Eye for an Eye, an (Heroes of Quantico Book #2): A Novel by Irene Hannon Page A

later. She’d changed into shorts and a T-shirt, and her feet were bare. If anything, she looked more vulnerable than ever. Mark’s throat tightened, and he had to restrain the urge to close the distance between them and wrap her in a comforting hug.
    She hesitated in the doorway of the living room, grasping the door frame with one hand. “Am I interrupting?”
    Mark rose. “Not at all. We need to talk with you, anyway.”
    She joined them, and with Mark’s assistance gingerly lowered herself into one of the striped chairs. She flashed him a smile as he took his seat. “Why do I think you gentlemen have been planning my life for me?”
    “Nick volunteered to sleep on your couch,” Coop told her.
    “We voted him down,” Mark added. “He’ll be in the parking lot.”
    “You can’t blame a guy for trying.” Nick grinned, eliciting a smile from Emily.
    “We’ll regroup after the briefing tomorrow, but in the meantime we’ll have an agent in the visitor lot out front. What are your plans for tomorrow?”
    “I have appointments, but I’m going to reschedule them for later in the week and stay close to home. I think I’ll sleep most of the day.”
    “Good plan,” Mark approved. “By end of day, we may have some additional information. We do need one more thing from you. Names of the women you’ve counseled at the shelter in the past four weeks.”
    Emily sent him a puzzled look. “Why?”
    “Abusers are not nice people. And when thwarted, they can be dangerous. If any of the women you spoke with told her spouse or boyfriend that your counsel convinced her to leave him permanently, he could be very upset. How many women would you estimate you’ve counseled in the past month?”
    “Eight, maybe. Some weeks I only talk to one, other weeks two or three.”
    “Can you get us their names? We’ll check them out, see if they’ve mentioned your name to their significant other.”
    “You’ll be discreet?”
    “Always.”
    “My notes are at my office. I can have Maria, my secretary, check my file tomorrow. She could also call the shelter to get additional contact information. Is that okay?”
    After a brief hesitation, Mark agreed. “Today would be better.
    But we can wait until first thing in the morning. Have her fax the information.” Mark withdrew a small notebook from his pocket and jotted down a number, glancing at the other two men as he handed it to Emily. “Anything else we need to cover today?”
    When the other two agents shook their heads, he gave Emily his full attention. “Then we’re going to let you get some rest.”
    “I’ll be across the parking lot, in the black SUV,” Nick told her, rising.
    “I’ll wait for you outside.” Coop followed Nick to the door.
    “Thanks, guys.” Emily started to stand, but Mark restrained her.
    “They can find their way out.”
    Waiting until the door clicked shut, he moved to the ottoman across from her and took her hands. “We’re going to do our best to find this guy, Em.”
    “I know.” She squeezed his fingers. “Some reunion, huh?”
    “Yeah.” A humorless smile twisted his lips. “But we’re going to make up for this after the dust settles. And that’s a promise I won’t forget.”
    For an instant, Mark was tempted to lean close and seal his pledge with a kiss. Emily had been right earlier. The years had melted away, and Wren Lake seemed like yesterday. He, too, felt as if they’d picked up where they’d left off.
    But twenty years had passed, and you couldn’t step back into a relationship that easily, he reminded himself. They were different people now, with histories that had shaped and changed them in the two decades that had elapsed since they’d shared their first kiss. She’d loved again, and mourned that loss. He’d shied away from commitments, unwilling to take on the inevitable stress of trying to juggle a relationship with his demanding career. Reconnecting wasn’t that simple. Especially when he was slated to