Fated Identity (Red Star #6) Read Online Free PDF Page B

here. She’d always been independent, but she’d have to continue to stand on her own two feet now that she’d made the decision to be reassigned away from D.C. and the memories she and Grady had made together. Only she didn’t have that escape route anymore. “I’m not a victim, Grady. I refuse to be a victim for anyone.”
    “But you are a target,” Grady reminded her, taking the time to remove his suit jacket, fold the sleeves just so, and lay it across the counter. She couldn’t help but look at the wounds on his left hand, wondering if there were any shards of glass still embedded into his skin. She was surprised when he came around the island and tenderly slipped his fingers in her hair until his thumbs were underneath her chin. “Your safety is my primary concern. You. This is my specialty, Brie. I don’t mean to take over and exclude you from any decisions, but—”
    “It comes naturally,” Brienne finished in a whisper, giving in to what she needed. The warm comfort of his touch was everything she required to breathe easy and release the built-up tension running through her. “I’m so scared, Grady. The ISI? What the hell did I get caught up in that would cause this kind of reaction?”
    “Your source apparently had some very accurate and meaningful information, making the ISI a little too uncomfortable with what she revealed. The first thing we need to do is confirm she is still alive. There are too many balls in the air right now and some are going to crack when they hit the ground.” Grady smiled tenderly, the way he usually did when he told her he was leaving town on assignment. He didn’t say that this time, but instead leaned forward and softly brushed his lips against hers. “Go and use the SAT phone I gave you to make contact. I’ll follow up with Telfer, since he’s going to be rather displeased at the fact we didn’t follow direct—and might I add lawful—orders. We’ll then clean up and decide afterward what our next move will be.”
    Brienne breathed deeply to capture the subtle masculine fragrance of Grady’s cologne. He’d worn the same brand since she’d known him…he was a creature of habit. She didn’t appreciate the emotional wavering she was experiencing at having made the decision to end their relationship. It was the right thing to do and yet the regret for what could have been was beyond anything she’d ever experienced. Her throat constricted when his fingers gradually drifted away from her. It was as if their ship had sailed into the mist and the gathering darkness was what was left of their relationship.
    Grady moved silently across the tiled floor and into what Brienne assumed was the bedroom. The width of his back told her more than the size of his lean upper body, but of the baggage he carried from his past. Could he not see that she was more than willing to carry some of the weight?
    Brienne hadn’t expected Grady to stop before crossing the threshold into the next room, but he paused and turned only enough so that he could see her expression at what he had to convey. She now wished more than anything that he hadn’t.
    “You deserve more than what I’ve been giving you. On that we can both agree.”
    Grady lifted one corner of his mouth as if to convey his understanding, but did he? Brienne couldn’t draw air until he finally turned on the heel of his dress shoe and quietly closed the door behind him. She continued to stare at the barrier, knowing there was much more than a wooden portal between them. Madison’s essence lingered like another woman’s perfume, but it wasn’t Grady’s wife who was the issue…it was his inability to let her go from his everyday existence.
    Brienne wiped away a tear that had escaped and then did her best to compose herself. She’d always had the ability to mentally compartmentalize her life and she did so now out of necessity. She’d like to be alive come tomorrow morning to be able to face the same obstacles she was