Free Nameless by Debra Webb

this man in any capacity would be a major error in judgment.
    The driver pulled beneath the canopy at the historic Tutwiler and Vivian paid the fare. An attendant opened the door and she emerged, glad to be away from the media frenzy at the cemetery. Alyssa Byrne was safe and that was all any good agent could ask for. Vivian should be relieved and grateful. But she couldn’t quite reach that nirvana. Too many questions were nagging at her.
    As she and McBride made their way to the entrance of the grand old hotel she implemented a conscious effort to relax. The man intrigued her even as he tripped her every internal alarm. There wasn’t an agent in her graduating class who wouldn’t give her or his firstborn to have this chance to learn more about the legendary Hunter—no matter the circumstances that had brought them together.
    Her thirst for wisdom was unquenchable. She wanted to reach that same kind of zenith in her career. She just didn’t want to fall the way he had. Even if her curiosity weren’t going a hundred miles per hour, making sure he was settled for the night was her job. Worth had given her strict instructions.
    All she had to do was make sure McBride didn’t breach her personal boundaries and there wouldn’t be a problem.
    Her mind kept wandering back to this afternoon’s events. She felt confused at best about the way the rescue had gone down. Success was the end result, but she had all those damned questions. One being, what was the significance of the word written on the child’s forehead? That and many other questions she would like very much to direct at the man next to her, but Worth had specifically instructed her to move on. He would handle the final loose ends on this case, including a call to Quantico with the information regarding Andrew Quinn’s name having come up. Her job was to entertain McBride, and when the approval was given, see that he got on the plane. For her, it was case closed.
    If she could just accept that, life would be a hell of a lot easier.
    Unfortunately easy had never been her style.
    Inside the glorious Tutwiler lobby with its marble floors and crystal chandeliers, she approached the desk and pushed a polite smile into place for the clerk. “I’d like a room with a balcony and a nice view.” Might as well make McBride’s night in Birmingham as pleasant as possible.
    Fearing that he would suddenly disappear on her, ultimately smearing her hard-earned record, she checked to see that he still waited near the French doors on the other side of the reception lobby. For a moment she allowed her gaze to linger on the man. He pretended not to care about anything, yet she had witnessed firsthand just how much he cared. Finding that little girl had meant as much to him as it had to Vivian. There was far more of the former special agent left in this guy than he wanted her to see … maybe even more than he knew.
    But that didn’t change the fact that the Bureau was still suspicious of his part in this odd case.
    Strong-arming her attention away from him, she surveyed the luxurious lobby. Her parents had given her a lavish going-away party in the ballroom just before she had left for college. She would never forget that night. Surrounded by her friends and only months away from hitting that eighteen mark. Her world had been perfect and full of dreams for the future.
    A scant month later her life had forever changed, sending her on a whole different journey than the one she had expected to take.
    The clerk’s voice snatched her out of the past. “I’m sorry,” she confessed, “I was lost in thought.”
    “Your credit card, ma’am,” he repeated.
    Vivian shook off the haunting memories and searched her wallet for the American Express the Bureau had issued her. When the card had been swiped, the room number and key provided, she thanked the clerk and rejoined McBride.
    “Do you need some time to freshen up or would you like to go directly to dinner?”
    Despite having