Page 10 of Safe Haven

“I guess that makes sense.” Audrey takes the cup of coffee when I offer it. “It is pretty obvious you work out a lot.”

I run one hand down the center of my chest. Smoothing over the hard muscle I’ve fought to regain. “Climbing through windows is harder than it looks, so I try to stay in peak physical shape.

Audrey grins, realizing I’m joking. “It’s good to know you climb through a lot of windows.” She tips her head. “Creepy, but good.”

“It could be worse.” I take a sip of my coffee. “I could be a sadist.”

One hand flies to Audrey’s face, trying to shield the sudden flush of her cheeks. “I can’t believe I asked you that. I’m going to blame it on being so tired I was delirious.”

“It was probably a fair question.” I turn to the stove, switching on one of the gas burners. “And I’m probably the first guy you’ve met who kills people for a living, so it’s understandable you would have some questions for me.”

I’m proud of what I do for a living. Never felt ashamed or guilty or tried to hide it. But I don’t like that it might be making Audrey leery of me. I want her to trust me.

Actually, Ineedher to. It’s easier to keep someone safe when they trust you, and it’s my job to keep her safe, so technically making sure she trusts me is part of my job.

“So...” Her eyes drop to the coffee I made as she nibbles her lower lip the way she did last night. “Do you like your job?”

I want Audrey’s trust, but I won’t lie to get it, so I admit, “Yeah. I love it.”

I expect her judgment. Maybe for a flash of fear to darken her eyes.

Instead, she smiles. “Good. Otherwise it would really suck.”

I don’t know where the laugh comes from. The sound surprises me and seems to startle her, but something about the observation strikes me as funny. “Itwouldreally suck, wouldn’t it?”

I keep laughing, because now I’m imagining some poor sap hating his fucking life as he drags a dead criminal into the back of a van.

Pulling in a calming breath, I wipe the corner of one eye with the back of my hand. Refocusing on the breakfast I was supposed to be making, I ask, “What about you? Do you like your job?”

Audrey’s smile dims a little. “It’s okay. I loved what I did before, but…” The remainder of her smile slips away. “But it was one of the things I had to leave behind.”

I turn away, not liking the sadness in her eyes at all. It bothers me that I can’t fix it for her, so I go back to the thing I can fix—her empty stomach.

My phone starts to ring just as I pour the eggs into the pan. Dropping the lid into place, I connect Isaac’s call. “What do you have for me?”

“I have a guy coming to the door. He’ll be there in about thirty seconds.”

I drag the pan off the burner, sliding it away from the heat as I turn to the front of Audrey’s apartment. “Who is it?”

“Don’t have a name, but he got out of the car we’ve been watching all night.”

“Shit.” I was hoping they’d left. Or that maybe somehow we’d missed whoever it belonged to getting out and walking to their house. “What do you want me to do?”

There’s a little bit of a commotion on the line. The next voice that speaks doesn’t belong to Isaac.

“We want to get a look at the guy’s face so we can run it through the system, and we have an idea about how to make that happen.” Harlow, one of the hackers on Team Intel butts in on the call. “But you’re probably not gonna like it.”

FOUR

AUDREY

“I DON’T THINK I can do this.”

Maybe can’t is technically the wrong word. I don’twantto do this. No single part of mewantsto come face-to-face with someone who might be connected to Trevor. Someone who could be on his payroll. Someone he may have sent to spy on me in an attempt to find out what I know.

Because if I come face-to-face with him, there’s a chance he could discover I knoweverything.

If that happens, I lose the tiny bit of an upper hand I possess. Then there’s nothing stopping him from trying to take me out.

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