Kace (Allen Securities) Read Free Page A

know what trouble he was. He’d declared all-out war on the Russians and left Jessica to run it. It wasn’t just dangerous. It was suicidal, and it wasn’t his life on the line.
    Kace gripped the steering wheel so hard the plastic creaked under his hands.
    There had to be some way to convince her to leave. If conventional ways didn’t work, he could always use her sister. The Russians were ruthless. Taking out a person’s family was child’s play to them.
    He nodded to himself and smiled. It was the best chance he had.
    The unmarked car stopped outside the newly painted Victorian home. He looked up to the intricate woodwork and smiled. Nearly two weeks hunched on the ladder, but it looked great. The various shades of blue and white stood out nicely on the street. He had stuck with more traditional colors that didn’t seem so girly.
    Somewhat farther back from the road, he had the benefit of being on the end of the cul-de-sac and the privacy that entailed. It also meant that he didn’t get every busybody in the area poking into his business. Kace liked his privacy. He didn’t want to be set up with every grandniece or daughter from the area. So what if it had been a while since he had a date. Things had been busy at work, and right now he needed to worry about where he was going with his job. Otherwise he wouldn’t have taken the assignment he was on now.
    He didn’t mind helping out his brother Reed on occasion, but Finn was a totally different story. Didn’t matter though. Lt. Jackson insisted he be the one to take the lead on this. It was a good opportunity, and if it helped with his next promotion, he would do it.
    He opened the front door and charged into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. Kace leaned against the granite counter top as he took a drink.
    It was good knowing he had built most of the place with his own two hands. It made him feel like he had created something.
    He set the bottle down and grabbed some running clothes from the closet. After a quick change, he was ready to burn off some energy. If he was going to get any sleep, he’d have to turn the normal eight-mile run into four. Just enough to take the edge off and still wear him out a bit.
    Kace shook his head, clearing thoughts about other ways he could burn energy. Right now, he needed to stay focused and that did not include letting Jessica into his world.
     
    * * *
     
    Jessica woke up feeling far less rested than she should. Thoughts of her father floated in her head all night, and she swore that if she saw that smug cop again, she’d punch him in the nose. She had spent that last fifteen years living in the shadow of her father’s guilt, and she was done. He had committed those crimes, not her and certainly not Victoria.
    She flipped the covers off her and groaned at the bright sun.
    After glancing at the clock, she groaned again. Nearly eleven. If she was going to see Mrs. Masing today, she really needed to get around. Besides, a home-cooked meal sounded like heaven.
    She grabbed a few clothes from the closet and padded down the hall to the bathroom. The air misted when she turned the shower on, and she jumped in. The building was so old that she felt lucky to get hot water most days. Typically, it was tepid to lukewarm, so on the rare hot-water day, you had to grab it as fast as you could.
    She scrubbed under the warm spray, letting her muscles relax after such a tough night. This whole embezzlement thing was eating her up. She was glad Finn seemed to believe that it wasn’t her, but still the responsibility of the whole thing fell on her, and she hated there wasn’t much she could really do.
    “Shit,” she shouted when the water turned ice cold.
    Yet another wonderful feature of the hot-water system. Just further proof that nothing came without a price.
    Jessica snapped off the water and toweled off. She slipped on a off-shoulder gray sweater dress and pair of pumps. After lunch with Mrs. Masing, she’d need to get to work.