Read Online Claimed by the Secret Agent by Lyn Stone - Free Book Online

just forget it!” Exasperated, he shook his head and grabbed his jacket off the chair. “You definitely need coffee. C’mon, let’s go.”
    “What if we run into this Onders or whatever his name is? We aren’t that far from the Zuider,” she warned. “He would recognize me.”
    Grant stopped and looked into her eyes, searching for the fear she must feel. She hid it pretty well, actually. He brushed a blond tendril off her brow and tucked it behind her ear. “I’ll be there. He won’t hurt you.”
    She stepped back out of reach and shot him a lookof disbelief. “You think I’m scared of him? No, you idiot! If he sees me, he’ll know we’re onto him and run! We’ll never get him or who he’s working for.”
    With a heavy sigh, she retrieved the bag she had brought from her apartment and pulled out the cap she had worn yesterday. “I better wear this.” She twisted her hair, piled it on top of her head and put the cap on over it. Then she gave him another glare. “Maybe that will help you forego any blond jokes that come to mind.”
    A double espresso, maybe two, Grant was thinking. She definitely wasn’t a morning person. But he’d bet blond was her real hair color. She was too sensitive about it for it not to be.
    As if he’d ever find out.
     
    Grant felt marginally human after they had eaten, and he had forgiven Marie for snapping at him earlier. They now knew where Onders had gone, and Grant knew his reading of the paper clue had been right.
    He was talking on his phone, coordinating with the police as they walked. She was quiet, probably formulating questions for him as soon as he finished.
    “Watch out!” He grabbed her arm and snatched her out of the way as a bike rider missed her by inches. “You have to be careful if you get on the red paths,” he warned. “Those are for bikes, and they’ll run right over you.” He’d pulled her right up against him.
    She pushed out of his grasp and rubbed her biceps.
    “Why do you keep acting so concerned, Tyndal? It’s not necessary. You think that’s part of the rescue job, the protector bit?”
    He nodded. “Well, yeah. But even if it wasn’t, what’s wrong with a little human concern?”
    “A little. That’s the key.” She turned, gesturing with one hand for emphasis. “Say I’d been killed by Onders before you got there. There would have been an initial outcry. People would go, ‘Ah, that’s awful! Poor girl.’ Then they’d go on to the next news story, and you’d go on to your next job without another thought. See, I get that and I understand it, so you don’t have to pretend.”
    “What the hell are you talking about?”
    She wrinkled her nose. “We all like to think we’re so important, but the truth is I wouldn’t be missed much, if at all, and I know it. I’m just saying you don’t have to act all worried and hover like you care.”
    “That’s ridiculous. I do care. And your family would grieve if anything bad happened to you. They’d feel guilty for the rest of their lives because they hadn’t been able to afford the ransom.”
    She sighed. “Ah, Tyndal, you’re assuming, and we both know what that says about you. I haven’t seen my family in years. The only person left who’s actually related by blood is my mom, and I don’t even know where she lives.”
    “What about friends? I know you have friends.”
    “Sure. My coworkers. And they,” she said with an emphatic pause, “didn’t bother to send anyone to extract me, did they? No, a stranger came, one who didn’t know me from a hole in the ground. On orders from someone who’s only interest is my weird ability to memorize things.”
    What could he say? She was right about that. He’dbe pissed, too. And bitter. She didn’t seem all that bitter, though. It was more like something she had reluctantly accepted long ago and gotten used to. “Well, I came after you and now I know you. You need a friend, you’ve got one.”
    Her smile was sweet, dimpled and