by Elle James
If not for that kiss.
Her lips still tingled and an ache she had never felt before built deep inside her.
Why had Cole kissed her? Did he think that would change anything?
She pressed her hand to her chest. It was so tight she could barely breathe. Was that a reaction to the kiss or the brush with death?
Vehicles lined up, close to the accident, their drivers waiting for the road to clear.
One by one, they moved through, the line shortening as law enforcement and firefighters cleared one lane of traffic.
A truck approached from the other direction, moving slowly. When it came within a hundred yards of her position, it stopped. The passenger door opened and a man got out. The light from the cab flashed on and then off as the door opened and closed.
CJ couldn’t see who had climbed out or who was driving. She waited, sinking lower in the shadows.
“CJ?” Cole’s voice called out.
Her heart skipped several beats and then slammed against her ribs, racing like a marathon runner’s at the end of a course. She rose from her position and almost sprinted out into the road. Survival instincts kicked in and she stopped, looked around, searching the shadows for anyone hiding, waiting for her to come out. The men who’d come after her might only have moved down the road from the burning vehicle. They could be close, watching for her to relax and appear where they could easily pick her off.
“CJ?” Cole called again.
“I’m here,” she responded, loud enough for him to hear.
“Keep talking.” He headed in her direction. “Tell me when I’m getting warmer.”
“You’re getting warmer,” she said, a smile pulling at her lips. She hadn’t played hide-and-seek since she had been a little girl when her parents were still alive. The memory warmed her.
“Don’t come out,” Cole said, lowering his voice. “Let Declan bring the truck to us.”
“I’ve no intention of presenting myself as a target,” she said. “Keep coming.”
When Cole was within range, she reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him into the shadows with her.
“Thank God,” he said and wrapped his arms around her.
She chuckled. “Did you think I’d run?”
He tipped her chin up and cupped her face with his hand. “Yes, I did.”
She clucked her tongue, her pulse racing, her body on fire where it touched his. “So little faith in me,” she said with forced lightness.
“So much understanding of your situation,” he said softly. “You’re alive because you relied on yourself and your instincts.” He bent to touch his lips to hers and then raised his head. “I thought I’d scared you away.”
“Me? Scared?” She gave a shaky laugh. She had been scared. Afraid of how she felt. Afraid of falling for someone and making him a bargaining chip Trinity could use to get to her.
Cole kissed her again. Hard this time. Then he stepped back. “Ready to make a run for it?”
No. She was ready for another real kiss. “I’m ready.”
Cole pulled her against him, shielding her body with his. “Let’s go.”
Declan had moved the truck as close to the edge of the trees as he could.
Cole and CJ took off in an awkward jog toward the vehicle, Cole using his body as the first line of defense against any bullets that might be lobbed their way.
When they reached the truck, he yanked open the door and shoved her into the front passenger seat. “Stay on the floorboard,” he said and jumped in behind her, slamming the door shut behind him.
CJ crouched, her arms on Cole’s knees, her chin on his lap.
Declan shifted into gear and took off, spitting up gravel from the shoulder as he lurched onto the pavement.
They hadn’t gone far when something pierced the back windshield and traveled through the cab and out the front windshield.
Declan cursed and slammed his foot down on the accelerator, launching the truck forward. He zigzagged across the road to make it harder for the shooter to get a bead on them. “Mack, Cole, get down!” Declan hunched over the steering wheel, keeping his head as low as possible.
Cole leaned over, covering CJ’s head and shoulders with his broad frame.
Another bullet smacked the rear window.
Declan jerked the steering wheel, sending the truck careening to the left.
CJ held on to Cole’s legs to keep from falling over.
Declan grunted and straightened the truck. “I think we’re pulling away from them.”
“I don’t see a vehicle behind us,” Mack said from the backseat.
“Then they were on the ground,” Cole said. “They were using what appeared to be AR-15s. I doubt they could have hit us if they’d been in a vehicle.”
“It won’t take them long to catch up.”
“Then we’ll just have to stay ahead of them,” Declan said, an edge to his voice. He maintained a breakneck speed, barreling down the highway.
Cole sat up and looked around. “Only about a mile to go to get to the gate.” He pulled out his phone and hit some buttons.
CJ shifted to ease a cramp forming in her calf.
“Someone open the gate and be ready to close it immediately,” Cole said into the phone. “We’re coming in hot and might have a tail.”
When he ended the call, he looked down at her. “Are you okay?”
CJ gave him a grimace. “I’m fine.” She tilted her head toward Declan. Blood dripped from his side onto the seat. “But your friend isn’t.”
Declan’s face was pale and his knuckles were white on the steering wheel. “I’m fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “We’re almost there.”
Cole ripped off his jacket and pulled his T-shirt over his head.
“Where were you hit?” he demanded.
“Doesn’t matter. We can take care of it when we get to Charlie’s.”
“Where?” Cole snapped.
Declan’s lips pressed into a tight line. “Right side, just below my ribs.”
Cole leaned over and pressed his T-shirt against Declan’s side.
Declan took his hand off the wheel for a second, to direct Cole’s hand to the spot, and winced.
“You keep your hands on the wheel. I’ve got this,” Cole said.
CJ knelt on the floor and leaned over the console. “Let me,” she said.
She slipped her hand beneath Cole’s and held the shirt in place, applying pressure to the wound.
Declan slowed the truck.
Cole put his hand around CJ’s hip and held on as they turned and passed through an impressive iron gate.
As soon as they were through, the gate shut. Men holding AR-15s waved them past and turned to face the gate and any threat that might present itself.
Declan picked up speed, taking them along the winding road into the estate, coming to a stop in front of the Halverson mansion. Declan shifted into Park and leaned his head against the headrest. “I can take it from here,” he said, reaching around to the wad of T-shirt soaked in his blood.
“The heck you can. I’ve got this until they get you out and someone else can take over.” CJ maintained pressure on Declan’s wound.
Charlie Halverson, her assistant Grace and her butler Roger Arnold hurried down the steps to the truck.
“We’re going to need an ambulance. Declan caught a bullet,” Cole said as he dismounted and came around the other side.
“Calling 9-1-1.” Mack hit the numbers on his phone while climbing out of the back.
“Help me get him out,” Cole said.
Arnold joined Cole as he opened the driver’s door.
Grace stood behind them, her eyes wide, her face pale.
“I’ll get blankets, towels and sheets.” Charlie ran back inside.
Cole re
ached in, hooked Declan beneath his shoulders and dragged him across the seat and out of the cab.
“I can get myself out,” Declan said through gritted teeth.
“Right,” Cole grunted as he took the bulk of Declan’s weight, looping his arm over his neck as the injured man stumbled down out of the vehicle.
Arnold slipped under Declan’s other arm.
CJ scrambled across the seat and out to walk behind them, pressing the shirt against the wound in Declan’s back.
Grace hurried up the stairs and opened the other side of the double doors, her face tight, her expression worried.
Guilt stabbed CJ in the heart. Declan was injured because the shooters were gunning for her. If the man died, it would be CJ’s fault.
Collateral damage.
She shouldn’t have gotten them involved. This was her battle. She should have fought it alone.
An overwhelming desire to turn around and run from here swamped her. But if she did that, she’d be abandoning them. They were in it with her, whether she wanted them now or not. She had to stay. To help. Just as they’d helped her.
Charlie met them in the front foyer. “Bring him into the sitting room. I spread sheets out over the sofa.”
They carried Declan in and laid him on the sofa.
“You’re making a big deal out of a little flesh wound,” Declan said. He grunted as they rolled him onto his stomach to better see the wound.
CJ shrugged out of her backpack, dropped it on the floor and pulled her knife out of the scabbard strapped to her leg.
Cole gripped the hem of Declan’s shirt and held it tight.
CJ dug her knife into the fabric to cut an opening, then sheathed her knife and ripped the fabric up his back, exposing the bullet hole.
Grace gasped. “Oh, Declan.”
“Grace, I’m all right,” Declan said, his voice muffled against the sofa’s cushion. He held out his hand.
Staying out of the way, Grace sank to her knees and held his hand. “Sure, babe. Just a flesh wound.” A tear slipped from the corner of her eye. She glanced away. “Any news on that ambulance?”
“On its way,” Mack confirmed. “ETA five minutes.”
Arnold approached, folding a hand towel into a square. He placed it on the wound and applied pressure.
“Who’s on the gate?” Cole asked.
“Mustang, Gus and Jack,” Mack said.
“They know to check before they open the gate?” Cole asked.
“Roger,” Mack said. “Just got off the phone with them.”
CJ stood back, watching as the team rallied around their injured comrade. She wanted to help, but they had everything under control.
Her gaze met Cole’s.
He stepped away from the sofa and captured her arm in his, drawing her with him out of the sitting room. “Are you all right?” he asked.
She nodded. “I’m fine. It’s your friend who’s injured. He wouldn’t have been if I hadn’t gotten into the truck.”
Cole shook his head. “Did you shoot him?”
CJ’s brow dipped. “No. But—”
“Then it’s not your fault. Those men shot him.”
“But—”
He pressed a finger to her lips, shaking his head slowly. “You don’t have to do this alone anymore. We are going to help you.”
“You don’t understand,” CJ said. “Trinity won’t stop until I’m dead.”
“Then we have to stop Trinity. That was our goal. Whether we’d met you or not.” He smiled down at her. “You’ve already helped us once. You might as well stick with us.”
“Are you speaking for everyone on your team?” CJ shook her head. “They might not agree.”
“Your situation is exactly why we established Declan’s Defenders,” a voice said from behind Cole.
Cole turned to face Charlie Halverson and smiled. “Right. It’s what we do.”
Charlie smiled at CJ. “And until we stop Trinity, you can stay here.”
“I can’t impose on you,” CJ said.
“Yes, you can. What’s the use of having a big house if I can’t share it?” She nodded to Cole. “And since you’re assigned to help CJ, you’ll stay, as well. If you want, I can show you to your rooms.”
“If it’s all the same to you,” CJ said, “I want to wait until I know Declan will be okay.”
As if on cue, Mack exited the room. “Fire truck, ambulance and two sheriffs’ vehicles just passed through the gate.”
Charlie spun and headed for the sitting room. “How’s our patient?”
Mack followed. “Cranky.”
“He has a right to be.” Charlie’s voice faded.
CJ started to follow.
Cole gripped her arm, his eyes narrowed. “So, you’ll stay?”
Her lips tightening, CJ hesitated. She might be making a big mistake, but she nodded. “I’m staying.”
Cole relaxed. “Good. It will be easier for me to help you, if I know where you are.” They stood outside the door of the sitting room, staring in at Declan who was lying on the sofa, holding Grace’s hand. “I’m not sure how you’ve managed to lie low, but I’m willing to bet it wasn’t by talking to the police or sheriff’s deputies.”
She glanced out the window at the vehicles pulling up to the front of the estate. “True.”
“You might want to disappear while they’re here,” Mack called out. “We’ll avoid mentioning you as a passenger in the truck.”
“Or the Hummer,” Cole added.
Once again, they were putting their lives and integrity on the line for her.
Cole touched her arm. “Just go with it and get scarce.”
CJ nodded. “Thank you.”
Charlie led her to another room in the house that would allow her to watch without being spotted and questioned.
These people had gone above and beyond for her. No one had done that for her since...
She couldn’t remember.
Her eyes stung and filled. She blinked hard, appalled at the sudden emotional response. Hadn’t she learned anything from Trinity? Crying showed weakness. Never cry.
* * *
COLE HOVERED IN the massive entryway as the EMTs worked to stabilize Declan and load him into the ambulance. He kept a close watch on the door Charlie had led CJ through. He didn’t trust her not to run. The woman was skittish and rightly so.
The same first responders who had been at the scene of the Hummer fire were the ones who’d arrived in front of Charlie’s home.
While Declan was being cared for, the law-enforcement professionals spent a lot of time examining the truck and asking questions of Cole and Mack.
The ambulance left for the hospital with Grace riding in the back, still holding Declan’s hand.
What seemed like hours later, the sheriff’s deputies departed.
CJ emerged into the foyer, joining Charlie, Mack, Roger Arnold and Cole.
“After two attacks, I think it would be best to maintain perimeter security for the night,” Cole said.
“Arnold and I will help Charlie’s security guards. Mustang, Walsh and Snow will cover the night perimeter,” Mack said.
“I can pull night duty to relieve someone,” Cole offered.
“That goes for me, as well,” CJ said.
Mack shook his head. “We can only cover so much. If anyone gets by, Cole will be your only defense.”
CJ stiffened. “I can defend myself.”
“Which is a huge advantage,” Cole said. “It means while I’m watching your six, you can be watching mine. We’re a team, now. As a team, we look out for each other.”
“That’s right,” Mack agreed.
“And we will also be Charlie’s last line of defense,” Cole added.
“With everyone but you and Cole on the gat
e and walls, I’ll feel a lot better knowing I have two trained professionals watching out for me,” Charlie said.
CJ slung her backpack over her shoulder.
Charlie took her hand. “Now, if you two will come with me, I’ll show you where you can sleep.”
Cole followed CJ and Charlie up the sweeping staircase to the second level.
“You can have the blue room, CJ, and Cole will be in the room beside you, should you need assistance.” She opened the door and stepped inside. “There’s a bathroom across the hall. I’ll bring you something to sleep in, and I’ll have your clothing cleaned and ready for you by morning.”
“I don’t want to be a bother,” CJ said. “I have some things of my own. Although, nothing in the way of sleepwear.”
Charlie laughed. “Just so you know, you’re not the first one of our rescues to stay here. Grace and I have amassed a stash of clothing in different sizes. Seems we’re getting people who come to us in similar circumstances. You know, on the run, with nothing but the clothes on their backs.” Charlie’s brow furrowed. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. And we love to help. I would hope that if I find myself in a similar situation, someone will help me.”
“Thank you,” CJ said. For the second time in one day, that stinging feeling swept through her eyes and she blinked hard. She dropped her backpack on a chair.
“I’ll be right back with those clothes.” Charlie left CJ in the room with Cole.
“Are you all right?” Cole asked.
CJ blinked, squared her shoulders and faced him. “I’m perfectly fine.”
He touched a hand to her cheek. “Then why are you crying?”
CJ batted his hand away from her cheek and wiped her hand across a damp spot, appalled that a tear had slipped out of her eye and made a trail down her face. “I don’t cry,” she said through gritted teeth. “I never cry.”
“There’s no dishonor in crying.” Cole’s fingers curled around her arms.
“There is if it’s me.”
Cole’s jaw hardened. “Is that what you learned from Trinity?”
“I learned it even before Trinity, when they placed me in a foster home. No one cares about orphans. They’re expendable. Like their parents.”