Holding Out For A Hero: SEALs, Soldiers, Spies, Cops, FBI Agents and Rangers (152 page)

His wallet revealed he told the truth—about who he was, that is. His military identification card showed he was retired, and a driver’s license in his wallet came from Montana and gave his birthdate as October 31, and that he was thirty-eight years old. A badge showed he was a Federal marshal.

A small photo of a young, beautiful woman with dark hair caught her eye, and she held his wallet out to him. “She’s not your girlfriend?”

He reached across and took the wallet, his face serious. “That’s my mother a very long time ago.”

When he didn’t say another word about it, she decided to let it go. She hadn’t known him long enough to hear all his secrets, and she might never know him that well. She only had a week here. Hardly enough time for a man to reveal all his past, and not enough to show him all hers even if she’d wanted to.

The waitress brought the check, and Griff took money out of his wallet.

“Wait,” Cassie said. “You’re not paying.”

“My treat.”

“Why? You’ve already paid for your lunch.”

“I’m trying to bribe you to hike back to the Point with me tomorrow,” he said with deadpan certainty. “Or maybe meet me at the indoor pool for a swim.”

She shook her head. “I don’t swim.”

He frowned, lines between his brows. “You can’t swim?”

“I
can
, but I choose not to.”

She half expected him to question her on why, and she could see him cogitating on the reason. But instead of asking, he nodded. “Okay. Hiking then?”

A slow smile came over her mouth. “All right. Now I think I’ll finish my shopping.”

“Want company?”

“Sure, but don’t you have anything else better to do? I thought most men hated to shop.”

“I’m not most men.”

No, he wasn’t. At least he wasn’t like most of the men she’d encountered in her life. Her attraction to him beat at her, growing against her will. Heat filled her cheeks as an image of him lying on top of her, thrusting inside her, filled her mind. She dismissed the idea. She couldn’t go that direction. No way.

When they left the restaurant shortly after, she discovered more facets of him. He followed her into a women’s clothing store without flinching. He didn’t pick clothes off the rack and tell her what would look good on her, something her ex would have done. The young female clerk, who couldn’t be more than her mid-twenties, hit on Griff. The girl stood close to him, made flirtatious comments to him, and ignored Cassie. Cassie left the store without buying anything. Before long they’d checked out a tourist store where she bought a navy sweatshirt with a white wolf on the front. Her mind flashed back to that day in Phuket when she’d bought the t-shirt, but she immediately shoved the thought away.

When they departed she glanced to her right and south, back up the hill. Dougray McPhee stood a good hundred yards up the hill, just watching them.

When she didn’t follow him, Griff turned back to her. “What’s up?”

“Dougray’s following us.” A tingle raced up her back, and it wasn’t a good one. “Unless he’s shopping, too, and he’s not really looking down here at us.”

“Oh, yeah. He’s looking at us. Damn. He doesn’t get the message, does he?” He sighed and his arm slipped around her waist. “I have an idea.”

“What?”

Before she could do more than blink, he’d turned her full against his chest. Pressed into hard, hot body, she savored the heat and muscles all along her curves. He tilted her face up with his fingers, gentle and sure.

“Don’t hit me,” he said softly.

She saw the intent in his eyes before his mouth found hers. Instead of balking, she slid her hands up to the solidness of his shoulders and took in his gentle kiss. And yes, it was tender. Perhaps the most tender kiss a man had ever given her. Warm, lingering, not asking for too much intimacy. A mere meeting of lips. She barely had a moment to respond before he pulled away and released her entirely.

Her heartbeat thumped in her chest wildly. “What was that for?”

He glanced back up the hill. “He’s gone. Guess it did the trick.”

Her face still flamed, and her body tingled in places it hadn’t tingled in years.
Whoa.
Her body responded with full force interest, even as her mind rebelled. So what? Just because she didn’t want a relationship didn’t mean her hormones couldn’t react to a man’s embrace.

“You’re right. Creepy dude is gone,” she said with satisfaction and a way to distract herself from her physical interest in Griff.

“If you’re done shopping, I’ll walk you back to the hotel.”

“I don’t need a guardian, Griff. I can take care of myself.”

“Yeah, but I don’t like the guy. Something isn’t right about him. Humor me. I’d feel better if I could walk you back.”

“Are you done shopping for the day?”

“There’s a music shop I want to look in.”

“Then go ahead. I’m beat already. I’ll head back to the hotel.” On impulse she patted her cross-body bag. “I’ve got a personal can of mace in here. And we aren’t attached to at the hip. You can’t be with me everywhere.”

For a moment he looked like he might argue, but then he said, “You’re right. I can’t.” He drew in a deep breath. “Be careful.” She started to walked away, but he said, “Wait. What about that hike?”

“What time?”

“I’ll meet you in the lobby at eight in the morning if that isn’t too early.”

They exchanged cell phone numbers; she put his right into her smartphone, and he tapped her phone number into his.

“Technology,” she said. “Gotta love it.”

“Yeah, how did we survive before cell phones?”

She turned away and headed toward the resort. “See you later.”

As she put steps between her and Griff, she stayed alert to who was around her and shrugged off the creepy feeling that Dougray might be somewhere watching her.

Blackout: Chapter Three

Tuesday

Griff’s cell phone rang at seven a.m as he got out of the shower. He left the bathroom naked and dripping and grabbed the phone when he saw it was his sister calling. Worry punched him. She never called him this early.

“Hey, Diane. What’s up? Everything okay?”

“Hey, big brother, did I get you out of bed?” Her voice was cheerful.

Relief made him swallow hard. He had to stop imagining the bogeyman around every corner when it came to his sister. Even though she was a year older than he was, he’d always felt like the responsible one.

“I was hoping you’d stop by Montana on the way back home,” she said.

“Montana isn’t on the way back home.”

“Aw, come on. We haven’t seen you in forever.”

“Work’s been a bear, and I’m fairly new at this federal marshal stuff. They keep me on a short string.”

Her sigh was colored with a hint of impatience. “Sorry. I know you hate spontaneity.”

“Yeah, well you’re always spontaneous. If you’d invited me before the trip started I could have fit Montana into the picture.”

He glanced at the clock. At this rate he’d be late to go hiking with Cassie.

“How much vacation do you have left?” she asked.

He heard pots and pans clanking in the background. He went back into the bathroom and grabbed his towel. “Until Sunday. Then it’s back to work.”

“Fine.” Resignation and irritation edged her voice.

He didn’t want to argue with her. “How’s Deke?”

“He gets his cast off in a week. He says it itches like crazy and it’s driving him batty.”

He put the phone on speaker and dried off. “Sorry to hear that. I told him—”

“Yeah, yeah. He heard you the first time, Griff. He was wearing the helmet and the knee and elbow pads.”

A muscle in his jaw panged, and he rubbed the tightness away with his fingers. He had to stop clenching his damned jaw when he was irritated. He knew he had a tendency to overprotect anyone the way he had Cassie yesterday when Dougray followed them. Last night he’d awakened in a cold sweat, his heart pounding. He didn’t have the PTSD so many of his comrades did from the war. No, he suffered dreams about his sister and the awful things that had been done to her all those years ago when she was fifteen and Griff only fourteen. For some reason that experience had made grooves in his psyche far more indelible and permanent.

“I get it.” Griff cleared his throat. “Everything else at home good?”

“Everything is wonderful for a change. Pete got a promotion to sergeant.”

Griff smiled, the tension easing a little. “Good deal. Tell him congratulations.”

“Will do.”

His brother-in-law had turned his life around from teenaged thug to upstanding citizen and sheriff’s deputy. Diane’s life, though, always seemed on the edge to Griff. A strong wind was all it would take to blow it over.

“Tell Deke his uncle will show him the right way to skateboard when I do visit.”

“Deke is fifteen, not four,” Diane said, her voice tinged with that slight whine that told him he’d nagged too well. “Things happen. You can’t control everything.”

“Yeah, I get it.”

He loved his sister but she also drove him to the edge of insanity sometimes. “Hey, I’d love to talk longer but I have to be somewhere by eight, and I forgot to set my alarm last night and got up late.”

“That must have screwed with your planning.”

“Yeah.” The word came out with a hint of sarcasm.

“Okay, okay. Don’t have a cow. Call me later?”

“Yeah. I’ll call you tonight.”

They signed off, and in record time he finished dressing. He grabbed a breakfast bar. No time for a more elaborate breakfast. He went into the bathroom and looked at his scruffy jaw. He hadn’t shaved since Saturday, and his beard had gotten bristly as hell. What did he care? He was on vacation. He stared into the mirror at his disreputable appearance and wondered if he’d given Cassie beard burn. Nah, not likely. He’d taken care to kiss her softly so he wouldn’t scare her. When he’d kissed her, he knew Dougray would see them and hopefully get the message. At the same time, Griff had loved kissing Cassie. Damn, she’d tasted good, and he’d wanted to take her back to his room and have a nice long bout of sweaty sex. He knew their relationship wouldn’t go that far, fairly certain Cassie Kovac didn’t engage in nasty, hot sex. She’d responded to his kiss, but just barely. When she’d refused to allow him to walk her back to the resort, he’d been torn between worry and admiration. Curiosity ate at him, though. He guessed she’d probably been hurt in the past by a man, and that chip on her shoulder wouldn’t allow him to get any closer. Which was too bad. He hadn’t had sex in what seemed like forever, and even if he didn’t want a long-term relationship with her, he had a feeling sex between them would feel pretty amazing.

He shrugged. It didn’t matter. He could spend time with a woman and not feel like he needed to protect her or get involved. It was obvious Cassie was doing fine on her own.

With a sigh he took out his shaving kit.

* * *

In the lobby, Penny Cribbs stood behind the reception counter and smiled at Cassie like she had a secret. Penny’s short frame moved quickly for a lady who carried significant weight. Her smile always welcomed, and her voice carried far and wide. Despite the friendliness, Cassie found Penny a bit abrasive at times.

Cassie glanced around the lobby and soaked in the atmosphere. Warmth crackled from the nearby fireplace. Cassie was glad she’d stayed here—the small resort hotel had a lot of amenities in its old Victorian facade. It was three floors, thirty rooms. Not a large resort, but the pool, tennis courts and small spa gave a luxury ambiance to the shabby elegance. Burgundy velvet draped windows allowed in sparkling light. Matching overstuffed Victorian couches and chairs beckoned a body to sit. After she’d had the interesting encounter with Griff in town yesterday, she’d returned to the resort without seeing Dougray. She’d enjoyed time in her room reading, sleeping and watching some useless television. Relaxing felt wonderful.

“Morning, Cassie. Can I help you?” Penny asked.

Cassie crossed to the fireplace and held her hands out to the flame. The lobby was deserted except for the two of them.

“No, it’s fine. I’m waiting for Griff.”

Penny patted her short salt and pepper hair as she leaned on the counter. “Well, well. What are you guys doing today?”

Cassie couldn’t be mad at the woman’s nosiness. “Hiking back to the Point.”

“Aha. Well, do you have a lunch all packed?”

“I don’t think we’ll be up there that late.”

“Are you sketching again?”

“Probably.”

In fact, Cassie hoped to stay up there a good part of the morning so she could draw.

“Now be careful up at the Point,” Penny said. “You never can tell what will happen up there. Don’t ever go alone.”

Cassie blinked. She hadn’t expected the woman to say that.

Before Cassie could speak, Griff came down the stairs. Today he wore a rain jacket over a red flannel shirt, jeans and boots. She’d also worn a sweater and her coat and hat, ready to brave a cold breeze that had formed overnight.

“Ta-ta.” Penny waved goodbye and turned to her computer.

“Hey, good morning,” Griff said. “Ready?”

“Morning. I’m barely awake. Stayed up too late last night. Too much laziness I guess.”

“I didn’t set my alarm and almost woke up too late. Then my sister called…” He shrugged.

They headed out the door and started east on the short road that lead to Main Street. Out of caution she looked around, half certain she’d see Dougray lurking in every corner. There was no sign of Dougray, and the sunny, crisp morning removed apprehension. She’d placed the mace in her backpack, deciding she didn’t plan to go anywhere without it.

As they headed up Main Street and toward the dirt road that would lead to their destination, she threw a look at Griff. His expression showed concentration and a shadow of worry.

“Are you okay? You’re awfully quiet,” she said.

His attention snapped toward her a moment, then turned back to walking. “I’m great.”

“Everything all right with your family? Your sister is fine?”

He didn’t look at her, but a smile touched his mouth. “As fine as she’ll ever be. With her it’s a day-to-day thing.”