Free THE GIRL NEXT DOOR by Cynthia Eden

snapped.
    “She’s a reporter,” Rachel reminded him with a raised brow.
    “I know what she is.”
    “She’s not going to forget what she saw. That woman will dig and dig until she figures out what the EOD truly is.”
    Not possible.
    “You have to stop her.” Dylan’s firm order. Dylan was the team leader on this case. The former SEAL had been working with the EOD much longer than Cooper had. “Throw her off the scent, give her another lead, but stop her from focusing on the EOD.”
    Easier said than done. “Right now, my goal is to keep her safe.” Even as he said the words, he realized they were true. It wasn’t about finding out what Gabrielle knew any longer. Not about getting close to any intel that she might possess.
    He wanted to make sure that she didn’t get hurt. That the rogue didn’t come within ten feet of her again.
    And I want to make sure that if she ever does fall, I’m right there to catch her.
    The thought rushed through him.
    Changed him.
    Then he heard the rustle of footsteps behind him. “She’s coming,” he whispered. Gabrielle would be looking for him, and she’d want to know what was happening upstairs.
    The door opened behind him bare seconds later. He glanced over his shoulder.
    Her long hair was wet. Slicked back, it accentuated her high cheekbones and her wide, dark eyes.
    She’d put on one of his old T-shirts. It seemed to swallow her delicate shoulders, and she’d worked some kind of magic to get a very faded pair of his running shorts to fit her.
    Her bare toes—adorned with bright red polish—curled against the hard wood floor. “I hope you don’t mind,” Gabrielle said softly, “but I didn’t have anything else to wear.”
    Because the rogue had destroyed everything she had.
    Bastard.
    “I don’t mind at all.” The words came out too gruff. Too rough. He cleared his throat and tried again, saying, “I can go out and get some more clothes for you, if you tell me your size.”
    Actually, he already knew her size. It was in the nice, tidy dossier that the EOD had given him.
    “Why don’t you let me make a run?” Rachel interrupted.
    Gabrielle’s gaze slid to her.
    “Most of the stores will be opening in a few hours,” Rachel added. “I can get the clothes for you, no problem.”
    Gabrielle hesitated. Then she cocked her head as her gaze slid between Rachel and Dylan, and the top of the stairs. “I’m sorry...what are you all doing here? I thought the cops were coming to investigate.”
    “My name’s Dylan Foxx, and I am the cops, sort of,” Dylan said as he offered his hand to her.
    Gabrielle took his hand. “Sort of?”
    “I work for the government,” Dylan explained. Cooper was surprised by that truth. But then Dylan continued, twisting fact and fiction as he explained, “I have a crew that specializes in crime scene investigation for Uncle Sam. They’re upstairs now, and as soon as they’re done, I’ll be turning the results over to—” he glanced at Cooper as if for confirmation “—a Detective Carmichael?”
    Cooper realized that Dylan was still holding Gabrielle’s hand. What was up with that? He maneuvered her away from Dylan. Dylan had a tendency to be a little too slick with the ladies.
    “Do you work for the government, too?” Gabrielle asked Rachel.
    Rachel nodded. “I’m Dylan’s associate.”
    Gabrielle fiddled with the bottom of Cooper’s shirt. “By any chance, have either of you ever heard of the EOD?”
    Cooper’s heart slammed into his chest.
    Rachel frowned. “The what?”
    At the same moment, Dylan shook his head. “No, can’t say that I have. Why? What is it?”
    Gabrielle turned toward Cooper. “It was written in the blood at the crime scene. You saw it, didn’t you?”
    He hated to do it, but Cooper shook his head. “No, sweetheart, I didn’t.”
    She blinked. “But...it was there. Carmichael said he didn’t see it, but you had to—”
    “I didn’t,” he made himself say again.
    Her gaze fell.