Hide and Seek - Lara Adrian Page 0,6

driving until I got here. I didn’t know if I should try to contact someone at the Pentagon, or go to the police, or—”

“No. Fuck, no.” His clipped response stopped her short. “You did the smartest thing, Lisa. For yourself and for Kyle.”

Duarte could see the tension in her face. It had deepened since they began talking. He was scaring her even more, something he didn’t mean to do.

He reached out and stroked his hand over her slender shoulder and arm. “We’ll sort it out, all right? Everything’s going to be fine.”

She didn’t look like she totally believed him, but she nodded.

This sure as hell wasn’t the way he’d envisioned his night playing out, but there was no going back. Like it or not, he couldn’t turn her away. Her brother had made him promise more than once to look after Lisa if Kyle wasn’t around to do it. While Duarte hadn’t really expected to be tested on that vow, he wasn’t about to back down from it—least of all when Lisa had crossed three states to reach him and was now standing in front of him, wet and trembling, desperation swimming in her eyes.

Her fear made him want to offer comfort, but that would be an even bigger mistake than before. If the timing had been bad that one night they’d shared, it was beyond bad now.

God knew it wouldn’t take much to light that fire all over again. Duarte noticed belatedly that he was still touching her, still caressing her arm and shoulder long after he should have let his hand fall away.

He pulled back, an abrupt move that didn’t escape her notice. He scowled. “Are you hungry?”

“Um... I don’t know. I guess so.” She blinked as if it took her a moment to process his question. “I haven’t eaten anything since lunch at the office.”

Duarte nodded as he stepped away from her. “I don’t have much. Some venison stew I took out of the freezer earlier, and a couple bottles of beer.”

“Sounds good,” she murmured. “Anything sounds good.”

He stared at her, his fingers still tingling from touching her. Other parts of him weren’t faring much better. He needed time to think. And she needed to get out of her wet clothes.

“The bathroom’s right there,” he said, pointing down the short hallway. “Go take a hot shower and warm up. If you don’t have any dry clothes in your pack, I can give you something to wear.”

“Okay.” She swallowed, then grabbed her backpack and the pair of towels.

Duarte didn’t move. He didn’t dare, not until he knew she was well out of reach.

She started to walk away from him, then paused. “John?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you.”

He grunted. “Go warm up. The food will be ready when you get out.”

4

The shower had been just what her freezing limbs and frazzled nerves had needed.

It also helped melt away some of the awkward awareness that had begun to swirl within her under John’s lingering touch in the other room. He hadn’t meant anything by his tender caress, she was sure. His abrupt retraction of his hand and deepening scowl had been indication enough of that.

She’d been a sodden, nervous wreck and he was only doing what came natural to a man who made his living protecting others.

Lisa hated that she might need anyone’s protection, especially his. But whatever was going on with Kyle wasn’t something she was equipped to handle alone. And John’s reassurance that they would figure it all out was a life line she clung to even now.

After towel-drying her hair and dressing in the navy blue T-shirt and faded jeans from her backpack, Lisa stole a quick look at herself in the mirror and cringed. She might feel better after the shower, but her pale face and dark-shadowed eyes told a different story.

God, she looked ten years older than she actually was. The urge to dig her makeup bag out of her backpack was strong, though she doubted any amount of concealer or blush would fix the stressed-out, wan reflection staring back at her. And anyway, it wasn’t as if she didn’t have bigger concerns to deal with.

If it had been anyone else waiting in the other room, she wouldn’t have cared at all what she looked like. But the fact that it was John Duarte made her wish she could hide in the bathroom for the rest of the night.

She walked out and was immediately rewarded with the mouthwatering smells from the kitchen. To say nothing of the sight of