Alaskan Heat

by Pam Champagne

  Sophie rolled down the window, got on her knees on the floor. He watched her pull out her gun and groaned. Her entire body trembled worse than an aspen tree.

  “Ready?” He floored it and the engine screamed in protest. “Here we go!”

  The sedan was no match for the F-250 when it came to impact. The truck hit it, folding the right front tire under the carriage. They bounced onto the pavement and headed north.

  Sophie checked in her side-view mirror. “Their radiator’s steaming. I don’t think we’ll be seeing them for awhile.”

  “Don’t count on it. Whoever’s down at Pinkie’s place must have transportation.” He flashed a grin. “Their radiator isn’t the only one smoking. We’ve got to stop. How far’s the next garage?”

  “Hold on. I’ll check the map.”

  Sophie’s hands still shook as she opened the glove compartment. Shit. Stan must have a loose screw. He’d never seen anyone so green and unprepared sent on this type of assignment. Now the question became what was he going to do with her? He had enough on his plate, worrying about his own skin, without watching out for someone else.

  He’d pegged Sophie the moment he’d met her. A woman with a big heart and little courage when it came to shootouts and the like. The typical girl-next-door. Someone who’d marry a banker, or perhaps lawyer. A clear image of her meeting her husband at the door each night with a smile and a baby on her hip played in his head. No matter how much he wanted her, she wasn’t for him. For the second time in his life, he’d found a woman who did more for him than satisfy him sexually. A relationship with Sophie didn’t have much hope of ending any better than the first one.

  Sarah, the woman he’d been sure was his one and only. She’d been the epitome of everything he’d missed as a child. He felt secure in her love, while her constant optimism convinced him he could have a life with a happy ending. Until he’d popped the question. Everything changed when she’d agreed to be his wife. The complaints began. At first they were small. “Be on time for supper tonight, honey. You’ve been late three nights straight.” Why didn’t Sarah understand his job wasn’t a nine to five one?

  After six months, there didn’t appear to be anything his fiancée liked about him, including his lovemaking. As difficult as it had been, Hawk had said goodbye to the one woman he’d thought was his soul mate.

  Sophie’s whisper jolted him back to the present. “I would’ve done it, you know.”

  He didn’t pretend not to know what she meant. “It doesn’t matter. I’m glad you didn’t have to shoot. Have you found a garage? We need to get the radiator fixed and regroup.”

  She studied the Canadian Milepost. “There’s a small RV park about eight miles from here. It’s right on the road. Nothing special. Just a parking lot by a small country store. Says here they do automotive repairs.”

  “Great.”

  The truck chugged along at under twenty miles per hour, leaving a ribbon of steam in its wake. By the time they pulled into the RV park, the smell of the overheated radiator had them both coughing.

  “Keep an eye out for our tails. I’ll go talk to the owner.”

  Hawk found an old man tinkering underneath a beat-up van in the one bay garage. “Howdy,” he said, looking up. “What can I do for ya?”

  “I’ve got a busted radiator. Think you can take care of it?”

  The mechanic, at least that’s what Hawk hoped he was, emerged from under the van and spat a large brown wad onto the cement floor. Chewing tobacco puffed out his left cheek, giving him a chipmunk-like appearance. “More n’ likely.” He fiddled with what looked like a distributor cap. “Soon as I get this heap up and running. Probably get to it by Monday.”

  Monday? Christ. Today was only Wednesday. Hawk scanned the lot, an idea forming. “Be right back.” Putting on his best smile, he hurried to the truck.

  Sophie shook her head, her tangled curls flying in all directions. “No. Absolutely not.”

  One look at the stubborn set of her chin and Hawk knew he had a fight on his hands. “We don’t have a choice. We can’t sit here for five or more days.”

  “I’ve had this truck for four years. I’m not going to abandon it in some godforsaken rundown garage in the middle of nowhere. And my stuff. What about that?”

  “Go talk to the guy. Flash your smile and your badge. Tell him it’s an emergency. You’ve got to borrow a car and you’ll bring it back within a week. By then your truck will be good as new. You pay him and you’re on your way home.”

  Her eyes narrowed. He smelled the wheels turning in her head. “On one condition.”

  “Name it.”

  “I go to Dan and Maria’s with you. Otherwise, I call Stan, tell him what’s happened and we wait for the FBI to come bail us out.”

  Blood rushed to his head. Calm down, before you have a stroke. He wanted to throttle her, but she held all the cards, had all the money and all the identification. She left him no fucking choice except give in to her blackmail.

  Less than an hour later, Hawk sat in the passenger seat gnashing his teeth. He’d wanted to take the Chevy sedan. Instead, he’d watched Sophie supervise while two men loaded her camper onto a year old Ford pickup.

  Her self-satisfied smirk added fuel to his anger. “Happy now?”

  She flashed him a silly grin. “Very. I’ve become attached to the gypsy lifestyle. You know, a home on the back of the truck. Sort of like a turtle. Pull your head in and you’re home. Not to mention the ability to move on in the blink of an eye.”

  “Yeah. Sort of like the way I feel about women.”

  He pretended not to see the hurt in her eyes. At least he’d knocked the smug look off her face. Then why did he feel like he’d just kicked a litter of nursing puppies?

  He unwrapped one of the sandwiches they’d bought at the store, if it could be called that. They’d settled for peanut butter and jelly, since it seemed to be the safest choice. The deli meats were a bit green around the edges, and he wouldn’t have touched the tuna fish if he’d been a starving man. He handed her a half.

  “No, thanks.”

  “You one of those women who refuses to eat when they’re pissed?”

  Sophie shot him one of her famous “if looks could kill” stares and snatched the sandwich.

  “Grape or orange?” he asked, holding up two cans of soda.

  “Grape. Does being rude come naturally or did you have to practice to get it perfect?”

  He chewed his food, pretending to give the matter thought. “Not sure. A little of both, I guess.”

  “You’ve got it down to a science.”

  “How’re the new wheels?”

  “A lot smoother than my older Ford, although I’m accustomed to standards. Driving an automatic feels strange. How did Blair and Reed know about Pinkie?”

  “Must have found my info sheet on him at the apartment.”

  “They sure weren’t going anywhere in that car. If we’re lucky, we can gain a day on them.”

  “That’s why we’re driving straight through. I’ll take the night shift. I’m willing to chance it. I doubt many cops will be patrolling after sunset.”

  Sophie chewed on the inside of her lip. No matter what she said, Hawk was hell bent on doing things his way. “Whatever.”

  The next time she chanced a look, he was sleeping. If not for the soft snore, she’d have wondered if he was unconscious. Good. She needed some alone time to straighten out her head.

  Recrimination racked her insides. She’d always wondered if she had the guts to be a field agent. Now she knew the truth. Faced with the possibility of gunfire and death, she’d failed. She’d told Hawk she would have fired her weapon. Was that true? She was the total opposite of the man she loved. She was weak, a coward. Someone who couldn’t be counted on to watch a partner’s back. Why hadn’t Stan known it? Why had she fought so hard to be an FBI agent? How had she breezed through the academy with flying colors?

  “Stop beating yourself up.”

  Chapt
er Eight

  Sophie tightened her grip on the wheel. So much for peace and quiet. “I thought you were dead to the world.”“The sound of grinding mental anguish woke me up.”

  Sophie swallowed a lump in her throat, determined not to cry. “I’ve got no clue what you’re talking about.”

  “Yes, you do. You’re having doubts whether or not you would have fired on Bob and Jack.”

  Her temper overheated, and words bubbled from her mouth. “I’m so damn sick and tired of you, Joe Hawkins. You think you know me. What I’m thinking, what I’m feeling, what I want or don’t want. News flash. You don’t have a fucking clue what you’re talking about.”

  “Calm down.” He trailed his finger down her bare arm. She slapped it away.

  “Hey,” he said, “keep your hands where they belong. It’s a long drop down these embankments.”

  Hawk turned and faced her. “What you’re asking yourself isn’t unusual. You’re not the first agent to doubt themselves and you won’t be the last. Ease up on yourself.”

  “Can we change the subject?”

  He shrugged. “Sure.”

  “Tell me about Dan and Maria.”

  Hawk pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why don’t you apply for a transfer to the interrogation department? You excel at it.”

  Sophie wondered at his hesitancy. Stan had mentioned Hawk’s friendship with the couple. Why didn’t he want to discuss them? “I’m waiting.”

  “They’re former agents.”

  She might as well try to pull a cat’s tooth. “Tell me something I don’t know. If you don’t want to talk about your friends,” she said, giving him a big smile, “we could always talk about us.”

  He jackknifed from his slumped position in the seat. “Us? What about us?”

  Sophie tapped her finger on the horn. “You know…our relationship.” Was it her imagination or were those beads of sweat forming on Hawk’s brow? If it hadn’t been so sad, she’d have laughed. Amazing how men reacted to the word relationship. Cripes. She was acting like a star struck teenager. Was she hoping after a few nights in her arms Hawk would fall madly in love with her? The sooner she accepted the man didn’t believe in love, the sooner she’d be able to drag herself out of her fantasy and get on with her life. He threw himself whole-heartedly into sex while guarding his heart like it was the Hope Diamond.

  Hawk started cracking his knuckles. Something she’d not seen him do before. She’d really hotwired his nerves. He cleared his throat. “I’m not ready to have this conversation. After I take care of Bob and Jack, then…well, we’ll talk.”

  Sophie latched onto those words faster than an alligator would snatch a stray cat. Frightened to make more of it than it was, she let it slide.

  “I met Dan and Maria about ten years ago. We went through the academy together.”

  He gave her a quick look, and when she raised her eyebrows, he continued. “We hit it off. Became buddies.”

  He visibly relaxed. Tension drained from his face as he shared his friends. “I was a wreck when they got married. Thought that’d be the end of the friendship, but I was wrong. They’ve always treated me like part of the family.”

  Sophie knew how important the feeling of family must be to Hawk. It was also a reason to fear love and commitment. She came out of her musings just in time to hear him say, “Dan and Maria are the only two people I’d trust with my life.”

  Whoa! She’d hoped by now Hawk had at least some faith in her. Her instincts were as bad as her bravery.

  “Anything else you want to know?”

  “Why’d they leave the Bureau?”

  “Burn out. Saw too much action. They both loved the AK, so it made sense that’s where they’d head. I don’t talk them as much as I used to, but I got the impression making a living up there isn’t easy.”

  “Do they work?”

  “Maria’s a freelance writer for nature magazines. Last I heard Dan had formed an Internet company to design websites and whatever else computer geeks do. It’ll be great to see them.”

  Sophie took a deep breath, hoping her next question wouldn’t rile Hawk. “I’m curious. Exactly what do you think they can do to help? Especially since we know Bob and Jack probably know your destination.”

  The silence stretched on, but Sophie was patient. She’d learned Hawk sometimes gave considerable thought to his answers.

  “I planned to ask them for a safe haven and their help while I cleared my name. Ask them to come out of retirement. I thought they might still have clout with higher ups in the Bureau. Now it’s all changed. The last thing I want to do is bring trouble to their door, but I trust they can handle it. I’m confident they’ll help me when Blair and Reed show up. Once those two bastards are in custody, I’ll turn myself in.”

  Unable to keep it down, Sophie burst into laughter. “I’ve never seen anyone lie so smoothly and without a hint of guilt.”

  He pressed his hands over his heart. “You wound me.”

  “You’re still planning your own form of vengeance. Then you’ll be wanted for another crime. Is that what you want?”

  Leave it to Sophie to stick a pin in a festering boil. He swallowed and forced his answer by a lump the size of a tennis ball. “Don’t worry about me.” Hawk reclined on the headrest and attempted to sleep. A whirlpool in his head tossed around her words. When had he become more intent on settling scores than letting justice prevail? He pushed revenge aside and attempted to drag out possible scenarios of his next encounter with the traitorous agents. Exhaustion won and he drifted on the verge of sleep. Sophie’s voice snapped him from his private place.

  “One more thing.”

  Damn women. Always have to pick apart every word, every thought. “Spill it.”

  “Your idea of driving straight through to Eagle is insane. Driving this road in the dark with the hills and curves, we’d be asking for trouble. Moose hang out in the road at night, not to mention dense patches of fog lurking at this time of year.”

  “I knew it was too good to be true when you agreed so readily.”

  “I never agreed. I just kept my mouth shut.”

  “I should be so lucky,” he muttered. “What time is it?”

  “The clock on the dash right in front of you says ten o’clock.”

  Okay. She was cranky. He was cranky. The circumstances bred one huge mother fucking crank ball. Pulling out the map and Milepost, he hunkered in the seat with a pencil.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Calculating distances.”

  “We’re less than one thousand miles from Eagle. It’s four hundred miles to Whitehorse. Ten hours or less if we don’t run into problems. Five hundred nineteen miles from Whitehorse to Eagle. I figure we can make Whitehorse tonight. If we hit the road at dawn tomorrow, we’ll be in Eagle in eleven hours or so.”

  At a loss for words, Hawk stared at Sophie. “Wow. You had it all figured out.”

  She gave him a cheeky smile, which in turn gave him a hard-on. “It’s what I do for a living.”

  Hawk popped the question he’d put off asking. “Are you ready to tell me what Stan has up his sleeve? Am I going to be barraged by FBI agents the moment we drive into Dan and Maria’s driveway?”

  The eyes Sophie turned in his direction held nothing but honesty. He’d swear on it. “I have no idea. My assignment was to accompany you there and make sure you didn’t do anything crazy.”

  “It’d be nice if you could find out.”

  Without warning, Sophie slammed on the brakes and pulled the wheel sharply to the right. A tractor trailer truck had veered into their lane and was coming straight at them. Hawk pitched forward and, if not for the seatbelt, would have smashed into the dash. “Jesus! Where do these fools get licenses?”

  The pickup slid onto the gravel shoulder, and Sophie fought to control it. Hawk prepared himself for a rollover, whispering a prayer of thanks when she managed to bring the rig to a complete stop. “Are you all right?” He breathed the words, bare
ly hearing them over his heavy heartbeat.

  “Yes. I heard a thump in the back, so I think Rueger took a spill.”

  “We’ll stop at the next turn out and check on him. Too dangerous to do it here.”

  Sophie leaned forward to rest her forehead on the steering wheel. This didn’t look good. Was she hurt or just shaken? “Talk to me. Do you want me to drive?”

  She sat up and twisted her body. Never had he seen anyone so pale. Her legs were shaking so hard he doubted she’d be able to step on the gas pedal. “Please. I’d appreciate it.”

  Sophie letting him drive without an argument? His worry deepened. He let himself out. A quick check in the back reassured him Rueger was okay. “Slide over,” he said after opening the driver’s door.

  “Rueger?”

  “Other than a bruised ego, he’s fine.”

  Soon they were on the road and she hadn’t said a word for over thirty minutes. With her head turned away from him, she stared out the window.

  “Hey. Are you awake?”

  The question earned him a nod.

  “Something bothering you other than you haven’t recovered from the close call with the ditch?”

  “That truck driver tried to kill us. He almost succeeded.”

  Huh? “It was an accident, Sophie. Not intentional.”

  She glared at him. “I don’t think so. He deliberately ran us off the road. I’m sure he’s with Jack and—”

  “You’re wrong. The man had a cell phone wedged between his ear and shoulder. It was driver inattention. That’s all.”

  She shrank in the seat and seemed to fold within herself. “I’m sorry.”

  Those were the last words she spoke for the rest of day. He stopped twice for gas. Like a robot, she climbed out, went into the store to pay, got back in and pretended to doze. Hawk knew damn well she didn’t sleep a wink. Her breathing fluctuated between ragged and shallow. Not once was it even as it would have been during a deep slumber.

  “You did a great job today, Sophie. You handled this rig like a pro. I thought for sure we were going to tip and roll down the embankment.”

  She ignored him.