But then he closed his eyes and turned away. “They’ll be sealing off the area,” he said. “Come on, we need some wheels.”

We hurried on, both of us soaked through and shivering. The next alley led onto a quiet street. Danny found an aging Mercedes and went to work on the lock. Less than twenty seconds and the door was open. We jumped in…but, as soon as the doors were closed, it was awkwardly quiet and private. Just the two of us, sitting a foot apart. I saw his eyes go to my bare legs: my dress had ridden up a little as I jumped in. He looked up and caught my eye and we stared at each other.

Since Siberia, the pull was a thousand times stronger. I knew, now, exactly how he’d touch me. I wanted his hands on my hips, his fingers digging into my ass and squeezing just right. I knew how his kisses would feel, on my lips and my neck and my inner thighs. I knew the sounds he’d make and the sounds I’d make. I needed him. But I could fight all that. I could push it down inside.

What I couldn’t handle was when he looked at me like he’d looked at me in the alley. When he made me feel special. When he looked so fiercely protective. Because those instants were snapshots from a future we could never have, Polaroids with razor-sharp edges that cut me to the bone every time I looked at them…and I couldn’t stop looking at them.

This time, it was me who turned away. I couldn’t bear to look into those absinthe eyes any longer. “How did you get so good at stealing cars?” I asked, trying to keep my voice light.

He reached under the steering wheel and started cracking open the plastic so he could get at the wiring. I dug in my purse, pulled out a flashlight and shone it for him and he nodded in thanks. He told me about growing up poor in London, about the gang he’d been part of. “Probably sounds stupid, now,” he muttered as he stripped wires. “But nicking cars, driving them fast…that’s all we had. It let me be part of something.”

His voice tightened on the last few words. Barely perceptible, I only noticed it because we’d spent so much time talking over the last week. Being part of something was important to him, more than he wanted to admit.

There was a spark and the engine roared into life. Danny hit the gas, speeding through the dark streets as fast as he could without attracting attention, heading out of the city center. We turned the next corner and joined slow-moving traffic. Up ahead, a police van was stopped by the side of the road. Two officers were unloading barricades from it, ready to block the road.