I can handle that much rejection. I've been thinking—maybe we can come up with a way for a chance meeting. But that will be hard since he rarely leaves his room."

Zach rubbed his palms together. "A covert mission is right up my alley. Maybe you can force your way in without him knowing it."

"I don't follow," Silbie said.

"The tabloids haven't published anything about the movie you're working on, right?"

She shook her head. "Yeah. They've gone to great lengths to keep it under wraps."

He sized her up. "You don't look or sound like yourself at the moment, so you're ready for undercover work."

"I don't look that different. He'd still know it was me."

Maia held up her phone. "Not if you wore a Mardi Gras mask. The remake of the movie Masquerade opens in Dallas this weekend, and they have events planned all over the city."

Zach nodded. "There you go. We have disguise and opportunity in place. Where do you want to go from here?"

"I don't know."

"What's your objective? Do you want to reveal your identity or leave without him knowing who you really are?"

"I can't believe this," Logan said. "I've been taking a scriptwriting class and struggling with a plot. This is it. Don't tell him who you are. Don't take off the mask. Seduce him and then disappear, leaving a clue behind. I'll bet he comes looking for you. Holy hell, this is genius! If I can write this well enough, there's a possibility it'll be made into a movie."

She cut her eyes to Logan, incredulous. "Really?"

"Hell, yeah. The instructor is a romance screenwriter. She's had two major box office hits in the last three years. Knocking on Heaven's Door earned an Oscar nomination for best screenplay."

Silent until now, Liz spoke. "What if I work my magic and make you and Logan look like an elderly couple. That way, you can stay at the hotel, and no one will recognize you."

"This all sounds great, but I still don't see how any of it gets me into Owen's room."

Zach folded his arms across his broad chest. "Don't worry. I have that covered."

Within three hours of deciding to fly to Dallas, Silbie and her co-conspirators sat in first class. She could get used to traveling like this.

Zach made notes on a yellow legal pad as he laid out the plans. "Colonel booked two reservations under aliases. One at the Bennett next to Owen's room, and two at the Hilton. No way they'll be able to trace either back to you."

Silbie looked at Zach, then glanced at Maia. If she got anymore spellbound by him, she'd melt into a puddle of goo. Silbie didn't blame her. His command of the situation was impressive-and sexy.

He smiled at Maia. "I know you're dying to get in the middle of this, but since Owen knows you and me, we'll have to stay behind."

She shook her head. "We could keep out of sight."

Zach brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. "Sorry, babe. The hotel has cameras everywhere. Even in the elevators. Silbie, Logan, and Liz will check-in at The Bennett as an elderly couple and their daughter. Once Silbie changes into her masquerade costume, she'll rendezvous with Owen, then disappear. Next morning, they'll check out the same way they checked in."

"I don't understand how that will work," Silbie said. "How will I get into his room?"

"This is where you come in, Logan," Zach said. "There'll be a power outage. I'll furnish you with a skeleton key to unlock Owen's room. You'll only have thirty seconds before the back-up generator kicks in. That should be long enough for Silbie to get into his room and you back into yours without being on video."

"If I'm working in the dark and without power, you sure the door will unlock?" Logan asked.

"The key box is battery operated. I'll have one for you to practice with so you should be able to pull it off before the lights come back on. Silbie, I can get you into the room, but after that, you're on your own. You got a cover story?"

Silbie sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I've been trying to think of something to convince him to let me stay but haven't come up with anything."

"He got arrested for defending a woman he didn't know, right? Say you're hiding from someone. Saving a damsel in distress should be right up his alley. Then, when the opportunity occurs for you to leave, you'll exit through the door that joins your room. Each has sliding bolt locks. Once you're back on your side, you'll use a magnet to slide the lock on Owen's side. Be sure to check that it slid into place. Once that's done. You're home free."

"Why don't we just use the magnet to get her into the room," Logan asked.

"We can't be sure of his location. He could hear it. When she leaves, he'll be asleep and so the click it makes shouldn't matter."

"So if I'm not on camera and the adjoining door to his room is locked from the inside, it really will be like I vanished into thin air."

"Yep."

She peered at him with new eyes. "You're really good at this."

"Don't give me too much credit. This is easy. No Third World country. No fifty pounds of gear. No dodging bullets."

"Won't one of us need a fake ID to match the alias when we check in? Oh, and a credit card?"

Zach nodded. "Everything will be waiting for us at the Hilton. Once you're settled, I plan to leave for a while. Need to check in on my business and make contact with the guy who'll handle the power outage. I shouldn't be gone more than a couple of hours."

Three hours later, after checking in without a hitch, the gang gathered in Zach's room.

Liz dumped the remaining contents of the envelope she picked up at the front desk onto the bed.

She studied the phony ID. "I can't believe how real this looks. Where did you get my picture?"

He gave her a look, as if, really? "LinkedIn."

"I like my name. I'm sure Alex Laurencia has a much more exciting life than Lisbeth Harvey. How'd you come up with it?"

"I didn't. My tech guy did. Random name generator."

Logan shuffled through the pile and grabbed the lock. "Where's the skeleton key?"

Zach pointed.

"What? A dry erase marker?"

"The barrel's the right size to house the electronics needed. Plus, it's a good cover."

Logan laughed. "You're MacGyvering the shit out of this plan."

"Not that complicated." He removed the lid from the marker and picked up the lock. "See this hole at the bottom? Stick the metal tip into it just like this—and voila! The green light comes on signaling the door is unlocked."

Silbie's stomach churned worse than it had the first time she'd been in front of a camera. Despite the costume and prosthetic teeth she'd picked up from one of the studio dentists, what if Owen recognized her and sent her packing? Bad enough she'd suffered his silent treatment, to hear him say he never wanted to see her again would be too much. She'd never survive the rejection. But giving him space hadn't helped. His arrest proved that.

Logan came to her side and put his arm around her. "It's gonna be okay."

She looked up into his kind face. In such a short time she'd grown to love him like family. If she was honest, some days better than family considering how they'd all lied to her. "What if it isn't?"

He embraced her. "Not happening."

"I hope you're right."

"Hey, I've seen the dress you plan to wear. Mix that with the sultry voice you have right now, no way in hell he'll resist you."

"Maybe not, but the question is—will he take the bait and try to find me?"

*Kim Possible theme song plays in the background*

How do you think this Mission Impossible will end?

TEASER: "And I don't want an argument. I'm just not up to fighting with you about this."