Free Fatal Truth: Shadow Force International by Misty Evans Page B

failed.
    She never thought she’d be in their shoes. “Yes. I’m willing to die for my sister.”
    His lips firmed into a straight line and he stared at her with a new annoyance lighting up his face. “She’s lied to you and potentially put you in danger.”
    “If she lied, it was to protect me and do her job. I understand that. She would never purposely put me in danger.”
    He went back to staring at the wall. Tense silence descended once more.
    Savanna’s frustration wouldn’t let her stand immobile any longer. She jerked away from the wall, feeling the urge to throw another vase of flowers. “Are you going to help me or not? Because if not, I need to find someone who will.”
    His Adam’s apple bobbed. “I…” He hesitated for a second. “I’ve already asked Beatrice Reese for some follow-up information. I’m looking into it.”
    A new surge of hope lit up her veins, crackled along her spine. “Yes! Thank you.”
    “No promises.”
    “But this is part of your job.”
    “My primary focus is to keep you safe. Tomorrow, I’ll put out some feelers, see what comes back. I can’t guarantee anything beyond that.”
    “I understand.” She put a hand on the door handle. “I have an extra bedroom. You’re welcome to take it.”
    “No thanks.”
    “You’re going to stand out here in the hallway all night? You don’t sleep?”
    “I’ll be fine.”
    She needed another drink just to handle his attitude. “You’ve locked down all the entrances. At least come inside. Take the couch, watch some TV, whatever. You don’t have to sleep, but I won’t relax if I know you’re standing out here in the hall all night. What if you need to pee?”
    Under the brim of the cap, she noticed his brows bang together. “Will you leave me alone if I come inside?”
    A smile broke over her face. Score one for me . “I promise to quit talking to you and not ask another question. Seriously, I need to go to bed and get some sleep. Four a.m. comes early.”
    Once again, she sensed his mental sigh as he caved and ushered her into the apartment. He would learn. When she wanted something, Savanna always found a way to get it.

    T RACE HEARD S AVANNA’S alarm go off at precisely four a.m. as anticipated. Some old Britney Spears song filled the penthouse. She must have tapped the snooze button because all went quiet again ten minutes later, another blast of Britney finally rousing her. He heard shuffling and the bathroom door closing.
    He’d spent the night thinking and pacing and thinking some more. Her open living room, dining room, and kitchen made the perfect circle for him to walk. She’d told him to help himself to food and drink and handed him the complicated remote to her entertainment system. Once an hour, he’d checked the doors and windows, wishing she had surveillance cameras. He didn’t have trouble staying awake, but his mind wanted to wander. The past was always happy to resurface and flood him with memories best left forgotten.
    He’d found a drawer of DVDs and come across some family movies. Savanna hadn’t just been good at gymnastics, she’d reached the Olympics where an apparent injury to her wrist shut her down.
    Watching those videos of her with her parents and sister cheering for her, seeing her waving from the top platform at the Olympics at the ripe age of fourteen, and then seeing her in the hospital with a brace on her wrist, had done something to his cold, hard heart.
    She was a fighter. A champion. She’d known deep disappointment at a young age, her dream of the Olympics ending abruptly. Yet, she’d pulled herself out and had grown up to succeed at championing for others.
    The videos kept his mind occupied for a couple of hours. He’d felt a twinge of guilt at watching something so personal, but it had kept his own memories at bay.
    There was no forgetting what he’d done and, not for the first time, he wondered if Savanna had done him a favor by exposing him as a traitor, even though it