by Aimée Thurlo
“Wolf!” Burke roared.
The dog trotted up, then sat before him, licking his lips.
Burke knew he couldn’t punish the dog now. After-the-fact didn’t count in dog training—you had to catch an animal misbehaving in order to make sure it linked behavior with consequences. Yet every instinct Burke had told him that the dog knew precisely what he’d done.
Laura tried not to laugh. Wolf was staring at Burke almost as if he found Burke’s predicament incredibly entertaining.
“You know what you did,” Burke said sternly.
“Let it go, Burke,” Laura said, unable to suppress a chuckle.
“Do I have a choice?” he grumbled.
At Laura’s insistence, Elena went to bed, while Burke and she tackled the mess. By the time they’d cleaned up the kitchen, they were more than ready to call it a night.
Tired, but wanting time to unwind a bit and think, Laura opted for a long soak in the tub before going to bed.
“I may be in the bathroom forever, just so you know.”
“Take all the time you want. You’ve earned it. I’ll be at my computer for a while, then I’m going to bed.”
While Burke headed to the den, Laura went back to her room, stripped off her clothes, then wrapped her favorite blue silk robe around herself. It was time to indulge herself. Bubble bath bottle in hand, she went to the bathroom. To her surprise, Wolf followed her in, then lay down almost like a sentry by the doorway.
“Trying to avoid Burke, are you?” Laura looked at the beast and sighed. She considered sending him back out, but no harm would come of his staying, and in the mood Burke was in, the dog was probably better off with her.
“Okay, Wolf. You can stay in here with me, but scoot aside a bit, ’cause I need to close the door.”
A few minutes later, Laura lowered herself into a pool of lavender-scented bubbles. Closing her eyes, she relaxed, enjoying the first moments of peace she’d had in a long time.
Soothed by the warm water and the quiet that enveloped the house, Laura drifted off to a peaceful sleep and dreamed of dancing in the moonlight with a Navajo man whose touch was like velvet and whose kisses tasted of seduction and the dangers of the night.
BURKE SAT IN FRONT OF the computer. He’d hoped to hear from Doug tonight. It had been a small eternity since the last time he’d had any word from his friend.
He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He just couldn’t shake the feeling that Doug was in major trouble. Too tired to sort it out, Burke decided to call it a night, but first he wanted to go next door and make sure Laura’s house was locked up and secure. He went down the hall, searching for Wolf, and called the dog’s name softly.
The hall was dark, but he could see that the light in the bathroom was still on. Then he heard a soft scratch on the other side of the closed door. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the idiot dog had gone into the bathroom with Laura while she bathed.
The walking furball had it made. Women always adored him, and they went out of their way to coddle him, much as Laura had tonight. She’d no doubt allowed Wolf to stay in there with her in order to keep the dog out of his way.
He knocked lightly on the door, but she didn’t answer. Laura had probably fallen asleep, as she’d warned him she might.
Moving slowly and silently, Burke grasped the doorknob and turned it. The lock clicked faintly, but as he pushed the door open a crack, the hinges squealed.
“Wolf,” he whispered. He promised himself that he wouldn’t sneak a peek at Laura, even though the thought of her silky body wrapped in nothing but soapy bubbles made every muscle in his body tense up.
Cracking the door open a little bit more, he saw the front half of the dog a foot away. The animal stared at him curiously, but ignored the whispered command.
Annoyed, Burke snaked a hand inside, reaching for his collar, intending to haul him out.
Suddenly he heard a soft, strangled cry—from Laura. The choked sound was filled with blind fear, and Wolf reacted instantly, bounding to his feet. Using his nose to push the door wider, he ran past Burke into the hall, searching for trouble.
As the door flew open, Laura jumped to her feet. Then, in an attempt to cover herself, she gathered the clear shower curtain around her.
She was so beautiful she took Burke’s breath away. Her creamy, wet skin glistened in the soft light of the bathroom.
“Easy, it’s just me,” he said. The terror on her face sliced through him. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you awake like that.” He stepped in, and was reaching for a towel to hand her when Wolf suddenly rushed back into the bathroom, bumping him aside.
Burke slid sideways on a wet spot on the floor and went sprawling over the rim of the tub. He hit the water with his shoulder, splashing it everywhere. He cursed and shifted to a sitting position in the tub, wiping the soapy bubbles from his face.
When he looked up, he saw Laura standing naked before him. For a moment he couldn’t breathe. He wanted her, now. To his credit, he didn’t even try to touch her. She still looked completely bewildered, and he wouldn’t take advantage of her like that.
“Laura, I’m so sorry. I’ll climb out of the tub right now and go kill the dog.” He tried to stand, but slipped and went tumbling back down, splashing water onto the floor.
“Just get out of here,” she managed to gasp through clenched teeth. “And take that moose of a dog with you. And don’t you dare look at me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Well, not much anyway. “I’m just going to stand up first, then I’ll get out of your way.”
Laura tried to reach for the towel rack, but as she leaned forward the hooks of the shower curtain unsnapped from the rod and she went tumbling down in the tub, landing with a splash atop Burke, in his lap.
Desire, black and powerful, slammed into him. Laura was exquisite, and with her naked bottom pressed against him, he was lucky he could breathe without drooling.
She shifted, trying to recapture her balance so she could stand, and he groaned.
“Wait, let me help you.” He gripped her waist, intending to help her up, but her skin was like silk and honey. At that moment, he knew he was lost. He was a man and a man could take only so much.
He pulled her against him and kissed her, long, hard and deep. Streaks of fire raced through him. She tasted so good. Her soft moan ripped into him with a force that would have knocked him off his feet if he hadn’t been sitting already.
Before his thoughts melted away, he drew back, lifted her to her feet and stood, wrapping the closest towel firmly around her.
As Laura looked at him he saw both desire and outrage in her eyes, fighting each other.
“Say something, for God’s sake,” he begged her.
Instead, she punched him in the stomach. “That’s for being an oaf! Now leave!”
Catching his breath, he stepped out of the bathroom, dripping water everywhere. As he tried to close the door behind him, he saw that his hands were shaking. Hell, his entire body was about to burst. But it had been worth it.
Out in the hall, he rubbed his stomach. She had one heck of a punch for such a little thing.
As he started toward his room, leaving a stream of water with each footstep, he saw Wolf sitting in the doorway, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. He looked inordinately pleased with himself.
“Mutt, if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you did that on purpose,” Burke said slowly.
Then he shook his head. “I’m going nuts. That’s all there is to it.” He stripped off his wet clothes, then toweled himself off and slipped into dry ones. “I’ve got some water to mop up, then we’ve got to get busy, partner. We have work to do.”
Chapter Ten
Burke was up again at dawn. Alone with Wolf, he stood outside in the cool desert air and watched the sun rise over the high mesas of Carson National Forest far to the east.
No matter what it cost him, he had to keep his distance from La
ura from now on. His feelings for her were growing too strong, and there was no way he could allow that to interfere with the job he had to do. She deserved one hundred percent from the Gray Wolf operative assigned to protect her, and he’d make damn sure that’s what she got. He wouldn’t fail her, not as he had his brother. The weight of that broken promise, though it seemed a lifetime ago now, still haunted him.
As the soft first rays of the sun bathed the earth, he remembered his boyhood days on the reservation. Every morning his mother would rise to say her prayers to the dawn. She’d take a pinch of pollen from her medicine bundle, touch it to her lips and then throw it upward as an offering to the sun. It surprised him how clearly he could still see the image in his mind, despite the many years that had passed.
He now followed a different path, making it his mission to fight for those who couldn’t or wouldn’t fight for themselves. He equalized the odds in a world where evil often overwhelmed the good—and in that was his redemption.
Burke took Wolf to check the grounds around his house and Laura’s, as he’d done late last night, then returned home. Hearing the two women in the kitchen, he went inside to join them.
Elena served them freshly brewed coffee while Laura concentrated on something she was writing in a small notebook.
“She’s always like this when she gets an idea for a new book,” Elena said softly.
After several minutes, Laura glanced up. “I’m going over to my house this morning to work on my computer. The last work crew won’t arrive until this afternoon.”
“And while you’re doing that, I’ll drive to the market just down the street and get some staples for us, like milk and bread,” Elena said. “I’m afraid Wolf didn’t leave us much for breakfast.”
Burke nodded. Elena would be all right. The trip would take her less than five minutes and she’d be in public view most of the way. He’d stay with Laura, who appeared to be the real target. “I’ll go over to the house with you,” Burke told her.
“I need to be alone if I’m going to work,” she said.
“With all the crazy things that have been happening, you also need to be protected, Laura,” Elena said.
Burke thanked her silently. Laura would accept that from Elena far easier than she would coming from him.
“Wolf and I will stay out of your way. We’ll keep watch and let the workmen in when they arrive.” She was acting decidedly cool this morning—not that he blamed her.
“You both have a half hour. After that, I want to see you back here for breakfast,” Elena said firmly. “Later, we’ll see about moving into our own home. The essential repairs should be finished by the end of the day, and I think we can put up with the smell of whatever painting still needs doing.”
Laura nodded. “Yes, I think it’s about time we all get back to our own lives.”
“You can go back to your own home, but this case is not over,” Burke said. “You can’t just ignore it.”
“Do whatever you have to, but Elena and I will be going home today,” she answered.
He didn’t argue with her. It was clear she’d already made up her mind, and he couldn’t blame her for wanting to be more in control of her own life.
Laura handed Elena the keys to her car. “Here you go. Be careful.”
Burke walked Elena outside and helped her into the car. As she slipped behind the wheel, she glanced up at him. “Laura isn’t always easy to deal with, but I trust you to watch over her. I know you care for her—I can see it in your eyes. Promise me that you’ll make sure she’s not hurt, in any way.”
He remembered the weight of another promise made and broken so long ago, and hesitated. “I don’t—”
“Give me your word you’ll do everything in your power to see to it,” Elena insisted.
Burke nodded. That he could and would promise. “You have it.” And no matter what it cost him, this was one promise he’d make sure was kept.
ALTHOUGH SHE’D AVOIDED looking at Burke this morning over coffee, Laura knew that he hadn’t taken his eyes off her. She tried not to think about last night, yet the memory stayed at the edges of her mind, taunting her. Just remembering how his gaze had seared over her as she’d stood naked before him made her mouth go dry.
Burke walked her home after Elena left. Desperate to put some distance between them, she hurried into her office as soon as they got there, and shut the door behind her.
Alone, Laura walked across the room and dropped down into a chair. She needed to get back to the things she understood, such as her work and her lifestyle. Piece by piece, she was giving away her heart to a man who only wanted to toy with it for a while before he moved on and out of her life.
Laura leaned back in her chair, trying to sort everything out in her mind. Suddenly she heard a car pulling into the driveway, and then the screech of tires and doors slamming.
Laura jumped to her feet. A heartbeat later, she heard Elena scream.
Laura ran to the window and saw Elena struggling with a man who was trying to pull her into a van. Someone else was at the wheel of the vehicle.
Laura raced to the front door, but Wolf and Burke were already outside, and the van was racing away. Elena had fallen to the grass beside the driveway, and Burke was crouched beside her. Wolf was chasing the fleeing van, but Burke gave out a sharp whistle, and the dog stopped in the road, panting, and returned.
Laura ran toward them but, seeing her, Burke held up his hand. “Go back inside and call 911. We need an ambulance and EMTs right now. She’s having a heart attack.”
Laura did as he asked, despite the almost paralyzing fear that gripped her. By the time she returned, Burke was pressing down on Elena’s chest rhythmically, alternating with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
She knelt down by Elena and joined Burke’s efforts, breathing air into Elena’s lungs intermittently as Burke continued to try and get her madrina’s heart to respond. After almost six minutes, Burke checked her pulse, looked around for the ambulance for the tenth time, then shook his head slowly.
Laura felt herself drowning in a sea of blackness and despair as they continued their efforts to revive Elena. Losing her mother so many years ago had been devastating, and she’d thought nothing could ever hurt her that much again. But pain, never ending, sucked her down into despair with every breath she took.
Tears streaming down her face, Laura never even heard the paramedics arrive. The emergency medical team took over the effort and tried everything, including the paddles, but there was nothing more to be done.
As if watching a dream unfold, Laura remained on her knees and watched the emergency crew cover the body, then put their equipment away as Burke spoke to someone on his cell phone.
He came up to her and helped her to her feet as men took the body away. Moving automatically, Laura walked into the house, then stood in the living room, staring outside but seeing nothing. Her sadness and anger had turned into a cold, numbing feeling that nothing seemed able to penetrate.
Burke came up behind her, turned her around gently and cupped her face in his hands. “I’m going to be right here with you and I’ll help you every step of the way. You don’t have to face this alone. I know you’re a strong woman, but we all need someone to help us through the rough spots sometimes.”
She shook her head and stepped back. “It would be too easy to become dependent on you right now.”
“I can handle it,” he said, trying to pull her into his arms.
“I can’t.” She stiffened and moved away.
To open herself up to the comfort he could offer her was tempting—but also impossible. Once the case was finished, he, too, would leave her, and her heart was too shattered to take another loss. Wordlessly, she turned and walked away.
TEN MINUTES LATER the police arrived. Burke had called them, she learned. Laura gave the young Hispanic detective a statement, answering questions automatically.
“I didn’t get a look at the face of the man who tried to drag Elena into
the van,” Laura said. “I just saw what was going on, then ran outside. I know there were two people involved, the other one being the driver, but I don’t even know if it was a man or woman behind the wheel.”
“What do you think they were after?” he pressed.
“All she had were groceries in the car,” Laura said, trying to make some sense out of it.
“Are you sure they weren’t trying to push her toward the house instead of into the van?”
She heard his words clearly, but she couldn’t understand what he was asking her. “What difference does it make which direction they wanted her to go? She was not going by choice. Isn’t that enough?”
Burke came forward then. “Look, she’s told you all she knows. You’re asking for conclusions she can’t make. Let me describe what I saw. Maybe it’ll help you track down the assailant and his partner.”
The cop nodded and closed his notebook. “We can talk outside. I’m sorry for your loss, ma’am,” he added, and walked toward the door with Burke.
As Burke accompanied the officer outside, Laura forced herself to pick up the phone. She had duties to attend to and arrangements to make.
THE FUNERAL SERVICE was held two days later. There had been a close examination of the body because Elena had died during an attempted kidnapping, but, as Laura had suspected, her heart condition had been simple to detect, and the body had been promptly released.
The day of the funeral turned out to be the worst day of her life. Beneath the suffocating sadness that filled her was anger—a quiet, cold rage that wouldn’t end until the man who’d caused Elena’s heart attack was brought to justice.
Burke stayed with her at the cemetery as the minister said the final prayer over the crypt, where Elena’s ashes were interred beside her husband’s.
After the service was finished, most of those who’d attended met at the Romero’s home, in Elena’s neighborhood, for coffee and a light buffet. There, Laura accepted the condolences of Elena’s many friends. After she’d spoken with everyone and thanked the hosts for their hospitality, Laura walked with Burke to his car.