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So much he missed about her, yet, busy with his career, he hadn’t filled in the gaping hole in his life until he’d run into her again. Talk about avoidance. He’d thrown everything into his career with the FBI, taking classes in undercover work to be the best. Always striving to be the best, making up for the screwups in his younger days.
Making up for the screwup with Kara.
Words he wanted to say remained stuck on his tongue. Jace bit into his burger again, chewed, uncomfortable with the silence between them. Good time to bring up their past, where they went wrong, maybe what they could do to fix it.
Because suddenly he realized he did miss her fiercely. Not just the hot sex and passion Kara brought out, more than any other woman. He missed everything about her, from her cute habit of nibbling on her lower lip while deep in thought, to her incredible determination in achieving her goals. The FBI had run a check on Kara after the theft, to make sure she wasn’t orchestrating it for insurance. Every bit of information Darkling had sent about Kara indicated she was honest and had a sterling reputation. Kara had taken a mediocre estate-sale business and made it into a thriving company, sharpening her skills while treating her clients fairly.
He was proud of her, Jace realized suddenly.
Say it. The words were on his tongue. Damn, he wanted to say them, but he couldn’t. Because in the back of his mind he hated starting up something he’d have to end.
This assignment came first. Not his personal relationships.
Kara glanced at her cell phone. “We need to be some place with a strong signal when Dylan calls. We’d better get out of here soon, Jace. Hurry, please.”
Polishing off his burger in a few bites, leaving the fries, he signaled for the check. Paid it, leaving a generous tip. Kara didn’t even fight him for it. How well he remembered her stubbornly insisting on splitting the check during their time together. She hadn’t changed.
Worry was overriding everything else.
Outside in the parking lot, Kara grabbed the keys from him. “You’ve been driving forever. My turn.”
He obliged but raised his eyebrows. “I was hoping to get further north by today, not next year.”
“Ha ha. I can drive fast.”
“Wonders never cease,” he muttered, climbing into the passenger seat.
When they were on the road again, he glanced at the dashboard clock. Growing closer to five.
“How’s your signal?” he asked.
Holding her cell phone, Kara nodded. “Good. I’m pulling over into that shopping plaza to wait for his call.”
The plaza looked deserted, with a few businesses that were closed. Kara parked at the end under a shady tree and left the engine running. Overgrown bushes provided privacy from the main road.
Anyone searching for them would have to enter the plaza from a side street. Still, he kept glancing around, a well-developed sense of preservation honed over the years.
It had started with his old man, who liked to beat him up at times. Jace had learned to read the signals.
Kara had such a different upbringing. Still, he wondered what ate at her. Something clearly had and he’d always had the feeling deep down that she hid a family secret.
Good time to ask more about Dylan, before the kid called and forced them into a corner.
“Tell me, who was Conner? Dylan mentioned he misses him and the kid’s death when they were both nine messed him up.”
True enough. He neglected to add he discovered this through Dylan’s social-media posting.
Blood drained from her face. Kara glanced at him, her eyes wide.
“How...when did Dylan say that?”
Ignoring the question, Jace persisted. “Was he a neighborhood kid?”
Pulse beating wildly in her neck, sweat forming on her temples and not just from the anticipated call. Jace turned up the air-conditioning to cool the car more, but he sensed her nerves, more than the heat, had caused the reaction.
“Who was he, Kara?”
She pushed back at the long fall of her hair. “He was a good kid. Dylan’s cousin. Maybe a little too impulsive and inclined to get into trouble.”
