The Agent's Redemption (Special Agents At The Altar 4) Read Free Page A

had been strong six years ago—except for when she’d turned to him for comfort and support.
    And oblivion. She’d told him she’d needed to think about something other than Lexi. Or actually that she’d needed to not think at all for a while. That was why she’d made love with him. He hadn’t had any excuse—except that he had been weak—too weak to fight his overwhelming attraction to her.
    The attraction he still felt for her. But he couldn’t think about that. He couldn’t think about how she’d felt in his arms, how sweet her lips had tasted. He had to focus instead on the case.
    So he breathed a sigh of relief that all leads weren’t lost. “That’s great. We need to look through her stuff and find out how she knew Amy.”
    She stopped clutching his shirt and shoved at him again. Her voice cracking with panic, she said, “Not now. I don’t have time. You have to leave. Now!”
    Behind him, the door rattled and then flew open and a little blond-haired boy ran into the house. He stopped short when he saw Jared and stared up at him—his blue eyes wide with surprise. He asked, “Who are you?”
    * * *
    Y OUR FATHER . T HE WORDS stuck in Rebecca’s throat along with the scream of protest she had wanted to utter when the door had opened. Of course Tommy’s mother would drop Alex off early today. The horn of the minivan tooted as Beverly backed out of the driveway.
    “My name is Jared Bell,” the FBI agent answered his son. “What’s yours?”
    “Alex...” Suddenly shy, the little boy ducked behind her legs and peered around her at Jared.
    “Nice to meet you, Alex,” Jared replied. Then he raised his gaze from the little boy and met hers.
    She expected accusation or at least suspicion. But pain and regret flickered through his amber-colored eyes instead. “I understand,” he said.
    And her stomach clenched. Could he understand why she hadn’t told him? She wasn’t entirely sure that she understood herself. Of course his rejection had hurt her, and he’d told her that it would be better if they had no further contact. But he hadn’t known that she was pregnant. She hadn’t yet known she was pregnant when they’d broken up. But to break up, they would have actually had to be together. And all she had been to him was a slip in his professionalism. A mistake.
    And she hadn’t wanted her child to be a mistake to him, as well. So she’d chosen not to tell Jared. But occasionally guilt overwhelmed her—like whenever Alex had asked her about his father. And now, when father and son finally came face-to-face.
    Jared continued, “I understand why you didn’t want to talk about this
case
—with your son coming home.”
    Her sister had never been just a case to Rebecca. “Alex knows about his aunt Lexi,” she said.
    “I got my name from her,” the little boy interjected as he peeked around her legs again.
    Jared smiled at the boy. “It’s a very good name, too.”
    And Rebecca’s heart lurched at the deep grooves in his cheeks and at the warmth in his eyes. He was so handsome. But that wasn’t the only reason for her reaction. She hadn’t thought the no-nonsense FBI profiler would pay any attention to a child. He had never expressed any interest in them before. But he was being so sweet...
    So Jared.
    That was why she had fallen for him before—because he had been so sympathetic for her loss and so concerned for her well-being. She had thought he was falling for her, too. But he’d only been doing his job.
    That was all he was doing now. She hadn’t seen him in nearly six years. He had moved on to the next case—the next murder and the next killer. But he was back now—because there was another case.
    Another missing woman...
    Another family going through what she and her parents had gone through—what they were still going through. “I want to help you,” she said.
    He arched a brow as if surprised. “I thought you wanted to get rid of me.”
    She had—when she’d been worried