Red Zone (11 page)

“Nah, I’m good,” Kenny said. 

“Well, I’m hungry,” Zach chimed in. “I’ll take a cheeseburger. The usual.”

Rebecca watched Daniels walk away. His broad shoulders stretched the shirt he was wearing, giving all who looked a clear view of the muscles beneath, muscles she’d gotten an unobstructed view of that first morning in his pool. She felt her body temperature rise again. This needed to stop. She didn’t know what was going on with her. 

Okay, that was a lie, and she wasn’t in the habit of lying to herself. He was right, she
was
attracted to him. For whatever strange reason, his body spoke some sort of language that caused her body to respond. That didn’t mean she had to act on it. He was all wrong for her. All wrong. She wanted a man who was well established in his chosen career, preferably a businessman. Lawyer, CPA, entrepreneur. She wasn’t picky as long as he was successful. Gage Daniels played a game for a living. True, it was more complex than she’d originally thought, but it was still a game. While he was technically successful, she wasn’t fool enough to think that couldn’t change in an instant. One injury, and then what? No, she couldn’t go there. It was just too risky. 

Taking a deep breath, she confirmed the logic in her decision to keep things as professional as possible with him then looked in the direction of the bar. He was leaning against it, resting one hip against a barstool. Beside him was a pretty blonde. She felt her stomach tighten. If everything she’d just told herself was true, then why had she suddenly lost her appetite? 

Gage stood waiting for their food. He could have gone back to the table, but he wanted to give Rebecca some time. She was attracted to him. He’d been pretty sure of it before, but after that kiss, all doubts were gone. Her response had been nothing short of explosive once she’d let go and given in to the feeling. If that was how she reacted to a kiss, he couldn’t wait to see what she’d be like in his bed. 

Someone approached him on his left. Glancing down, he found Angie standing there with a big smile on her face. When she realized he’d noticed her, her smile grew even bigger. 

“Hey, Gage.”

“Hi, Angie. How’ve you been?” Angie was a regular, like he was. She was petite but had enough curves to give a man something to hang on to. They’d hooked up a few times, but it had been a while. He didn’t like to do too many repeat performances with women. They tended to get the wrong idea. Angie was great for a good time, but she wasn’t the kind of woman he wanted to settle down with. She was the type of woman who cared more about how much he could spend on her than getting to know him. In the two years they’d known each other, their conversations hadn’t gone beyond the superficial. If she really wanted to get to know him, she’d ask. 

“I’ve been good,” she said, moving closer and laying her hand casually on his arm. 

He could feel the heat of her fingers, the warmth of her body as she edged closer to him. But instead of his body reacting, he felt nothing. Actually, that wasn’t true. He did feel something. It just wasn’t his normal response to an attractive and clearly willing woman. What was coursing through his system felt more like cold chills than the warm rush of arousal. Before he could analyze it further, he took a step away from Angie.

Her hand dropped to her side, and a frown caused her brow to wrinkle. “You’re here with someone.” 

“Yes.” 

She looked over his shoulder in the direction of the table where Zach, Kenny, and Rebecca sat. “I thought maybe she was with Kenny. She doesn’t look like your normal type.” Her shoulders shrugged as if it were no great loss, confirming what he already knew. She was looking for action. And although she may have preferred to have him share her bed tonight, it wasn’t breaking her heart that he was already spoken for this evening. 

“You know, Kenny might be up for some company tonight, if you’re interested.” 

Gage kept his tone light, joking. He doubted Kenny would object if she decided to pursue him, but he’d leave that up to the two of them. 

Angie scrunched up her nose. “I don’t know how I’d feel about that, you two comparing notes and all.”

“You think we kiss and tell?” He couldn’t help the amused smile on his face. 

“You’re men,” she said, taking a sip of the beer he hadn’t seen in her other hand. “Of course you kiss and tell. And you’re football players. Locker rooms are full of that talk. I’m not stupid.”

This time he laughed out loud. He couldn’t help it. Sure, they occasionally talked women, but given most of the guys were married or in serious relationships, they rarely went into raunchy details. What she was talking about happened more in high school and college locker rooms where boys were trying to prove they were men. “Suit yourself.” 

The bartender walked over with the food. Gage picked up the three baskets and somehow managed to arrange them and the two additional drinks he’d ordered in his hands before turning toward the table. “You coming?” he asked over his shoulder. 

She looked uncertain, not moving. Gage didn’t wait for her to decide. For one, he had an armful of food. He might have good hands, but the heat from the burgers was seeping through the bottom of the baskets and would soon be a little too hot for comfort. Also, he suddenly felt the need to get back to Rebecca. 

He took a seat and set the food down on the table. Zach picked up his burger and took a large bite before Gage had even pulled his hand away. Rebecca, on the other hand, hadn’t glanced at her sandwich. Instead, she was watching Angie, who’d ended up following him across the room after all. 

“Mind if I sit?” Angie asked, the question directed to Kenny. 

He looked up, seemingly startled. “Yeah. Sure.”

Angie pulled out the chair next to Kenny and sat down, joining the group. “Thanks.”

Reaching for his own burger, Gage picked it up and took a bite as he watched Angie lean over and whisper something in Kenny’s ear. Whatever it was, he smiled and nodded. Then Gage noticed Angie’s hand disappearing underneath the table. 

It was fairly safe to say his friend was going to get lucky. Maybe that should bother him, but it didn’t. The only woman he wanted in his bed at the moment was sitting beside him. Unfortunately, she had yet to acknowledge his presence since he’d returned to the table. She hadn’t touched her food either. She was too busy paying attention to what was going on at the other side of the table. 

Scooting their chairs closer together, Gage wrapped his hand around her thigh. She jumped before turning to glare at him. “You’re not eating your food.” She looked down but didn’t move. There was something in her posture. She almost looked vulnerable, something he hadn’t seen from her before. “You okay?”

She sat up straight, her shoulders stiffening. She met his gaze with that cold, professional mask of hers, the vulnerability he’d seen moments before gone. Fingers wrapped around his wrist exerting even pressure. A clear sign she wanted him to remove his hand. “I’m fine. Thank you for the sandwich.” 

He could have defied her, left his hand on her thigh, but something about the exchange had him thinking better of it. Something had just happened, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what it was. 

For the rest of the night, he kept an eye on her. The more relaxed Rebecca of earlier in the evening never returned. He tried to engage her in conversation a couple of times, but her answers were always direct and to the point. It was obvious she wasn’t in the mood to talk. He just had no idea what had caused the shift. Nothing had changed except Angie joining the group, and he couldn’t see how that would have any effect on her unless the PDA going on between the two was bothering her. Even that didn’t make sense, however, since they hadn’t started getting hot and heavy about it until well after her change in attitude. No. He was completely at a loss as to her change. 

At ten o’clock, Gage and Rebecca said good-bye to the others and walked through the remaining crowd to the entrance. Most of the people at the club had already left for the evening, although since the place didn’t close down until two in the morning, there were still quite a few lingering. Rebecca scanned the room as they walked. He hadn’t seen anything tonight, but maybe her trained eyes had. 

The cool night air went right through him when they stepped outside. It was mid-November, and even in Nashville that meant cool nights. On pure instinct, he wrapped his arm around Rebecca, pulling her against him. Despite her inflexible posture, she felt good against him. 

Some cars passed as they walked to the parking lot, but other than that, they were alone. He wanted to ask her what had happened. Taking a breath to steady himself, he walked her to the passenger side of the car and unlocked it. 

Opening the car door, he sighed then turned to face her. Instead of coming face-to-face with her, however, he was met with the sight of her bending over to retrieve the small purse she’d brought with her.

“Did I miss something?”

She twisted her head around to look up at him before standing. “Miss something?”

“Yeah,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “What was with the—” 

The sound of something hitting the top of his car got his attention. Before he could process what was happening, he was on the ground, Rebecca’s body pressing down on top of his. He heard the sound again. This time whatever it was sounded like it hit the side of the brick building. 

He tried to raise his head, but Rebecca pushed him back down. She was stronger than she looked. “Stay down.”

“What?”

Then he noticed that although she had one hand on his chest, holding him down, her other hand was holding something. He looked closer and could barely make out the shape of a gun in the dim light of the street lamps. It was then the pieces, the sounds, fell into place. Someone was shooting at them. 

Chapter 10

The air around them was cool, but Rebecca didn’t feel anything beyond the solid form of Gage beneath her and the adrenaline rushing through her body. She knew they were under fire the moment she heard the first bullet hit his car. Instinct had her diving for cover and pulling him right along with her. They waited, lying as flat as possible on the ground beside his car, waiting. 

If she’d not been undercover protecting the man beneath her, she would have let off a shot or two of her own, or at the very least, worked her way around the vehicle to get a better look at the situation. However, the only thing she could do was hold her position and be prepared should someone approach them. Her gun was in hand, ready, should she need it. 

Two more bullets hit somewhere behind them before the shooting stopped. The silence that followed was eerie. No cars passed on the street, no club patrons exited to see what all the noise was. It was just the two of them, pressed together against the cold asphalt of the parking lot.

When nothing else happened after a few minutes, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, her back against the car. Gage began to sit up, too. “Stay down,” she ordered again. 

He didn’t listen. Instead, he sat up as well, taking a similar position beside her. “Was that what I think it was?”

She glanced over at him. “Yes.” 

His reaction wasn’t what she was expecting. Most people who’d just had confirmation they’d been shot at would either go into a state of shock, panic, or both. Gage did neither. Instead, he frowned, his brow furrowed, as he looked her up and down. “Are you all right?” he asked, reaching for her arm.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?”

“Maybe,” he said, the cocky grin returning. “But I know
I’m
fine.”

Rebecca started to pull away but stopped herself. Although he was smiling, his eyes were serious and still watching her cautiously. She met his gaze and held it. “I’m good.”

He nodded and released his hold on her arm. “What now?”

“Normally, I’d call the local police, have them secure the area. I don’t think that’s a good idea, however, given the situation.”

“I agree,” he said. “Cops mean reporters. It would be all over the evening news tonight.” 

Nodding, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed her partner. She saw the question in Gage’s eyes, but before she could respond, Hansen answered.

After explaining the situation to him and giving him directions to their location, she leaned back against the cool metal. “Hansen will be here soon. The hotel isn’t far from here.”

Gage nodded. “What do we do now?”

“We wait.”

“Waiting has never been something I excel at,” Gage said, smirking. 

She could tell he was trying to lighten the mood, so she gave a small smile in return. Her heart wasn’t in it, though. 

As she continued to hold tightly to her firearm, she kept watch on their surroundings. Someone had taken a shot at them. Several shots, actually. This was much more serious than the specs she’d seen on the small amateur explosives that had been attached to his vehicle. Given their size and location, the explosives would have caused a minor injury at best. Bullets, however, could easily kill, even if unintentional. 

Neither one of them said much as they waited for Hansen to arrive. Gage couldn’t seem to keep his legs still. He was constantly bouncing them in time to a rhythm only he could hear. At first, she’d thought it was impatience on his part, and maybe some of it was, but she also noticed the tension in his jaw. What happened had affected him, even though he was trying to play it off. Before she could stop herself, she reached out and laid a hand on his forearm.