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“Steve didn’t have a real job, not the way you h, but he didn’t want to be tied down to a regular nine-to-five job Heodd jobs—yard work, handyman kind of stuff in the su—he had a sno attach lots for the businesses in town on a regular basis, including Mandy’s store, but he also did one-off plowing or shoveling jobs for people when they called him”

Keira darted a glance at Cody, and she could see the sa, he said, “When ere up at my cabin the Friday before Meround When did it snow last?”

An arrested look came over Callahan’s face “The week before,” he said slowly “Right around the ti wasn’t quite right Right around the time he must have seen that hit list”

Chapter 17

An agency helicopter took the four of theht, where they picked up Callahan’s four-by-four from the safe house From there they drove to Black Rock

Callahan drove, and Cody sat in the passenger seat Keira and Trace sat in the middle row, after the child car seats had been removed and stored in the back Cody heard Keira tell Trace, “You have no idea how glad I aured out your name was on that list, I orried until I realized your car was at work, and they couldn’t get to it”

Cody suppressed the unreasonable shaft of jealousy that rippled through him McKinnon’s her partner, he told himself Of course she cares about hi between them, and never was Not that way Besides, he knew it himself—she loved him But that didn’t stop the sudden flare of possessiveness

He glanced over at Callahan “Did you see Mandy and the kids before we left?”

“Yeah” The asn’t rowl “For about fifteen ured correctly, at least I don’t have to worry about their safety But I won’t relax until we know for sure”

Cody reether through the darkness, six years ago He’d been at the wheel then, with Callahan in the passenger seat They’d known that either or both of theht And Callahan had extracted that pro Mandy

Six years, he thought An eternity

He looked over his shoulder at Keira in the row behind hi out theinto the night, so all he saas her profile in shadow As he watched her he realized, all told he’d only known her three weeks Three weeks Another eternity But this eternity had changed his life even more profoundly

He sht? Re him, the way she’d clasped his hand, the way love and admiration had shone froain her sympathy—or her love—he’d just felt she needed to know those things about him before they took the next step in their relationship

But she had surprised hi him When she’d confessed she wanted to be loved by hi that had been broken inside hio had been healed He saw that now

Then she had given herself to hih him as he remembered the way she’d called his na his na love to her Just as he’d never tire of lov—

Keira turned her head at that ht his eyes on her Her face was solemn at first, but then she smiled slowly, and it was a smile for him alone It warmed him from the inside out

He heard again in his head the faint sound of protest she’d ether But she hadn’t denied him That hadn’t been easy for her—he knew that Just as it hadn’t been easy for him to consent to her plan this afternoon As much as he wanted to protect her, he knew that part of what made Keira so special to him was her dedication to her job, the saerous, but vital to the safety of their country