Chasing Shadows Read Online Free PDF Page B

he could stop torturing himself with her company.
    He moved toward the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Christopher Columbus Park. The fountain shot water in the air and a woman with a dog jogged along the winding paved path. Beyond the park, the blue water of the Atlantic sparkled in the winter sunlight. Sails ruffled in the morning breeze. Die-hard sailors in this cold weather. He shivered.
    Kristina halted beside him. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
    â€œVery.” So was she.
    â€œOn summer evenings I can watch the performance artists,” she stated softly. She turned her gaze on him.
    Gabe found himself staring into eyes darker than the ocean and alive with intelligence. She regarded him frankly, with no guile or coyness.
    So unlike the woman she’d been.
    He could like this new person. He didn’t want to. He couldn’t risk that kind of pain again. “I should go.”
    She nodded slightly, opened her mouth as if to speak but then seemed to think better of it.
    â€œWhat?” he asked.
    â€œWould you mind if I took your picture?” she asked.
    A dry laughed escaped him. “I don’t know…”
    She moved to her camera and detached it from the tripod. “You don’t have to do anything. Just be.”
    â€œJust be?” How did one “just be”?
    She held the camera to her eye, the round dark lens trained on him. The soft snap of the shutter was the only sound as she moved around him. He wasn’t sure if he should move or stay still, so he just stood there trying not to tense. She angled the camera and clicked away. He wondered what she saw worth photographing.
    â€œDo you like ice cream?” she asked.
    He arched an eyebrow. “Yes. Doesn’t everyone?”
    The click of the camera echoed in the loft. “What kind?”
    â€œChocolate.”
    She lowered the camera. “Just plain old chocolate?”
    He shrugged. “Yeah.”
    â€œOkay. What are you doing tonight?”
    â€œTonight?” An unexpected rush of anticipation arced through him.
    â€œI plan to take Grams for ice cream. I think she’d like to meet you. Considering.”
    She wanted him to hear her grandmother’s story about people missing from the retirement center. “I don’t think that’s a good idea considering the last time I met your family.”
    She frowned. “This is my grandmother. Not my parents. I think it’s important for you to meet her and see for yourself that she’s not some loony person.”
    â€œI don’t know.” Social events with the Worthingtons weren’t high on his list of repeat experiences. The last time he’d met Kristina’s family, they’d made their feelings about his unsuitableness loud and clear. But this wasn’t her parents, just one elderly woman. And it was his job.
    â€œPlease,” she said, her blue eyes direct and earnest.
    What happened to the haughty woman who’d interrupted his life yesterday? Kristina was a puzzle, one he wasn’t sure he wanted to solve. But he’d gone this far, and who knew what other kinds of trouble Grams and Kristina would get in. “Okay.”
    She beamed. “Great. Meet us here about seven?”
    â€œThat’s fine,” he agreed as he walked toward the curtain.
    Kristina followed him to the door. “Thank you for taking care of this,” she said, indicating the pictures in his hands.
    â€œNot a problem. Promise me you won’t do any more amateur sleuthing.”
    She grinned. “I don’t make promises I’m not sure I can keep.”
    He groaned. “Just stay out of trouble, okay?”
    â€œI’ll try.”
    Her words weren’t convincing. Gabe had a feeling that trouble and Kristina would be meeting again. And he could only hope he’d be there to protect her.
    Â 
    Kris had picked up Sadie early in the evening and brought her back to the loft, where they waited