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

return to Quantico in four short weeks, and her life was here.
    Restraining his amorous impulse, Mark gave her fingers one more squeeze and rose. “Lock the deadbolt behind me.”
    He helped her up, and she followed him to the door.
    “Be careful, Mark.”
    “I will. And keep the shades and curtains closed.”
    “Okay.”
    He lifted his hand and touched her cheek. Hesitated. And then he stepped through the door and pulled it closed, waiting until he heard the soft click of the lock before joining Coop.

    Emily took a long, slow breath and rested her forehead against the door as quiet descended in her condo.
    If the last thirty-six hours had left her reeling, the last thirty-six seconds had sucked the air from her lungs.
    Unless the pain medication was totally addling her brain, she’d swear that Mark had wanted to kiss her just now.
    Unsettling as that was, she was more unnerved by her reaction. She’d wanted him to.
    Pushing away from the door, she forced her lethargic legs to carry her back up the stairs to her bedroom. Sinking onto the mattress, she stretched out with a sigh. She’d tried to disguise her discomfort as much as possible around the three agents, but she was hurting. Badly. Every muscle in her body ached, and her arm was throbbing. The pain medication she’d downed as soon as she’d arrived home hadn’t yet kicked in.
    Yesterday, she’d used the word surreal to describe her present situation. And it fit. Despite the bulky bandage, she found it difficult to believe she’d been shot. Things like this didn’t happen to people like her, who lived quiet lives, pursued safe careers, abided by the law. Crime and violence weren’t supposed to be part of her world anymore, now that Grant was gone.
    She turned her head on the pillow, toward the photo on her nightstand. It had been taken at Grant’s birthday party a week before the fire that had claimed his life and destroyed their future.
    She’d known when she’d married him that his job carried some risk. But he’d assured her accidents were rare, that the safety net of his training would protect him 99 percent of the time.
    Neither of them had counted on Grant running into the 1 percent sort of situation where it wouldn’t.
    Lifting the photo from the nightstand, she gazed at Grant’s face, recalling their first meeting. She’d shared an elevator with him when he’d come to do a safety inspection at her office building. His energy and intensity had reminded her of Mark—a surprise, considering she hadn’t thought much about her summer beau in the years before meeting Grant.
    It wasn’t that she and Mark had had a falling out. They’d stayed in touch for a few months after that idyllic summer, and she’d seen him again at her grandmother’s funeral, but they’d both had plans, and the letters had gradually dwindled, then ceased.
    Nevertheless, she’d tucked the memory of her first, sweet taste of romance in her heart, expecting someday to find the man who would take it to the next level.
    But for years, she hadn’t. Always goal oriented, she’d devoted herself to her schooling with a singular focus that allowed no room for other pursuits. She’d received her PhD at twenty-six and gone on to work with a seasoned pro, opening her own practice after he retired two years later. There’d never been any time for romance.
    Until Grant had convinced her to take time.
    And in truth, it had been an easy sell, she reflected. With his teasing smile, he’d always been able to coax her away for a day of fun, convince her to leave the office before seven and share a pizza, or cajole her into taking a walk through the autumn leaves. He’d helped teach her the value of balance in her life, the importance of carving out time for relationships.
    It was a lesson that had been long overdue for an army brat who’d never been in one place long enough to form lasting friendships. As much as she counseled her clients to take time for themselves and the