He settled into a chair with a weary grunt. The mournful wail of a loon drifted across the lake. The cool air held the moist scent of the lake shallows. Hidden behind a bank of fog, the sun was already topping the mountains to the east.

The sliding glass door opened, and Frankie stepped out, wearing his old T-shirt, the loose sweatpants, and the thick, fluffy socks he’d left on the counter. Her almost dry hair tumbled down her back. She’d found the hair dryer Audrey had lent him.

Sitting in the single chair across from him, she ignored the blanket and set her hands on her knees. “I’d like to…” Expression serious, she shook her head. “This is difficult.”

Leaning forward, Bull took her hand. “Spit it out, sweetheart.”

“Tonight, at the roadhouse with Nabera, I didn’t want to flirt with him. Letting him touch me…” She swallowed. “I almost puked. I felt guilty because you’re right. We have something between us, and even knowing it has an end date, we’re together. Messing around with other people would be wrong—and I’d be upset with you if you did it.”

It wasn’t easy, but he stayed silent. Just nodded. The relief that she was willing to talk, to share, felt as if a bomb had been dismantled.

She shoved her hair out of her face. “When I was in bed earlier, I worked out this whole explanation, only now I can’t remember it. What am I missing?”

“Perhaps the reason you let him touch you?”

She winced. “Right. I can’t tell you. I want to, but what I was doing was… I guess I can share that I was trying to get information from the PZs. For a friend.”

“A friend.” As worry exploded inside him, Bull kept his voice even.

“I sound insane, don’t I? I’m trying to help a friend, and it’s not my secret to share, and I know it’s not fair to you. But…I won’t flirt or anything like that again. It feels too wrong. And horrible.”

Frustration, remorse, and unhappiness were all too evident in her face.

As Bull studied her, any lingering anger fizzled and died. “I’m surprised Nabera could be taken in so easily.”

“I’m not one to hide my feelings, but I do know how to play a role, at least for a short time. All Mama’s children learned that.” She pulled in a breath, straightened, raised her chin, and transformed into a cool, self-possessed, unapproachable woman. “This is the businesswoman face I wear during meetings.”

With another breath, she dropped years to appear both innocent and vulnerable. “This is what I showed Nabera.”

For fuck’s sake. “Bet that façade gave Nabera a hard-on.”