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Her face promised fragility.

Those eyes vowed she’d fight to the death if necessary.

Now he was being fanciful. But whatever personality traits she possessed, her face was a carbon copy of her mother’s.

She was lovely. As beautiful as the images he’d seen of her mother. But that had nothing to do with him. His goal was to collect a paycheck and be done with this case.

He glanced at the clock again. Four fifty-four. And still no lights.

He sighed. He hadn’t wanted to go to her home. People tended to be defensive when a strange man rang their doorbell after dark. These days, with doorbell cameras and cell phones, more and more people refuse to answer at all if they don’t know the person on the other side.

He’d stop by tomorrow, try to convince her to meet with him during her lunch break or after work. Then maybe he’d appear less threatening.

Brody knew he looked intimidating. Anyone who stood six feet two in their stocking feet who packed a weapon would.

He reached out a hand to shift into Drive.

A woman’s scream pierced the night.

Years of experience had his instincts kicking in. Without thinking about it, Brody shot out of the SUV and charged toward the back parking lot. His heavy boots dug into the snow on the ground.

Rounding the corner, he took in the sight of a woman of medium height, struggling with a wiry man. She escaped for a moment and ran towards a vehicle parked in the lot. Her attacker chased and his hands closed on her arms. Her right boot slipped on the icy pavement, and together they fell against her car.

The assailant raised his hand and something flashed in his grip. He had a knife!

“Release her! I have a gun!” Brody reached behind him and snatched his weapon from its holster. Taking a life was never something that one should enjoy, and he hoped he wouldn’t have to today, but he would defend this woman, whoever she was, from an attacker obviously intent on murder.

The man holding her whipped around, dragging her struggling form in front of him. He held the knife to her throat.

“Don’t try it,” Brody warned. “You’re a full head taller than her. And I was a sniper in the Marines. I’ll drop you where you stand before you get the chance to hurt her.”

Her attacker hesitated for two seconds allowing Brody to close the gap between them.

Finally, the man seemed to understand there was no way to complete his deadly mission. With a curse, he shoved the woman across the parking lot towards Brody and ran.

She slipped. Wheeling her arms to catch her balance, she half ran, half hopped three steps before barreling into Brody’s arms.

Brody instinctively turned so he could catch her in one arm while his other hand kept his gun aimed at the assailant’s fleeing back. The young woman’s weight hit him square in the chest, and he stumbled. His arms closed around her, and he twisted to take the brunt of their fall.

They hit hard. His tailbone crunched against the hard ground. Her weight forced all the air from his lungs with one explosive burst. Lightheaded, he couldn’t move or breathe for several seconds.

Then she shoved herself off him. The relief was immediate. He sucked in a deep breath. Then another. He hurt, all over, but didn’t think anything was broken.

“You saved me! Are you all right? Did I hurt you?” Her voice sounded a little muffled.

“I’m fine,” he wheezed. “Just got the wind knocked out of me.”

Brody forced himself to stand. As he’d expected, her assailant had fled. He swung around until he caught sight of his weapon. Only once he had it back into his holster and had done a complete survey to check for any signs of the man did he return his attention back to the intended victim.

Blonde hair. He couldn’t see her eyes well enough to tell their color in the dim light, but his gut told him they’d be blue. Five foot seven or eight.

And a face that might have been an exact carbon copy of Catherine Ellis’s face when she was twenty-five years old.

“Jordyn Ellis,” he breathed without thinking.

She shook her head, frowning at him. He caught a glimpse of something in her ears. Hearing aids?

“I’m sorry. My name’s Jenna, not Jordyn.”