Chances Are - By Christy Reece Page 0,9
parents’ health had improved significantly, they still hadn’t been completely well. For years, Angela had lived with the knowledge that she could lose one or both of them at any time. She had learned to appreciate each day as it came.
Her sister and brother were different. They had just begun their lives—young, exuberant and full of life. She could become exasperated with either one of them and then they’d do something to make her laugh and she'd completely forget her aggravation. Having taken on so much responsibility at an early age, Angela often felt like a third parent. In some ways, she felt as though she’d not only lost her brother and sister but also her children.
A slender hand touched her shoulder affectionately. Angela pushed aside her grief and turned to the surreally beautiful woman next to her—Eden St. Claire.
“How are you holding up?”
Angela smiled her gratitude. “I’m better. Still have some rough days.”
Eden smiled in sympathy, her soft gray eyes revealing an understanding and awareness few people could fathom. This woman knew all about loss and its aftermath. She had lived through her own hell.
“So do you know what the op is? Noah’s been even more closed-mouth than usual.”
Angela wasn’t surprised. Not only had Noah struggled with whether LCR should take on this mission, she knew he had wrestled with the assignments. In the end, with the exception of Angela, he’d chosen some of his most experienced and lethal operatives.
“I can’t say, other than to tell you to start looking for either a black wig or some expensive hair dye and lots of make-up.”
Eyes dancing with excitement, Eden murmured, “Hmm. Sounds intriguing.”
Physically, with the exception of her hair color, which was a lovely white-blonde, Eden fit the criteria that seemed to attract the killer. And she was as deadly as she was stunningly beautiful. If the killer chose to go after her, he would be in a world of hurt.
The handsome man sitting beside Eden, her husband Jordan Montgomery, was just as lethal. Not only that, if anyone looked at Eden the wrong way, Jordan had a tendency to get very upset. Angela had seen Eden become very amused by her husband’s over-protectiveness.
At the sound of soft, husky laughter, Angela turned her gaze to LCR operatives Shea and Ethan Bishop, who were whispering to each other. Shea’s eyes were bubbling with merriment as she smiled up at her husband. Ethan’s face said something else. If they weren’t in a roomful of people, Angela had a feeling that Shea would have been thoroughly kissed.
The auburn-haired Shea wasn’t the killer’s preferred type either, but with a disguise, she would blend in beautifully. Slender, with creamy skin and sparkling green eyes, she would attract any man’s attention. And the fierce-looking Ethan would make sure anyone who came close enough to hurt his wife would answer to him.
One of the things Angela loved and admired about the married LCR operatives was their intense devotion to each other. They watched each other’s back and trusted their spouse implicitly.
And though they weren’t married or even romantically involved, soon she and Jake would be sharing a partnership where they would need to trust each other the same way. She already trusted Jake, but would he return that trust? Since this was her first op, would he doubt her abilities? She pulled back from her worry. No point in borrowing trouble or creating more doubts than she already had. They could and would work through any difficulties. She and Jake had a good relationship. He might see her as a friend and nothing more, but he liked and respected her. Once they started working this case, she would prove to him that she was just as capable as any other LCR operative.
A huff of exasperation caught her attention. Sabrina Fox, a vibrant redhead with the personality to match, was rolling her eyes and talking animatedly to the golden-haired man sitting beside her, Aidan Thorne. Of all the LCR operatives, Sabrina might well be the most lethal. A few months back, Angela had walked in on a training session in the LCR gym and watched in awe while Sabrina took on three men at once, all seasoned operatives. And then, unscathed and barely out of breath, the woman had laughingly walked away, leaving all three on their asses.
Sabrina was most often teamed with Aidan. Though there was speculation that the two were romantically involved, Angela knew that wasn’t true. Sabrina talked about Aidan as if he were a