Page 7 of Beneath the Burn

“Hello.” Crane grinned then wiped it away with the back of his hand. His skin, dark as mocha, tightened through his face, relaxed, tightened again. He wouldn’t hold back that laugh much longer. “Will you—”

“Nope.” She bent and placed a kiss atop his silky bald head. “Sorry, Crane, but you didnothave me at hello.”

He collapsed over his leather loafers, rolling with laughter. As she smiled with him, it made her want things. Things like friendship, good humor, and closeness that came with being part of a group.

Disillusion stripped the grin from her face as soon as she remembered the consequences of making friends. She stepped around him and climbed the stairs. She’d bet Jay’s twenty dollar bill that Noah’s protective older brother would be waiting at the top.

On the third floor, she eased the door open to the corridor that led to the pit, where Noah would be holed up working on case priorities, analyzing leads, or plotting next steps with fellow detectives.

Just outside the pit door, Nathan sprawled in a chair, balancing on two metal legs, shoes planted on the opposite wall. He raised his eyes and watched her close the distance. “Sarah.”

Lean, hard, and soldier-boy handsome, he looked so much like Noah, it was discomfiting. “Nathan.”

The chair continued its two legged poise as he stretched out his arms then twined his fingers behind his blond head. “Will you make me the happiest man alive?” The cheesy question belied his GI Joe stare down.

She shrugged. “That’s a tall order.”

“Marry him and you’ll make us both very happy men.”

Her heart gave a thump. Of course his happiness was dependent on his brother’s. After Noah saved his life in Afghanistan and carried him twenty miles to safety, Nathan’s loyalty to his brother knew no bounds. “He’s happy now.”

The chair dropped and, in the next breath, he towered over her. “He loves you, Charlee. Enough to help you carry that baggage you’re dragging behind you.”

She stopped breathing. He said her name…he said her name…he used herrealname. “What did you call me?”

He stepped back and reclined against the wall, frowning. “Charlee Grosky.”

Oh God, oh God.Her heart rate spiked. “How?”

“It’s not what you think.” He swiped a hand over his whiskers and spoke in hushed tones. “I have a lot of questions, but this is neither the time nor the place.”

“You investigated me?” Her knees wobbled. She should’ve guessed. Noah was a detective, and Nathan made his living in private investigation. But she’d covered her tracks, made it impossible. Apparently not impossible. Her lungs labored.

“Calm down. Here.” He moved toward her, halted the fingers twisting at her belly, and pulled her to the chair. Then he crouched before her. “Listen. I’m working on an undercover case. One thatmust notattract attention from anyone. This morning, my client gave me a photo of a girl. I wouldn’t have recognized her…”

Her hand shot to her hair, what was left of it.

“You’ve made drastic changes to your appearance since the photo was taken, but your eyes…no one has eyes like yours, Charlee.”

Her heart plummeted, landing like a rock in her stomach. “Does he know?” She glanced at the pit door.

He shook his head. “Undercover, remember? My involvement must remain low profile.” Strong fingers interlaced hers. “I haven’t been working this very long, but I’ve gleaned enough to know you’re linked with a very powerful, very dangerous man.”

She swallowed, squeezed his hand. “My gut is screaming at me to run right now, Nathan. He’ll hurt me. And Noah.”

“Yet you lived with him.”

He was diligent in his homework, but… “It’s not what it seems.”

“Because he didn’t let you go. You escaped.”

Memories of that night forced air from her lungs in shuddering waves.

“And the bastard’s been hunting you since.”

“He owns me—”

His eyes fired.

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