What am I supposed to do?
A sharp knock at the door made her jump, her heart slamming against her ribs with sudden terror. Adrenaline flooded her system as every instinct screameddanger. Had they found her? Had Webb’s people tracked her down?
She scrambled to her feet, grabbing her Glock from the nightstand where she’d placed it within easy reach. Her hands were steady now, all traces of tears gone as she shifted into survival mode.
The knock came again, and Elena held her breath, moving silently toward the door.
“Elena, it’s me.”
The voice made her freeze. Made her wonder if she was hallucinating, if grief and desperation had finally driven her over the edge into madness.
“Elena?” The voice came again, and this time there was no doubt.
Hope filled her chest like helium in a balloon, making her dizzy.
Could it really be him?
She flung open the door without even checking the peephole, and there he stood.
Reed.
He was scanning the hallway behind him, his posture alert and professional, but when his eyes landed on her, they softened with concern. He squinted, taking in her appearance. “Are you okay?”
Elena realized how horrible she probably looked—red-rimmed eyes, tear-stained cheeks, her hair a mess from running her hands through it. She didn’t answer, couldn’t find words past the shock of seeing him standing there.
“Elena,” Reed said more gently. “Are you okay?”
“What... what are you doing here?” she managed, becoming aware that she was still holding her gun. She carefully lowered it, though she didn’t holster it completely.
Then the shock wore off, and anger rushed in to fill the void.
“I was praying,” she said, her voice sharp with emotion.
Reed looked confused. “What?”
“I was praying, and then you knocked on the door.”
The words came out fierce, accusing, as if his arrival had somehow interrupted something sacred. Which, she realized, it had.
Reed suddenly grinned—a real smile that transformed his whole face and reminded her so powerfully of the man she’d fallen in love with that her knees nearly buckled. Even now, angry and hurt and exhausted, her heart responded to him like he was the answer to every prayer she’d ever whispered.
Elena snorted despite herself and motioned him inside, her instincts kicking in as she scanned the hallway behind him.
“Were you followed?” she asked, closing the door and engaging all three locks.
“No.”
She turned to face him, suddenly aware that they were alone in her hotel room, that he’d come back, that maybe—just maybe—her prayer had been answered in the most unexpected way.
“We need to talk,” Reed said quietly.
Elena nodded, her heart hammering with a combination of hope and fear. She’d prayed for help, for guidance, for some sign of what to do next.
She just hadn’t expected the answer to show up wearing an expensive suit and looking at her like she was the most precious thing in the world.
CHAPTER 4
Reed took in the scene before him, his mind automatically cataloging details the way his SEAL training had taught him. This wasn’t the composed, professional woman who’d walked into his office earlier. That Elena had been polished, controlled, every word carefully chosen and every emotion locked behind walls of steel.
