“You didn’t mean those things…”
“No! Of course not!”
“Then why didn’t you tell me you were going to do that?” he shouted. “You scared the shit out of me!”
Edward at least had the good sense to looks sheepish. “Because I wasn’t sure how great of an actor you were. Daniel, your life was on the line and I had to be sure that Dillinger believed I was double-crossing you. There was no faking your surprise and horror. You were perfect today.”
Daniel ran with Edward, anger and relief warring inside of him. He didn’t know whether he wanted to punch Edward or tackle him to the ground so he could continue kissing him. Maybe he’d do both when they were safe again.
At least everything had worked out. Except…something still felt off.
“Wait. Where did those shots come from?”
“Him.” Edward jerked his chin to the slender figure dressed in black.
Long, black hair hung down around his shoulders and swayed slightly in the breeze. Propped on his hip was a sniper rifle while a playful smirk pulled at his full lips. He looked like some dark angel or evil spirit come to Earth.
“Three and a half hours, Edward,” he immediately announced as soon as they were within earshot. “I drove three and a half hours from civilization, and you made me play with a gun.” His voice was silky smooth despite his complaining. His lower lip stuck out in the most adorable pout. Dear God, this man was like walking sex with a gun. Daniel didn’t know whether to be turned-on or frightened for his soul.
“Yes, and from here, you’re just three hours away from Baden-Baden,” Edward countered. “You can run off to the thermal spas and find a new plaything to help you forget about this.”
The man’s eyes narrowed on Daniel and he gave a very sultry smile. “Can I take him with me?”
“No!” Edward snapped and then flushed red. “We need to get out of here before the cops catch us.”
The man nodded and led the way across the field to a white sedan waiting on what looked to be a small service road. They quickly followed with Edward throwing him an apologetic smile. Daniel was still struggling to keep up with it all. Did he mind Edward’s possessiveness? Definitely not. It sounded a hell of a lot better than the betrayal he’d listened to only minutes ago.
“Daniel, this is Angelo. He’s something of a local cat burglar—”
“Please, darling,” Angelo interrupted. He looked over his shoulder and smiled at Daniel. “I am one of Europe’s greatest cat burglars, and I am a world-renowned porn star. Eddie here is just lucky I was free to create a distraction for him. I don’t use guns normally in my line of work.”
They reached the car and Daniel stopped cold as a sudden realization hit him. “You’re the Angelo!”
Angelo practically preened over the roof of the car. “Oh? Have you seen my work? Would you like to help me with my next video?” Edward’s mouth dropped open, and Daniel could feel his cheeks turning bright red.
“In the car. Now!” Edward barked.
Angelo made a face at Edward but dropped into the driver’s seat while Edward claimed the other front seat. Daniel sat in the back and tried to reorganize his thoughts.
“What I meant was, you’re the Angelo that knows Royce Karras,” Daniel started again once the car was roaring down the road and away from the sirens announcing approaching cop cars.
“Royce?”
“You helped him and Marc about a year ago.”
“Oh, the yummy Royce that is all possessive of his Marc Foster. Yes, I know him! That is one sexy sandwich I would love to climb into.”
“Jesus, Angelo,” Edward groaned. “Can we focus on escaping first?”
Daniel cleared his throat to keep from laughing. The flirty thief really did have a one-track mind when it came to sex. “I work with Royce. He told me all about you.”
Angelo slowed the car as they entered the main streets of the city. He lounged in the driver’s seat, looking for all the world like they were on a leisurely drive through town and not escaping a murder scene. “You work with Royce? Well, now I definitely need to come visit Marc as I’ve been promising. I didn’t know there were so many adorable men running around his Cincinnati.”
Edward grumbled softly under his breath in the passenger seat but didn’t say anything that Daniel could make out.
Stopping back at the car Edward had driven from Paris, Angelo pressed a white business card into Daniel’s hand as he got out of the car. It had only a European phone number on it. Angelo gave him a smile and a wink; then he drove off.
“How do you know him?” Daniel asked, sounding a little dazed as Edward ushered him into the car.
“It’s not through porn, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Edward snapped. He slammed his door shut and turned on the car. “He’s helped me a couple of times to acquire things that were in highly secure locations. He really is a damn good cat burglar.”