Crime & Punishment 3: Theirs to Share (3 page)

“How long will we be in protective custody?” Steve asked.

Cheyenne looked over at her friend. Steve had hardly said three words to her since coming out of surgery. He was angry, and, truthfully, maybe he should be. She’d run off, determined to help someone, and look where they’d ended up. Almost dead themselves. They still could be. If nothing else, their careers were probably dead.

They would have to start over, unable to use any references or work history from their past. And what about their degrees? How would all this work?

“Until it goes to trial, which shouldn’t be long,” Parker replied. “The FBI is tracking the mob down now.”

“What if they go into hiding?” Cheyenne asked.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Grayson replied. “In the meantime, we’ll run on the assumption things will happen quickly.”

Steve didn’t say anything, but Cheyenne didn’t miss the way the muscles in his cheek jerked. He was pissed. Regret tightened her stomach. She was going to lose him over this, and that would break her heart.

“Cheyenne,” Grayson began, “you will go with Parker and me. Steve will go with Agents Borell and Sneed.”

Her gaze moved quickly back to Grayson. “We’re not staying together?”

“Absolutely not. We can’t risk it. It’s better to keep you separated. That way, if one of you is found, the other is still safe.”

“That’s comforting,” Steve snarled.

“Steve—”

“Drop it, Cheyenne,” Steve snapped.

Her lips tightened. She took a deep breath and stood, staring down at her friend. He wouldn’t look at her. Putting her hands on her hips, she snapped, “Is this how it’s going to be? You’re not even going to look at me? How many times do I have to say I’m sorry?”

Steve continued to stare at the wall over her shoulder. Tears gathered in her eyes, and hurt tore at her chest like a claw hammer. They’d been through so much. Angry with each other even, but never like this.

Grayson walked up and put his hand on her shoulder. “We need to get going,” he murmured.

“What about clothes? Personal stuff?” she asked.

“We’ll take care of that. You can’t go back home. Not now.”

Cheyenne sighed as a single tear slipped from the corner of her eye. She wiped it away in frustration and gave Steve one more look. “I love you, Steve. I hope you can forgive me.”

Steven swallowed, but his gaze never met hers.

Biting her lip to keep from crying, she left the hospital room and rushed down the hall to the roof access and the helicopter that waited for them. She studied every male who passed, looking for the faces of the mob she was sure would haunt her dreams. Even walking between Grayson and Parker didn’t make her feel any safer. Would she ever feel safe again?

They climbed into the helicopter: she and Parker in the back, Grayson and the pilot up front. Grayson turned in his seat and handed her a headset. She put it on, her lip quivering in sadness and hurt. “He’ll forgive you,” Grayson said through the headset.

Cheyenne shook her head and set the mic in front of her mouth. “Not if he loses everything he’s worked so hard for.”

“Neither of you will lose that,” Parker said from beside her as he adjusted his seatbelt. “Once this is all over, even if you need new identities, you’ll still have your careers. The agency will make sure you have everything you need to start over.”

“Make sure they tell him that,” she said.

Grayson smiled slightly and nodded. He turned back around in his seat to face the front and signaled the pilot they were ready.

Things had happened so fast, Cheyenne hadn’t had much time to really process everything. What about her patients? She would need to get notes to the doctors who would take over for her. Maybe one of the agents could get a message out so she wouldn’t have to contact them directly. Some of her patients, especially the nervous ones she’d been working with for a while, would be upset that she was gone. That she wasn’t there to hold their hands as they went under like she’d promised.

Open-heart surgery was scary, and some patients spent weeks working themselves up to being able to do it. If she wasn’t there, would they back out? Would they die because of her?

Another tear slipped free, and she choked back a sob. Parker curled his arm around her shoulders, offering support. “Women say I have a very comfortable shoulder to cry on.”

His voice came through her headset like a beacon of light and reassurance. She glanced over at him and his broad chest. She bet he did have a very comfortable shoulder. She snorted slightly at his attempt to make her smile, but the understanding in his eyes forced the dam to burst.

With a loud hiccup, she dropped her head on his shoulder and let the tears flow.

PARKER HAD A hard time listening to her soft sobs. He hated to hear women cry. He always felt helpless. She’d held up so well until Steve had basically turned his back on her. Parker would have liked nothing more at the moment than to deck the guy, but he was hoping her friend would eventually come around.

It was a lot to take in. Being shot and his whole life turned upside down, all because his friend wanted to help someone. It wasn’t fair.

Grayson glanced at them over his shoulder, and Parker didn’t miss the spark of interest in his cousin’s gaze. Their connection wasn’t just proximity or closeness of family. Born from identical twin sisters in the same year, they’d been together since birth. Parker believed it was something his mother had done. Both sisters dabbled in witchcraft. Still did today. Parker was convinced his mother had woven a spell of protection around him and Grayson that had somehow bound them and given them a mental connection that at times was quite strange.

Parker knew when Grayson was upset or hurt and vice versa. A few times Grayson had been hit somewhere and the bruise would show up on Parker, or Parker had been cut and Grayson would get the scar. Some of those had been more than a little difficult to explain, so they hadn’t. They’d remained silent and let everyone make their own determinations, and there had been quite a lot of doozies.

Right now, looking into Grayson’s eyes, Parker could feel Grayson’s attraction to Cheyenne. Parker felt that attraction too. She was adorable. Smart and pretty, even with all the twigs still in her hair and smudges of blood and dirt on her face. And those eyes. They were the most unusual shade of blue. Not sky blue like his and Grayson’s, but a bright turquoise color.

She was about five feet six. The top of her head came to his shoulders. As they sat in the backseat, he realized how nicely she fit against him. Thoughts of sharing her with Grayson ran through his mind, and he blinked to clear his head. He had no business going there. She was under their protection.

He looked at Grayson and shook his head slightly. They both needed to get a grip on this. No sharing the witness.

Chapter Four

Cheyenne stood back and stared at the secluded, three-story cabin nestled on the mountains above Gatlinburg, Tennessee. She’d always wanted to come here. It was a shame that, under the circumstances, she wouldn’t get to explore it.

“We called ahead with your sizes, so the local Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents should’ve left a few outfits here for you,” Grayson said as he came to stand next to her.

She lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the afternoon sun setting over his shoulder. “Thank you.”

He was so gorgeous, and his tall, muscular body left her feeling vulnerable and a bit warm inside.

Her stomach loudly protested the fact she’d missed lunch earlier. As soon as she heard the sound, she cringed, and her face heated with embarrassment. She always hated when her stomach did that. “What about food?” she asked.

With his face in shadow, it was hard to see his expression, but she’d have sworn she saw his lips twitch. “The cabin is always stocked, although there may be a few things we’ll need still. We’ll see what we have, and then I’ll make a run to town if necessary.”

She nodded and turned back to the cabin. The setting sun gave the dark wood a reddish hue. Two chimneys stood tall on either side of the house, like sentries guarding the grounds. A porch ran across the front and down one side to the back, where she was sure it continued to wrap around. The view from the back must be stunning. The view from the front was nothing but trees and a long, secluded driveway.

It made her feel safe that she couldn’t see the road and no one from the road could see her. At least as safe as she could feel at the moment. She had no doubt she would continue to look over her shoulder until this whole situation was over.

“Do you guys use this cabin a lot?” she asked.

“Parker and I don’t normally, but other agents have. The TBI uses it mostly. The agency has several places like this scattered around. It’s cheaper and safer than using hotel rooms. Although sometimes we use those too. We thought since you apparently like camping and the mountains, we would bring you here.”

She smiled slightly. “That was very thoughtful.”

Again his lips twitched before he turned away and began to stroll toward the cabin. Cheyenne got a strange feeling there was more to it than thoughtfulness. Sometimes she would catch a knowing look passing between him and Parker or a wicked light spark in Grayson’s eyes for a brief second before it disappeared.

He oozed sex. Both of them did. Not for the first time today, she found herself watching the agents and wondering what they were like outside the job and inside a bedroom. She frowned at her train of thought. She was running from the mob; why on earth would she be thinking about sex? Not to mention she’d just met the two agents protecting her.

But looking at them, how could she not think about it? They were gorgeous, and she was stuck with them for heaven only knew how long. Unfortunately, looks didn’t mean they were great in bed. Would they really be any better than the bumbling idiots from her past? Would either of them be able to make her orgasm? God knows, none of the others had.

“Knock it off, Shy. They’re here to protect you, not to have sex with you,” she mumbled to herself.

Yeah, but it’s been so long since I’ve had sex. Would it be such a bad thing?

“Yes,” she hissed softly. “Yes, it would.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Cheyenne jumped at the sound of Parker’s voice so close to her shoulder. She jerked around, and her hand flew to her chest, covering her rapidly beating heart.

“I’m sorry,” Parker said. He grinned in such a way that Cheyenne knew he was lying. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Talk to yourself often?”

She snorted. “All the time.”

Her nerves began to settle. At least some of them. At the proximity of such a gorgeous man, new ones began to flare to life, especially in her lower stomach and pussy region.

“I often talk to myself while I’m in surgery. I think my nurses and PAs have all decided I’m a little off in the head, but interestingly enough, they’ve learned to tell when I’m talking to them and when I’m working things out to myself.”

Parker chuckled. “Sign of a close-knit team.”

She tilted her head and studied him. “Are you and Grayson related? The two of you look so much alike.”

“We’re cousins.” Parker put his hand at the small of her back and escorted her toward the cabin. The touch of his fingers against her skin, even with her shirt between them, sent a flare of heat up her spine. “Our mothers are identical twins, and we both take after our mothers, so we look a lot alike.”

“No kidding,” she replied. “You guys could easily pass for brothers. How did you both end up in the FBI?”

“Dumb luck,” Parker replied.

Cheyenne giggled as they climbed the steps to the porch. “It has to be more than that.”

“We both worked for the local police force as detectives. We were paired up with a special task force the FBI put together to track down a serial killer who was working in our area. When the job was over, they offered us positions. We said we would only go if we could stay together. We’re very good at watching each other’s backs. The FBI saw a little of that when we were working the case, and I guess they agreed, so…the rest, as they say, is history.”

Parker opened the front door and held it for her to walk through. The inside of the cabin was as rustic and homey as the outside. Lots of wood, earth-tone colors, and leather furniture filled the room. A huge rock fireplace with large-pane windows on either side of it took up one wall and afforded an amazing view of Gatlinburg below.

“Wow,” she breathed as she walked toward the window and looked out. “I bet that is amazing at night. I would love to see the town. Do you think there’s any—”

“No,” Grayson said as he walked into the room from the bedroom to the right.

She frowned at him. “Don’t you even want a minute or two to think about it?”

“Don’t need to,” he replied as he strolled into the kitchen.

Despite her best efforts not to, her gaze wandered over his firm behind. He looked good in those jeans. When he turned to face her, she quickly averted her gaze.

“You’re in hiding, Cheyenne. Walking around Gatlinburg isn’t hiding.”

She lifted her face to his, ready to argue her point. “We’re several states away. How would they even find me here?”

Parker dropped onto the couch. “The mob has eyes everywhere, sweetheart. You do not want to take that chance.”

“Well, with that line of thinking, should I just accept the fact that my life is over? I mean, if the mob is that big, what’re they going to do when I take the stand? We’re only going to take out four of them. What about the others?” Parker and Grayson shared a look that made Cheyenne incredibly nervous. “Out with it, guys. What are you not telling me?”

“Most likely you’ll have to get a new identity,” Grayson said softly. “I know that you’re close with Steve, but since you’re not married, it’s not guaranteed that the agency will put you together.”

Her eyes widened as a vise wrapped around her heart so tight she could hardly breathe. Would she really have to go the rest of her life without seeing Steve? And at this point, considering how angry he was with her, would he even care? The idea that he wouldn’t made tears burn the backs of her eyes.