“She’s going to be at your hotel?”

“No.” Trace gave him the address of the original place Priss had booked. “Murray already questioned her, so I’m guessing he’ll have someone check up on her.”

“So she needs to be there. Are you expecting the visit to be friendly or hostile?”

“I have to assume friendly, but in case I’m wrong, that’s why you’re watching. You can notify me if shit goes south once you have her safe. And if I should hear of anything to make me think it might not be friendly, I’ll send you the text code.”

Within the organization, Trace, Dare and Jackson shared codes that identified every probability, and that could be simply and quickly sent without anyone else knowing what they meant.

Now, after what she’d been through, Alani also knew the codes. It made Trace feel marginally better about her being out and about again, picking back up on her life.

“When I finish with Murray, I’ll take over watching Priss.”

“You going to stay with her?”

He shook his head, even knowing that Jackson couldn’t see him. “If I thought I could slip her out of there unnoticed, I would, but if anyone’s watching…”

“Yeah, probably too chancy.” Trace didn’t need to finish that thought; Jackson understood. “I’ll go by there now to get the lay of the land, find the best retreat if necessary. Tell her she won’t see me, but I’ll be nearby all the same.”

Nearby watching Priss’s every move. Trace’s jaw tightened. “Thanks.”

“So…” Jackson cleared his throat. “Your sister is on her own right now?”

Hackles rising even more, Trace asked softly, “Why are you asking?”

“You’re usually right up her… That is, you’re usually looming over her. When you can’t do it, you have Dare watching over her.”

“What makes you think that’s not the case now?” Alani swore she was fine, that she could carry on without all the supervision. True, she was extra cautious now, and Trace doubted she would ever again take chances with her safety. But it wasn’t just for her that Trace continued to keep a close eye. It gave him a measure of peace, too.

“We met up to discuss remodeling my place. If either of you had been watching, I’d have known.”

“She met with you at your request, I suppose?” Absently, Trace watched Priss all but inhale her food. She must have been famished, and he was the one responsible for that. He reached over and lifted from her jeans a tiny piece of onion that had fallen from the burrito wrapper.

She mouthed a silent, “Thanks.”

Again Jackson cleared his throat. “Yeah, my suggestion.” Then in disgust, he said, “But I doubt it’ll happen. You know your sister and me—oil and water. How the hell she gets any business with her surly disposition, I’ll never understand.”

“Yet you broached the idea to her?”

Jackson sounded defensive. “I wouldn’t mind a professional touch at my new place. Being that she’s your sis and part of the biz and all, I felt obligated to go to her first.”

“Uh-huh.” Trace watched as, with another big bite, Priss finished off the food. “Leave my sister alone, Jackson, you understand me?”

Slowly, Priss turned her head to stare at him. “So you do have a sister?”

Shit. He’d said more than he should. “I have to go.”

“Yeah, you should go.” Jackson sounded every bit as acerbic as Trace felt. “And don’t worry about Priss or Alani. I’ve got it covered.”

Trace opened his mouth, but Jackson disconnected the call. He snapped his teeth together. “Son-of-a—”

“A sister, huh? The mysterious Alani, I take it?” Priss gathered up her garbage and put it all back in the bag. “You know, Trace, you might as well tell me everything, otherwise I’ll just go by supposition.”

Hell, she already knew far too much. He put the truck in Drive. “Such as?”

Leaning closer, one hand on his thigh in a gesture of sympathy, Priss said softly, “Your sister was the victim of human traffickers.”

Trace gripped the steering wheel and said nothing.

“That would account for why you’re involved with Murray now, and why everyone went all hush-hush when Chris accidentally said her name. Don’t worry, I understand.” She rubbed his thigh. “Your secret is safe with me.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

TRACE CONCENTRATED on the traffic, on the surrounding area and on not responding to Priss’s astute guess.

After a minute of silence from him, she retreated back to her own seat. The second she stopped touching him, he felt her withdrawal, both physical and emotional, and he hated it.

Tension built inside him. “Priss…”

With little interest, she said, “Hmm?”

Damn it. Why he felt so drawn to her, so…entwined with her, Trace couldn’t say. But he didn’t want a barrier between them, not now. “I do have a sister.”

“I know.” She sounded even more remote. “I heard you say so.”

Loyalties divided, Trace sought a response that would pacify her. “Alani’s life…her issues…they’re private. Hers to share, not mine.”

At least he had her attention again. Priss watched him, still guarded but also sympathetic.

Finally she sighed. “I can understand that.” She turned her head to look out the window at the passing scenery. “That’s exactly how I feel about my life and my issues.”