Dead Heat (12 page)

“It’s a go. Can your men be up there by seven in the morning?” Cole asked Mo.

“No problem.” Mo was already pulling out his cell phone and punching in numbers.

Paige’s attention was drawn to Dani as she yawned. Paige took in the yawn and the drooping eyes and knew it was time to get going. Dani needed her rest. She caught Cole’s eye and gave a nod toward the bed. Cole got the message and moved over to her. She couldn’t help but lean into him when he put his arm around her shoulder.

“I better get Paige back to the shop before she’s missed. Feel better, Dani.” Cole gave Dani a smile and shook Mo’s hand before stepping out the door.

Paige gave Dani and Mo a quick hug. She tried to think of anything but the car ride home with Cole and these feelings that were starting to surface.

Chapter Eight

Cole was quiet on the ride home. Paige tried to keep her eyes out the front window, but kept noticing her gaze was continually drawn to Cole. She tried to convince herself that he was an arrogant jerk who liked to tell her everything she did wrong, but the argument sounded weak even to her.

Cole parked the cruiser in front of her store again and she checked to make sure her hair was still tucked under her hat before stepping out and trying to casually walk into her home. She found Dinky and Noodle riveted to the new show about city folk being taught how to noodle catfish with their hands.

“Hey. How did it go?” Noodle asked in his slow country twang.

“Good. They’re both doing great considering what they have had to go through.” Paige took a seat on the couch and took off her hat. “Thanks for letting us borrow these.”

“No problem. Here’s a manual Marshall left for you on how to use the security system.” Noodle showed her the four inch thick binder Marshall had left behind. There was no way she’d ever learn how to use it. Why couldn’t there just be an on/off button?

Paige and Cole gave their borrowed uniforms back to Noodle and Dinky, fed Chuck, and ate some left over pizza while they finished watching the noodling show.

“Want to stay here while I take Chuck for a walk?” Cole asked as he picked up Chuck’s spare leash from the counter. Chuck’s long leash and collar had been trashed after the skunking.

“No. I think I will come with you. I enjoy walking outside at night when the streets are quiet.”

Cole handed the leash to Paige as he set the new alarm and locked the door behind them. Without asking, he took the leash from Paige. His hand caressed hers as he took it. They were only a block from the shop when Cole stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Paige asked as she turned to Cole.

“Chuck’s growling. He senses something ahead of us.” Before he could tell her more, Chuck barked and lunged free. “Shit! Paige, go back to the store and keep that alarm set.” Cole took off down the street calling after Chuck. Paige listened and heard two sets of footsteps. Cole’s and whoever Chuck had sensed. It was enough to trigger her fight or flight mechanism.

Paige ran back to the store, disarmed the alarm, and then turned it back on. She went to the window and tried to look down the street to catch a glimpse of Cole and Chuck. She started to pace back and forth when she didn’t see them, glancing out the window every time she passed it. Her heart was pounding and her hand sweating. She realized it wasn’t out of fear for her safety, but fear for Cole. He had run straight into danger for her.

She jumped when she heard a creak from a floor board. She grabbed a candlestick and crept slowly towards the kitchen, holding her breath as she quietly snuck forward. Paige took a deep breath as she leaned against the wall next to the door leading into the kitchen. She tried to listen to see if she heard him again, but the only thing she could hear was her wildly beating heart. She jumped through the door with the candle stick raised and prepared to be attacked.

Her eyes darted around the kitchen. They froze, along with her breathing, as a shadow passed by kitchen window on the outside staircase. She watched in horror as she saw the door handle turn. She raised the candle stick and involuntarily stepped backwards into the small kitchen table. The handle rattled again before the shadow banged loudly on it.

“Paige! Open the door, it’s just me. I got Chuck.” She let out her breath and gave a shaky smile as she lowered the candlestick. She felt pretty silly jumping at every little sound. She put down the candlestick and buzzed off the alarm before opening the kitchen door.

Chuck burst through the door. His ears sticking straight out, his eyes bright with the excitement of the chase, and his tongue flopping out the side of his mouth. He ran through the door and jumped up on her, his massive paws leaving mud stains on her shirt while he treated her to some of his slobbery kisses. He was quickly distracted by a bone in the living room and jumped down to trot out of the kitchen.

“What happened?” Paige asked as she opened her white wood cabinet and pulled out a glass. She turned on the tap and filled it with cold water for Cole. She took deep breaths to get her heart rate under control.

“Thank you.” Cole smiled as he accepted the glass of water and took a long drink before answering, “I followed the sound of footsteps and almost caught up with him in the alley down by the feed store.”

“Did you see him? Was it him?” Paige’s hands started sweating again just thinking of the assassin nearby.

“No. I can’t verify it for sure. He was in shadows, but it would make sense. Chuck almost got a bite into him, but he made it to his car with only a second to spare. That is one protective dog,” Cole laughed. “You should have seen him. He went from this hodgepodge of ears and off-centered tail to a guard dog in a split second.”

“Does this mean your undercover work is blown? You went after him. He’ll know you’re an agent now.” Paige started to pace around her kitchen. If Cole’s cover was blown, then it would put him in harm’s way. The assassin wouldn’t think twice about knocking off an FBI agent who was clearly after him.

“I got it covered, Paige. My cover wasn’t blown. I didn’t go after him. I went after Chuck since he was leaping into his car and about to burn rubber down the street. I wasn’t close enough to get a shot off or to grab him, so I only called Chuck’s name. Called him a bad dog and that he was making us late for dinner. When the guy jumped in the car, I yelled to him. I apologized for my dog scaring him as he drove away. I am pretty sure he heard me and I think I came off as the dutiful boyfriend chasing his girlfriend’s dog as opposed to me chasing him.”

Paige leaned against the island and felt her hands shaking. It had been a close call. What was worse is she had been scared out of her mind, pacing back and forth in the living room, when she realized she loved him. Paige groaned and buried her head in her hands. The man had run straight into danger for her. He was protecting her, even when she had fought so hard to hate him. Could karma kick her ass any harder?

“Paige, are you alright?” Cole asked, his voice dropping down to a husky whisper. She felt him step up next to her and place a hand on her shoulder. The heat traveled down her back and chased the fear away.

“Yeah, I am fine. I guess it’s just the excitement of the night.” She dropped her hands from her face and straightened up. Cole’s hand slid up her neck, his fingers tracing her face. She looked up and into his face. His normally silver eyes were dilated black and left no question as to his desire.

He trailed his thumb over her bottom lip before bending down to capture her mouth with his. She sighed and felt the small moan escape her throat as she leaned into his embrace. His kiss was achingly slow and tender. She wanted more though. They were not slow and tender. They were fire and ice. She ran her fingers through his black hair slowly and got the response she wanted. Cole growled and his tongue pressed into her mouth as he pushed her against the island.

Paige tightened her grip on Cole’s hair and opened her mouth to him. She pressed against him reveling in the feeling of her soft body against his hard one. She couldn’t seem to get close enough to him.

“Hmm. Paige, I am not doing this here.” Cole groaned as he ripped his mouth from hers. His hand rested on her ass gave her cheek a squeeze before letting go.

Paige couldn’t speak. Rejection stung and she pushed herself away from him. She couldn’t believe it. It was happening all over again. 'Lead me on once, shame on him. Lead me on twice, shame on me,' she thought.

“I am not doing this here. You deserve a bed and hours of attention, not a cold hard counter. We can try that tomorrow though.” Cole gave her a bone melting smile, scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom before she even had a chance to comprehend what was going on. When she did, she smiled and nuzzled into his chest, giving his earlobe a quick nip before Cole placed her gently onto her bed.

“I promise. I will do a very good job at protecting you from now on. I won’t leave your side all night.” He smirked as he tossed his shirt to the ground.

* * *

Paige felt her hand throbbing. She slowly cracked her eyes to the sun streaming into her room and found herself barely on the bed. Her arm was dangling off the side of the bed and her foot was so far over, her leg was almost touching the ground. She yawned and felt the tired muscles in her body from last night groan as she tried to wake them up. She turned her head on her pillow and looked into the face only a mother could love.

Chuck’s massive chocolate head was on her pillow, his paws pushing into her side. She didn’t know how she had managed to stay on the bed at all. Cole’s arm was slung around Chuck’s body as man and dog slept in noisy bliss as they tried to out-snore each other.

Paige slid the remaining inch out of bed and headed to the bathroom. She stretched and looked at herself in the mirror over the sink. The sunlight from the window filled the room with warmth. She decided great sex definitely did something for her complexion. She was practically glowing. She filled the sink with warm water to wash her face, but froze when she heard a noise. She cocked her head and listened, but didn’t hear anything besides man and dog snoring in the bedroom.

She looked in the mirror and chided herself for allowing her imagination to run wild again. Last night obviously affected her more than she’d care to admit. She washed her face and patted it dry when she heard something again. Without putting down the hand towel, she crept toward the window that faced out back. She had half convinced herself it was nothing but a squirrel when she looked out and saw a man at the back door to her store.

The breath she was about to take froze in her lungs as she watched the man work her lock over. In slow motion, she watched as he raised his head and looked right at her. Their eyes locked and Paige felt the towel drop from her hands. She was staring into the cold brown eyes of the assassin.

Before Paige could scream, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. He pointed it right at her and she finally forced herself to move. She leapt for the old iron bathtub as the first round was fired. She felt her naked body slam into the cold bathtub as the bathroom door was hurled open.

Cole was crouched with his gun drawn and scanning the room for her. She could tell the second he found her as he scanned her body for injuries and then headed straight for the window.

“Cole, be careful. It was him. He was at the back door of my shop trying to get in,” Paige whispered as her fingers bit into the lip of the tub.

“He’s not there now. Are you okay?” When she nodded, he held out his hand and helped her out of the tub. “I like your outfit. You look great this morning.”

Paige looked down at herself and realized she was still naked. She looked over at Cole and took in his still nude state. “You too,” she said with a wink.

“While you get dressed I am going to call my boss. I want to see what's happening in New York and give him an update here.” Cole walked to the bathroom window and looked at the small hole in the glass before closing the curtains. “Make sure to close all the curtains. He won’t be able to get a clear shot that way.” Cole walked over to her and grabbed her to him. He kissed her quickly and thoroughly before heading back into the bedroom to get his phone.

Paige closed the door and then sank onto the rim of the tub. Her legs had suddenly turned to jelly. Her heart was in her throat and there was no way she could possibly get dressed until she calmed down.

She put her head between her knees and took deep breaths to stop the dual feelings of nausea and passing out. When she finally felt like she could sit up again, she let out a long breath and sat upright. She looked into the mirror over the sink and felt dizzy all over again. Not only was she white as a ghost, she was still naked. "Oh God," she groaned as she turned the shower on. As if to add insult to injury, the assassin almost took her out while she was naked. She could just imagine Noodle and Dinky standing over her dead, naked body and the laugh Kandi would get out of it. Well, that settled that. She must try to remain clothed and looking fabulous at all times in case she was shot. She’d look good when Kandi came to finish her off with her claws.

By the time Paige had finished getting dressed, Cole strode into the bedroom with two coffee cups and a happy dog.

“I walked Chuck and he caught the man’s scent right away. It looks like he parked down by the park and took off as soon as he fired at you.”

“What did your boss say? How are things going in New York?”

“Ahmed and his group are already there. They are in meetings with the agents now. Everything is going well so far. They think they will have this wrapped up sometime this afternoon.”

“So, what do we do in the meantime?”

“We open the shop and keep our eyes open for our assassin. They will give us a call when it’s done and let us know what happened. And, I will keep you as close to me as possible. He’s getting bolder and it worries me. But, if we want to catch him, we need to be patient and try to grab him the next time he shows up.”

“This is torture. Not only do I have to keep my eyes open for the assassin and hope he makes another move to kill me, I also have to wait to see what happens in New York. Cole, I am not the most patient person.” Paige drummed her fingers against the coffee mug and knew the day would go by excruciatingly slow. She would try not to look at the clock. She knew every peek would only result in five minutes ticking by. And, she would try not to jump every time the door opened. She kept thinking she’d see him just walk through the door with his cold eyes. She shivered at the thought.