Dream Shadow (4 page)

She considered the sheriff’s-department uniform that was sticking to his chest. The wet material revealed tight ridges of muscle that she remembered lying across her body. Her breasts lifted again as she turned around before his eyes dropped to her nipples once more. An ache returned to her belly as she forced her remaining energy into recalling the tan uniform.

The man was a civilian. So she would never see him again.

With a shoulder propped against the bathroom doorway, Jacobs watched as Grace lost her fight to remain conscious. Her eyes were sliding closed now, but she hadn’t even been aware of her surroundings for the last ten minutes.

He was amazed that she’d managed the task of showering.

Her respiration became increasingly shallow, recalling Jacobs to the reason he was sharing her room. Moving forward, he efficiently attached a cardiac monitor to her unconscious form. Her flesh was icy cold. He pulled the blankets off the second bed and tucked them up to her chin before flipping the heater in the room onto its highest setting.

Considering the information displayed on the screen, Jacobs slowly nodded approval. The unit had a shrill alarm that would alert him if her heart stopped. It was an assurance he needed tonight.

He had been ignoring certain facts lately. Her solo mission was just another link in a chain. Depression caught up with the strongest of men. In a Ranger, it could nose dive into suicide.

He just hadn’t wanted to see that Grace was so far gone as to leave her unit behind. That wasn’t a mistake. Grace simply didn’t care.

Well, he was going to have to find a way to change that. Death wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened. A true psychic was worth a fortune on the world market. Especially one with Grace’s success rate.

The woman was a bloodhound. She had been just sixteen the first time he witnessed her track someone down using nothing more than a wedding ring. Watching her wield that skill never ceased to amaze him. When given enough personal property, she never failed.

Jacobs shifted himself away from the bed and headed for the shower. He’d been wrong about how deeply she was into her depression.

His commanding officer kept a lot of pressure on them to stick to military matters. But even Colonel Turvel had suggested that taking the Heeley case would be a good change of scenery. After all, finding a kid could put a grin on the most hardened of faces.

Jacobs had known Paige Heeley wouldn’t be enough, but it was a place to start.

“Another night behind bars?” Sergeant Jenson asked mockingly from the cell-block desk.

“Your concern for my moral decline is heartwarming.”

Sergeant Jenson sent his boss a mock salute in response. Brice simply grinned on his way out of the holding area. He was spending far too many nights on the cot in this holding cell. During the Heeley case, it had almost become his bedroom. Well, he’d make it home tonight. The thought of his own bed brought a full smile to his face.

That smile deepened into something more predatory as he considered his prime objective for the day.

Someone had abducted one of his citizens. Brice had a holding cell picked out for the guilty party. There was no way he intended to allow another family to become the target of this monster. Especially when the means to tracking the criminal down sat twelve miles down the road.

If that woman could find Paige, maybe she could use her methods to find the abductor.

Beyond that, Brice was curious to see if that female was any less abrasive by the light of day. She’d bared her claws quite freely last night. That idea brought a slow smile of appreciation to his face.

Her rejection stirred something inside him. Brice let his memory recall exactly how she’d felt under him. It had been pure pleasure to feel her nipples against his chest. It would have been better to taste them. Pull them into his mouth and lick them until she wrapped those strong legs around him in surrender.

Pulling into the motel parking lot, Brice released the fantasy. The first order of capturing her would be to keep her in Benton County.

Which was pretty much impossible, but he liked a good challenge.

His sarcasm caught him off-guard. Like a lot of things about Grace. Maybe he was just enchanted by the idea of the impossible. In which case, he was being an ass.

But he just couldn’t shake the impulse to poke at the situation. No matter the reason, his gut told him to not shake Jacobs’s hand and be done with it.

Listening to his gut had proved damn fortunate a time or two in the past.

Today the sentries had withdrawn to more concealed locations. Slowly making his way down the hallway, Brice waited for any command to stop. When it didn’t come he simply raised his hand to knock on the door of the room. Jacobs opened it a half second later. With the door open a wave of heat made its escape.

“Didn’t expect to see you so soon,” Jacobs commented.

“Or at all?” Brice questioned.

Both windows that the room offered had their curtains tightly closed against the light of day. While the remains of the storm were keeping the temperature low, that didn’t account for the level of heat that was present in the room. Brice peeled his jacket off the second he stepped inside. Scanning the room for Grace, he almost missed her. What looked like a rumpled bed was her body covered with the bedclothes from both of the room’s beds.

“Exactly.” Jacobs spoke bluntly. “You were told the details of how we operate.”

“She’s still sleeping?” Brice looked at his watch.

“It takes a lot out of her.”

The extra blankets told Brice her efforts had shoved her body into shock. Tackling her in a rain-soaked parking lot certainly hadn’t helped.

“I need to talk to her, ask her some questions.” Brice kept his voice low.

Jacobs slowly folded his arms across his chest. “Being family got you through the front door. Permission to question my operative will take more friends than you have. Like you were told, no questions.”

The unyielding manner the major adopted was unmistakable. Brice considered his options. If he gave up now, he would have to be content with Paige’s return.

And Grace’s departure.

“So why are you still standing in my county?” he asked. “Avoiding a question is a lot easier when you aren’t on civilian ground.”

“There didn’t appear to be a reason to worry about spending another forty-eight hours here. Maybe that was a bad judgment call.”

Brice considered the territorial stance the man was displaying before his eyes moved to the source of their dilemma. Locked up inside the unconscious woman was a skill that could give him the edge against a creep that preyed on children.

“I have a child abductor running around my county. It would be rather helpful to have an idea of just where to begin the search, Major. That may not be the concern of your superiors, but it sure as hell is mine.”

Jacobs stared at him for a long moment.

“Fine, Captain, retired, but Captain nonetheless. Give her ten more hours. But I’m not going to make it an order that she answer you. Our job ends when the target is recovered.” Jacobs aimed a pointed stare at him. “I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Grace can be very selective about who she talks to.”

“I think she rather likes me.” Brice considered the way her nipples had stabbed into his chest. It was the most basic form of communication. Personalities aside, they were attracted to each other.

A low laugh rolled out of the major’s chest again. “I’ll be sure to notify your next of kin. Crowd her and you’ll get the bad end of the deal. Don’t ask me how I know that.”

Brice turned to leave but stood in the doorway a moment. He looked back at the bed. As much as he wanted to continue this case the physical toll this woman was clearly paying disturbed him. Brice didn’t know how he was going to do it, but he had to settle this debt.

“I owe you one.” Brice handed Jacobs a business card. “Call me if you need any help with her.”

Jacobs sobered the second the door shut behind the sheriff. If he were smart, he’d pack up and be gone before Brice Campbell noticed. His commanding officer liked to keep Grace under tight wraps. It was an opinion that he shared to a good extent. The fewer people that knew about Grace, the safer it would be for her. Stepping outside the room, Jacobs let the morning air chase the heat from his body.

The surrounding forest provided an opportunity that his unit could benefit from. They had been shut up on base now for a few weeks. A few days in the mountains would trim the fat. While the base could provide all the physical training that his men needed, there was just no substitution for being in the field. There was an edge of uncertainty that nature could provide. The skills a man learned from that could mean the difference between life and death.

Brice’s encounter with Grace was weighing on his mind. Physical contact was never something Grace tolerated well, but now she was avoiding it to the point of violence.

Brice seemed eager for another round with her. It might be interesting to see just what Grace would do when faced with the man’s questions.

His mother was going to tear a strip off his back for thinking that way, but Grace didn’t fit into any of the molds his mother had raised him to cast females into. She didn’t like flirting, didn’t care for passes and lately wasn’t caring much about watching her back either. She was closing everything off, shutting the world out, and that was where he had to step in.

Maybe she just needed a break.

Jacobs pulled his mobile phone from his shirt pocket and punched in a line of code to see if his commanding officer objected to his decision. Colonel Turvel must have been at his desk, because a reply was almost instant.

Nodding his head with satisfaction, Jacobs replaced the phone. Maybe taking Grace off into the mountains would shake loose whatever it was that had prompted her to expose herself during this assignment. If not, he might have to get creative.

“You don’t follow orders very well.”

“The kid was just going to the pot. I didn’t think she needed an escort.”

“I’m not paying you to think.” Disgusted with the pathetic excuse of a man that stood in front of him, he gave a wave of his hand to get the man to vacate the cabin. He had more important things to do. His mission objective had not been reached. Another trap would have to be laid.

Two single shots pierced the air, causing him to nod approval. No loose ends.

Failure was not an option.

Chapter Three

Opening her eyes, Grace looked around. She slowly drew in a deep breath and released it. She felt wonderful. Her muscles were relaxed and her head was clear of every cloud.

She held herself perfectly still. Not knowing the exact details of her current location made it vital to investigate her surroundings before making any sudden movements. If startled, Army Rangers tended to wake up mean. The men of her unit slept with their guns more often than their girlfriends. A frown wrinkled her forehead. Jacobs lay stretched out on the opposite bed facing her. One hand was stuffed beneath his pillow and the slightest edge of his pistol peeked out from beneath the white cotton pillowcase.

Moving her attention back to the window, she caught the slightest tinges of light. She was itching to get out and explore the forest before Jacobs’s commanding officer found some other assignment to ship her off to. Thinking of Colonel Turvel was a mistake. It soured her mood, opening the door to the depression that had been stalking her for the last few months. Oh, she knew it was depression. She just wasn’t inclined to do anything about it.

Considering Jacobs once more, Grace eased her body over the opposite side of the bed. Jacobs slept lighter than anyone she knew and sneaking past him was a favorite challenge.

Today her reward for evading him would be the morning sunrise. It wasn’t anything personal, but Jacobs provided the best possible candidate for this type of training exercise. Besides, the four walls of the motel room were far too dingy to endure when a sunrise waited.

Pulling the door open was painfully slow. The air that came rushing in was fresh, making her eager to slip out of the room. But a dry hinge could end her game with a tiny squeak. Patience paid off as Grace slipped through the door and onto the sidewalk.

The morning air was wonderfully crisp. Grace let a smile cross her face as she stepped away from the building. The very first rays of light were reaching up on the horizon. The motel looked out on miles of untamed forest and the dawn was slowly bringing the trees to life.

Grace forced herself to stop. She itched to move beyond the concrete sidewalk but that would bring company intruding on her sunrise. Having evaded Jacobs’s unit so very recently, there was no way those same men would again make the mistake of not watching her every step. Not for some time to come anyway.

She wanted to enjoy Benton’s forest. Exactly why she hadn’t woken up secured on base didn’t matter. The fresh air that surrounded her did.

A slight movement caught her eye as Clark changed positions. He was doing it on purpose, making sure she knew he had her in sight. She had to expect the men to be pissed at her but that still didn’t make her sorry.