Dead Heat (5 page)

“Yup. She’s eight weeks along and the baby has a strong heartbeat and is doing fine.” Dani grinned at the group and then turned and gave ‘the look’ to Mo.

“And why didn’t you tell me?”

“I sorta forgot. I was so worried about you that it went right out of my mind. I am sorry, honey.”

“I can’t stay mad at you for that. But, I want more updates, even if you have to bribe the nurses.” Dani yawned and Paige saw her eyes start to drift shut. Cole cleared his throat and her eyes snapped back open.

“I am sorry, Danielle, but I have some questions for you. Then we’ll leave you to get some rest. Do you mind?” Cole gently asked.

“Of course not. Do you know who did this?”

“Not yet. But we’re looking into a lead.” Cole pulled out his digital recorder and slid his arm around Paige’s waist to get a clear recording. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“Sure. Kenna had just finished a case with the chronic masturbator and we hurried out of court to meet Paige at the cafe. I pushed open the side door. Kenna and I were talking about the engagement and she put her arm around my shoulder as we were laughing. Then I heard the two shots. I looked to Kenna, getting ready to ask her if she knew where they came from, but she was lying on the ground, already unconscious. I tried to say her name, but it felt like I was drowning. I couldn’t get a breath. It was only then that I looked down at myself and saw the blood and I realized I was shot. I am sorry, but I blacked out then.”

“Could you tell where the shot was coming from?” Cole asked.

“I have a good guess thanks to growing up around guns,” she smiled at her mother. “I would say from across the street on one of the roofs. On top the cafe would be the most likely place.”

“Why would you say that?”

“It’s a clear shot to both the front door and only a slight adjustment for people exiting from the side. The angle would be too much for a clear shot on those exiting the side from further down Main Street and the angle too great for the front door if further up Main Street. I take it I am right?”

“You’re right. The shooter was on top the cafe. You didn’t happen to see anything, did you?”

“No. Just heard it and immediately turned to ask Kenna. I should have followed the shot. Maybe I could have seen the shooter then before I passed out.”

“Do not worry, Danielle. We have a description we are working on. Too many people around for no one to see anything. You did a great job. I am very impressed you were able to diagnose the location of the shot. Paige, how about we let Dani rest?” Cole rested his hand on her hip and pulled her even closer against him.

“Okay. Dani, do you need anything? What did your doctor say?”

“Thanks Paige. No, I don’t need anything right now. Dr. Francis said everything went well. I just have to have this tube in for a couple of days. Then respiratory therapy. She is hopeful that I will have a full recovery.”

“Good. We’ll let you rest then. Call me if you need anything.” Dani gave a weak smile and a slight nod before her eyes drifted shut again.

Cole angled out of the room and after waving to the group, Paige followed him out of the ICU and into the maze of corridors.

“I think all my adrenaline has worn off. I am about to crash too.” Although, if Cole kept finding reasons to touch her, she was pretty sure sleep was going to be the last thing on her mind.

“Not so fast. You still have to meet with a sketch artist. Red is rounding one up now.” Cole laced his fingers through hers and gave her a gentle tug. He looked down at her and smiled. Oh my. Cole smiling was not something she was used to seeing. The cold steel of his silver eyes melted and he went from cold hard law man to sexy law man in a split second. “Come on, take me home.”

Chapter Four

Cole placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her through the emergency room lobby. As the day grew into night, the lobby became more crowded. She looked through the glass doors and into the dark night and moved closer to Cole. She had held up well since lunch. But now that the panic and worry were over, the fear was wrapping its cold hands around her heart.

“Paige, wait.” Cole slid his hand from her back and grasped her arm to stop her. “We don’t know if the assassin is out there. To best protect Kenna and Dani, we need to give off the impression that he was successful. Just in case he’s watching, let’s give him a show.” He slid his arm around her shoulder and pulled her head against his chest.

“This is stupid, Cole.”

“No, it’s not. He’s going to need confirmation of the deaths. If we walk out of here as if everything is going to be fine, then there is a greater chance he’ll try to complete his job.”

“Oh, well if you put it that way it doesn’t sounds so stupid.” She buried her face in his shirt and leaned against him as they made their way out to the parking lot. She closed her eyes and stumbled.

“Good, keep it up. My car is just a few more yards away,” Cole whispered into her hair. The sad thing was that the stumble was real. Now that she was leaning on someone else and had made the mistake of closing her eyes, she felt the exhaustion of the day setting in. All she wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep. Cole would be great to sleep with the way his body was radiating heat. She bet her feet wouldn’t even get cold. In fact, she bet she’d be warm all over.

“Shit, sorry.” Paige stumbled over Cole’s foot and fell into him, clinging to prevent herself from falling face first onto the pavement. Embarrassed about the way her thoughts were turning, she pushed back from him, tripped over his foot again, and slammed against the passenger door of a black Ford Explorer.

“Glad you found the car. You alright?” Cole gave her a little smirk that made her face flame. She didn’t know how, but she knew that he knew the directions of her thoughts.

“Um, yea. Fine.” Smooth Paige. She stepped back from the door and Cole opened it for her. She slid into the standard government looking vehicle and closed her eyes while Cole walked around. This was no good. There was no way she’d keep her sanity if he moved in with her. She heard him open his door and slide into his seat.

“So, I was thinking. I don’t think it’s a good idea if you stay at my place. I don’t have a lot of room and I certainly don’t have time. I am getting ready for the back-to-school sales and the Summer Festival. I just don’t have time to think of an explanation as to why there is an FBI agent following me around. You’d just get in my way and slow me down.” Paige couldn’t seem to meet his eye. She kept her vision firmly fixed on the yellow lines of the road in front of them.

“No.” Cole’s tone was cold and even. It sounded almost like a threat. Embarrassment be damned, she wasn’t going to let him tell her what to do. She whipped her head around and stared at his profile. His silver eyes reflected the low green lights of the driver’s controls and his slightly crooked nose giving his looks a more dangerous slant.

“No, what?” Paige snapped. Cole slowly turned his head and looked at her.

“No, I am not letting you out of my sight. No, I am not letting you talk your way out of protection. No, I don’t want to hear all your ideas on the matter. Your safety and how to go about it is my job, my responsibility. I have things under control, Paige. You just need to trust me.”

Paige snorted. Trust him, yeah right.

Cole turned back to the road and turned toward Keeneston. “I can’t believe you just snorted. I’ll have you know I am quite trustworthy.” Paige saw his lips curl up into a smirk and fought the urge to smack him on the head.

“Where are you taking me?” Paige asked as they passed the “Welcome to Keeneston” sign.

“I am taking you home. Where else would I take you?”

“How do you know where I live?” Paige would remember if she told him she lived above her shop. It wasn’t a secret or anything, but she didn’t have a land line and her address was a post office box.

“I am in the FBI. We are kinda good at finding things.” This time the bastard didn’t even try to hide the grin.

It was dark out, but downtown was awash in the soft glow of the old fashioned street lamps. With the summer days being so hot, most people went out for their daily strolls at night. Paige saw the people on the sidewalk stop and stare when they stopped at the first stoplight in Keeneston.

“Oh no. I forgot it gets so crowded at night.” Paige closed her eyes and her ears started twitching at the hum coming from the chatter moving its way up the street.

“So?”

“Just watch. Before we get to the next light the whole town will know we are back and will want to know what’s going on. See there.” Paige pointed to the heavy man in suspenders standing near the car on the sidewalk. “That’s John Wolfe, and see that elderly woman with the walker practically running up the sidewalk towards the cafe? Well, that’s one of Miss Lily’s neighbors, Edna Schniter”

“She’s going to break a hip if she’s not careful.”

“Well, she’s going to tell that family there, the Gilberts. Pam is the president of the PTA and all-around perfect soccer mom. She’s going to send one of her kids up to the cafe to alert everyone there that we are back in town. Then, by the time we get to the next stop light, the whole cafe will be outside waiting for us.”

“Yeah right. Why would Edna or John or the Gilberts care? And these windows are tinted, they can’t even tell who is in here.” Cole shook his head and Paige just smiled.

“I’ll bet fifty bucks I am right,” she held her hand out to shake on it.

“Deal. Easy money, Davies, easy money.” He placed his hand in hers and shook it. She looked up at him and their eyes locked. She broke the eye contact and looked down to where he was still holding her hand. Oh, this was not good. If this kept going she might have to acknowledge Cole was different from the others and she wasn’t ready to do that yet.

“Light’s green.”

Cole slowly pulled his hand away and placed it on the steering wheel.

“I’ll be damned. I owe you fifty bucks, Davies.” Paige followed where Cole was looking and saw Miss Daisy, Miss Violet, and about twenty other people gathering on the sidewalk outside the cafe waiting for them to drive by. Miss Violet was standing there waving a towel in the air to get their attention, as if the mob didn’t do that already.

“You better let me handle this. You’ll be all governmental and then Miss Daisy will smack you with that serving spoon she’s holding.”

“Don’t say anything, we need them to believe Kenna and Dani are dead so the shooter will think so too.”

Paige rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything. That would never fly in town. The Rose sisters were notorious for telling when someone was lying. The CIA and FBI had nothing on them. Further, John Wolfe would somehow ferret out the truth and then it would spread, unchecked. She pushed the auto window button as she waited for Cole to stop his car at the next stoplight. As soon as the car stopped, the Rose sisters were at the window.

“We’re sorry to inform you, neither McKenna nor Dani, survived the shooting,” Cole interrupted. Paige closed her eyes and said her own prayer. Agent Asshole at work again. If she didn’t think he deserved it, she’d feel bad for what was about to happen.

“Young man, I know you are a federal agent, and I know you have helped our girls out, but don’t you ever lie to me again, do you understand me? Hasn’t anyone ever told you? You are not a good liar, bless your heart. Now cut the bologna and tell me what’s really going on.” Miss Violet leveled her stare at Cole.

“I told you, they didn’t make...”

“Cole Parker, don’t even try it. This is your last warning before I cut you off from the cafe. Now, why don’t you just sit there and look handsome while the women talk.” Miss Violet ignored the outraged look Cole shot them and turned to Paige. “Dear, tell us what has happened.”

“First, Kenna is fine. A couple months of rehab for the shot to the shoulder and she’ll be back to normal. Dani suffered a collapsed lung and is in the ICU. The bullet luckily hit a rib and shattered it, but got imbedded in the rib and only partly in the lung. There was surgery to remove the bullet and to clean up the rib the best they could. She’ll be in the hospital at least a week. They are cautiously optimistic about a full recovery.”

“Oh, love their hearts. We’ll all start praying for them. I’ll go start the phone tree.” Miss Violet started back into the cafe to get the tree.

“No!” Cole shouted.

“Why ever not, dear?”

“We need the assassin to think they are dead. They’ll be safer that way. If he knows they are alive, then he’ll have to finish the job.” Paige was relieved when she heard the murmurs of the crowd agreeing with her.