Free Undercover Love (The Women of Manatee Bay, Book 2) by Jessica Nelson Page B

forward, as if he could push her into spilling her guts. Like she would crack beneath pressure. What she knew wasn’t his business.
    “I gave you the flash drive. That should be enough.”
    “It’s not.”
    A wind whipped up out of nowhere, catching her hair and basting it against her face. She shoved at the strands. “Have you talked to Maggie? Gotten her thoughts on things?”
    “I don’t know where she is. Your mom won’t tell me a thing.”
    Rachel smirked. “Good luck with her. You’ll have to talk to Maggie. Is this for work or just personal interest?”
    “Both.”
    She didn’t like the sound of that. A muffled thump interrupted her thoughts. Glancing at her car, she saw Miss Priss had somehow knocked the cage off the backseat so that it wedged between the seat and the floor.
    She turned back to Grant. “Maggie doesn’t need to be messed with right now. If it’s not official business, then you should leave her out of things.”
    Grant shrugged, a careless lift of his shoulders that somehow made Rachel’s breathing grow shallow. “Tell her I’m looking for her, if you see her.”
    “Sure.” She managed a small smile. “I’m going to head home before this storm hits.”
    “Drive safe.”
    “Have fun with your mom.” The words felt awkward. Weird that a kid who grew up in foster care took the time to visit his mother.
    “Yeah, right,” he said, confirming the oddness of the situation.
    Before he could turn, Rachel blurted out, “Why are you visiting her?”
    Mouth grim, he paused. The sky was darkening by the minute and his eyes looked as troubled as the clouds on the horizon. “She needs groceries.”
    “So you’re buying some?” Why did God keep hitting her over the head with all of Grant’s great qualities? It’d be nice to see a flaw of his. Anything to keep her brain attached when he was around. “That’s really nice of you,” she managed to say.
    Grant shook his head as though trying to negate her words. “She doesn’t have anyone else so I’m stuck with the job.”
    “No car?”
    “No money.” His gaze passed over her one more time, and in the deepening light she thought she saw something on his face that hitched her breath. Hair flew across her face and she didn’t brush it away. Their eyes locked and for a moment, time stood still.
    The clattering of a soda can, hurled by an angry wind across the pavement, broke the mood. Another car pulled into the empty gas station. Grant gave her a quick wave. She returned it before sliding into her car. She reached back and fixed Miss Priss’s cage.
    A familiar worship song played but the feelings in Rachel’s chest were anything but familiar. Painful and strong, they wracked her heart and left her stymied. It was only when the worship song faded and a new song came on that reason returned. The new song had been Scott’s favorite.
    And now she remembered why these feelings couldn’t stay. Generally speaking, men were unreliable. But even more than that experience, it was these feelings she couldn’t trust. Passion was good for many things, but not relationships.
    Drawing in a deep, cleansing breath, Rachel shifted gears and headed for home.
    ***
    This guy was an idiot.
    Grant eyed the twit across the cheap plastic table where they sat. The forgettable mom and pop café located in a shoddy part of Orlando was filled with people getting off work and waitresses just starting their shift. Thick scents spilled into the restaurant from the bustling kitchen.
    After dropping off groceries to his mom, he’d had to turn and drive to Orlando for a meeting he wouldn’t have missed for anything.
    “Charlie Barrows has nothing to do with Slasher. He’s a guy on his way to a restful retirement,” Grant said.
    “Just keep an eye on him.” Twit swiped greasy hair off his forehead. Definitely a paper pusher and not a field agent. “You said you had information for the task force?”
    “Yeah.” Grant fished the flash drive from his