Heroes in Uniform: Soldiers, SEALs, Spies, Rangers and Cops: Sexy Hot Contemporary Alpha Heroes From NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Authors

by Sharon Hamilton

  “There is only one thing you are going to do. And you are going to do this immediately.”

  Wilder opened wide, hopeful eyes. “Yes, sir? Anything.”

  The Don eyed Wilder, giving the man a look that had made many lose control of their bodily functions. Wilder’s breathing became short and audible. Perspiration began to trickle down his cheeks.

  The Don’s voice vibrated with anger. “Find her.”

  Snowbound: Chapter Four

  Gage’s last words—there is no best of it—angered Mallory all over again. She had every intention of staying as far away from him as the tight space in the cabin allowed. With his disposition, he need not be concerned that she would be seeking out his company.

  She went to the front door, giving the knob a twist. She hadn’t locked it when she came inside with Gage’s ID tight in her fist. She’d been distracted and angry. The door, though, was locked. He must have done that when she’d gone into the washroom for pain reliever.

  Up here in this isolated location and in a blizzard, Gage had no reason to keep the door locked. Whether it was out of habit or training, she was glad to find it that way. Though, she acknowledged, the flimsy lock would not be a deterrent to Considine’s crew.

  “Thinking of going out again?” Gage said dryly.

  She hadn’t heard him come up behind her.

  She faced him. “Checking the lock.” She matched his tone, adding. “Not much of one.”

  “Don’t need much of one. Just enough to keep the raccoons from turning the door knob and getting in on summer nights.”

  Summer nights? “When did you come up here?”

  “August.”

  With that he left her and went into the bedroom.

  It was now February. That made it . . . six months.

  If he’d been up here for six months, he wasn’t on vacation. Could he also be working? That would explain his curt dismissal of her when she’d asked what he was doing up here. Being up here in the mountains could be a cover.

  She followed him into the bedroom, stepping carefully to avoid the broken glass from the mirror that glittered on the floor. Gage had left her bra and panties, now dry, on the bed. He was at the chest of drawers, rifling through the contents.

  Mallory went to him. “Are you working a case?”

  He looked up from the drawer. “Do I look like I’m on the job?”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  “No, I’m not working.”

  “Is that the truth? Because I have no desire to mess up your case. I’m only asking because I need to know if we can also expect trouble from whatever you’re involved in.”

  “No one’s coming looking for me.”

  While she found that reassuring, she found it only marginally so. There was a finality to the words, to his tone, that she found unsettling. “When are you expected back at police headquarters?”

  “What is this, twenty questions?”

  “I want to know who I’m sharing space with.”

  He closed the drawer with a loud thud. “You’re sharing my space, remember?”

  Before she could press him further, he scooped up the clothing, walked by her and went into the hall. A couple of minutes later, she heard the shower.

  Another non answer from her reluctant host. She was so ready to leave here. Leave him. But she did get the answer she needed. He wasn’t working so she didn’t have the added worry of someone he was involved with also showing up here.

  Was there any chance the storm had ended during her conversation with Gage? In the living area she took up a position at the window. Leaning a hip on the wide sill, she pushed the curtains back with a fingertip. Of course the storm had not ended. Snow was coming down so hard it was impossible to make out individual flakes. It looked like solid sheets. The snow storm had likely saved her life, but at the moment she couldn’t be thankful for the bad weather. As long as she was stuck here, she could do nothing for the women. Feeling helpless, she gripped the edge of the thick blue curtain in a tight fist.

  Watching the storm would not make it stop and she would only drive herself crazy. She could feel her muscles tensed, ready to spring and her nerves as taut as bow strings.

  She pushed off the window sill, letting the curtain fall back into place, then took the broom and dust pan from the kitchen and cleared the glass she’d broken in the bedroom. After, she put on her underthings.

  She began a slow walk around the cabin. She needed to keep moving. She didn’t want her muscles to stiffen any more than they had already or she feared she wouldn’t be able to move at all.

  Though there wasn’t much ground to cover, she went only a few steps before she sagged into an armchair that matched the couch. So much for moving around. Each step was an adventure in pain and took her breath.

  The bed things were still strewn across the couch. Clearly Broderick wasn’t a stickler for neatness. He’d spent six months here. Six months. How often did he leave the mountain and go into town? Considering his unfriendly manner with her, she doubted he drove into town daily to socialize. A small chest freezer backed against one wall. If he’d stacked it with frozen meals, he’d have enough to last him for weeks or months at a time.

  He had no means of communication. She couldn’t imagine being out of touch with the world and the people she knew and loved.

  She couldn’t understand why he would choose this solitude. And over his job with the police department. Had the stress of the job gotten to him? Was he a disgraced cop who fled from a dishonorable conduct? Could he have been involved in something that provoked his leave from the Washington PD?

  She wasn’t comfortable with him. Part of that was due to his hostile reception. He’d made it clear that he didn’t want her there, but that wasn’t all of it. She didn’t trust him. She knew next to nothing about him. The fact that he was not forthcoming, about anything, had her guard up around him.

  A glance around the cabin showed very little that she could say for sure belonged to Gage. In the months he’d been here he hadn’t accumulated much stuff. Aside from his outerwear by the door, there was just a set of weights and a bench press in one corner that she believed were his because the equipment looked well-used and would explain the hard muscled body she’d seen earlier and felt pressed against her. She didn’t care for the thought and continued her inventory of the cabin.

  A bookcase held an assortment of classics and hard boiled mysteries from the forties. There was a film of dust on the cases and spines. They hadn’t been touched in a long time. Likely, the books belonged to the cabin’s owner.

  There were no photographs of Gage with people in his life. No souvenirs. No mementos. There was essentially nothing to give her a handle on the man, himself.

  She heard the bathroom door open, then Gage emerged from the shower, dressed in fresh jeans and a T-shirt. The first word that popped into her mind to describe him was formidable. Another quickly followed, handsome as her mind filled with the image of his upper body without the shirt. The man was hot.

  She blew out a breath. How he looked didn’t matter to her. What did matter was the manner of man he was. She didn’t have an adjective for that. She twisted her lips. Not a flattering one, at any rate.

  Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Despite his complaints about her being there—and they had been numerous—he had taken her in and treated her injuries. Treated them gently and with care which she had to admit surprised her, given his downright rude attitude.

  The shower hadn’t improved that attitude, she observed. The rest of the day went by without them exchanging a word and the silence continued as they ate chicken dinners. When Mallory was finished with her meal and had discarded the remains and washed her utensils, she went to the window. She pulled back the curtain just enough to see outside. It was still light out and the snow was still blowing strong.

  “Tell me about Considine.”

  Gage’s voice startled her after so many hours of silence, even if the question didn�
��t. It was understandable that Considine would be on Gage’s mind as well. Mallory released the curtain and turned to address Gage. Where to begin? “We’ve been wanting to go after Considine for a long time. Congressman Pritchard Manning spearheaded a task force dedicated to bringing down Considine. Considine’s organization controls the drug trafficking, prostitution, and racketeering for the entire state. You name it.” She lifted a shoulder, let it fall. “We know all this, but haven’t been able to touch him. On paper, he’s as clean as that fresh snow outside.”

  “You said that the club you worked at is a front for human trafficking?”

  “Yeah. That’s a new one on Considine. We had no idea about that.”

  “Who owns the club?”

  “It’s registered to a William Wilder who is also the club manager,” Mallory said. “I’m looking to tie him to Considine when we bust the trafficking operation open.”

  “What makes you think Considine is behind this trade?”

  “From what I learned, the business is too big for him not to be. No way a small timer like Wilder is running that. For one thing, he doesn’t have the brains. He’s taking orders from someone. Considine is the logical choice. It has to be him!”

  She could not keep how she felt about Considine in check and heard her own vehemence. As did Gage. His gaze grew intent on her.

  “Right now,” she went on, “my main concern is getting to the women before they’re shipped out of the country. Once they’re gone,” Mallory shook her head slowly, “they’ll be lost forever.”

  “Do you have a date for their transport?”

  “No. Just their current location. Or, that is, their location as of when my cover was blown. Two men from the Don’s crew were taking me to a cabin somewhere in these mountains to be interrogated when the car went off the road. That was the car accident I mentioned earlier. The men in the vehicle with me were killed but two more of Considine’s people showed up and I had to make a run for it into the mountain. I lost them and ended up here. By now the women could have been moved.” She rubbed her forehead where a headache was brewing between her brows. “I’m hoping that since Considine wanted to interrogate me, he doesn’t know just what I found out about his organization. He may not know that I found out about the women.”

  “It’s possible.”

  She heard the doubt in Gage’s voice. “But you don’t believe that.”

  “He might not take the chance and move them anyway.”

  She couldn’t discount the possibility and it filled her with fear again for the women and desperation to be off this mountain.

  A wave of dizziness had her grabbing for the wall to keep from falling face-first onto the floor. Eyes closed, she bowed her head to get a blood rush and stop the spinning.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Mallory opened her eyes at the sound of Gage’s voice, surprised to find him standing beside her. She was still holding the wall, but for some reason couldn’t keep her body upright.

  Gage put an arm around her. “Easy.”

  She didn’t want to lean into him, but couldn’t keep from doing so. His hold tightened and he swung her up into his arms.

  As they moved away from the wall, she said, “I need—”

  “What you need is to be horizontal for a while.” He set her down gently on the couch. His brows lowered and he placed a hand to her forehead. “Shit. You’re hot.”

  “No. No, I can’t be sick.”

  “Looks like your body didn’t get that memo. There’s a thermometer in the first aid kit I used to clean your head wound. I’ll be right back. Stay put.”

  The room had started another slow spin. She closed her eyes. In what felt like a second later, he was back. She opened her eyes that now felt as heavy as lead weights. Gage was watching her intently, deep creases of worry lining his brow.

  He held up a thermometer. “Open.”

  She did as he asked and he inserted the thermometer into her mouth. When a beep sounded, indicating the temperature had been determined, Gage tugged the thermometer free. As he read the number, the creases between his brow deepened further.

  He left her again briefly, returning with the aspirin and a bottle of water. Mallory raised her head and tried to do the same with her body, but fell back against the cushions. Gage wrapped an arm around her and raised her gently, taking her weight. He shook a few tablets into her palm then set the rest on the table and brought the water to her lips. When she’d swallowed the pills, he eased her back onto the couch.

  She ground her head back and forth on the pillow. “I can’t lay here. I need to keep watch for Considine.” She made to rise off the couch.

  “I’ll keep watch,” Gage said.

  * * *

  Gage placed a hand on Mallory’s shoulder to keep her from rising and hurting herself, but she stopped trying to get up. Her eyes, bright with fever, closed. Another shudder shook her and she huddled into herself. He covered her with the blanket he’d used the night before, tucking it gently around her, but her trembling continued. Her face was pale but for two spots of red on her cheeks from the fever. He had no idea what was causing her temperature to rise. Had nothing here to find that out or to treat her with if he did determine a cause. He hoped to hell the aspirin would be enough to bring down the fever.

  One thing he could do to help with that was to cool her off. He left her briefly, returning with a damp cloth that he softly passed along her cheeks then placed on her forehead. The cloth warmed quickly and he repeated the process. She’d said she was in a car accident. Did she have an internal injury? Would fever result from something like that? He didn’t know. With the blizzard in full force, it would be some time before he could get her to a hospital. In the meantime, he hoped to find out that all this was nothing more than her body fighting off a cold.

  Tremors rocked her. When he checked her temperature next, it had risen.

  She curled into a tight ball. “How—high?”

  “Another degree.”

  “It’s rising fa-st.”

  “Yeah.” He was silent a moment, not liking what he knew he had to say next. “We need to break the fever. The aspirin and cloth on your brow aren’t doing it. We need to wet you down.”

  She winced, then nodded.

  “Do you need help with your clothes?” Gage said.

  “I can man-age.”

  He left her to it and went to fill a basin with cool water, but when he returned, she’d lowered the blanket to her waist and lay fumbling with the shirt. He set the basin on the coffee table and gently removed her top. She was weak. Her arms were all but limp as he slid them from the sleeves. The fever was sapping her strength.

  Tossing off the blanket completely, he took off the pants and socks, but left on her bra and panties. A concession to them both.

  She was shuddering, her teeth chattering and though he wouldn’t have thought it possible, she shrank into herself further. Seeing that, knowing he was about to cause her what would amount to pain, he hesitated. In the end though he was going to do this. Her body temperature had to be brought down. He had no choice.

  He passed a hand down his face. “I’m going to turn you onto your stomach.” He lifted her. She was trembling in his arms. Hell, she was burning up.

  He set her back down on the couch carefully, facing him. Her eyes were closed. He sat beside her, dipped the cloth he’d been using on her forehead into the water and passed it across one shoulder. Gooseflesh pebbled her skin at once. She gasped and her back bowed. When her body dropped back to the sofa, she was still. Gage’s heart rate jumped, but she was breathing. He closed his eyes briefly as his heart regulated, then continued on his course.

  He continued to run the cloth over her until her skin cooled then gently turned her onto her back and did the same to the front of her body. He repeated the process again and again. The wind was howling now and flinging snow at the window and the walls of the cabin with audible thuds. The bit of light from outside that showed along the edge
s of the curtains faded. Gage left Mallory to douse the lights but for a small lamp on one end table then resumed his task.

  He was still at it when the first weak streaks of dawn appeared. Mallory’s lips moved and she mumbled something he didn’t catch. It was the first sound she’d made in hours and he felt relief hearing it.

  She now felt cool to the touch. A check with the thermometer showed that her fever was down. He brought the blanket to her shoulders, then rubbed a hand over his eyes and down his jaw. The night’s growth of beard made a rasping sound.

  Now that Mallory’s condition had improved, he was beginning to feel the night without sleep. He’d been running on adrenaline. The rush ended and he was crashing. He couldn’t let that happen. She was better but her fever could spike again. He couldn’t take for granted that because her fever was down at the moment, it would remain so.

  He plopped the cloth into the basin then went into the kitchen, straight to the coffee pot which still had yesterday’s coffee in it. It was as thick as sludge and bitter. Regardless, he drank deeply then poured a second cup and leaning back on the counter, stood watching Mallory, alert for any sudden movement.

  The next moments brought no change with her or with conditions outside. The storm that had been raging since yesterday wasn’t letting up. The day promised to be a dark one. Dawn had come and gone but it still looked like morning was breaking.

  Gage finished his coffee, abandoned the mug on the counter and returned to Mallory. He placed his palm gently on her forehead. Still cool. When he straightened away from her, he found that she was watching him. She looked heavy-eyed from sleep. Her dark hair was tousled. Her lips fuller and a deeper shade of pink.

  It was a combination that sent a punch of lust shooting through him. He felt a burst of self-directed disgust. The woman was ill. Still, he had to clear his throat before he could speak. “Morning.”

  “It’s morning?”

  “Has been for a while now.”

  The sleepy look was gone from her eyes in an instant, replaced by full-on panic. “What’s happening outside?”