"You're not playing fair," Kim said, giggling as Shane nuzzled her neck. "That's not - Oh!"

Shane had to chuckle as he caught Kim's reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her hair was still wet from her shower and a few tendrils clung to her cheeks, which were growing increasingly red as Shane's hands ran over her bare shoulders to the towel she had wrapped around herself.

"Methinks the lady doth like this," he whispered in her ear. The towel fell to the floor as he pressed against her.

"Methinks she does," Kim whimpered. "But. . . Shane, I'm already late. If I don't finished getting dressed- ohhhh. . . ."

Her words dissolving into an unintelligible moan as Shane whispered, "Don't finish getting dressed."

"I can't," Kim groaned, even as Shane could hear her breath quicken and see in the mirror how her eyes glazed over. She closed them, bit her lip, and then pulled herself forward. "I can't," she repeated.

"You know you don't want to leave," Shane said.

"Stop," Kim said, plainly willing herself to overcome her desire. "Don't . . . don't tempt me."

Grinning wickedly into the mirror, Shane pressed even closer against her. "There's nothing wrong with a little temptation."

He thought Kim's desire was winning the war, but then she groaned loudly and slipped out of his grasp. She turned to face him. "There is when you've got a meeting with the hospital chief of staff-"

"Neil won't mind," Shane said, reaching out and grasping her arms.

"It's also with a major potential donor to the clinic," Kim replied.

Shane could tell that her frustration was closely mirroring her own. "What if you were just a little late?" he teased.

Kim's eyes narrowed. "I don't think 'just a little' applies. We'd make love here, and then I'd need another shower, which I'm sure you'd insist on joining me for. And who knows where that would lead. Next thing we'd know, I've left Neil and the donor waiting for a couple of hours."

"That sounds almost too perfect," Shane groaned in frustration.

She shook her head and, in a voice more forceful than before, said, "We have to stop. As much as I'd love to stay, I can't. How about a rain-check?"

Disappointed, Shane just nodded, though he still held Kim's arms. "I guess a rain-check it is."

Kim gave him a wicked grin. "I'll make it worth your while. Besides, don't you have therapy today."

"Not until later," Shane said. "John's coming over-" He stopped abruptly when he felt Kim tense. She tried to cover up a scowl, but it took a minute for her to succeed.

"I'm sorry," Kim said quietly. "I know I said I wouldn't fight you, but I can't help how I feel."

Shane understood she was trying. Since the morning Steve had come to the house, Kim had done little directly to deter Shane from his plan to track down Lawrence. She had been supportive and loving, in many ways, showing him that she was willing to trust him and their love.

"I know you're worried," he said. "And I love you for worrying. But nothing is going to happen."

Kim nodded. "I know I have to trust you. I have to have faith that this will work. . . ." She paused. "So have you decided to let John and Steve help you."

Now it was Shane's turn to hesitate. At some level, he knew he was still weak. John and Steve could help immensely, but, at the same time, he hated the idea of having them risk their lives for him. Steve, especially. Shane had brought Steve home; he did not want the past several months to be for naught.

"Shane?" Kim prodded. "You are going to let them help you, aren't you?"

"I'll discuss it with them," Shane finally said. That was a noncommittal answer, and he could see the look of doubt in Kim's eyes.

She did not confront him. "Okay. . . . I've got to finish getting ready, and so do you if John's coming over."

"As long as I have that rain-check," Shane said, trying to return to the lighter, teasing tone of earlier.

Kim smiled slightly, but the smile did not fully reach her eyes. "Tonight . . . or this afternoon, if I can sneak out early. Just don't push yourself too hard in physical therapy."

With a saucy grin, Shane teased, "Trust me. I'll save my strength. Your kind of physical therapy is far more fun."

Groaning slightly, Kim shook her head, reached down to retrieve her towel, and headed out of the bathroom. She had left by the time Shane finished showering and dressing. He made it downstairs just in time for the doorbell to ring and for Simmons to let John into the house.

"Morning, partner," John said. He made a beeline to the library, while Shane asked Simmons to bring some coffee. Reading John's tone and body language, Shane could tell his friend had news.

Following John into the library, Shane asked, "So what do you have?"

"Mauritius is done," John said. "Larry's packed up shop."

"What do you mean?" Shane had no reason to doubt John's sources, but he needed specifics

John leaned against Shane's desk. "They blew up the entire complex. The ISA's searching the site, but there are no survivors and pretty much no evidence of what they were doing there."

So it's starting, Shane thought. Unless he had reason to believe he was about to be raided - and there was no reason to believe the ISA was about to raid the Mauritius site - Lawrence would not have destroyed his research facility if he planned further testing. Shane looked at John. "So your sources think he's on his way to Salem?"

"Yeah," John said. "Word is that Alamain's right-hand man, Ivan Marais, is making hiring calls. He put out the word that he needs some technicians from around Europe. 'Willing to travel.'"

"To Salem, obviously," Shane said. John's nodded in agreement. "So what kind of technicians is he hiring?"

"Computer mainly," John said. "And security design."

Shane pursed his lips as he thought. "Any details about the work? Or where it will happen?"

John shook his head. "Nope. He's keeping it pretty hush hush on details."

"But we know something." Shane thought a bit. "Maybe we can find out where they're hiring."

"No. All the hiring's going on through back channels," John said. "The ISA only caught the little bit from a bug, but it was found right after. The ISA had an agent inside the Mauritius operation, but it looks like they got found out." He lowered his voice. "After that, Alamain went all out searching for bugs."

Shane knew what John was not saying. If the ISA's agent had been caught, he or she was almost certainly dead. Lawrence would eliminate that threat. The man had no compunction or hesitancy about killing.

Simmons chose that moment to arrive with the coffee and Shane busied himself fixing a cup as he thought about what could happen if they went up against Lawrence and failed. He glanced sideways at John, who had walked over to the coffee service and was pouring himself a cup.

"John. . . ."

"Don't even say it, partner," John replied. "I'm not sitting this out. I'm not leaving you to go after Lawrence on your own."

Shane sighed. "You realize what could happen?"

"Of course, I do," John said. "I've been around the block a few times, pal. I'm not going to run from a fight because I'm afraid of what might happen. And before you say it, I . . . I know what I could lose."

Something seemed to flash in John's eyes. From that look and the way John had hesitated, Shane sensed that something was amiss.

"Is something going on?" Shane asked. "With Roman?"

"No," John answered. "At least, nothing new on that front."

Shane pressed. "Then is there a problem with Isabella?"

"Not at all," John said, almost too quickly. He must have spotted Shane's raised eyebrow. "I swear. Izzy B's fine."

Despite his suspicions, Shane decided not to push further. He could tell that, whatever John was holding back, there was little point. John was a master at keeping secrets. When the time was right - if John was keeping something back - he would tell Shane.

Shane also knew he could rely upon John. So that left only one question. "I know I can't keep you out of this," Shane said. "Steve wants to help also."

"Steve?" John raised an eyebrow. "What does he know?"

"A surprising amount, actually." Shane had thought about all the details Steve revealed. "He knows about the toxin-" Shane stopped short, just before revealing that Lawrence had tested it on Steve. If Steve chose to reveal that to John, he could. Shane would keep that confidence. "He knows about the ISA research and the stockpile of antidote, and he knows Lawrence is in Mauritius."

John seemed impressed. "Sounds like he has good sources."

"And he knows what we're planning," Shane added.

"How?" John was clearly surprised.

Shane grimaced. "He overheard us on the pier on Thanksgiving."

John rolled his eyes. "Sorry, partner. . . . Guess I was a bit distracted."

"Obviously, neither of us is at the top of our game." Shane hated to admit that, but it was embarrassing that they had let Steve sneak up on them like that. With a sigh, Shane said, "I just don't know what to say. Bringing him out of that camp created this whole bloody mess I'm in. I don't want the only way to get out of it to be to put Steve back in harm's way."

"Don't you think that should be Steve's call?" John asked. He followed that with a knowing look.

Shane was not willing to agree so easily. "We both know what that call will be," Shane said. "You know Steve-"

"I do," John replied. "I know he'll go to bat for us, he'll have our backs, and he won't give up when things get tough. He's someone we can trust, Shane."

"And what about Kayla and Stephanie?" Shane argued.

John shrugged. "What about Kim and your kids? Or Isabella and . . . I mean, why's it any different for Steve than for us? Hell, partner, Steve has more reason than we do to go after Lawrence. It's Steve who was nearly killed and then taken from his family. If anyone has a right to be involved in this, it's Steve."

Shane knew John was talking sense, but he still hesitated.

"Look," John said. "We both know Steve will go after Alamain, no matter what we say to him. You already said he knows a lot. The three of us working together will go a lot farther than going after him separately."

Shane turned away and walked toward the library window. "I don't want to have to be the one to tell Kayla that Steve died trying to stop Lawrence."

"And he won't want to be the one to tell Kim the same thing about you," John said. "So let's work together so none of us ever have to do that."

Shane sighed. John was right. "Okay. We bring Steve into this investigation." Shane stopped and shook his head. He still thought put things in ISA terminology. "I mean we bring Steve in to help. The only thing is I'm not sure what he can do."

"For one, he can keep an eye on the docks," John pointed out. "He's got better contacts there than you and me could dream of."

That was true. Shane reminded himself that it was Steve's contact who led them to finding Kim and Kayla.

"I just wish there was more we knew," John said. "I'm sure the ISA has more information."

"The trouble is that we don't have access to it." Shane shared John's frustration. The ISA computers would have reports from all of the Alamain-related teams, not just John's sources in Mauritius. "If only we had a way to get into the ISA network."

"Good luck with that," John muttered, looking down at the floor.

Shane concurred. Since the ISA had stripped his communications room, the only ISA computers he knew about were in the Salem field office or D.C. headquarters. Not exactly readily accessible.

It's a fool's errand, Shane said to himself.

Even if they could get to the computers, they would need a password. The ISA must have purged Shane's password by now.

It's impossible.

From his spot by the desk, John looked up and over at Shane. Their eyes met and John's lips curled into a sly grin.

"You're thinking what I'm thinking, aren't you, partner?"

Shane could not stop himself from rolling his eyes and sighing. "Why the bloody hell not? What can they do? Send me to jail for espionage?"