Dodge the Bullet (29 page)

And through it all was the need for him, so
unmistakably a part of her now. The more he brought her into his
life, showed sides of himself she hadn’t seen before, the more she
wanted to know. He intrigued her, challenged her and excited her in
a way she hadn’t thought possible after Todd. And yet it all felt
so new and different.

They hadn’t spoken all day. Cell coverage
through the mountains was spotty at best and Sarah was anxious to
learn if there’d been any discoveries made, either at the ranch or
through contact with Kimberly. They needed to formulate a plan for
the coming night. Her eyes searched the barn and house for Dodge or
Miguel. Seeing no one, she preceded to the cabin.

After a quick shower, she heated up a bowl
of canned soup and had reached for the phone when she heard the
sound of an approaching vehicle. A quick glance out the side window
confirmed it was Dodge. She made her way to the door to meet him.
He looked tired. He’d obviously showered and caught maybe a small
nap, but his gait was slower than normal and his eyes looked
heavy.

“God, I love that robe.” He flashed a grin
she felt all the way to her toes and planted a loud kiss on her
lips. “Did the boys get off okay?”

Sarah closed the door behind him and
followed him inside the cabin. “Yes. What’s in the bag?” She moved
to the bar where he’d placed a brown paper sack.

“Night vision goggles,” he answered while
rifling through the refrigerator. “What’s that smell?”

“Night vision goggles?”

“No, the food smell. I’m starved.”

Sarah moved into the kitchen, nudged Dodge
away from the microwave and placed the steaming bowl on the
counter. “Chicken noodle. You can have it, I have more. I’ll even
make you a sandwich to go with it if you explain about the
goggles.”

“You sure?”

“Eat and explain.”

Dodge sat at the bar, slurping the hot soup
while he talked. “A high school buddy’s ex-military. Why he still
has these, I don’t know. But I’m glad he did. They should make
things a lot easier tonight.”

Sarah placed thick slices of ham and roast
beef on bread she’d spread with mayonnaise. “What’s the plan for
tonight?”

He dropped the spoon heavily in the empty
bowl and reached for the plate Sarah handed him. “The plan, right
now, is for you to let me have a look at what you’ve got on under
that robe.”

###

Sarah laughed. “Well, you’re mood has
certainly improved since I left this morning.”

His mood had improved. He looked longingly
at the woman who had a lot to do with his moods. After she’d left
with Mary Beth, his head felt full of doubts about introducing her
to his sister and opening another door of his life. He wasn’t all
together sure how he felt about his family and it seemed to muddy
the water a bit to push Sarah into the mix. But there’d been no
other choice.

Once the weirdness of the situation had
passed, he felt damn grateful his sister was willing to drop
everything and escort Sarah to Denver for the day, especially
considering he'd been unwilling to define their relationship. He’d
chosen to ignore the bond of family life during the years he was
gone. Who else would drop everything when you needed them? Family.
It felt good to know that after everything that had happened in the
past they were there for him now.

When he thought about what Sarah had said
earlier, that Burwick was too smart to do something to harm her, he
knew she was right. And when her safety was no longer on the front
burner of his concern, a giant weight lifted off his shoulders.
Property, he could defend without emotions getting in the way.
Sarah, no way. Now that Kevin and Lyle were safely tucked away
across the country, defending the property seemed more like a boy
scouts adventure than anything. Wouldn’t it be just desserts to
catch Burwick’s henchman red-handed and watch the mighty senator
fall?

“You could say that.” He waived her over
from around the bar. He loved to watch her move, watch the gleam in
her eye when she realized the power she held over him, watch her
enjoy the dance of seduction. She wore every emotion on her face,
and right now her face showed desire, plain and simple. Dodge
braced his hands on her hips and pulled her between his legs, let
his hands wander her backside. “Ummm, nothing under here that I can
tell. Only one way to be sure.”

Dodge let the thin fabric drift down her
shoulders. He fisted the thin material and used it to hold her in
place while his eyes feasted on the wonder of her body. She was
narrow from shoulder to hip to toe. He gazed at the fluttering
pulse in her neck, the slow rise of her chest and the slim tapering
of her waist. Her skin shimmered in the afternoon light. She was
his for the taking. He itched to touch her, taste her, take her,
but first he needed to see her and try to figure out why she'd led
him to break every rule he’d ever made about getting involved with
a woman. When he lifted his eyes to hers he saw her need and a
flash of caution in her deep emerald pools. He moved to take her
mouth with his own.

###

It was the first time he’d sought her out,
drawn her toward the heat that bound them together. Sarah felt her
stomach quiver as his fingertips brushed her skin, taunting her
with his slow deliberate movements. He pulled the robe apart bit by
bit. She watched approvingly as his lids dropped to half mast as he
stared, felt the tight pull and loose give of her body under his
scrutiny. Gone was her apprehension about being exposed to him, her
questions about his past and their future. Her mind snapped shut
like a vault.

“A.J.” Sarah whispered his name, let her
eyes flicker closed. Her robe fell at her feet and when she
expected to feel him move into her she felt nothing but air. She
opened her eyes.

“What did you just say?” They were
centimeters apart and yet she felt him step back from her as if
he’d moved physically.

“I said your name.”

“Hummm.” He straightened, added real
distance.

“The man at the hardware store calls you
Dodge. Tommy and Miguel call you Dodge. My sons call you
Dodge.”

“It doesn’t feel right coming from you.”

She picked up his hand and guided his
fingers to her breast. “Touch me, A.J.”

He stared in stony silence, his mouth set in
a stubborn line, but his hands began to knead. She arched into his
palm, and let out a shallow moan when he pinched. She moved into
him and nipped his bottom lip with her teeth. “Kiss me, A.J.”

“Sarah…” His voice was tight with
aggravation.

She forced his hand down with both of hers,
felt her need lick his fingers as she moved into it. “Make love to
me, A.J.”

“No one but family calls me A.J. Why are you
doing this?”

She shuddered when his hand began a rhythm
of its own. “I want to be someone different, someone special.”

He reached for her hands as they tugged at
his zipper, held them together between his, and stared intently
into her eyes. “You are different. You are special.”

She pulled hands free and clasped them
around his neck. “Only in private, just between us.” And when he
scowled, she said, “I’m not your high school football coach, Andrew
Jackson. Let me in, A.J. Please?”

He sighed. Irritation simmered just beneath
the lust. “There’s a price to pay, Sarah. A big one.”

“Name it.”

“You. Wherever I want, whenever I want.”

“How about right here, right now?” She
lifted his shirt over his head, felt the tickle of his chest hair
against her skin and let out a gasp when he lifted her onto the
counter and plunged. He was rough and insistent, her price for
getting too close. She knew she'd spooked him. She relished his
loss of control and the urgency of their joining. He couldn’t
command her with words so he’d punish her with his body. But his
punishment was the sweetest torture she'd ever known. She came
without warning, a violent twisting pinpoint of pleasure, a
monumental ascent and a leisurely slide back to earth. And still he
plundered. When she opened her eyes and found him staring at her,
his eyes almost black, she understood what she’d cost him. She
reached her hands up to stroke his face. He let himself go.

He pulled up, braced his weight on his
elbows and studied her face. “Do you always get what you want?”

“No.” Far from it. And she couldn’t remember
wanting anyone quite this much.

###

The black Towncar sped down the two-lane
highway like a bullet, slowing only to pass the occasional tractor
that meandered onto the road. With every passing mile, Benji’s
agitation grew and he feared Kimberly had noticed. She kept
watching him with curious eyes as be blotted his sweat-soaked brow
and methodically checked the time on his watch. Evening was fast
approaching, swaddling the horizon in the golden fingers of dusk.
The sky had opened up the night before, and rainwater choked the
usually dry ditches. Even the sage brush acres of barren land held
the freshly washed sheen of a shower.

He’d pinned all his hopes on last night
being the end. He was supposed be able to relax today with Saxton
off his back and guilt off his conscience. The rain had ruined
everything. With a clear forecast the plans were back on for that
night. The only thing that had changed was his alibi; he and his
staff would be on a late night flight back D.C. He only hoped the
cramped interior of the plane didn’t suck the air from his chest
like the backseat of his car did now.

“Senator, is everything ok?” Kimberly asked
from beside him, her brow furrowed in concern.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine. Just organizing my
thoughts for the meeting.” He reached for his leather bound
notebook with hands that were far from steady.

###

Kimberly turned her head to the window to
hide her amusement at the sight of Benji wound tighter than drum.
She’d talked to Tommy earlier and told him of their plans for the
day and night. They both assumed things would proceed later that
evening. Despite her worry, she couldn’t help enjoy watching Benji
struggle with the fear that he’d get caught. She hoped deep down in
the pit of her stomach that a little part of his nervousness came
from guilt, but after nearly eighteen months of daily contact, she
couldn't be sure.

She knew Benji had planned something bad.
She’d watched him excuse himself from one meeting after another
with his cell phone clutched tightly in his fist. She'd never seen
him so jittery. She’d even gone so far as to call her brother Roger
to ask him if he’d heard anybody bragging about doing some work for
the senator. He hadn’t heard a thing. All she could do was wait
like the rest of them and hope to be around to watch Benji
implode.

Her job was over, as far as she was
concerned. She couldn’t work for a man who’d endanger a woman and
her children for the almighty dollar. If she seemed a little joyful
in watching him sweat it out the last few hours before his demise,
well, so be it.

Dodge positioned his truck near the back entrance, tucked safely
out of sight between some trees and a few carefully placed hay
bales. The night vision goggles afforded him a hell of a lot better
scope than the night before. Miguel had staked out the front,
hiding inside the enclosed tractor between the barn and the
caretaker’s house. He had a bird’s eye view of the main gate. Two
of Miguel’s cousins were stationed along a stretch of fence Dodge
determined the most likely spot for someone to try and slip through
undetected. Apparently the two needed money more than sleep. Dodge
hoped the showdown happened soon before he lost any more money
paying his help to stay up all night.

He’d insisted Sarah stay behind in the cabin
and for once she’d listened, but not without arguing and pouting.
He reminded her that the only reason he’d let her stay in town was
because she’d convinced him she wasn’t the target. She’d reminded
him that he hadn't let her do anything and then tried to talk him
out of being in the field alone. He’d held firm.

The thought of their argument brought a
smile to his lips. Fighting with her was almost as much fun as
making love to her. Almost. The woman was a firecracker, and a
tricky one at that. She’d talked him up one side and down the
other, pacing and flailing her arms like a teacher in a lecture
hall. She was like a tornado once she got started. With all her
energy focused on an issue, no wonder she got what she wanted most
of the time. Many people, he suspected, weren’t strong enough to
stand up to that kind of intimidation.

Just past three a.m. when he’d tucked
himself next to a tree trunk to relieve his aching bladder, he
heard the slow crunch of gravel under tires. He reached for his gun
and strapped the goggles to his face. Burrowed deep in the high
grass, he caught his first glimpse of a car approaching with its
lights off. With gun in hand, he tried to control his quickening
breath.

The car stopped close to the gate. A man in
a hooded jacket got out of the car, but kept the engine running.
With deliberate movements, he opened the back door of the vehicle,
extricated large wire cutters, and made easy work of the chain that
held the gate in place. After tossing the cutters in the backseat,
he closed the door without a sound. Dodge noted with disgust and an
increasing sense of unease that the man's gloves would make it
impossible to trace his fingerprints.

The whole operation reeked of a professional
job and quickly dispelled Dodge's hope that an ill-prepared local
would stumble into their trap. He needed to warn Miguel and the
others, but couldn’t risk using the phone. He stayed put and
watched the car creep slowly along the road, a sliver of moon to
guide the way. When the car was safely around the bend and heading
toward the barn, Dodge moved to his truck and reached for the
phone.