Page 63 of Shadow of Doubt
“Most of us did at one time,” Blake said. “Until we got married and started families, then needed more room. I like having a house for our family, but I have to say I miss the convenience of being so close for when nighttime duties call.”
“Sorry about keeping you here so late,” Brooklyn said as she stepped onto the glass-enclosed bridge.
“No worries. That’s my job.” He cast her a smile over his shoulder and stopped. “You’ll want to take a look at the view. On clear nights like tonight, the stars are spectacular.”
Blake went to a switch at the end of the bridge and dimmed the lights.
She turned to look outside, then bent back to look at the glass roof overhead. Stars glittered above, filling the dark sky and setting a peaceful tone and a very romantic view. One she could see sharing with Colin later. Alone. But not only was that a bad idea, it wasn’t possible as they would need someone to accompany them. It wouldn’t be very romantic with a chaperone.
He eased close to her, the wheels of her suitcase swishing over the smooth tile floor. Was he having the same thoughts? Thinking about her as a woman, not someone he had to protect? His breath tickled her neck. She held her breath to wait for him to say something romantic.
“As much as I would like to keep stargazing, this location is within rifle shot,” he said. “Should Tarver have taken up weapons, you’d be exposed.”
Right. Way to be romantic, buddy.
Her good mood evaporated, and she started across the bridge, picking up her pace to move away from him. He caught up, and she felt his penetrating gaze on her face. She wanted to tell him to back off, but he was just doing his job. Problem was, she didn’t want to be his job anymore. She wanted him to be here because he wanted to be with her.
Oh wow, when had that changed?
She should only be thinking about staying alive. But then, why stay alive only to live as she’d been doing for the past few years? It wasn’t even called living. More like existing. Surely not what God wanted for her in life. He wanted the best for His believers, and she hadn’t been living her best life. Far from it. But what could she do about it until Kane was found and incarcerated?
Maybe it was time she started taking some risks. Letting Kane find her online so she could open a dialogue with him. Maybe there was something she could do to get him to leave her alone. She’d never asked. Just run and run and run.
She could use the center’s Wi-Fi as she knew Nick had set the security at a level that would take superhuman efforts to track transmissions and hack it. She would wait to see if Sierra and Kelsey had located any solid leads first. But if not, she would put herself out there for Kane to discover.
They stopped in front of a condo, and Blake reached for another device by the door, this one a fingerprint reader.
“What are you so deep in thought about?” Colin asked. “Are you worried because I’m taking extra security measures? Because, as Blake said, it’s probably overkill.”
“I know you’ll protect me, and I’m fine,” she said. She was far from fine regarding these new feelings for him, but shewasfine about his security measures.
She entered the condo first, and the others trailed behind her down a short hallway that led to a wide open space. The open kitchen with walnut cabinets faced a great room holding a large beige sectional. A stone fireplace with a big TV mounted above took up a full wall. A plush white rug covered the dark wood floor on that end of the room, and a large modern dining table and chairs sat on the other end.
“Make yourselves at home,” Blake said. “Both bedrooms have attached bathrooms and there’s a powder room down the hall to the main bedroom.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the end of the space holding the dining furniture.
Colin looked at Brooklyn. “You take the main bedroom.”
“Okay.” She didn’t bother to argue as there was no point when she knew he would insist.
He gave a firm nod of acknowledgment and turned to his teammates. “You have the other room.”
“Sounds good,” Reid said, not seeming in the least bit interested in arguing about the decision to stay in one condo.
“The cabinets and fridge are stocked with food for snacks and breakfast,” Blake said. “We’ll do lunch as a group tomorrow, but if there’s anything special you want, let me know and I’ll get it for you.”
“I’m sure what you’ve provided will be great.” Brooklyn smiled at Blake. “Thank you for taking such good care of us.”
“Glad to do it, but don’t tell the other partners that I did so well, or they might assign me all guest duty.” He laughed. “I’ll be here to get you at eight a.m., and we’ll head to the labs.”
“Including the firearms lab?” Dev asked.
“Sure, yeah, if Grady asks to see you,” Blake said. “But if not, I can do a tour for you if you want one.”
“Want one?” Dev’s eyes sparkled. “Ineedone.”
“So you’re a weapons guy.” Blake arched a dark eyebrow. “You’ll probably want to check out our firing range, too, then. I’m sure there are at least a few unique weapons in Grady’s collection that he’ll let you shoot.”
“Count me in.” Dev lifted up on his toes, then back down only to lift up again.
