Read Atlanta Heat for Free Online Page B

backyard and began canvassing the outside of the house.
    “Did they manage to get in?” She moved to the control center and watched as Macey flipped through several commands to show each view of the house.
    “They didn’t get in, but only because they managed to figure out the garage alarm had a false codebox.” He shrugged at that. “They moved back when they saw that, seemed to be checking for signs of life. They had all their heat-seeking and sound-detection devices.” He shook his head as the replay followed the men working around the house with black boxes.
    “Military devices?” She leaned in to look closer. “I thought they were still in the R&D phase.”
    “So did I,” he grunted as he rubbed at his jaw and leaned back in his chair. “That means our boys have some military connections we haven’t managed to pinpoint.”
    “Have you tried contacting anyone from the team yet?” she asked, watching one of the men, trying to pierce the shadows cast by the ballcap he had pulled low over his forehead.
    He looked familiar. Something about the shape of his jaw and the way he moved made her think she had seen him someplace before.
    “I’m not risking it.” Macey shook his head. “Any transmissions out of the house could be tracked at this point. I have all Internet and broadband shut down for the time being. Reno knows how to get a message to me, if one is needed. Right now we’re just laying low.”
    The monitors flipped from playback to real-time view, showing the peaceful, tree-shadowed street and kids playing in the yard next door.
    “Why do you live here?” She stared at him in bemusement. “I would have figured you for a man with an apartment, not the responsibility of such a large house.”
    “Emerson, Emerson.” He shook his head sadly. “I’m a family-type man, I told you that. The house belongs to my parents, more or less. They moved out to the farm with the grandfolks a few years back and I watch after it. I’m not an apartment sort of guy. Too many restrictions.”
    “Too many nosy neighbors?”
    “You haven’t lived on a residential block, have you, sweetheart?” He snorted. “Try block parties, someone knocking at the door at midnight to borrow a tool or to stop and chat. Old guys giving you women advice and old ladies warning you not to listen to them. Trust me, an apartment would be a hell of a lot more private.”
    By the tone of his voice, he didn’t seem to mind the advice or the midnight visits. That should have surprised her more, she realized; the fact that it didn’t worried her.
    “What about you?” He swiveled around in his chair as she moved to the kitchen and the smell of coffee. “Why an apartment over a house?”
    She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “Too much room for just one person. I wanted something smaller.” Too many open rooms to wander through alone would have driven her crazy, made the loneliness sharper.
    She didn’t glance back at him; she couldn’t. Macey would see things she knew were better kept hidden, both for her peace of mind and for the state of her heart.
    A heart that was rapidly beating out of control.She hadn’t missed the sexual wickedness blazing in his eyes when he had stared at her moments before. She could feel it now, his gaze roaming over her back, her butt as she fixed her coffee. She would eat later, but for now, she needed a clear head to deal with Macey.
    “You don’t seem to return home to Virginia a lot,” he commented as he leaned back in his chair and watched her quizzically. “The admiral seemed a little put out that your parents hadn’t seen you for a while.”
    She took her coffee to the small round table and stared back at him resentfully. She didn’t want to discuss her family, but she could see the determination in his face.
    “Why would the admiral mention my family?”
    “He had a hard time contacting them when you were taken by those French terrorists.”
    “They have a life.” She sipped at her