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help. When he took me on as his protégée, he gave me a purpose. He helped me discover ways to use my talents. I thought I had put all of those old fears to rest. Until now.”
    She tipped her head back, needing to see Brodie's expression, needing to know he didn't judge her as some kind of freak.
    She caught a glimpse of something wild and fiery before the gray eyes shuttered. “Now?” he prompted.
    BJ didn't question his reaction. Anger and mystery seemed to be a big part of who he was. “They're playing with my head again. All those years as a child I thought someone wanted to take over who I was, wanted to control me. I felt as if they wanted to cut open my head and take my brain for themselves. Now it's happening all over again. I feel like I'm that scared little girl.”
    Brodie folded his calloused palm around her chin, capturing her in a grip somewhere between reprimand and comfort. “You're not that little girl anymore. You're a grown woman. And this time there's somebody on your side.”
    He touched his lips to hers, blotting out the power behind his guttural promise. His kiss was hard, hot, and over before BJ could respond.
    With abrupt force, he lifted her off his lap and plopped her on the cushion beside him.
    “Brodie?” Her lips burned from the incendiary contact. His brief caress kindled the spirit within her, bringing her to her feet a second behind him. “I just wanted to explain…”
    “I need to check the grounds outside.” He strode to the door, forcing her into double time to catch up to him. When she touched his arm, he pulled away from her and looked down at her with such fury that she wondered if she had dreamed his tenderness and concern.
    The hinges hung on for dear life when he swung the door open. “What's the security code?”
    “No way.”
    “I have to know your damn security codes!”
    She recoiled to a safer distance. “N-O-W-A-Y. The numerical equivalent.”
    He didn't comment on how clever or ridiculous her password sounded, or apologize for his outburst or that kiss.  He was beyond civil conversation. “Lock it behind me. If you need me, yell. I'll be here.”
    The door slammed shut on his promise, leaving BJ in the fallout of Hurricane Brodie. She hugged herself protectively and licked her lips, tasting salty tears and something more. Something he had stamped there. She wasn't the only one surprised by that kiss. Brodie's abrupt departure confirmed it.
    BJ rubbed her arms and headed to her office. The male of the species was one subject she hadn't aced. She didn't presume to comprehend this one.
    She sat down and turned on the monitor. Computers she understood. They never called her eccentric or judged that she was too successful.
    Today she had sought security and acceptance from Brodie, a man who very clearly liked to keep his distance, a professional who didn't like to get personally involved. With the episode at the office and the confessions here at home, she had probably invaded every bit of personal space that Brodie guarded.
    No wonder he'd left so suddenly. By choice a recluse, Brodie had reluctantly come out of hiding only to repay a debt he felt he owed a friend. She didn't doubt he had gone outside in order to escape her company, to be alone again to recover his icy composure.
    She should honor his need for privacy. She should keep her distance for her own sake as well as his. But a part of her couldn't help wishing that the fire would return to his eyes. And that for a few moments out of time, he would drive away the demons that haunted her mind, and make her feel the way no man except her father had.
    Normal.
     
    The stars rode high above a churning bank of clouds. The still heat hit him like a wall. Thunder rolled in the distance. Static lightning charged the sky, like torches blinking on and being snuffed out. The scent of rain told him the downpour would reach here any minute.
    The violence matched his mood.
    Brodie ran into the darkness, pushing his body