Untouched. Samantha Hunter

Everything. The world.”

      It felt so good to finally talk to someone. Risa had never really had a female friend before. Or a male friend, for that matter. After her parents died, she’d confided her secrets and fears only to Buddy. So far, Kristy was taking what Risa told her in relative stride.

      “I could help, you know.”

      “You have helped, getting my groceries, listening. But you don’t have to do that anymore. I wouldn’t ask that of you.”

      “What I mean is I can help you get back into normal life. You know, for instance…” Kristy assessed Risa closely, making her feel like squirming in her chair. “Are those black pants and shirts all you have to wear?”

      Risa looked down at her clothes, the government-issued casuals she’d always worn.

      “Yes. They’re all I need.”

      “Oh, honey, with your figure you can carry the cat burglar look off nicely, but with your coloring and that amazing auburn hair and those blue eyes—you should be wearing something much more striking.”

      Kristy’s mental makeover was setting Risa’s nerves on edge. She wasn’t sure she was ready for this, and Kristy had a definite gleam in her eye. Risa didn’t need her former powers to sense that her new friend was getting very excited about influencing Risa’s life.

      “And you have no good furniture, nothing on your walls. The place is stark. No personality. We have to get more of your style in here—what do you like?”

      “What do you mean?” Risa could only stare.

      “You know, what are your favorite colors, for a start?”

      Risa paused for a long moment. She’d never really been asked that before. She thought about Buddy, the rich chocolate-brown of his fur, and remembered the scarlet sweater her mother had been wearing the day she’d brought Buddy home. Her mother had always worn bright colors—why hadn’t Risa remembered that until now?

      “I like brown. And red.”

      Kristy pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Well, I’ve always been more of a pink and yellow girl myself, but we can work with that—earthy tones, I guess. Like clays and fire. Yes, that does seem right for you.” She looked at the clock, “Hey, I’ll tell you what. I have the day off, why don’t we go catch some lunch and hit the stores? It’ll be fun.”

      “Hit the stores?” Risa wasn’t quite keeping up, still wondering how all of this had happened.

      “Yeppers. C’mon, ex-spy lady. We’re going shopping.”

      2

      DANIEL WATCHED Risa from a discreet distance, following the actions of the two women closely. Even though he’d spent thousands of hours doing surveillance, watching Risa felt different. More intimate. Maybe because each new outfit she tried on distracted him from his purpose, among other things. It wasn’t as if she were trying on anything particularly sexy, no low-cut dresses or skintight bodysuits—like the ones he’d seen her wearing on missions—clinging to every curve. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, and his interest wasn’t completely professional.

      He swallowed deeply, trying to ignore the way his pulse picked up when she stepped out of the dressing room, looking to her friend for reassurance that the low-rise jeans and raspberry T-shirt fit.

      Oh, man, did they ever fit. The woman had an ass like two perfect scoops of ice cream.

      The shirt exposed a delicious sliver of her flat, toned belly, and the stylishly faded denim hugged the gentle sway of her backside in a way that had him imagining cupping his hand over the pocket.

      Her friend nodded enthusiastically, obviously having good taste. Risa received the approval awkwardly, stuffing her hands in the pockets of the jeans, looking furtively from side to side as if worried about being seen. Was she self-conscious or was she worried?

      Daniel turned his attention to her shopping partner. His quick background check identified Risa’s friend as Kristy Louise Kelly, twenty-five, a Boston native, MIT grad and an oceanographic intern at Woods Hole. He’d seen them sitting at Risa’s utilitarian kitchen table that morning, talking over a breakfast that neither one of them touched—but talking about what?

      He hadn’t had an opportunity to bug the apartment—Risa was always there. This was the first time he’d seen her leave, and opted for following rather than a search. He’d assumed if she were venturing out, it must have been important—he’d never have guessed clothes shopping.

      However, it appeared she was doing some surveillance of her own, and if he could get over there, he might be able to link into her system. He could find out what she was up to, who she was watching and why. Jack was right—something was off.

      Was she finally adjusting on her own, a late bloomer? Why now, all of a sudden, after months of isolation? Could this new “friend” be a problem, someone else who knew about Risa’s secrets, or who wanted to know? Daniel intended to find out.

      He’d arrived on the Cape a week ago. The small town of Falmouth was as charming as ever. Daniel booked a room at a small motel a few minutes down the street from Risa’s apartment complex, even though the home where he’d grown up was only about an hour up the coast. He needed to be closer to watch her movements, to assess the situation.

      Though Jack had mentioned his family, there was no need to stir up those old ghosts. He was here to do a job; he’d do it, and move on, hopefully with no one being the wiser. If Kristy Kelly was a real friend, maybe Risa wouldn’t need him to interfere in her life, so he could report back to Jack and be assigned something more critical than watching Risa shop.

      “Daniel? Oh my God…it is you. What are you doing here?”

      Daniel turned toward the disbelieving female voice that drew his attention away from Risa and Kristy. Instincts developed after years in the field compelled him to relax, to act naturally so as not to draw attention, even though he simultaneously felt the urge to duck behind the rack of women’s lingerie that he’d been standing beside.

      When he turned, he looked into eyes as gray as his, set in a female face that also resembled his own. He took in her softer features, his eyes widening as he sighted his younger sister’s extremely pregnant belly.

      “Anna.” He breathed out the name softly, hardly believing she was standing right in front of him. The last time he’d seen her was in New York City just two years ago, where she’d been vacationing and they’d met for dinner. He’d given her a secure e-mail address where she could contact him. He just couldn’t break all contact with his youngest sister.

      He’d attended her wedding shortly after, staying in the background, and leaving a gift before anyone else knew he was there. His appearance would have caused too much of a scuffle, and it was her day. He hadn’t wanted to ruin it, though he’d caught her for one moment before he left. She’d been such a tomboy, keeping up with her brothers effortlessly all those years—and now she was a grown woman. He didn’t know she was expecting, though. The discovery threw him. She was his baby sister, and she was having a baby of her own.

      “Seven months and counting,” she said as if she’d read his mind, her voice as natural as if she met him in the store every day, as if it weren’t unusual at all. “I guess that’s obvious, though, isn’t it? You’re going to be an uncle, Daniel.”

      An uncle. The words rang in his ears like she was speaking to him in a foreign language. He wasn’t sure what to say—he’d been a stranger, living a life so apart from them for so long, he wasn’t sure he had a right to the title of uncle, or brother or son, for that matter. Not anymore. He noticed the tension that creased her brow as she flipped through a few flimsy robes, not really seeing them. The surprise of finding him here, and the many questions about why he was here, must be finally hitting its mark.

      “I wish you’d let me know. I’ve been out of the country, but I try to check my e-mail,” he said.