Page 56 of Eva's Shelter

“Got the flash drive?”

She nodded. “Got the guns and ammo?”

“You bet.”

“Is anyone planning on tailing us?”

“Probably. I wasn’t going to worry about it.”

She slid into the passenger seat. “Not even with our extra stop?”

He matched her whisper, leaning close. “Not even.”

She almost kissed him. Again. Except somewhere between her meltdown and restored sense of empowerment, she decided that the next time they kissed she wouldn’t stop, wouldn’t let him stop. No, next time she wouldn’t settle for an excuse about timing or anything else. From either one of them.

Just sitting here in the car, she felt drawn to him. The sensation got stronger with every contact. She had to wonder, maybe even hope, that the feeling would fade when they finally got their hands on each other. It would be so much cleaner if they could react to this attraction and be friends when her work here was done.

***

Carson wasn’t surprised by the dark sedan tailing them out of Haleswood. The sheriff had warned him about the extra precaution. He had bigger concerns.

Specifically his grandmother’s reaction to Eva. There was the small chance Wade had said something to the family about seeing that kiss. He’d learned the hard way age had done nothing to mellow the little brother factor. Right now he couldn’t think of anything he’d done that would give Wade cause to seek revenge, probably because right now all he could think of was Eva.

“It’s a gorgeous day,” she said, rolling down the window.

“Feels good to be out of the house?”

“Definitely. It’s a nice house, but there’s only so much sitting still I can manage.”

“Ross warned me you were prone to cabin fever.”

“Only when there’s nothing interesting on the internet.”

He smiled. “I hear fresh air and sunshine are important. Healthy, even.”

She sighed. “I suppose the rumor mill got that right.” She rolled down her window and the blast of cold air teased strands of her dark hair out of her sleek ponytail.

“For the record, my grandmother is a founding member of the local rumor mill.”

“Thanks for the warning. But if she heard about you and Shannon at the hospital, it didn’t come from me.”

“Glad you can laugh about it.”

“I can hardly throw stones.” She shrugged. “I made a career out of eavesdropping and deciding which nuggets of info mattered more.”

“Have you decided that Morcos being in New York doesn’t matter?”

“Not exactly. I’ve decided to cling to what you said. To trust Ross and his resources. Bakr’s made it obvious he wants me. Worse, he wants to mess with me. He can loiter all he wants in Queens, but that won’t help his endgame.”

Carson agreed. He didn’t know the bastard messing with her, but he felt better about their chances of bringing him down when Eva wasn’t battling her fears. When she’d turned into his arms it didn’t matter that he didn’t understand the words. He was able to give her something that steadied her. The feeling of knowing he’d helped her regain her self-control made him want to leap tall buildings.

“She’ll behave while I introduce you,” he said when they were close to the topiary gardens. “After that, you should prepare for the third degree.”

“Won’t be the first time. Your maternal relatives don’t have the exclusive on invasive questions.”

“See, now, I thought that sort of thing originated here.”

“I think it’s a genetic thing that happens when a woman becomes a mother and it kicks into overdrive when her ‘babies’ start dating.”

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