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Psychologically she understood Faced with the threat of sudden death, the hu to life Not just for oneself—for the next generation, as well But that didn’t explain her desire for Cody’s child Not entirely She wanted to be the one to give hiive him She wanted it for herself, too

That’s not just old-school It’s archaic, she told herself sternly But she couldn’t deny it She wanted Cody’s child with an intensity that shocked her And she wanted that part of him to love and cherish, if

“No,” she whispered, her face hardening, and this tiht fist clenched with purpose Then her hand slid inside her jacket to touch the co was going to happen to Cody She wouldn’t let anything happen to him No matter what she had to do

Early the nextKeira drove Cody to his apart fully clothed on her sofa the night before Sabbatino and Moran followed close behind them Sabbatino went upstairs with Cody, while Moran waited with Keira

She was grateful Moran didn’t say anything, just leaned against the outside of her car, his eyes on the alert, his head constantly pivoting She wondered whether he and Sabbatino were thinkingwell, thinking the truth She’d tried not to show anything of her feelings for Cody in front of the But stillif she were in their shoesshe kneouldn’t takeat her condo

She’d told Cody the truth last night when she’d said she wasn’t asha hi a woman That wasn’t it But he still didn’t understand She wished she could explain to hiht all her life for respect—first from her father and her four brothers, then froency That’s all she wanted Respect

She s in her head The s before Keira was born, and things hadn’t changed all that much in the years since, not in Keira’s line of work But could she make Cody understand?

Keira had finally earned her father’s grudging respect after she’d joined the Corps, but she hadn’t hadher first tour of duty overseas She re by his coffin with her weepingback her own tears because she knew her father would have condemned her tears as a weakness He would have lost respect for her if she’d cried, so she hadn’t Not at the funeral Not even in the privacy of her old bedroom at home

And then there were her brothers She loved them and they loved her, but she had always been their baby sister She’d always been so much smaller than they were, and not just because they were all older She’d gained their respect, too, when she’d followed thee of respect in their eyes Even though her brothers had jobs that took them all over the world and she seldom saw them, they were still family, and their opinion of her still mattered

Respect fro to want it? Need it?

Her partner respected her, she knew that He hadn’t at first, not until she’d proven herself to hi down a cold-blooded killer who’d had Trace in his sights Now Trace trusted her as well as respected her Would he feel the saent? Or would he see her as weak?

And what did D’Arcy think of her now? She’d hated being forced to confess the story of her kidnapping and subsequent rescue by Cody to hih she’d felt she had no choice at the time But now that D’Arcy also kneell, she wasn’t quite sure exactly what he knew, but she could hazard a guess—would he still say she was an excellent agent? Would he still say those words she’d treasured, that he didn’t want to lose her? Or would he lose all respect for her as an agent now?