Stowaway (6 page)

“Ya’ll be late for lunch,” put in Jack. “Doesn’t Rotary start at noon?”

The three men turned and headed out the door. Patterson tossed an order over his shoulder. “Keep us posted.”

“You bet,” Walt mumbled. He and Jack shared a grin.

“I don’t know how you’ve put up with it for all these years, Dad,” said Jack after they’d gone. “I’m so ready to be done with them.”

“All in good time, Son,” Walt declared softly. “All in good time.”

The howling of the wind woke Nick later in the day. The sun had disappeared, but he could tell the darkness stemmed from cloudy skies rather than twilight. His fever had subsided and the room had grown cold. With his good arm, he tugged the blanket more fully over Keri, and then he slowly turned onto his right side. His bad shoulder felt tight and sore, but the fiery pain had subsided to a dull ache.

His nurse-captive looked soft and feminine in sleep. Her hair splayed around her head, framing her face with silken strands streaked in gold. Pale brown lashes rested on the dark circles under her eyes. He frowned at the evidence of her fatigue, holding himself partially responsible for it.

Her short, straight nose seemed a perfect fit for her wide eyes, oval face and nicely shaped lips. As he watched, they parted slightly with each breath. Not quite a snore, but a steady whistling sound escaped and trembled on her lips. Nick found himself smiling.

He wanted to kiss her awake, press his mouth hungrily on hers and demand a response, explore the chemistry they’d experienced last night. His lips tightened to keep from acting on the desire, but his body tightened too. Blood sang through his veins, streamlining toward his groin. His morning erection throbbed with excitement.

“Easy boy,” he whispered to himself. He owed the lady a debt of gratitude and she deserved better than randy thoughts or actions. Still, he admired the fullness of her breasts as they rose and fell with each breath. He did love the sight and shape and feel of a woman’s breasts.

“What?” Keri’s eyelids fluttered and then opened. She squinted at him as though unsure of the situation. Nick could tell the instant she remembered. Her face went all tight and her expression, guarded.

“Lamanto?”

He liked the sound of his name on her lips, liked the soft, Southern draw and the way she pronounced each syllable.

“Yeah.” He kept his expression bland though he felt more relaxed than he had in weeks. Sharing a bed with an intriguing woman ranked high on his list of favorite things.

“What are you doing in my bed?”

“We slept together last night. Don’t tell me you can’t remember. What a blow to my ego.”

She cocked a brow at him. “I imagine your ego can withstand a couple blows, and I don’t remember inviting you to share my bed.”

He ignored the part about not being invited to share. “Do you always wake up in such a grumpy mood?”

“Only when I’m chained to the bed,” she snapped, tugging her right arm in reminder of the cuffs.

“There’s nothing wrong with a little bondage,” he said, giving her a lazy smile. “Lots of people enjoy it. Some even pay for it.”

He knew it was the wrong thing to say when her eyes sparkled and her tone hardened.

“I’m sure you have experience to back up that comment, but I’m not interested. I’m not interested in anything before coffee.”

“You’re more open to sexual experimentation with caffeine in your system?”

“Yes. No!” she stuttered and glared at him. “Stop goading me. It’s annoying, and I’m barely awake.”

Nick’s grin widened as she continued.

“And stop looking at me that way.”

“What way?”

“Like I’m a trapped rabbit and you’re a hungry fox.”

He chuckled softly. “I am a hungry man and you do look delectable, but in case you’ve forgotten, my movements are seriously restricted. I can’t even hold you with both arms.”

“I don’t want you to hold me,” she insisted, her voice going hoarse.

“I promise you’d enjoy it.” His eyes met hers and he watched them widen. She held his gaze for a long, breathless minute. Suddenly his heart pounded with excitement and he knew touching her would bring him incredible pleasure too.

What he’d started as innocent teasing blossomed into unexpected longing. Need swelled in him, catching him off-guard and confounding him. He loved to flirt, loved women, but something about this small, sassy one reached right inside him and tugged at his heartstrings.

Not good, especially in their current circumstances.

Before either of them could break the tense silence, they heard the sound of a heavy vehicle nearing the cabin. Nick slowly rolled himself to the edge of the bed and stood. He loaded the clip into the pistol and tossed the handcuff key to Keri. He watched as she unfastened it and rubbed her wrist.

“Whoever it is, get rid of them,” he said, morphing into his cop persona.

She flashed him an annoyed glance. “We don’t get many visitors up here and we never send them away without an offer of coffee. It’s just not done in these parts, city boy.”

“Well, get creative, Miss Congeniality, unless you want to be handcuffed to our uninvited guest for the next few days.”

Expression grim, she turned toward the window, pulled back a curtain and looked outside. “Dwayne,” she said. “The first of many watchdogs my dad will be sending to check on me.”

Nick remembered meeting her cousin, Deputy Dwayne Merritt. He looked a lot like her brother Jack but carried about twenty pounds more weight. He served as an auxiliary officer to the sheriff’s department.

When the newcomer laid on the horn, her expression grew more mutinous. After a few long, loud honks, the blaring noise stopped and a truck door slammed. Nick watched from the bedroom window as she threw open the door and stepped onto the porch. Hands on hips, her hair and clothes tousled from hours in bed, she looked and sounded furious.

“What the hell are you doing, Dwayne? Trying to raise the dead with all that racket?” Her demand for answers rang loud and clear.

“Well hell, Ker, I didn’t figure you’d be in bed this time of the day.”

“I’m on vacation!” she yelled to be heard over the wind. “I came up here for uninterrupted rest and relaxation. If I want to sleep twenty-four hours a day, I’ll sleep twenty-four hours a day.”

“Well, don’t go all ballistic. Your daddy sent me to warn you about some foul weather headin’ our way.”

Nick could only see the side of Keri’s face, but he knew her scowl deepened.

“It’s the first of September. Our weather doesn’t get that foul in September.”

“This is a strange one according to the forecast and it blew up fast. Bad thunderstorms and a couple of tornado warnings. Your dad said you might get blasted with snow here on the mountain. He wanted to make sure you’re prepared.”

“I heard warnings on the radio last night,” she conceded, lifting her hands to keep her hair out of her eyes.

Nick noted the gusting wind and occasional whirlwind of leaves. Some of the smaller trees bent low while the sky darkened ominously. The temperature continued to drop.

“This cabin’s sturdy, I have supplies and plenty of firewood. Go away.”

“I could use a refill for my thermos.”

“You woke me up,” she snapped. “I don’t have coffee made.”

“Well, don’t get your panties in a twist,” snapped Dwayne. “Go back to bed. I’ll tell your dad you’re too damned contrary to listen to warnings. Mother Nature’s bad mood ain’t nothin’ compared to yours.”

“Goodbye, Dwayne.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, turning to leave. He’d reached his vehicle when she called out to him.

“Hey, Dwayne?”

Nick tensed, moving closer to the door in case she forced him to show himself and the gun.

“Do you have spare gasoline with you?”

“Sure. Why?” He yelled back at her. “You didn’t go and run yourself dry, did you?”

“No, I didn’t. I filled up at the bottom of the mountain, but some lousy thief emptied my tank.”

“A lot of that goin’ on. I’ll tell your dad.”

“Don’t even think about it. I don’t want him up here lecturing or hovering. I just want a couple gallons of gas.”

“Well, it’ll be my hide if he finds out from somebody else.” Dwayne moved to the back of his vehicle and lifted out a five gallon gas can. “I’m duty bound to report the theft.”

“In that case, I’ll be duty bound to tell him how you showed Marla Moville your cruiser last week. You had the windows nice and steamed in the wee hours Tuesday morning.”

His response was explosive. “Damn it now, Keri!”

“Damn it now, Dwayne!”

Nick watched as the two faced off with equally belligerent expressions. Stubbornness had to be a genetic Merritt trait, but he knew who’d win this particular battle. Dwayne set the gas can on the porch, grunted a concession to her demand and turned to go. He had nearly returned to the truck when Keri yelled again.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“How’s Deputy Monroe doing?”

Nick strained to hear the response.

“Okay, I guess, but that friend of his tried to kill him again last night. Some friend. Destroyed some equipment, but the hospital alarms scared him off again.”

“You mean Lamanto?”

The only part of Dwayne’s response Nick could hear was the word
foreigner
. His jaw locked in irritation.

Keri grabbed a porch pillar to brace against the wind, still yelling to be heard. “Don’s okay?”

Thunder prevented Nick from hearing the reply. He watched her wave as her cousin revved the engine of his jacked-up truck. As soon as he headed down the road, she stepped back into the cabin and took the gas can with her.

“Whew! It’s really getting ugly out there,” she said, setting the can aside and leaning against the closed door.

Nick lowered the gun as he moved closer. “What’d he say about Don?”

“That you tried to kill him again last night.”

He shrugged off her sarcasm. “How is he? How successful was the attack?”

“All Dwayne said was he’s still unconscious.”

“How the hell could it happen?” he demanded harshly. “Why the hell wasn’t someone guarding him?”

She stared, studying him with big, curious eyes. “Are you angry because you’re still under suspicion?”

“I’m angry because Don is an officer of the law. He deserves more respect, some loyalty and a helluva lot better protection.”

Her chin rose and her spine stiffened. “Times are tough everywhere,” she defended. “Hospital and law enforcement work hours have been slashed. We do the best with what we’ve got.”

“That’s an excuse for letting a good man die?”

“He’s not dead!” she snapped. “Our trauma team got him stabilized in record time. The gunshot wound was superficial, but he suffered a severe blow to his head. We all do our best. What we can’t do is protect the world against lunatics with guns!”

“Can’t or won’t?” he snapped.

She glared at him. “What are you suggesting?”

“I’m saying it’s damned suspicious that someone managed to get to him again.”

“They think you’re the villain. They probably thought you left the state.”

“I’m not, and I didn’t.”

“Maybe you didn’t shoot him but you can’t blame them for suspecting you. You disappeared and hid from the search teams. Why not go straight to my dad and tell him you’d been shot too?”

The question surprised him into silence. He clamped his mouth shut and returned her steady gaze. Tension hummed between them as the silence grew. He could see the wheels of her brain spinning until she came up with the answer herself.

“You don’t trust my dad?” she said on a gasp of outrage, her body stiffening. “You think he or someone in his department is dirty?” When he still didn’t comment, she stepped close and slapped an open hand on his chest. The slap jarred his shoulder a little but the heat of her touch seared him through the thin shirt. That, combined with her flare of temper, stirred him in a totally different way.

“Listen here, city boy! My dad is the best of the best. There’s nobody more honest or trustworthy. He’s too smart and too experienced to let anyone pull the wool over his eyes. And he would never condone someone shooting one of his deputies!”

Nick agreed. Her dad was as sharp as they came. Walt Merritt knew everything that happened in his county. So he either had to be quietly collecting evidence or actively participating in illegal activities. When it came to militia movements, you couldn’t always tell the good guys from the fanatics. For all he knew, his lovely nurse-captive might be an anti-government militant at heart.

Instead of arguing, he lowered his gaze to where her hand still pressed against him. He puffed out his chest and gave her a come-hither look. She snatched it back and snarled at him.

“Don’t try changing the subject with your playboy tactics. If you aren’t responsible for the attack on Don, then why did you run?”

“An innate sense of self-preservation?” he suggested. “My gut told me to retreat until I had more answers than questions.”

“And if you didn’t shoot Don that means someone shot both of you. Why would anyone want to shoot you? What were the two of you doing anyway? Did you bring enemies from Miami?”

When Nick didn’t attempt to answer, her scowl deepened and she continued to lecture him. “You should have gone to my dad. If you’re an innocent victim, we should head straight back to town, talk to my dad and check you into the hospital.”

“So someone can take another shot at me?” he asked tersely.

Keri propped her hands on her hips. “Now you’re suggesting I can’t be trusted? After I went to the trouble of patching you up last night?”

A thud on the front porch cut off her tirade. Nick glanced out to see an overturned chair and blamed it on the storm. He let out a sigh and raked a hand through his hair. “I’m suggesting we call a truce while we get some food and batten down the hatches.”

Keri sighed. “We don’t batten down too many hatches in the mountains,” she said in a calmer tone. “I guess if we’re gonna be stuck here awhile, I could use some coffee. How’s the shoulder?”

“Throbbing like a sonofabitch, but not so feverish or bleeding.”

“You need food and then more meds. I’ll take a look after breakfast. I hope you’re not planning to use the gun or handcuffs anymore. I won’t be so easy to intimidate now that I’ve had some sleep.”