“I’m not.” He pushed off the wall. “We’re going to do everything we can to keep from dying, but the odds are great. When you’re a soldier, especially one of the Seven, you weigh the risks against the possible rewards, and the rewards are worth it in this case. But I want you to be prepared.” There was a great distance between them, and it was his fault. He could’ve spent time getting to know her, but he hadn’t wanted to hamper her progress or muddy his path. Sometimes, life was what it needed to be. “Okay?”

“Sure.” She didn’t sound sure. “I really don’t want you to die.” She looked down at her knees as she said the words.

His heart took the hit. “I don’t want to die, either. Benny and I are good at our jobs, and we work well together.” The fact that Ben was nuts helped in battle, actually. There wasn’t a door he wouldn’t crash through. “One more thing.” Adare moved to the desk and took out a black photo album he spent too much time looking at when nobody else was around to judge him. Or give him a hard time about it. Some things defied logic.

“What’s that?” she asked.

He moved to sit by her on the bed, and his weight caused her to fall his way. She laughed and planted a hand on his thigh to keep from leaning. Lust, hot and brutal, rushed up his thigh to his groin. He laid the book on her lap and opened the cover. “Your sister sent this to me and sometimes she sends more pictures to update it.”

She frowned at the first photograph. “I took that shot of her when she graduated from medical school. Long before we knew of this weird immortal world.” Grace looked sideways at him. “Why do you have this album?”

He lifted a shoulder and turned the page.

Grace looked down and smiled. “This was last year at Christmas. See how happy she is?”

How was it possible Grace didn’t see her skill? Her enhancement? “Compare the two pictures,” he said quietly.

She pursed her lips and frowned. “Okay.” Then she flipped back and forth, looking at the two pictures. “Well, she’s older in this one, but she looks happy in both.”

“Go deeper, Grace.”

She stiffened. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You know exactly what I mean. Stop hiding from who you are or thinking you’re crazy.” He planted a hand on her thigh. “We like crazy around here. You know how much everyone adores Benny.”

Her laugh was small and unwilling, but then she nodded. “Okay. I see your point, and I can also see the differences in the pictures. My sister looks different with the passage of time.”