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Anticipation rolled through hirin like a fool After fourteen years in the ood now He could hardly wait to see his friends again and start his new life
Grant Kent, security consultant It had a nice ring
He turned the corner onto Isabelle’s street and found the right house nu for one person Even in the dark, he could see the bright white paint glowing under the porch light The landscape was tidy, the trees pruned, and even the winter-dead grass ed to lookthis was the right place She hadn’t left an address in her e, and he was afraid that if he’d called to ask for one, he would have regretted it
They hadn’t exactly parted under the best of circu to make it easy on her to push him away, not while there was any chance she was in trouble
He got out of his car and stretched to ease the tightness in his back As , it wasn’t really made for his tall fra the drive He’d been too anxious to get here and have this over with
Of course, now that he was here, he was seriously reconsidering the wisdo into here, or even if she’d want to see him after so many years
A cold March hipped around his body as he headed for the front door on reluctant feet
The last ti in the back of an a down her face as she’d watched the police drive aith him handcuffed in the back seat of the patrol car
He wasn’t exactly looking forward to their reunion, but he was hted doorbell
Pleasant chilass at the top of the door, and a moment later he saw a shadowy movement behind theThe door opened, and it took Grant a full ten seconds to recognize her as Isabelle Carson He’d been expecting a larger version of the sixteen-year-old, sickly child he’d last seen, with stringy hair and sallow skin stretched too tightly over frail bones In fact, if it hadn’t been for the exotic Japanese heritage accenting her Anized her at all
Grant had seen a lot of beautiful wo
The shock of it silenced him for a moment as he drank her in She was tall now--easily five-nine--when before she’d only come up to his chest Beneath her casual clothes were sliht in a ht down her back, but a fringe of bangs drew his attention to her eyes They were a deep, rich green, like a forest in twilight, canted slightly at an exotic angle
Those eyes widened, and she stood there in shocked silence, staring at hi her a moment to adjust to the surprise He wasn’t sure how ed since she’d last seen hi his breath, hoping she wouldn’t slam the door in his face
Grant’s knuckles ached fron at all for thehis body rather than the other way around
On h the scope on his sniper rifle, gathering intel or waiting for a shot, knowing that an enemy patrol could stumble upon his location at any ht now, facing Isabelle again after so many years
What if she didn’t like hierent kid he used to be? Or worse, what if she hated him because he was the boy who’d killed their foster father?
Grant stifled the urge to run, to protect hiht have He wasn’t sure he was h her disappoint, he squared his shoulders and stood his ground
Isabelle blinked several ti She stood frozen, holding the door open, and he could feel the heat fro over his face as it leaked out into the night sky
"It’s really great to see you, Isabelle"
She stood there, just far enough away that she didn’t invade his personal space, but close enough that he could reach out and touch her
He didn’t He was too worried how she ht react
Grant tried to s for a man like him to do with a woman--but no smile would come
"Grant?" she asked in a confused tone, like maybe she wasn’t sure it was hi time" He sounded casual, al here?"
Not exactly a warain, he hadn’t expected one Too bad that didn’t ht I’d colanced past hi up and down the street After years of covert operations, Grant knew that look well She was expecting trouble
"You shouldn’t be here," she told him
"I probably should have called first before dropping by"
Again, she didn’t look at hio Now"
If it had been anger or resent her eyes, Grant would have turned on his heel and marched out of here But it wasn’t He saw the faintest flicker of fear cross her face, heard it waver in her voice