But did she really believe he would hurt her again? He wasn’t the same man she’d once known. The loss of his wife had changed him. His active faith had changed him. And being a father had changed him.
But had he changed enough?
She let herself get lost in thoughts of a future with him and Jessie. Seeing the complete family she wanted. She didn’t know how long she sat there but a car pulling up outside broke her trance. Was it Reid? She hoped so. Despite her misgivings.
She went to the balcony and looked down on the family room.
Jack opened the door. The female agent entered, and Reid followed. He stopped at the threshold and immediately sought her out.
She breathed a small sigh of relief.
He kept his eyes trained on her and smiled sweetly.
She was sure her eyes telegraphed how glad she was that he’d arrived. So what? Shewasglad. More than she cared to admit. But she still couldn’t pull free.
“Megan,” Jack called up the stairs and drew her attention. “I’d like you to meet Special Agent Lauren Nickels.”
Megan came down the stairs toward the stern-looking blonde. Short like Megan, she appeared strong and determined in the way she carried herself across the room. At a distance, Lauren would have served well as a decoy, but the closer they got, the more the resemblance disappeared.
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Cash.” Lauren stuck out her hand with a quick jab and gave Megan a no-nonsense shake, quickly dropping Megan’s hand and spinning toward Jack. “We secure here?”
Jack nodded. “There’s no indication that Fowler knows about this place, but we’ll remain on full alert and keep a security detail.”
Reid turned the deadbolt and jiggled the handle before coming into the room.
“How about bringing me up to speed.” This wasn’t a question. Agent or not anymore, his tone made it clear that he didn’t expect an argument.
She remembered this tone from Fowler’s trial. Reid’s strength took center stage then and was obvious now. She liked that about him. Liked feeling as if he could solve any problem at hand.
“Let’s all take a seat.” Jack tipped his head at the kitchen island and slipped onto a stool.
Reid and Lauren moved across the space to join him, and Megan trailed them. Jack hadn’t specifically said he wanted Megan to participate in their conversation, but she wouldn’t miss it unless they told her otherwise.
As she drew nearer to the kitchen, her stomach rumbled. She glanced up at the wall clock. Three o’clock. No wonder she was hungry. She may not have the law enforcement skills the trio seated at the island possessed and couldn’t help with logistics, but she could at least feed them.
“I’m going to make something to eat,” she said. “Anyone else hungry?”
She got an affirmative answer from all three, so she went to the refrigerator and scoped out the contents.
“I can help.” Reid’s voice came a foot or so from behind her.
She jumped.
“Sorry.” He smiled. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
She turned. They were so close she could feel the warmth from his body. The urge to lay her head on his chest moved her closer. She hoped he would respond by wrapping his arms around her.
Instead, he sucked in a breath and held it while twining his fingers in hers as he’d done last night. Their gazes held, and he was reflecting the same attraction that she had to be transmitting. An excitement that hadn’t zipped through her since she’d fallen in love with him years ago raced through her.
“You plan on joining us, Maddox?” Jack asked.
Jack’s voice brought Megan back to reality.
What was she doing? Was she crazy? She was flirting with Reid. Not only flirting with him but doing so in front of a pair of FBI agents.
She jerked her hand free. “Sit. I’ll get the sandwich stuff.”
He searched her eyes for a moment longer, then stepped away. She spun and stuck her heated face in the cool of the refrigerator as she gathered sandwich fixings she’d seen last night along with condiments and set them on the island.
