Page 32 of Sinner's Salvation

She remembered one night, after a success like that. She and her group, along with several members of the Ghost Army had stayed in a large, abandoned house, drinking the excellent contents of the home’s wine cellar. He had been quiet that night, writing in a book. Or so she thought.

Bernard had promised to keep her secret, to forget about her.

He’d broken his word.

“Who else did he tell?” she asked, her tone hard.

Evan glanced at her again, and this time his gaze stuck on her. “No one else. He never told me about your abilities until after I’d joined the army. Until that time, he made it sound like you were a brave French fighter who helped him and his band of merry men run the German’s ragged. He said he never saw you again after the war, and left it at that. When he realized he was dying of cancer, he sat me down and explained the whole story.”

“And you believed him?”

“Not until I’d looked into you myself. I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure until I saw the video tape of you healing your head wound in less than three hours.”

“You planted a bomb to help me escape because of a story and drawing your grandfather gave you?” He was certifiably insane.

“Ledger was planning to kill me, the baby agent, the medical staff who’d seen you, even the guards who’d encountered you, remember? He was willing to killallof us and more just to keep control of you and any information about you. It wouldn’t have mattered if you turned out to be a normal human or something extra. He would have killed us all regardless of the outcome.”

That meant all of them were still in danger, and they were missing someone.Oh no.

Anna grabbed Evan’s arm. “If Ledger is that committed to his plan, Brian is in danger.”

Instead of getting to his feet to go look for the younger man, Evan drew her closer, putting an arm around her back.

She knew he was only playing up the image of him escorting a wounded victim to safety, but being this close to him was dangerous for both of them. His scent hadn’t been totally covered by smoke. It reminded her of walking in the old growth forest in her homeland. She wanted to roll in it, put her head on his naked chest, and let that scent lull her into a stupor.

It was the pulse she could see in his neck that was the greatest danger. One bite and she could assuage the thirst clawing at her throat.

She pictured herself doing it, but the fantasy quickly ground to a halt. If someone did that to her without her permission, she’d be angry, and she’d feel...betrayed. His opinion of her mattered. It shouldn’t. She’d just met the man, but it did matter.

“Agreed,” Evan said. “But you are in more danger than he is right now. No one is going to believe you don’t need medical attention.”

“I need new clothes,” Anna complained. “I stand out like a broken finger.”

“A sore thumb. We say,sore thumb.”

“Anna!”

She and Evan glanced in the direction of the voice. Brian was jogging toward them, a cluster of Homeland Security agents behind him.

Evan chuckled. “Hot damn, the kid found us. He’s good at talking his way out of trouble.”

Anna had to make an effort to keep from rolling her eyes. “You’re sure any proof has been destroyed?”

“Yes.”

“Then I think it’s time I created a diplomatic incident, don’t you?” Anna asked.

Evan met her gaze and grinned. “I like the way you think.”

As Brian and his group got closer, Anna realized Brian was shouting at the men and women around him.

“You know you sound completely crazy, right? Besides, she’s got diplomatic immunity. It doesn’t matter what made up bullshit you think is going on, kidnapping her isillegal.”

“Ledger said she was completely uninjured—” a man at the front of the pack said.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Evan drawled, as the group reached them. “She got lucky, but as you can see, she’s suffering from some serious burns.” He gestured at her.

Everyone turned to look at her, and she saw several winces come and go on the faces of the Homeland Security agents.

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