The Trouble With Love (41 page)

Betty Lou gasped when
Sabrina
pulled off the robe and saw it, "Why in the
world do you need
that
..."

"Cole wanted me to wear it for protection...I can't say more than that." 

Betty Lou just shook her head then unzipped the bag and gathered up the dress then said, "Dive in, darlin'."

Sabrina ducked and pointed her hands over her head and through the opening, then Betty smoothed it down over her and pulled the zipper up the back.  She bent down and fluffed out the round train in the back and sighed.  "This is gorgeous...just perfect with your hair and makeup.  We done good, sugar
,
"
Betty Lou told her with a wink.
 

Sabrina thanked her again then Betty Lou got all her things together and left.
 
A few minutes later, the door opened and Cole stepped inside.  He'd evidently gotten a haircut and it was now slicked back and his face
was
shiny and clean-shaven.  He was so damned cute, she wanted to pinch him...so she did.  Walking over to him, she pinched his cheek, then stood up on her tiptoes and put a kiss on his lips.
  "And I'd marry you in jeans
and a t-shirt...or naked
."

He just stood there a minute grinning from ear to ear, with a loopy expression on his face.  She stepped back and smiled up at him and said, "Cat got your tongue, sugar?"

Taking a deep
shaky
breath, he released it then said, "I couldn't breath
e
, darlin'...
y
ou look so damned beautiful.
"
He pulled her to him and kissed her thoroughly,
then he looked
deeply into her eyes and
finished
, "
I can't wait til we get this done and you're my wife.
"

"Well go get your tux on, sugar, and let's get this show on the road.  We wouldn't want to be late for our own wedding."

He nodded and stepped back
from her then left, c
losing the door
behind him
.  Sabrina went and fluffed her hair in the mirror, then grabbed her purse off the bed and walked to the kitchen.  Her eyes popped when she saw ten men dressed in western wear standing there with
dark aviator sunglasses
covering their eyes and
small comm bo
xes attached to their collars.

Holy shit, she thought, it was the C
B
I--
Cowboy
Bureau of Investigations.
  Sabrina couldn't help herself, she burst out laughing and bent over holding her stomach.  Cole walked in behind her and pulled her up, grinning himself.  "What the hell?"

One of the agents cleared his throat, his face flushing red as he said, "Ms. Whitmore thought the suspect might try to blend into the ranks as an agent, so she told us to wear western wear to the wedding, since he'd most likely wear a suit...she also said we'd blend in better."

"Smart lady," Cole hooted and slapped his thigh.  "Damned smart!"

That must be what Betty Lou was talking about at the Double B...all the cowhands. It made sense now and she chuckled again.  Ms. Susan Whitmore was surely a smart woman...and she had a sense of humor too.
  But the reason for it all, suddenly crashed over her and she staggered then put her hand on the counter to steady herself.

Cole looked down at her with concern in his eyes and asked, "Are you feeling okay, darlin'?"

Breathlessly, she said, "Yeah...fine," but inside she wasn't fine.  Her nerves
had just
ramped up three or four notches, and
her hand moved to her thigh
just to reassure herself everything
was
going to be fine.

"Well, let's get going...it's a good drive to the Double B," Cole said then grabbed her elbow to help her to the car.  He'd rented a limo, but the agents were riding in that.  She and Cole would be riding in the '65
Mustang
in the garage.  It was their going away car, and she was excited about
finally
getting to ride in i
t
.  Yesterday, Cole had washed and polished it, until th
e finish looked like a mirror.

"You stay on the front porch and I'll pull the car out, so you don't get your dress dirty," Cole told her and kissed her hair then went to the garage and opened the door.  She heard a throaty purr as he cranked up the muscle car
.  When he drove it out of the garage
, the sun glinting off of the cherry red car blinded her
.  He
pulled around in front of the steps
and
left it idling
when
got
out
.  Walking over to the steps with a face-splitting grin,
Cole
extended his hand to her and said,
"Your chariot awaits, my darlin'."

Emotion clogged her throat as she stared at the handsome man who was going to be her husband in a
couple of
hours.  Her happiness couldn't be more complete
, she thought, as she
t
ook his hand and stepped down
to
the first step
, then
said, "And my prince too...I'm a lucky girl."

He pulled her to him and kissed her tenderly, savoring her mouth, telling her just how much he loved her through that kiss.  Stepping back he chuckled, "Yep, we're definitely getting a step ladder for you."

"I can't help it if I'm vertically challenged and all you cowboys around here are tall as oak trees."

He laughed and helped her into the car, making sure her dress was inside before he shut the door.
  Sabrina patted her hair and hoped it would hold out against the wind from the window.  With the concrete in a can that Betty Lou had used on it, a hurricane probably wouldn't budge it.

Cole slid into
the driver's
seat and pulled the car onto the driveway and the limo eased in behind
t
hem. 
When they got out onto the road, Sabrina
noticed a black Suburban a good distance ahead of them, and figur
ed it was another FBI vehicle leading the convoy.  They drove a few miles, then she reassessed
her assumption,
when the Suburban stopped in the road then turned sideways to block it. 

She gasped and braced herself when Cole slammed on the brakes and spun the
Mustang
around
then
floored it.  She screamed and ducked when bullets strayed the back window and it shattered.
They
zoomed
pas
t
the limo, which
had stopped
in the road too
, t
he
agents were out
side bracing on the
opened doors and firing at the Suburban.
  Cole didn't stop, he pushed the accelerator to the floor and kept going.
 

"Put your seatbelt on, darlin'," Cole told her calmer than he was actually feeling.  His gut was twisted in knots and he glanced back in the rearview and saw two agents on the ground, and the others still firing at the suburban.  Suddenly, he saw one of the guys in the Suburban pull out an automatic rifle with a grenade launcher attached...almost the same kind he'd used on them back at the compound.  He swallowed hard as he watched the guy fire right into the limo and it went up in a ball of flame.

Sabrina had looked back over the seat and
saw
it too.  "Oh, god, Cole...we're in deep shit
,
"
she said in a trembling voice.

"I'm glad we decided to take the
Mustang
..." he
told her
knowing she got the rest of the sentence
he didn't voice
, or we'd be dead.

Cole pressed harder on the accelerator and steered them down the long country road.  He knew a back way to the Double B and that's where he needed to get to, not just because of the wedding, but because all of his backup was there.  He didn't have any way to contact them, since there wasn't any cell coverage out here.
  It was all on him to get them there in once piece.

They passed a side road, and another car came out behind them, a black Dodge
Charger
, and Cole swallowed hard.  "Get your gun out, sugar," he told her and watched her wad up her dress until she found it and pulled it out then checked it.  "Are you carrying?" she asked him her eyes serious and determined.

"Yeah...but I didn't put extra ammo in the car, so take it easy."

"Okay...I have an extra clip in my purse, but that's it, so I'll make the shots count...or try to."

Cole looked in the rearview again and saw the car gaining on them. 
He had to get to the main road soon, so they had more room to maneuver.  It was about five miles ahead though, so that gave the
Charger
plenty of time to catch up with them, before then.  Cole reached inside his coat and laid his weapon down on the console between them.

Sabrina had gotten up on her knees and was crouching behind the seat facing the back with her weapon pointed out the broken back window.  He knew she'd take a shot when the guy got close enough to them...he just hoped her aim held steady with the bumpy potholes and gravel on the road.  When this was over, the suspension would probably be shot in his daddy's
Mustang
.  But Cole didn't really give a flying fuck, as long as he got them to the Double B safely.
  And those odds were pretty dicey at the moment.

The black car behind them gained some ground and was within ten or fifteen feet of their bumper.  The damned thing must be souped up, or have a turbo, Cole thought...the
Mustang
had a .
289 high-performance engine
and it was
almost
maxed out right now.  Th
ey were doing nearly
one
ten
, and the black car wasn't even breathing hard.

Sabrina fired and Cole saw the bullet glance off the windshield, leaving a crater, but not going through.  Fucking bulletproof glass, he thought, and cringed.  She was right, they were in deep shit.
  "Don't shoot anymore darlin', it's bulletproof."

"The tires aren't....as soon as we get to the main road, we can get some space and I'll take out the tires," she told him then plopped back on the seat and fastened her seatbelt.

He grinned over at her, "Good idea, sweetheart.  Have I mentioned I love it when you go all Dirty Mary?"

"That bastard isn't going to stop us from getting married, and he's not going to hurt any of us...including the baby
,
"
she told Cole with fierceness in her tone and
glittering blue
eyes.

Cole gripped the wheel and focused on getting them to the main road, his foot jammed against the floorboard, the black car right on their tail.  He knew if he let off an iota th
e
guy would ram them and try to send them into a spin
, so he held it steady and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the on ramp to the main road
.
  The
Mustang
took the curve smoothly then took off like a scalded ape when it hit the smooth pavement.  The black car wobbled a little taking the ramp, but the driver quickly got control back and
sped up.  Soon he was in the second lane trying to pull up beside them. 

Cole saw Sabrina unhook her
seat
belt again and he said, "Be careful darlin'...I'll hold your feet."
  She nodded, checked the gun then got on her knees again and leaned out the window aiming low at the tires.  Cole held onto her feet as the car swerved a little bit and then he straightened it out.  "Hurry, sugar," he urged her.

She fired a couple of rounds, but wasn't able to hit the tires of the low slung car.  She settled back on the seat and told him, "He's not close enough beside us.  The front end is too low for me to get the tire.