Rekindled (Titanium Security Series) by Cross Kaylea Page B

here now.” He should be sleeping to catch whatever rest he could before he started his work day at five, but there was no way he could do that until they talked.
    She tilted her head slightly, those intelligent eyes measuring him. “You guys lost Hassani, didn’t you?”
    She must’ve seen the news and figured it out on her own. Alex nodded, seeing no point in denying it. “Yeah.”
    “Did you find him?”
    “Not yet.” But they would. It was his top priority once he and Grace cleared the air. There was plenty he had to say.
    “Well, what happened—”
    “As much as I want to tell you everything, I can’t talk to you about an ongoing investigation.” Though he wished he could. Having Grace as a sounding board would take a ton of weight off his shoulders. She was fucking brilliant, her mind every bit as sexy as her lush body. He’d always thought she’d make one hell of a confidant and advisor for him.
    She nodded once in acceptance, her arms still folded tightly beneath the enticing curve of her full breasts he couldn’t help looking at. “Fair enough. So what do you want to talk to me about?”
    “Us.”
    At that, her eyes widened and she snorted in disbelief. “First off, there is no us. Apparently there never was an us, only I was too stupid to see it.”
    And there it was. The knife in his gut twisted. He shook his head. “You know better than that.”
    “Yeah, I do now,” she replied bitterly. Sighing, she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin like she was getting ready to do battle. “All right, let’s just get this over with. Say what you came to say.”
    Even though he’d gone over it a thousand times, being confronted with the very real possibility that he might lose her forever after this filled his chest with lead. Four years ago she’d frozen him out, completely ignoring all his frantic attempts to contact her. Two years ago she’d sent him the final, brusque e-mail that had smothered the tiny flame of hope that had kept burning in his heart.
    I have nothing to say to you and I don’t care to listen to anything you have to say to me. If you ever cared about me at all, leave me alone and stay out of my life. Forever .
    He’d finally realized then that he’d lost her for good and stopped trying to contact her. A part of him was still terrified he’d never break through that icy wall again. She was so cold, so distant, it filled him with something close to panic. He indicated the couch with a tilt of his head, fighting back the fear and desperation clawing at him. “At least come sit.”
    She didn’t budge from her spot. “I’d prefer to stand, thanks.”
    So she could open the door and throw his ass out the moment she’d heard enough to seal the coffin on their dead relationship. He didn’t intend to make it that easy for her to dismiss him. “All right, then I’ll sit.” He tugged his pant legs up at the thigh and sank into the couch cushions, stretching one arm across the back of it in a pose that made him appear far more relaxed than he actually was.
    Grace didn’t move, only raised one fiery brow at him expectantly. “Well?”
    Shit, it was killing him to finally be alone with her after all this time and have this unbridgeable distance between them. It was all he could do to stay where he was instead of rushing over there to wrap his arms around her again. If he could just touch her, reach her through that cold mask she’d put on to protect herself, maybe there was still a chance for them. He couldn’t give up on that hope, couldn’t accept that he’d truly lost her. “I hated lying to you,” he began in a low voice.
    She stared at him, unmoving, unblinking. But he could see the anger and resentment simmering in her eyes.
    He pushed out a hard breath, got right to the heart of it. He didn’t blame her for holding a grudge. She had every reason to hate him. “When we met I was working undercover using my nickname. I was named after my father. My middle name is