She smiled. “If you have trouble, it’s the numbers that spell out…librarian.”
* * *
Jenna worked well into the night—Mark heard her clacking away on her computer from his place on the couch. But his time in the military had taught him to sleep whenever and however he could. He dozed off to the sound.
When he woke just after dawn, she’d gone to bed. Hoping what she’d said about inside being safe from all her booby traps was true, he got up, folded the blanket, and padded toward the kitchen to make himself some coffee.
Then he decided to have a look around. It didn’t take him long to realize the unassuming appearance of the house on the outside was the exact opposite of what Jenna’s house actually was on the inside.
For one, it was much larger than it appeared from outside. Whoever had designed this for her had cleverly utilized the hill the house sat on and had built into that slope. That made the inside square footage of the home more than double what it looked like from the exterior.
And she’d used most of that extra square footage for a gym and sparring area.
He worked on a daily basis with men and women who kept in top physical form—a requirement for a company like Zodiac. Jenna’s gym would give some of their workout places a run for their money.
Strength equipment, free weights, and all sorts of sparring paraphernalia—which would explain the bruises on her knuckles at the Eagle’s Nest. Evidently, she took her workouts and martial arts training very seriously.
How had he not known that about her? Not that Jenna shared much about herself with anyone. But this was another piece of her puzzle.
He finished his exploring, staying out of the room with the closed door that he assumed was her bedroom, then changed into workout clothes and headed back to her gym.
Today was a good day for his body. No muscle weakness or cramps in his legs or arms. He did a few rounds of weights then used her dummies for sparring.
By the time he was finished, he was covered in sweat and found Jenna watching from the doorway.
“You didn’t get much sleep.” He grabbed a small towel from the folded pile in the corner and wiped sweat off his face.
She had her own coffee cup in hand. “I’m not a big sleeper. Never really have been, then after my captivity, sleep got even harder.”
There had been times like that for him also. His years in the Special Forces had given him enough fodder for more than one nightmare.
“I hope you don’t mind me making use of this great space.”
She smiled, a genuine one that almost took his breath away. “Not at all. I spend a crap-ton of time down here.”
“The architectural design of this house is impressive. I’m sure you know that from the outside, it looks much smaller than it really is.”
“Yeah, that was deliberate.”
“Did you design it?”
“No way. That sort of design is not in my wheelhouse. But I definitely love this space.”
“Your designer did a good job. It’s very clever.”
Her smile got bigger. “I’ll have to show you the safe room and weapon storage spaces she added. Not to mention the materials that were used to do the upgrades. Looks like regular house stuff but is much stronger—bullet- and explosives-proof in a lot of places.”
She was relaxed here because she felt safe. He liked to see it on her.
“A lot of people wouldn’t have realized the difference between the outside and inside. Are you into architecture?” she asked.
“Yeah. Actually, I got a lot of training in civil and architectural engineering when I was in the military. So I definitely appreciate good and clever design when I see it.”
Jenna’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Really? An engineer?”
“Yep. I know it doesn’t exactly match up with most people’s views about me, or probably any former Special Forces soldier.”
“No,” she said. “It wouldn’t have been what I expected.”