Page 39

“Yep, you’re a female all right.”

Woof.

Shit. Brax knew when he had been reprimanded for a sexist comment.

He got up, went to his coat closet, and pulled out a U of V Cavaliers hoodie that CiCi had left a couple of months ago, along with one of his good, broken-in ball caps. Then he grabbed his keys from the dusty fruit bowl on his kitchen counter and headed out to his truck.

When he got to the Hyatt near the Norfolk Airport, he took the ticket to park his car, then walked past reception and hit the bank of elevators. He knew which room Jenny was in. He’d made it his business. She answered the door with a bright smile, but he frowned.

“Did you look through the peephole?”

“Of course I did. After Bangladesh, I’m big-time security conscious.”

He looked around the room and saw that one of the stuffed chairs that should be close to the sofa, was next to the door.

Damn.

“What’s that?” She tilted her head toward the hoodie and ball cap in his hand.

“This is your disguise.” He handed it over to her.

“A Cav hoodie? No way. I’m Tar Heels all the way. I can’t wear that.”

He laughed. “So sorry. Tar Heels weren’t allowed in my household. How’d you become a Duke fan? I thought you went to school in Colorado, not North Carolina.”

“I did. But my roommate’s brother went to Duke and played wide receiver. It was mandatory I become a fan.”

“Even when you lived in Virginia for the last six years?”

“I’ve only actually lived here for about a year total. Other than that, I took assignments all over the country and the world.”

“Well, you’re going to have to wear the hoodie and the ball cap if you want to escape for a bit.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. But I’m doing this under protest.”

“So noted.” He tried not to laugh at her sass. He knew she was trying to make him think that she had moved past her captivity, but from her daily phone calls, he knew she hadn’t. But he was going to let her take the lead…for now.

He watched as she started walking back to her bedroom. “Dress warm. It’s cold outside,” he called after her.

“Gotcha.” She waved over her shoulder at him.

As soon as the door was closed, he pushed at the chair. It was heavier than it looked, and she still looked like a strong wind would blow her over. It told him just how scared she still was. The woman was a good actress. He needed to remember that.

She came out of the bedroom smiling, and he took a good look at her. Skinny jeans, sneakers, the hoodie and the ballcap.

“Do you have a jacket?”

She shook her head.

“I’d say a shopping trip is in order.”

Jenny’s smile changed to a grimace. “Peter got me my ID, but I’m having trouble with my bank. They want to send my debit and credit cards to my old address, which I moved out of a year and a half ago.”

“How did you do your banking while you were in Bangladesh?”

“All paperless.”

“Makes sense. And I take it they won’t send your replacement cards here? To a hotel, I mean.”