Read Exchange of Fire for Free Online Page B

especially when it came to women.
    “Just a heads up: I’m going to be hiring more guards and adding cameras in the next few weeks. Can you help train when they come on board?” Grady’s eyes roved over all the screens again, but he found his gaze drawn to Sandra’s progress in the hallway.
    “Certainly. You want me to sit in on the interview?”
    “Nah. I’ll just look for copies of you.” Grady winked. “But I’d definitely appreciate your feedback once they’re hired.”
    “You got it.”
    Grady turned to go. Something about Sandra’s stride across the building bothered him. He hoped tonight would be the night she let him peek behind that impenetrable wall so he could find out what had her spooked. Four months of working closely together had to count for something in gaining her trust. Right? Right? Nothing.
    He twisted open the door handle.
    “Tell her I say hello,” Henry retorted, then picked up his walkie-talkie to give more instructions.
    Grady left, chuckling. The man was almost too good with his observations.
    ***
    Sandra shut the door to her office and leaned against it. The chaotic noise from the main floor lowered to a muffled drone. She placed a hand over her racing heart. Something was off. The small sense of doubt she’d had earlier this afternoon now felt like impending doom. She lifted a trembling hand and stared at it with disgust.
    Every day for the past four weeks an internal war waged over splitting town. And every day she kept putting off the decision, thinking she’d finally come up with an answer tomorrow. Son of a bitch. Had she pushed it one day too many? She swiped her shaking fingers against her jeans.
    Bam. Bam. Bam.
    “Eep!”
she yelped, then slammed a hand over her mouth at the swift knock on the wood by her head. She closed her eyes and commanded her body to get it together. Once she had firm control of her nervous system, she straightened and opened the door.
    Tall, blond, and sexy leaned against the doorjamb. His tousled hair appeared as if he’d been running his fingers through it. She still had a hard time believing he was thirty-six years old by the way mother nature had blessed his youthful skin. If she were a normal girl, she’d be threatening every other woman and staking a claim on this man. Just imagining how explosive the sex would be if he was half as good as he let on made her almost give up her self-imposed off-limits stance. But she had to stay strong. He was too good a man to drag into her world, and the clusterfuck of her existence wouldn’t allow her to stay.
    Damn.
Not exactly what she needed at the moment when her body was already going haywire . . . but maybe he’d prove to be enough of a distraction that she could sort through her flight instincts.
    His full lips parted into a playful smile. “Did I just hear the normally unflappable woman actually say ‘eep’?”
    “Hey, Grady,” Sandra greeted him nonchalantly, in spite of her toes curling at his deep Carolina drawl.
    He laughed. “You know, no response is the same as saying yes.”
    “If you want to think that, go ahead,” she retorted, refusing to give in to her body’s sudden melting at his flirting.
High school was a long time ago. Stop ogling him like he’s the first good-looking boy you ever talked to.
With her libido firmly put in place, she stepped back and offered casually, “I was just taking a break. Come on in.”
    His well-toned—okay, she’ll admit it—
yummy
physique slipped past her, and she inhaled the exquisite mixture of
him
and his cologne. For some reason, every time she smelled it, a sense of peace pervaded her mind. Which was totally nuts, because he was about as bad for her as it could get, making her want things she couldn’t have.
Her first priority had to be remaining off SBG’s radar, Victor Dalmingo specifically. Staying on the run and finding places to hide was strictly a solo mission.
    She dropped into her chair and swiveled it to face him. Gliding