Page 72 of Renegade
Focus up. You’ll regret it if you don’t.
She ran her fingers through her hair, heaved in a lung-filling breath, and returned to find Sydney telling him a story about their childhood.
“She wouldn’t come down and my mom had to call the fire department.”
Grey’s laughter touched the deepest part of her soul as his eyes met hers. “Wild child.”
“Are you telling him the fire department story?” Caroline sipped her coffee.
“For starters,” Sydney said.
“How’d you get down?” Grey asked.
“When the firetruck showed up, I climbed down.”
“I love it.”
She held his gaze while the anticipation swirled around them.
Sydney lifted her coffee mug and toasted the air. “Get a room, you two.”
Caroline started laughing. He was just a man. A man she’d grown to admire. Someone she found incredibly attractive, extremely brave, and somewhat reckless.
She was tasked with an extremely challenging assignment. It was time to woman-up, get over her girlish infatuation, and do her damn job. Bolstered by that pep talk, she began eating.
The silence helped calm her, though it was impossiblenotto look at him. He was much yummier than the food they were eating. And every time she glanced in his direction, his penetrating gaze found hers.
“This is good,” he said. “Thanks for havin’ me over.”
“You’re welcome any time,” Caroline said.
“Ohgod, please no,” Sydney said, the sarcastic bite to her tone making her and Grey laugh. “The gaga eyes alone are killing me.”
As the food filled her stomach, Caroline said, “Grey, I’m glad you’re here. I like getting to know you. I hope we can keep things professional and still have fun. Well, not too much fun. You know, just the right amount of fun. Fun with a capital F. NotthatF, but another F. F for fun.”
She wanted to do a face plant in her food.
Grey’s laughter started deep in his chest and rumbled out of him like thunder. It was sexy and charming and adorable. Shedidn’t even care that he was laughingather. She just loved hearing the sound of joy bursting out of him.
Sydney chucked. “Honestly, this is too funny.”
When breakfast ended, Sydney said, “I’ll clean up. I’m begging you two to leave. Go somewhere, anywhere, but please go.”
“I have to finish getting ready,” Caroline said.
Ten minutes later, she and Grey were out the door. In the parking lot, he said, “You okay?”
“Clearly, no. I’ve never gotten close to anyone I’ve handled. I think having you in my home kinda threw me.”
He stopped in front of his SUV. “That’s not it. You’re into me, and you don’t know if I feel the same.”
He unlocked the vehicle, walked to the driver’s side door. She got in beside him, too stunned to speak.
He started the engine, drove out of the parking lot. “What’s our first stop?” he asked as if he hadn’t just dropped those word-bombs on her.
Unsure what to make of his comment, she forced herself to push on. After reviewing the notes she’d made on her phone, she said, “We’ll start with the Bureau, head over to Justice, then State.”
“Got it.” He drove into DC, made his way over to the J. Edgar Hoover building.
