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mysterious. That wasn’t why he was offering though. Bottom line was, he just…needed to protect her.
    “That’s a pretty big gamble to take, considering you don’t know me.”
    He dipped his head in acknowledgment. “I guess it is, yeah.” But his dad and eldest brother were the only ones at home, and they were both former Marines. Even if trouble did somehow follow them, though Brody would do everything in his power to make sure it didn’t, they could protect themselves.
    Those deep blue eyes studied him for a long moment, as though he was a puzzle she was trying to figure out. They were lined with exhaustion and pain, her lips pressed tight together. She was hurting, no matter how much of a tough front she was putting up. “You got a white knight complex or something? I’m not looking for a hero. Because I’ve got training too, and believe it or not, I can look after myself.”
    Maybe, but from where he was standing, she was vulnerable at the moment. He couldn’t just leave her here when she was in trouble. “Look, the offer’s sincere. No strings attached. You’re hurt and you’ve obviously been through a lot tonight. You need to get out of town, and I’m going anyhow. We don’t know each other and you might not trust me, but Briar and DeLuca do. That’s gotta carry at least some weight with you.”
    She considered his words for a full minute before looking away and leaning against the door in a clear sign that she was feeling a lot weaker than she’d let on. Then her posture eased. When she looked at him again something like relief filled her eyes as she gave a slight nod. “Okay then, I accept. I…thank you.”
    He’d been expecting to have to put up more of an argument. He blinked, then put the medical supplies away. Maybe she was planning to ditch him once they got out of town.
    When he left the bathroom she was waiting at the master bedroom door…with a rifle in her hands.
    “You got more than that pistol with you?” she asked, and the way she held the rifle made it clear she was no stranger to handling one. That made her even more sexy and intriguing.
    He looked up and met her gaze. “In my truck, yeah.”
    “Good.” Apparently satisfied by his answer, she headed down the stairs and out to his truck, maintaining careful vigilance as she walked.
    As he pulled away from the curb, he checked his mirrors to make sure no one seemed to be following them. What the hell had he just gotten himself into? All he’d wanted after so many months of pain and grueling therapy was some downtime back home to relax and unwind.
    Glancing at the intriguing woman in the passenger seat, it looked like his plans for his long-awaited vacation had all just gone up in smoke.
    ****
    Tino slammed a hand down on the steering wheel and cursed in frustration as he came to yet another dead end. He’d followed a third tip from a local detective about a stolen car, but it turned out to be a couple of punk kids taking a joyride.
    Where had that bitch gone? He’d seen her crawl out of the lake, had tried to follow but she’d managed to slip out of the thin band of forest and escape him. That had been hours ago, plenty of time for her to get out of the city.
    He didn’t care what kind of training she had, she couldn’t run far or fast enough to escape him. She couldn’t stay hidden for long, not with the resources he had at his disposal.
    One of the great benefits of belonging to the organization he did was that they had people in virtually every law enforcement agency in the city on their payroll. Big fish, little fish, didn’t matter. Everyone had their price, especially in a place like D.C.
    He’d already called in a few favors and had some friends out looking for her. Some professional hitters, several cops, even an undercover federal agent who had access to a constant stream of information no one else did. It was only a matter of time before someone found her and alerted him.
    They all knew not to kill her after