He raised his head and looked at her through heavy-lidded eyes. His body shook as he spent himself, and at the end, he kissed her again, like he meant it, like she would be his forever...even though she was his for this moment and this moment only.
Later, she curled up against his body, his heartbeat strong and sure beneath her cheek, his breathing deep and heavy.
Her eyelids flew open. This was the chance she’d been waiting for. With Cole sound asleep, she could slip out of this bed, grab the bag of cash and never have to show up at the police station tomorrow.
Her leg jerked and Cole murmured in his sleep. She leaned in close and peered at his strong face in the darkness.
Leave Cole? Betray him?
She snuggled in close to his body and draped her arm around his waist. Even if it turned out she was a drug trafficker and was facing twenty-five years in prison, she could never abandon Cole.
He’d given her this one night...and that’s all she had to hold on to.
* * *
COLE BLINKED AGAINST the morning light leaking through the blinds. He bolted upright, a shot of adrenaline spiking through his system. He flung his arm to the side and swept it across the cool...empty sheet.
He rolled off the bed, scrambling for his jeans. Barefoot and buttoning his fly, he crashed into the living room and made a beeline for the bag of cash next to the sofa. He plunged his hand into the canvas bag and pulled out the stacks of money. Was it all there?
“Caroline?” He cranked his head around the small room, which gave him a view of the empty kitchen. He’d passed the bathroom on the way to the living room, and she wasn’t in there, either.
How could he have allowed himself to be duped that way? It had been what she’d wanted all along—the food, the offers of booze, the sex.
She’d wanted an escape—and he’d handed it to her because he couldn’t keep it in his pants.
As he shoveled the money back into the bag, the front door swung open and Caroline stepped across the threshold with a paper bag clutched against her chest with one arm.
She froze, her gaze tracking from the money bag to his face. “What are you doing?”
“Just checking on the money.”
She kicked the door closed behind her. “Just checking on me, you mean. You thought I skipped out.”
“I did have a second of panic. I’m sorry.”
She walked past him, swinging the bag. “I could act aggrieved and insulted, but I’m all about the truth today and the truth is, I woke up in the middle of the night and the thought crossed my mind.”
“What stopped you?”
“You.” She plopped the bag on the kitchen counter. “So, I don’t blame you for thinking the worst when you woke up alone this morning.”
“I still feel guilty.” He joined her in the kitchen, where she was pulling eggs, milk and bacon out of the bag.
“That makes two of us.” She held up the package of bacon. “But I’m going to atone for my guilt by cooking you breakfast—all ingredients courtesy of Linda.”
“And I’ll atone for mine by helping you, but I don’t want to cook shirtless.” He returned to the bedroom to put on his shirt from last night, visited the bathroom briefly, then sidled up next to her at the counter. “Put me to work.”
She handed him a pan for the bacon and started cracking eggs in a bowl. “Is the Port Angeles Police Department going to call me today or do they expect me to call them? Or is it the sheriff’s department that’s going to call?”
“It’s the Port Angeles Police. They’ll call you with a time to come in. They’ve probably dusted the office for prints and will want to compare yours to any they found. And will share whatever they have with the homicide detectives.” Cole peeled off several slices of bacon and lined them up in the skillet.
“That may be a surprise for all of us.”
“I’ll protect you, Caroline. If something turns up on your prints, I can tell them you’re with us, with the DEA.”
“And then you’ll take me in yourself?” She beat the eggs with a fork, the tines clinking against the glass bowl in a furious rhythm.
“If you’re involved with Johnny Diamond in any way, we’ll have to deal with it. You know that, right? I can’t just let you walk away.”
“I know that you have to do your job, Cole.” She gave him a watery smile. “Can we just enjoy breakfast until that time comes?”
He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Absolutely. And while you’re waiting for the call, I’m going to check out the mysterious stranger from the shop and Sutter’s—the one supposedly buying real estate. Do you have any idea where he’s staying?”
“None, but maybe we can tail Rebecca Geist, the Realtor. She’s the only one I know for sure who’s been in contact with him.” Caroline waved a fork at the TV. “Do you think the local news will have anything new on Dr. Shipman?”
“We? Did you just say we can tail her?”
“I sort of figured you wouldn’t want to leave my side, because I just admitted I had thoughts of fleeing last night.”
He kissed her neck. “That’s not the only reason I don’t want to leave your side.”
Turning to face him, she curled her arms around his waist. “Whatever happens, I’m glad it was you in Timberline looking for me.”
A sizzle and pop from the frying bacon interrupted the kiss he was about to plant on her mouth. He pulled away from her and prodded the bacon with a fork. “When we finish breakfast, let’s go back to my hotel so I can shower and change. Is Linda opening the shop today?”
“She is, but I already talked to her this morning when I picked up the food and told her that I’d be waiting for a call from the police, so she told me to take the day off.” Caroline poured the egg mixture in the pan next to his. “Of course, once I get arrested, I’ll be taking a lot of days off.”
“It won’t go down like that, Caroline.” At least not at first.
She bumped her hip against his. “However it goes down, I’m ready to face it.”
She might be ready to face it, but was he?
An hour later, after they’d finished breakfast and Caroline had showered and changed into a pair of black jeans and a blue sweater that matched her eyes, they drove into the parking lot of his hotel, a newer one located away from the town center and closer to Evergreen Software.
He wanted to stop by the hotel gift shop, buy more condoms and bed her again in his hotel room, but she had a nervous, faraway look in her eyes after listening to a news report on the radio about Dr. Shipman’s murder.
The trauma of what she’d experienced yesterday seemed to hit her out of the blue, and she’d stop talking and start twisting her fingers into knots. Cole had dealt with enough crime scenes and enough people not accustomed to the gore to recognize the symptoms.
He gave the gift shop a sideways glance as they passed it on their way to the bank of elevators. He punched the call button with more force than necessary and Caroline gave him a sharp glance.
When they got up to the room, he turned on the TV, but selected a movie channel. She didn’t need to watch any more news. “You can help yourself to the mini bar while I’m in the shower.”
“Do I look like I need a drink at ten o’clock in the morning?”
“There’s other stuff in there.”
“I don’t need any distractions, Cole. I’m not going to watch the news, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Just try to relax.”
To his disappointment, she didn’t come in to check on him once during his shower, so he wrapped a towel around his waist and checked on her instead.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching a crime show, her jaw set and her hands clutching the folds of the bedspread.
He sat
next to her and took one of her hands in his. “It’s going to be okay.”
“It’s my fault Dr. Shipman was murdered. If I had never gone to see her, the people after me never would’ve targeted her.” Caroline looked at him, her blue eyes filling with tears. “And you know the worst part? I lied to her. I never even gave her a chance to refuse me as a patient because of the danger.”
“Do you think she would’ve refused to see you? I don’t. She probably suspected more than you were telling her. Don’t blame yourself, Caroline.”
“Stop calling me Caroline.” She jumped up from the bed. “It’s not even my name. Do you know where I got that name? The trucker who picked me up down the road from the Stardust had Carolina plates. That’s how real I am.”
Cole rose from the bed and wrapped his arms around her trembling body. “You’re real to me. Whatever’s in your past is just that—past. And if it happens to be something bad, you’re not that person anymore. Knowing you like I do now, I can’t believe you’ve done anything criminal in your past, and I know criminals.”
A tear ran down her face and she buried her head against his chest. “I don’t want to disappoint you. I don’t want to see that look fade from your eyes when you look at me and realize...”
“Not going to happen.” He pulled away before his desire for her became too obvious. “I’m going to put some clothes on, and then let’s have a look around Timberline together. Now that I know everything, maybe I can help you remember why you’re here, why you had that scrap of paper in your pocket.”
“Are you going to hypnotize me?” Her gaze dropped to the towel slipping down his hips.
He grabbed the towel before it slipped any farther. “I would if I could, but I don’t know jack about hypnosis. You went through a session already. Do you think you could practice some self-hypnosis?”
“I could give it a try.”
“I know you’ve been afraid to remember, but maybe now that you’re open to the truth, you can force your memories to come back.”
“Maybe you’re right, but now—” she pressed her hand against her forehead “—nothing is there.”
“You’ve had a lot to deal with. Stop stressing over things you can’t change.” He picked up the remote and aimed it at the TV. “And stop watching these crime shows. Find a comedy.”
He tossed the remote on the bed and headed back to the bathroom after sweeping up some clothes. Several minutes later, when he entered the other room fully dressed, the TV was silent and Caroline was reclining on the bed against a stack of pillows with her eyes closed.
He crept toward his boots in the corner of the room, and she opened one eye. “I’m trying.”
“Good. Now let’s go take Timberline by storm and see if you can remember anything.”
As they walked down the hallway toward the elevator, Caroline peered over the railing down to the lobby. She choked and grabbed his arm. “Cole, that man. He must’ve followed us. He’s down there, in the foyer.”
“What?” Cole crowded next to her and looked down four floors to the spacious area. “Where?”
“He just crossed in front of the reception desk. He might be going out that side door to the parking lot.”
Cole took off for the stairwell and banged through the fire door, with Caroline trailing behind him. He wanted to tell her to stay back, but he didn’t know what the man looked like.
Cole ran down four flights of stairs, and she kept up with him all the way. When he reached the bottom, he burst through the final door into the lobby. “Which way?”
Panting, she pointed to the right of the check-in desk.
As he headed for the side door leading to a parking lot, she grabbed on to his belt loop to keep up. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to find out who the hell he is.” Cole pushed through the glass door. “Do you see him?”
Caroline tugged on his sleeve. “Over there, at the trunk of that white car.”
With clenched fists and a heart beating out of his chest, Cole strode toward the man as he closed the trunk. “Hey! You!”
The man turned with a scowl on his face, and then he saw Caroline and his eyes bugged out of their sockets. He reached into the pocket of his raincoat, and Cole charged him, knocking him against the car and pinning his arms under his body.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” The man bucked and loosened one of his arms. He took a swing and Cole blocked the punch.
“I’m a DEA agent. I’d think twice before assaulting me.”
The man slumped. “What do you want? I haven’t done anything wrong. You can check my trunk. Do you think I have drugs or something?”
Cole plunged his hand in the man’s coat pocket and pulled out a glove. “Do you have any weapons on you?”
“Weapons? No. I told you, I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m just getting into my rental car, for goodness sake.”
Cole released him and fished for his badge. He flipped it open so the man could get a good look at it. “Open your trunk for me.”
The man seemed unsure of Cole’s authority, but complied, anyway.
The lid popped and Cole lifted it, his gaze scanning the cargo space, empty except for a gift basket filled with sweets.
He backed up and slammed it shut. “What’s your name and why are you bothering Ms. Johnson?”
Caroline made a sudden movement beside him and sucked in a breath.
“I’m sorry.” The man tugged at the lapels of his trench coat as he turned toward Caroline. “I didn’t know I was bothering you. You’re the woman from the tourist shop, right?”
“Yes. He’s... I’m... We’re just overreacting.”
Cole raised his eyebrows. She’d been worrying about this guy for a few days and now they were overreacting. “Wait a minute. You felt threatened by him. Let’s at least see who he is.”
“You felt I was threatening you?” The man slicked a hand over his shaved head. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to make you feel that way.”
“Who are you? Can we start there? As you saw, I’m Cole Pierson with the DEA, and this is Caroline Johnson.”
“I’m James Brice, and I’m going to reach for my wallet in my back pocket.” He did so and showed Cole his New York driver’s license. “I’m in town for business. I bought a stuffed frog from Caroline a few days ago. I had no idea I had made her uneasy.”
“I’m sorry.” Caroline crossed her hands over her chest. “I have some other things going on in my life right now, and I think I just projected onto you.”
Brice held up his palms. “No harm done.”
Cole stuck out his hand. “Sorry, man. We’ve both been on edge.”
Brice shook his hand and opened the car door.
As Cole took a few steps back to the hotel, his hand on Caroline’s back, he furrowed his brow. Brice.
He stopped and pivoted. “Are you any relation to Heather Brice, one of the children kidnapped as part of the Timberline Trio?”
Brice didn’t turn from his car, but his shoulders slumped. “Heather was my little sister. I’m in town to sell my parents’ property here, but was trying to keep a low profile.”
Caroline covered her mouth. “I am so sorry.”
Brice faced them, his back against the car. “In fact, that’s why I may have shown a little more interest in you than appeared normal, Caroline.”
She tilted her head. “Why?”
“Because when I first saw you in that shop—I thought you were my kidnapped sister.”
Chapter Fifteen
All the blood drained from her head and she felt like she was going to pitch forward, face-first.
Cole must’ve sensed her shock, or maybe she’d already started her free fall, because he put an arm around her shoulders.
“Me?” Her voice squeaked and she cleared her throat. “Why would you think that?”
“Just something about the look of you. I learned later that you were new to town and related to Linda Gunderson, the owner of Timberline Treasures.” James shrugged. “It happens now and then. I’ll see a woman about the age my sister would have been, and do a double take. Wishful thinking, I guess.”
Cole asked, “Does anyone in Timberline know you’re here?”
“Only Rebecca Geist. She’s helping me list the properties. They’re mostly commercial or vacant lots. After the kidnapping, my parents didn’t have the heart to stay here.”
“Did the FBI notify your parents that they ID’d Rocky Whitecotton for the crimes?”
“They did. That’s why I’m here. Maybe they felt a sense of closure after that news.”
At the mention of Rocky’s name, Caroline almost doubled over as her stomach churned. Somehow this was all connected, and she might even be connected to the kidnapping of this man’s sister. Maybe she even had information about the kidnappings buried in her brain.
Cole asked, “Did your parents ever suspect Rocky?”
“Not that I know of, but they don’t speak of it—ever.” James spread his hands. “Look, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, but I’m asking you to keep this to yourselves. I want to fly under the radar while I’m here taking care of my family’s business.”
“No problem.”
As they turned away, Caroline twisted her head over her shoulder and said, “Sorry. Sorry...for your loss.”
James nodded and slammed the car door, peeling out of the parking lot seconds later.
Caroline chewed on her bottom lip as they returned to the hotel.
Cole opened the door for her. “I feel stupid. Poor guy.”
“Yeah, that’s my fault. I’m sorry for dragging you into it, but at least I wasn’t totally imagining things. He was interested in me—just not how I thought he was.”
“At least I don’t have to track him down now.”
“What if I know something about his sister? About all the kidnapped kids?”
In the Arms of the Enemy Page 16