A Matter Of Justice (Grey Justice #4)(29)

“It’s just not something she talks about ever, to anyone.”

“You think she told me for a specific reason?”

That was his biggest concern. Irelyn never said anything without a purpose. And for her to bring up the most painful moment in her life? Grey could think of only one reason, and it chilled him to the bone. Whatever she was setting in motion with this newest “job” of hers, she wasn’t sure she would come out of it alive.





Chapter Eleven





Paris, France





Dressed in ripped jeans, black T-shirt, and black leather jacket, Grey blended in with the rest of the early afternoon crowd. The gray skies and icy-cold temperatures reflected his somber mood. He wasn’t here for a pleasure trip. He was here to hunt down the elusive Irelyn Raine.

He knew Paris well. He and Irelyn had lived here for several years before moving to America. Since both of them spoke fluent French, the transition had been an easy one. Grey had been able to earn enough money to keep them relatively well fed. Irelyn had stayed at their apartment most days. She had finally stopped running away from him by then, but her reversal had been almost as bad as her fleeing. She had become so dependent on him, terrified that he would leave her alone. Looking back on that time now, it was almost impossible to equate the fragile, terrified young girl that Irelyn had once been with the incredibly strong and self-confident woman she was today.

He still remembered Irelyn’s first show of independence. It’d almost gotten both of them killed. They’d been running low on funds, and Irelyn, behind his back, had tried to earn money the only way she knew how. She had tried to con a guy out of a couple thousand euros. The man had realized her game and had almost killed her. Grey had arrived in time to save her, but it hadn’t been easy. They’d both been battered but had managed to escape. The man, they’d learned later, was some local thug’s muscle. Irelyn had chosen her target poorly.

Showing just how much grit and determination she had left inside her, she hadn’t let that stop her from trying again. She had learned a valuable lesson when it came to picking the right target. Since Hill Reed had always chosen her target for her, she’d had little experience in discerning who would fall for her act and who would see through her. It wasn’t the most ethical way to earn a living, but at that time, survival had been their most important goal.

Grey had fond memories of those days. Times had been tough, but they’d been fighting for a better future for both of them. Irelyn had eventually gotten a position as a shopkeeper’s assistant and stopped her con games. Grey had worked two jobs and, in between those, studied his ass off to find a way to make more money.

By the time they’d left Paris, both he and Irelyn had been much more mature. They’d both been in their twenties by then and had seen so much of life, experiencing things most people never would in a lifetime. Their relationship had morphed from a wary dependency to full-fledged partnership. Shared goals and thirst for a better, more meaningful life had created an unbreakable bond. They’d found what they’d been looking for in America.

Leaving Europe had been the best thing for both of them. Getting as far away from their dark pasts as possible was the only way either of them would have survived.

“Pardon me, sir. Do you have the time of day?”

The man standing beside him was tall and lean, with a head full of silver hair and a twinkle in his golden eyes.

“Andre. Good to see you.”

“And you. You look well. Except for that dangerous glint in your eyes.”

“The glint is not for you, old friend.”

“Ah yes, the lovely Irelyn has gone off the straight and narrow once again.”

“No. Those days are long over. I’m concerned for another reason.”

“Revenge, then?”

“Possibly.”

“Why now?”

“That’s something I don’t know. I had hoped you’d heard something.”

“Only that she’s been trying to get back into the game. Odd way of doing so, as she’s made herself a target. But our girl was ever the unpredictable one.”

“No truer words. Any idea where she is?”

“Not a clue.”

“I believe she’s here, in Paris.”

“If she is, she’s keeping a lower profile than normal. I can ask around.”

No. She would hear and be gone in a flash. She didn’t want to be found, but he was determined to do just that and find out just what the hell she was up to.

“That’s all right. I have a few more places to check.”

“Irelyn has never been easy, has she?”

He smiled at the idea of anything with Irelyn being easy. “Never.”

“But worth it?”

“Most definitely.”

Andre held out his hand. “It was good to see you, my friend. If I hear anything, I will alert you in the usual method.”

Grey nodded. “Merci, mon ami.”

In a way Grey had always admired, Andre disappeared into the crowd as if made of smoke. A magician by trade and thief by choice, Andre had learned to trick the eye at an early age. Andre was one of the first people Grey had met when they had first arrived in Paris. He was also one of the few from his old life who had never betrayed him.