Dead Heat (15 page)

“Your turn.” She grinned as Cole nervously placed his first foot on the tree. She had left the tallest stick for him to use, but he was still wobbling quite a bit. He inched his way down the tree and leapt as soon as he could onto the rock.

“Well, that wasn’t too bad.” Cole placed his walking stick next to hers and joined her on the edge of the rock. “This is really cool. I love this little waterfall.”

They both turned upstream when they heard the loud splash. Cole laughed as he watched Chuck lazily swim around before reaching the rocks.

“Duck and cover!” Paige yelled as she turned to protect the picnic basket. It started with a little shake of Chuck’s nose and turned into downpour as Chuck shook all the way to the tip of his tail. He sent water flying and somehow it all landed on Cole.

Paige couldn’t stop laughing. Chuck sat there with his tongue drooping out of his mouth while his tail thumped the rock and Cole dripping wet.

“Oh, you think this is funny do you?” Cole lunged for her and wrapped her in a big hug, getting her just as wet as him. She tossed her head back and laughed louder and Chuck started dancing around them barking.

Paige cleared the plates and tossed the extra food into the woods for the animals. Chuck was off hunting on the far side of the creek and Cole lounged back on his elbows. She untied her shoes and peeled off her socks and stood up.

“Come on. Take off your shoes and socks. I was smart and wore shorts, but you can just roll your jeans up.” She placed her hands on her hips and waited for him to comply.

“Yup. It’s when we go for a walk in the creek. It’s very pretty downstream, especially down around the bend. There’s a place where the silt is replaced by small rocks and creates a beautiful ripple effect as the water flows over it.”

She slid off the rocks and into the cool water. It refreshed her instantly as she wiggled her toes in the soft creek bottom. Cole made a rookie mistake as he jumped in from the rocks instead of sliding in.

“Holy shit! I am stuck.” He looked at her with pleading eyes. She walked over to him and held out her hand.

“Here. Take my hand. Now, move your leg to the left and then the right. Just wiggle it out. This is a silt-bottom creek. It’s really easy to get stuck. If you do, you just wiggle your foot until it pops out.” With a sucking noise, the creek gave up and let go of Cole’s foot.

In less than a minute he was free and getting the feel of walking the creek. He caught up to her and slipped his hand into hers. When she looked up at him, he smiled down at her and let her lead him down the creek.

“Thank you for such a great afternoon and evening,” Paige said as she snapped her seat belt on as Cole loaded a worn out Chuck into the back seat.

“No. Thank you. That sunset was beautiful and dinner on the rocks was amazing.” Cole climbed into the seat and gave her a bone melting smile.

His smile dimmed as he looked at her lips. He cupped her chin with his hand and tilted it up towards his lips. He leaned down and kissed her with a slow burning passion. Paige flung her arms around his neck which threw fuel on the fire. He pulled her over the console and into his lap. His hands found their way under her shirt and cupped her breasts. Paige moaned and pulled back.

“How fast do you think you can get us home?”

Cole helped her back into the seat and winked at her challenge. Dirt flew as he tore out of the field.

Cole brought his mouth to hers the second she got out of the car. He dragged her against him as they stumbled through the front door. As soon as the door was closed and locked, he tugged her shirt over her head as they made their way to the stairs.

By the time they were half way up the stairs, she had his shirt off and they had both kicked off their shoes and socks. By the time they were in her living room, her bra was somewhere on the stairs, next to her panties and his boxer briefs. They had managed to unclothe while touching constantly. His lips on hers or placing kisses down her neck. She moaned as he rolled her nipple between his fingers. Fireworks exploded and suddenly he was pushing her to the ground.

“Keep down!” Cole covered her body with his as glass shattered and gunfire erupted. He leaned over and grabbed the heavy iron table and slid it over to them. He pushed it over, causing her beautiful glass vase to shatter as it fell to the ground. She heard Chuck barking madly over the sound of gunfire from the kitchen.

“Chuck!” She tried to yell, but found her screams muffled in Cole’s bare chest. She felt him whistle and then lunged quickly off of her, grabbing Chuck’s collar and hauling him down behind the table. She didn’t know how long it lasted, but when silence fell it was deafening.

“Stay down,” Cole ordered as he poked his head up and over the table. When no one tried to shoot him he opened the door to the shop and darted through the door. Seconds later, he was back with his jeans and shoes on, carrying his gun.

Tears streamed down Paige’s face as she thought about all she had lost. If they had shot into the downstairs as well, her shop would be destroyed, just like her house. Cole didn’t need to tell her to stay down. She had a death grip on Chuck and tried to prepare herself for what she was going to see. From what she could see, her wall was swiss cheese.

“Well, that killed the mood.” Cole tried to get her to smile as he came out of the hallway with a pair of jeans, some sneakers, and a t-shirt from her bedroom. “You may want to hurry. You know everyone will be here soon. This wasn’t covert. This was an all-out attack.”

“My shop?” She strangled out between the silent sobs racking her body.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. He only hit your apartment.” Cole pulled her in for a hug, but he pushed her back too soon. “Fire and police are already here. I would really like it if no one else saw you naked. I will carry Chuck downstairs so he doesn’t step on any glass. I will hold them off for a minute, but they’ll need to get in here soon.” He kissed her on the forehead and picked Chuck up.

Hmm, no underwear. She slid on her jeans and her shirt without really sitting up. She turned her back to the apartment and laced up her tennis shoes. She stood and took a deep breath before turning around. Tears sprang to her eyes and the breath was knocked out of her. Her apartment was ruined. Her walls were filled with bullets. Anything with glass was shattered. She slowly looked around at her damaged kitchen. When she turned back to the living room, she almost fainted. The table they were hiding behind was completely shot up. The thick slate had prevented them from being killed.

Paige walked down the stairs on wobbly legs. The team of firefighters and deputies made their way past her and into what was left of her apartment. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her shop was not damaged, but it was short lived. The front door was already open and the Rose sisters poured in along with Marshall. At the sight of her brother, she broke into a new set of tears.

“It’s okay, sis.” He wrapped his large arms around her and she gave into the loud body wracking tears she had been trying so hard to hold back. When she looked up, she saw that Cole was gone and that the Rose sisters were already on the phone by the cash register. The church phone tree had been activated.

“Can Chuck stay with you tonight?” She choked out in between sobs.

“Of course. You know Bob will like the company.” Bob was Marshall’s dog and the smartest dog she’d ever met.

“Come on, sweetheart, let’s get you to your parents' house. We’ll spend what’s left of the night there. I have a feeling your parents will feel better if they can see you.” Paige brought her tear-streaked face up from Marshall’s shoulder and looked into Cole’s worried eyes.

“I thought you were supposed to keep my sister safe! Don’t think I don’t know what was going on. My sister has no bra on, you have no shirt on, and there is a pair of boxers and a bra lying on the stairs. You’re supposed to be protecting her, not sleeping with her!” Marshall glared at Cole.

“Marshall! It’s none of your business who I sleep with. Besides, he saved me. Go upstairs. He protected me and Chuck with his own body and he pulled the table down in front of us. Go upstairs, Marshall, and look at that table. Then come down here and apologize.” Paige’s tears dried up as anger took over. Cole had saved her life and had even risked his own life to protect her dog. There was no way she’d ever forget that.

She watched Marshall send one last glare to Cole and head upstairs. “Paige.” It was a plea that she answered to the delight of the Rose sisters looking on. She flung herself into his arms and kissed him with all she had.

“Thank you.”

“I don’t know what I would have done if I lost you.” He kissed her again before they heard Marshall clear his throat.

“I do owe you an apology. Take her to my parents and keep her safe.” Marshall shook Cole’s hand and watched them make their way down the stairs. “And Parker, put on a shirt for crying out loud.” He flashed a quick grin before heading back upstairs.

Cole pulled into the driveway leading to her parents’ house. They hadn’t said anything on the drive over. Cole had just put their luggage in the car, kissed her, and driven off. She wanted nothing more than to hug her family and go to bed.

The house came into view and was lit up bright as day. Her parents stood arm-in-arm on the patio along with Miles, Cade, and Pierce.

“Good think I put on my shirt,” Cole quipped. Paige laughed and felt some of the fear disappear.

Her mother flew down the patio and opened her door as soon as Cole stopped the car. Paige lost herself in the feel of her mom’s comforting embrace while her father made his way down the stairs.

“Marshall called us and told us what happened. It seems I owe you for my daughter’s life.” Her father shook Cole's hand and led him into the house.

“Come on, dear. Let’s get you tucked in.”

Paige followed her mother and felt the tension in the room escalate again. She turned around to see Cole following her. Miles stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder.

“That’s not all Marshall told us when he called.” He looked pointedly at Cole and then at the couch in the living room. “I’ll go get you a pillow.”

Chapter Eleven

Mo’s private plane started its descent over New York City. Kenna and Will were still asleep in the bedroom. Cole was on the phone organizing security. Paige had gotten a text message from Cy saying he was already at the airport with the attorney and a bunch of Marshals.

“Can you go wake up Kenna and Will and tell them they have fifteen minutes?” Cole asked as he covered the phone with his hand.

“Sure.” She tore her eyes away from the sun rising over the skyline and headed to the back of the plane.

Will answered the door after she knocked and she found that they were already dressed. “We’ll be out in just a minute. It’s really good you’re here, Paige.” He kissed her cheek quickly before closing the door.

“Sweetheart, can I have minute?” Cole hung up his phone and patted the seat next to him on the couch.

“Sure, what is it?”

“Let me know if anything feels off. If you have bad vibes from anyone, then let me know. If I am not around, shut off the GPS on your phone, take your brother, and disappear in Chinatown. Okay?”

“Do you really think something will happen?”

“No. But I want plans in place just in case something does go wrong.” Cole pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. “Just be careful. I will hate not being by your side all day.”

“Lets it put it this way, he makes Miles seem like a compliant kitten.” She laughed at Cole’s expression and kissed him as the plane landed on the private runway.

“So, are we going to do this thing or what?” Kenna walked out of the bedroom dressed in her best courtroom attire: tailored black suit, white silk shell, and black pumps. Her auburn hair was tied up in a French twist and her black sling was hardly noticeable against the dark suit .

“Let’s do this.” Cole stood up and slipped on his suit coat. Ahmed approached from the cockpit and opened the door.

“Here’s how it’s going to work. I will go out first. I will talk with the people on the ground and make sure everything checks out. Only then will I come back and get you. If I am not back in five minutes, then the pilot will take off. I will stick with Kenna all day as Miles has sworn Cy will be able to stick with Paige. Everyone clear?” When he heard the chorus of agreements, he pushed the door back and headed down the stairs.

“Okay, we’re clear.” Three minutes later Ahmed lead Will and Kenna down the stairs. Cole slipped her hand in his and smiled down at her as they made their way down the stairs. Cole jerked to a halt at the bottom of the stairs.

“Crap. He is scary.” Paige followed Cole’s eyes and smiled when she saw her brother. Though he was the same height as Cole, Cy had at least thirty pounds of muscle on him. What made him scary was the way his hazel eyes could bore through a person. Paige dropped Cole’s hand and ran to her brother.

“Cy!” She leapt into his open arms and he spun her around.

“Hey Sis.”

“It’s so good to see you again. It’s been months!” She hugged him tight and squeezed with all her might. Cy was just two years older than her, making him the closest brother in age.

“It seems a lot has happened in the months I have been away. I guess I will need to come home more often.” He was shooting icicles at Cole as he walked forward. She had to give Cole points. He kept his strides even and maintained eye contact with Cy the whole way.