Free Eye for an Eye, an (Heroes of Quantico Book #2): A Novel by Irene Hannon Page A

energy to focus, searching to contentment. Her clear gaze had always radiated principle. Now he saw character, and a depth forged of experience—and loss.
    But he also sensed a fundamental loneliness . . . and wondered if he was attuned to that because it mirrored his own.
    “Why isn’t there someone new in your life?”
    His quiet question startled her for a second before she smiled.
    “How do you know there isn’t?” When he didn’t respond at once, her smile faded. “Never mind. I think I can guess.”
    “The office ran a background check,” Mark conceded. “But I would have figured that part out on my own.”
    “How?”
    “I don’t know.” He didn’t disclose his theory about shared loneliness. “Call it male intuition. Is it because of loyalty to your husband?”
    “No.” Her answer came quick and sure. “Grant loved life and believed in living every day to the fullest. He wouldn’t want me to mourn forever. If he could talk to me today, he’d tell me to move on.”
    “Yet you haven’t.”
    “No.”
    He waited for an explanation, but when she didn’t offer one he respected the line she’d drawn. Instead, he changed the subject.
    “Can we talk about the game plan for the next few days?”
    Renewed tension tightened her features. “I’m beginning to recognize your FBI face.”
    “I’d rather not have to bring up the heavy stuff, Em. But it’s there, and ignoring it would be both foolish and dangerous.”
    She drew in a slow breath, let it out. “Okay. I’m listening.”
    “You lead a very busy life.”
    “Doesn’t everyone these days? And I would have been glad to tell you about it myself if you’d asked.”
    “You weren’t in any shape to debrief us in a timely manner.”
    She accepted his explanation with a nod and a quick lift of her shoulders. “Okay. So you know everything about me. Now what?”
    “Any chance you could get out of town for a week or two?”
    “Not without inconveniencing a lot of people.”
    That was the answer he’d expected. “Then let’s talk about your routine. It’s too predictable.”
    She considered that for a moment. “I’m not sure I like that assessment. Predictable sounds boring. I prefer to think of it as organized and structured.”
    “You need to unstructure it a little.”
    She shifted in her chair, and he could tell she was uncomfortable with his request.
    “Is that a problem?”
    “I wouldn’t call it a problem exactly. More like a challenge.
    After all my years of military living, of constant packing up and starting over, I like stability and consistency. It’s very unsettling to me when my routine gets disrupted.”
    Given her background, Mark could understand that. But her physical safety had to come first for now.
    “Is there anything you can put on hold for a week or two?”
    “I have regular office hours. I can’t let my patients down.
    They count on me. And I’m sure you know about my other commitments.”
    “A weekly radio program. And counseling at a domestic violence shelter.”
    “I also go to church every Sunday. I’m surprised you missed that one.”
    “It was probably in the file. I only had a chance to give it a quick look this morning.” His lips quirked into a smile.
    “In any case, I’d prefer not to give up any of my commitments.” “Okay.” He’d expected that response too. “But we need to come up with some ways to let you honor them without putting yourself in the line of fire.”
    “I have a treadmill in the spare bedroom I use in bad weather.
    I could switch to that for my daily walk.”
    “That’s a start. How about church? Are you flexible about which service you attend?”
    “Yes.”
    “Can you vary your schedule at the women’s shelter?”
    “I could alternate afternoons.”
    “Would the radio station consider broadcasting your show from a remote location?”
    “It’s a small, local operation. That would be difficult for them.”
    “Okay. We can live with that as long as someone