Dana Mentink - Top Secret Target

She smiled, as he’d hoped she would. “Okay. Be right back.”

“Kendra?”

“Yes?”

“You said you’re Andy’s mission in life. What exactly does that mean?”

She rubbed at a welt on her cheek, eyes gone dark. “He’s going to make sure that I suffer before he kills me.” Shoulders bowed, she left.

So the man with a mission to hurt Kendra knew where she lived, and how to get into her house. Was he also the one who’d taken shots at her vehicle? Or could it be that Boyd Sullivan was changing things up, trying out new ways to torture his victims before he killed them?

The case was turning into a many-headed monster.

Monsters didn’t scare Ethan one bit. There was no enemy that he and Titus couldn’t put down.

Whistling, he set to work on the eggs.

* * *

She wouldn’t admit it, but Kendra was thrilled to strip off her clothes and change into clean jeans and a T-shirt. The welts on her arms were red and angry, but they did not seem to be affecting her breathing. Her face was probably a mess, so she was grateful there wasn’t a mirror in the laundry room. Part of her tensed at the thought of Ethan Webb clanging pots and pans in her kitchen. The last thing she wanted was a partner—a handsome, pushy, military partner with whom she’d already shared way more than she wanted to. The other part of her recalled the image of him dragging her away from the wasps with no concern for himself.

The minute she returned to the kitchen, Ethan gestured her into a chair and slid a plate with a perfectly golden wedge in front of her.

“Wow. That looks great.”

“It is. Frittata without mushrooms ’cuz you didn’t have any.” His brash tone made her smile. “You should keep mushrooms on hand. Very versatile.”

“I’ll make a note of it. I only just arrived here last night, so I didn’t have time for much shopping.”

He sat across from her and to her surprise, he took her hand to give thanks.

“Lord, thanks for giving us this good food and another day to enjoy it.”

After the “amen” he grinned. “Sorry. I shoulda asked if you wanted to say it.”

“Is that your subtle way of asking if I’m a believer?”

“Are you?”

“Yes. A new one, I’m afraid.”

He laughed. “Doesn’t matter if you’re new or got some miles behind you. Truth is truth, no matter when you arrive at it.”

“Texas wisdom?”

He grimaced in mock affront. “Tennessee, ma’am. We got lots of wisdom there, way more than here in Texas.”

She dug into the fritatta, redolent with red peppers and onions. “You really are a good cook.”

“Yes, ma’am, I am,” he said.

“And humble, too.”

“Upon occasion.”

Kendra laughed. A soft knock sounded on the kitchen door and she was surprised to find a small woman, late thirties maybe, standing on the porch, her long brown hair caught in a ponytail. She held out a plastic bag of cherries. Her blue eyes were wide with alarm as she got a look at Kendra.

“Are you... I mean, are you okay, Jillian? Your face...is a little swollen.”

Kendra snapped herself back into the role she should have been playing all along, thankful for her swollen face. “Oh, yes, I’m okay.” She put a finger to her cheek. “I got tangled up with some wasps.” She turned to Ethan. “Ethan, this is Mindy Zeppler, my next-door neighbor.”

“We’ve only had a chance to say hi in passing,” Mindy said. “You’re so busy, Jillian.”

Another blessing, Kendra realized. Jillian and Mindy hadn’t spent time together, which made her more likely to accept Kendra as Jillian.

“I, uh, I heard you and Ethan were divorced. It’s nice to see you still get along so well.”

In one swift movement, Ethan stepped close to Kendra and looped an arm around her. “Reconciled, ma’am. We’re both thrilled to be together again.” He pressed a kiss to the temple free of stings and her blood raced right up to her face. “Can’t believe we wasted so much time,” he said as he leaned in closer, his breath warm on her neck.

Kendra’s body prickled all over and chills raced up her spine. What was he doing?

Mindy smiled at Ethan. “Your dog is beautiful. Patrol dog?”

“And soon to be cadaver detector,” he said proudly.

Mindy’s mouth dropped open.

Titus’s new skill was a real conversation stopper, Kendra realized.

“I was just bringing by some cherries. Nice to meet you, Ethan. I work for a real estate business in town. I can ask them about a good pest control guy.” She shivered. “Wasps are the worst. They just keep stinging until they’re dead.”

Or their victim is , Kendra thought with a shudder. “We’ll take care of it.” She was not certain how much to tell Mindy, but in her experience as a private investigator, the less information she let spill the better. “Thanks, though, for bringing the cherries.”

“Would you care for some frittata, ma’am?” Ethan was acting the perfect Southern gentleman.

Mindy waved a hand. “Oh, no, thank you, I just came to deliver a message with the cherries.”

“A message?” Kendra felt an inexplicable chill.

“Yes, a man called me yesterday.” She frowned. “I’m not sure how he got my number, now that I think about it. He said he was an old friend of yours and he was trying to find you.”

“Did he leave his name?”

“No. I figured you were US Marine buddies.”

“What made you think that, ma’am?” Ethan’s voice as level and low, but intense.

“Well...” Mindy said, her mouth crimped as she thought about it. “I’m not sure. He was polite, like you, though no accent. Maybe I just imagined the marine thing because I know you’re a pilot,” she said to Kendra.

“Ma’am, would you happen to have that number on your phone?” Ethan asked her.

She shook her head. “It said, ‘Unknown Caller.’ I deleted it. I’m sorry. Is it important?”

Ethan shrugged. “It’s okay.”

“What was the message?” Kendra asked.

“He said to tell you he was looking forward to seeing you again soon and he was going to bring you some roses. I thought it was sweet.”

Roses.

Sullivan.

Looking forward to seeing you again.

Soon .

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