he murmured. “Remember your promise to stay safe.”
Oh, she remembered it; she just wasn’t going to keep it. Time to change the subject. Her face was burning with embarrassment. “Did you get any sleep?”
“No, but I’ll get caught up later. I ran, talked to Benny, and then I spoke with Jacki.” He opened the door for her.
She paused and then walked through. Had he talked all night to Jacki? Not that it mattered. Probably. She moved out onto the porch, where Benny and Jacqueline were waiting. A black car idled by the steps with one driver in the front.
“We already checked him out,” Benny assured her. “He’s a hired guy from a good car service around here, but he’s human, so don’t say anything you shouldn’t.”
That was a relief.
Adare grabbed her pack and camera equipment and strode around to set everything in the trunk.
Benny lifted Grace up in a hug and whispered in her ear. “I’ll make sure he comes back. Probably. Maybe. Well, anyway, I’ll try hard.”
Grace returned the hug, hit by the thought that this might actually be the last time she saw Benny. “I love you, Ben. You’re a good friend.”
He blinked and then hugged her again, gentling his squeeze when she winced from the pressure to her ribs. Then he released her.
She nodded at Jacqueline and waded through the snow to where Adare had her door already open. “Don’t die,” she said. Then, against her better judgment, she grabbed his coat lapels and jerked him down for a kiss.
His lips froze against hers for a brief moment and then he took over, growling deep and kissing hard. Her head was spinning when he released her, and his eyes had morphed to that deep silver color. “Promise you’ll keep yourself safe.”
She could only nod. Then, she slid into the car, and he shut the door. Within seconds, she was being driven away from Adare, maybe for the last time.
“To the airport?” the driver asked.
She sat straighter and tried to sound authoritative. “No. Please take me to a car rental place, not one of the ones at the airport.” There were many cameras at airports, and she didn’t want to be traced too quickly. She wasn’t going to die without knowing what had happened to her seven years ago in Denver, what had put her into a coma. She had promised everyone she’d never return to Denver, but she had to know. It wasn’t like she had anything to lose any longer. She had to do this.
No matter what it cost her.
Chapter 12
The kiss still tingling his lips, Adare watched Grace’s car slide in the snow and then correct before disappearing from sight. Why had she kissed him? Probably as a goodbye. He’d always felt guilty about mating her when she’d had no choice in the matter, so he’d let her live her life. What if he’d spent five years getting to know her instead? Well, then he’d be leaving a grief-ridden mate instead of one who could move on if this campaign didn’t go well. And there was no way it would go well. At least her taste would stay with him until the end.
“Adare?” Jacqueline asked.
He sighed and turned back to face her. It had been nearly a century since he’d courted her, and she was as beautiful as she’d been back in the days of long dresses and corsets. He’d meant what he’d said the night before; he wouldn’t go back. “You’re not coming on the raid,” he said, remembering how much she liked a good fight.
She rolled her eyes. “Give me a break. I’m not a fragile human. We used to go on raids all the time.”
“This is different.” Was fate giving him a chance to say goodbye to everyone who’d ever touched his life? Once, he’d thought he was in love with Jacki. When she’d chosen to mate somebody else, the loss had hurt a little, but he’d understood. Had the pain just been ego? They’d seemed to make such a good match, and she’d been insightful and a lot of fun. His world had certainly gone darker after she’d left. “It’s good to see you, Jacki, but Benny and I have to do this one alone.”
She shook her head, and her tawny hair scattered snow. “You’re not still drowning in guilt, are you? Enough of that.”
He’d forgotten how well she knew him. What he’d shared with her. Oh, he’d never broken his vow of secrecy to the Seven, but she’d figured some