SLEEPER (Crossfire Series) by Gennita Low

had been smacking that lecher around, she had suddenly felt exhilaratingly free. Almost normal, in fact. She’d walked with confidence toward R.C., the man Johnny had pointed out, with her focus on getting those passports from him. What could be so tough? She was used to dealing with gunrunners too, right? It felt good to just go with the flow again and not be suspicious of everyone’s, as well as her own, actions.
    Then, this man had surprised her by keeping her on the dance floor. That had been totally unexpected.
    “That’s unusual,” Reed said. “Is that your real name?”
    Lily studied the man sitting so close to her. She hadn’t been held by a man since…“No,” she said abruptly, “but does it matter?”
    “It does to me,” he said, cocking his head, his gaze quizzical. “I like to know whom I’m dealing with.”
    “Our meeting is business, not a date, so whether I’m called Mary or Ambrosia, what difference does it make?” She really should just get down to business, but it felt so good to spar with someone again. She hadn’t realized how starved she was for interacting with people. It was difficult to have long conversations with her girls because of their age and the nurse helping them out asked too many questions that she didn’t want to answer. “How do I know R.C. is your real name?”
    “Call me Reed,” he corrected. “And yes, that’s really my name. I like to be myself because it’s easier. Being two or three different persons at the same time seems so unnecessarily difficult, don’t you agree? I might confuse myself with myself. That wouldn’t do.”
    Lily searched his face. He was too close to the truth, although he couldn’t possibly know. He was just flirting. She’d seen him doing it with that other woman with whom he’d been dancing—the same intense look in those eyes, the same tilt of the head, as if he was just enjoying being with a woman.
    She hadn’t really wanted to dance, but that look had changed her mind. It had had such a strange effect on her—enjoyable and uncomfortable at the same time. He made dancing into some kind of personal revelation, as if he wanted to see the woman inside her, and, again, to her surprise, her body had responded.
    She didn’t need to look too closely to know that Reed, if that was really his name, was easy on the eyes. Tall and, as far as she could tell from the lighting, blondish or light brown hair, the kind of face at which a woman would look twice. More than twice, she admitted as she studied him. It was the eyes—she was drawn to them. There was an easy smile on his face, but his gaze remained watchful. Killer eyes. She’d seen that look in men who lived at the edge of danger…like gunrunners.
    “Like what you see?” he interrupted her thoughts.
    Lily blinked. She probably shouldn’t have stared at him this long. She didn’t want to give him the idea that she was interested in anything but business. “I was talking to Johnny Chic,” she said, ignoring his question, “and he told me you bought some passports from him.”
    “And if I did?”
    “They are mine,” she said. “I ordered them from him.”
    Reed shrugged. “He took my money, so they are now mine.”
    “You don’t understand,” Lily said. “I ordered those passports in a batch, and Johnny sold part of my order to you.”
    He shrugged again. “So? Order from him again.”
    “I need them now. Tonight. I’ll pay you for them.” She narrowed her eyes at him, although he wasn’t smiling, and added, “With cash, not favors. I don’t think you want to end up like Johnny.”
    “I don’t think you can afford me, Ambrosia.”
    It was stupid. Why did she want to hear her name on his lips? “How much?” she insisted. “Look, I really need the passports.”
    “I saw the batch he took mine out of,” Reed said, stroking his chin. “There’s quite a few of them. Surely you don’t need that many, unless you’re going around the world a few times. Why