Target by Lisa Phillips Read Free Book Online Page B

but they felt it all the same.
    R ealizing that had led to a division of her fear over what was happening to Kiera, and the relief that she didn’t have to go through this alone.
    In the end, she’d lain in bed with the notes app on her phone open. Trying to quantify precisely how their presence lessened her anguish should have been a whole lot easier. Solvable. It hadn’t worked. It never did, even though she’d tried many times to calculate as an equation what was only human. That was always the point where Andrea dug out her Bible—when life got so confusing she couldn’t reason her way out of it.
    She’d slept better after reading for a while.
    Liam’s suit was neat, his hair damp and his cologne made her want to lean closer and get a big whiff. But...that would be weird, so Andrea said, “How about you? Did you sleep okay?”
    Their evening had been fun, sitting close on the couch and sharing ice cream grins in the awkward moments of the movie. She’d almost managed to forget that a serial killer might come after her again. And if Kiera was really gone, Andrea didn’t know if she could survive if Liam disappeared from her life too. That was why she couldn’t let him in beyond protecting her.
    So when he just nodded, she headed for her bedroom to get dressed. When she came back out in a skirt suit, heels, straightened hair and light makeup, there were two FBI agents in the kitchen. Both older, one had gray hair and a belly and the other was a lean, Asian female.
    Liam motioned to the gray-haired guy first. “This is Agent Stern and Agent Wing.
    They’ll escort you to work.”
    “Sounds good.” Andrea grabbed her briefcase from the hall closet. How was she going to explain the presence of two FBI agents to her co-workers? At least she had the car ride to work to figure that out. She slipped her coat on.
    “You’re not going to eat breakfast?”
    Andrea straightened. “I usually grab a bagel on the way.”
    Liam shook his head. “No extra stops. Go straight to work and if you need lunch then order it in. Better yet, Caisey and I should be done by then. We’ll bring lunch with us.”
    Because she needed a side of fries with the news her sister was dead? Liam must have read something on her face, because he took her elbow and steered her into the living room. Andrea set her briefcase down and folded her arms.
    “As much as possible, you need to make it as hard as you can for this guy to catch you alone. If he’s going to come after you we’ll have the chance to stop him then, but not if he gets to you before we even know. So you don’t go anywhere without Stern and Wing, you don’t change from your most basic itinerary. No trips or stop-offs.” Liam pushed out a breath.
    Was he as worried about the Chloroform Killer coming back as she was? He seemed almost scared at the idea she might be the next victim.
    “Did you get all that, or do you need me to go over it again?”
    Andrea sighed. He’d been waiting for her to respond. “I’m not an idiot. I understand what protection means, and I’m not going to jeopardize your investigation.” Her thoughts lit on something else he’d said and she lifted her chin. “I won’t ruin your chance to catch this guy.”
    Liam’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not what this is about.”
    “It is some, isn’t it? I’m not naïve, I know the chance to maybe catch him is worth you sticking around here.”
    “I would still be here, even if you weren’t in danger.”
    “Why?”
    Liam’s mouth opened, but he didn’t say anything.
    “Never mind.” Andrea grabbed her briefcase, but Liam stalled her with a hand on hers, over the handle.
    “There are rules.”
    “Okay.”
    “But when this is wrapped up, I’m not going to disappear. I was...hoping we could be friends, at least. Then after you’re in the clear, maybe we could go out for dinner?”
    Andrea liked the idea of a reprieve—at least until the killer was caught, or she wasn’t in danger anymore.