The Trouble With Love (10 page)

He took a deep shuddering breath and then she saw his eyes fill up.  "Thank god..." he said in a
choked
whisper.

"Cole, what the hell is wrong?"  His reaction was scaring her
,
and
she moved her fingers up to her face and felt around
.

"I thought you were cut to pieces, baby..." he
said weakly then
swallowed and she saw a tear track down his left cheek.
"But it must be blood from the deer.
..I only see a few nicks from the glass.
"

She reached up for the visor and this time he didn't stop her.  Pulling it down she leaned forward to the light and saw her face was covered in blood smudges, then she leaned back and looked down at her chest and hands, blood everywhere. 

Sabrina
gagged and grabbed the door handle, then pulled the door open and rolled out right before she tossed her beer.  That's all she'd had tonight, thank goodness.  A few heaves and it was over, but her stomach was still churning.  He reached into the center console and pulled out a pack of wet wipes and handed them to her
, along with a bottle of mouthwash
.  She took a couple out and wiped her face, hands and chest,
then gargled with the mouthwash and threw the wipes into the woods
.

"I can handle blood on other people, I just can't handle it on me...sorry," she said weakly and got back inside then laid her head against the seat back.

"You okay?" he asked in a strained voice.

She looked over him and gave him a wobbly grin.  "Yeah...how about you?  You're pretty pale."

Cole didn't answer, he just heaved a shuddering sigh th
en leaned back against the seat,
then swallowed again.
  "You see how bad the car is?"

"No, I was looking at the ground," she told him with a watery chuckle.

He lifted up and slid out of the seat to walk around the SUV then she saw him shake his head, before he walked back and leaned inside.  "Tire's flat and the fender is crushed into it.  I know my cell won't work out here, but my radio might," he told her and sat in his seat leaning over to grab the microphone from the dash.  He keyed it twice, then said "Unit 1 to base...anyone copy?
" 

After a minute or two when he didn't get an answer, he tried again with the same dead air space.  He pulled out his cell and it didn't have receptio
n.  She'd left her cell at the ranch, not that she thought she'd have any better luck.  The cell phone reception here sucked.

Cole beat his fist on the steering wheel then looked over at her.  "We're not far from Luke's cabin...that's where we were going.  We'll have to walk, think you're okay to do that?"

"Yeah, let's go," she said and reached into the glove compartment to get her gun and strap it on.

"Have I told you how sexy that thing looks on you?" he said in a low sensual
drawl
.

She cut her eyes at him and snorted. "Yours looks pretty sexy too...makes me want to feel up your gun."

"Honey, you can feel up any damned thing you want to
."

"Seems like every time that's about to happen, we get interrupted."

"I have patience...it's
going
to happen."

"Maybe we should take it as a sign and just remain friends," she told him only half joking.  Sometimes when you pushed against fate it pushed back twice as hard and you
wound
up hitting a deer on a country road to wake you up
to that fact
.

"No way," he told her angrily.  "This isn't
a sign, it's a fucking
accident
.
"

"Calm down, Cole...I was just kidding," she told him in a soothing tone.

He grunted,
turned on the emergency flashers, then
got out of the SUV and slammed the door, before stomping around the truck and opening her door.  "Come on, we've got at least three miles to walk."
 
Cole was frowning now and definitely not in his former jovial mood.
 
"Luke has a land line at his cabin, so I'll call a tow truck from there," he told her then turned and started walking.

"Cole wait..." she said softly and he stopped, but didn't turn around.  He was standing in the headlights and she could see his fists were clenched at his side.  "Come back here for a second."  She stayed seated and waited for him to decide if he was going to comply.

She saw him take a couple of deep breaths, then he turned around and walked back over to her.  "Yeah?" he asked her shortly, his jaw working around the word.

"I'm sorry if I upset you...
I didn't mean anything by what I said,
" she told him softly and put her hand on his cheek,
rubbing
her thumb over the muscle ticking along his square jaw.
  "I had fun tonight, thank you for taking me out
, and b
elieve me when I say
I definitely want you as much as you want me
.
..that's been my problem all along.
"

She felt his shoulders relax a little and slid her hand up to tangle in the hair at his nape. After a long hesitation, he finally asked her, "Why is that a problem?"

"Because wanting you makes me feel guilty...Kenny's only been dead for eighteen months...
"

He tensed up again and told her through gritted teeth, "Sabrina you can't crawl in the grave with the man--he's dead.  You're a young vibrant woman, and if he was half the man you say he was, he'd want you to move on."

"That's not what's making me
feel
guilty, Cole.  My problem is that although
I loved him, I never wanted him the way I want you...you make me crazy."

She heard a rumble in his chest then he took a step forward and pulled her into his arm
s
, his mouth moved over hers and he gave her a tender kiss, worshiping her mouth with his. He pulled back and then said, "Thank you for telling me that...I was wondering if I was going to have to fight a ghost
for you
."

Shaking her head, she reassured him, "No ghosts, Cole, only you...and I'm working on the guilt thing."

Cole
nodded then
gave her a hug,
before he
pulled her out of the truck and slammed the door.  He took a key off his key ring, then put the rest under the right front tire.
  "Let's go."

CHAPTER
SIX

It took Cole and Sabrina an hour to make it to Luke's cabin, and they were both sweaty, exhausted and thirsty by the time they got there.  Cole saw Sabrina limping once they hit the long driveway to the cabin, so he'd piggybacked her from there.  Her boots looked new and had probably rubbed blisters on her feet.

He walked up the steps to the cabin and across the front porch to the door, where he gently slid her down his back to stand.
  He put the key in the lock and opened the door, then took her hand and led her inside the dark cabin.  After searching around, he finally found the light switch and flicked it on. It took his eyes a moment to adjust, and when they did they landed on Cassie's shapely backside shining up from the sofa where she was draped over Luke.

Luke stirred first and rubbed his eyes, then squinted with his hand shading them.  "Cole? What the hell are you doing here?" his voice was low, gravelly and agitated.

"I thought you were on your honeymoon..." Cole said with a wry twist of his lips.

"I
am
on my honeymoon, we came back a couple of days early to hide out here.  Didn't tell anyone because I wanted to be
alone
with my
wife
."

"Oops...sorry, Slick," Cole told him with a chuckle and stared at Cassie's butt again.  That woman had a fine behind.

Luke noticed where
Cole
was looking and growled, then jerked a cover over her.  "Quit staring at my wife's ass."

"I wasn't staring...I was admiring," Cole teased him with a grin.

"Don't
look
at it
at all
," he growled then asked, "
What the hell are you doing here anyway?
"
Cassie stirred in Luke's arms and he kissed her head and rubbed her back.

Cole felt blood rush up his neck to his cheeks, but he tried to cover it with Luke and said, "We hit a deer down the road and wrecked the SUV."

A knowing grin split Luke's face and he told him,
"Okaaay
--n
ext question is,
why
were you on my road?  You live twenty miles from here, and the Double B is fifteen in the other direction."

"It's a beautiful night...we felt like a drive," Cole replied vaguely
and pulled Sabrina to his side
.
  He was worried,
because
she was too quiet.

Luke hooted and his smile grew
, then he said with a wink,
"Sure, buddy...I believe that
.
"

Cassie woke up right then and gasped, then kissed Luke's neck.  "Stop that, cupcake.  We have company," he told her and she jerked awake
then
looked over her shoulder at them,
tugging
the cover higher.

"
What the hell?" Cassie
shrieked
,
not looking
very happy.

"We were in the neighborhood and decided to drop by?" Cole
replied
flippantly.

Cassie snorted then said, "Not likely...try again."

"We hit a deer down the road and totaled the SUV?"

"That I might buy," she told him, then finished, "
Doesn't explain why you were on this road to begin with though.
"

"Do you and Luke
always
think alike? 
D
o you share a brain or something?"

Luke chucked and looked down at
Cassie
and waggled his eyebrows then told him, "Or something."

"Anyway--we
did
hit a deer, and the truck is totaled.  I need to call a tow truck."

"Ya'll okay?" Cassie asked and looked them over thoroughly
.  He saw her eyes hesitate when she noticed
all the blood that covered Sabrina's
skin and
clothing
.

"We're fine...just
walked three miles to get here."
Cole ran a hand through his hair in frustration
and asked,
"Can we just skip the rest of the inquisition?"

Luke sat up and slid out from under Cassie and put one naked leg on the floor.  Cole jerked Sabrina's head to his chest and covered her eyes.  "Whoa man, get some clothes on, would you?"

"What
,
you afraid your girlfriend might see something she hasn't ever seen before?"

Cole growled, "Just put your fucking pants on."

Luke chuckled and stood up buck naked, then picked up his jeans off the floor and slid into them. "Better?"

Cole let Sabrina go and then walked across the room and jerked the portable phone off the kitchen table
.  He
dialed
Toby's Garage
to get
the emergency number
from the recording
, then
he
called
what he assumed to be Cody Lawson's cell phone number and told him where to pick up the SUV.

He walked back into the family room and saw Luke talking to Sabrina, then heard him ask, "Why're you wearing your gun, sugar?  Expecting trouble?"

Sabrina's jaw flapped a few times, then she said, "Um...there's something I need to talk to you and Cassie about, Luke."
 

Luke eyed her warily and put his hands on his hips, "Shoot, sugar...
" His eyes moved to her holster then back to hers and he added, "
figuratively of course
.
"

Giving Luke a weak smile, Sabrina tried to gather her thoughts and figure out exactly what she wanted to tell him.  God, she hated telling them
anything yet
...they were still on their honeymoon.  But Sabrina figured it would be better to just spit it out than to hedge.  Like she was ripping off a band aid. 

"My brother called while you were gone, and told me he's in trouble...he needed somewhere to lie low.  I invited him to stay with me at the Double B...I hope you don't mind."
  Sabrina felt Cole step up beside her and slide his arm around her waist
then he gave
her a squeeze of encouragement.  She needed it.

Luke shook his head like he hadn't quite heard her right, then said in a low concerned voice, "What kind of trouble is he in?"

"The kind where people chase you...and kill you," she admitted hesitantly.

Huffing out a short breath, Luke sat back down on the couch beside Cassie and dropped an arm over her shoulder.  "
The kind that could get
you
and other people I care about killed in the process?"

Sabrina watched his face redden and
he swallowed a couple of times
,
evidently reaching for control
.
  She nodded and told him, "He is a private investigator
in
Mesa
and was hired by some people trying to get out of a drug
and weapons
cartel
.  The cartel
had
k
idnapped
their
daughter
for leverage
.
  He found them, but they killed the
child and the family.
  He knows too much about it and now they're after him.
"

Vaulting
up off the sofa, Luke got closer to her face and yelled, "
What?!?
"

Sabrina flinched and Cole stepped between her and Luke and shoved
Luke's
chest to put some space between them.  "Calm down, Luke."

"
Calm down?
" Luke hissed then grated out between his teeth, "
My fucking wife and baby could get killed
by some drug cartel
, and you want me to calm down?
!
"
  Rage mottled his face and his jaw worked as he gritted his teeth.

Cassie stood up from the couch and walked up behind Luke and put her hand on his arm. "I don't think Sabrina intended to put anyone at risk, Luke...she just needed to help her brother."

"Well, whether she
intended
to or not, she
did
put you in danger.  Now we need to figure out what the hell we're going to do about it, before we go back to the Double B," he huffed out a frustrated breath and ran his hand through his thick dark hair.

Sabrina swallowed back the tears that burned her eyes and told him, "No worries, Luke...we'll be out of there tomorrow. 
We'll get out of
Bowie
, and
I'll help him find someplace else to go
," she told him then dropped her eyes, "
I'm sorry for not considering how this might affect your family."
 

And she truly was sorry for doing that.  When she'd told
Gabe
to come to
Bowie
, she hadn't been thinking at all...she'd just been worried sick he would be killed.  It was selfish...thoughtless of her.

"Come to my house," Cole said quickly.  "You'll be safe out there, it's out in the country and hard to find.  I have an alarm system
, if someone tries to break in," his green eyes looked bleak and desperate.

She knew he didn't want to let her leave, and that was his motivation, but she wasn't about to put him in danger too.  "No--we'll find somewhere else.  I don't want to cause anyone to get hurt."

Cole stepped back from her and shouted, "What about
you
, Bri--what about
you
getting hurt?  That damned brother of yours should have thought about
that
."

Her lower lip trembled and she was losing the battle with the emotion churning inside of her.  "He's my brother, Cole...the only family I have left.  I have to help him."

"He got your husband killed and now he's going to get
you
killed too," Cole spat then ran his hand over his face.

Sabrina was
shocked
that Cole had gone there...dumbfounded. 
He knew what it had taken her to forgive Gabe for his role in Kenny's death.  She'd told him
they'd been estranged for eighteen months
.  And now he was throwing it up in her face? 
Her heart
pinched
and hurt poured through her like acid.

She sucked in a breath then
said in a choked whisper,
"I need to go...
Luke
,
can you drive me to the ranch?  Gabe and I will be out in an hour."

Luke nodded at the same time Cole shouted, "
No!
" and grabbed her shoulders.

"You're coming to the house, Bri--you and Gabe.  I'll protect you...I'm sorry, honey."

S
abrina
shook off his hands and felt the tears start down her cheeks.  "No, we don't need your help, Cole.  Both of us are trained, we can protect ourselves."

Luke huffed out a breath
then asked her, "
Have you called the feds, Bri?"

"Not yet...Gabe tried someone he knew, but didn't get through.  He's worried that the cartel has inside people and might find him that way, so he's hesitant about who to trust."

"Okay...I know a few people that I trust
with the FBI
.  I'll call them
,
"
he offered.