Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?

by Shawna Delacorte

  Lyle’s features hardened into an angry mask. “I’m not playing games here. Give me the damn computer.”

  Reece slowly pulled the strap from over his head and held it out toward Lyle.

  “Place it on the hood of your car, then step back.”

  He did as he was told, making sure that Brandi stayed behind him at all times. He toyed with the thought of telling Lyle about having sent copies of the photographs to a colleague out of state, but decided that it was better if Lyle didn’t know there were any other loose ends. He needed to concentrate his efforts on getting out of the mess currently confronting him.

  Several ideas darted through his mind, including simply rushing Lyle and tackling him before he could get off a shot. But Lyle had a shotgun, not a pistol. He didn’t even need to have an accurate aim to stop both him and Brandi in their tracks. He needed to come up with something better, but what?

  Then he felt her hand on his back.

  Brandi steadied her trembling hand, then carefully raised the back of his sweatshirt just enough to get at his 9 mm pistol. Her heart pounded wildly, but she had total control of her actions. She removed the pistol from the holster and clicked off the safety. With Reece blocking Lyle’s view of her, she knew she could do it without being seen. But now what? She had never fired that type of pistol and had certainly never shot at a person.

  She took a calming breath. There wasn’t time to debate the morality of it. The moment of truth had arrived. As the old cliché said, it was do or die. A combination of fear and panic surged through her body. A sick churning tried to work its way up her throat. She had never been so frightened in her entire life…a life that could be over any minute.

  But if this was going to be how things ended, she knew what she had to say before it was too late. She leaned forward, her words a mere whisper, just loud enough for him to hear.

  “In case we don’t get out of this, I want you to know that I love you.” She pressed against his side to let him know which way to move to clear a path for her shot.

  She clenched her jaw into a hard line of determination. She had only a split second to make good on her shot. Her muscles tensed like a tightly coiled spring. She whispered the word to Reece, letting him know she was ready.

  “Now.”

  He rushed into action, leaping in the direction she had indicated and drawing Lyle’s attention away from her. She leveled the pistol at Lyle and squeezed off a shot. Lyle’s cry of pain said she had made the shot good. Unfortunately, their adversary held on to his shotgun.

  Lyle lurched to the side, seeking the protection of the carport wall. Reece turned to take the pistol from Brandi as he shoved her behind the SUV. Reece was out in the open—fair game for the shotgun. Before he could get himself to cover, Lyle stepped around the side of the carport with the shotgun leveled directly at him.

  The sound of a shot exploded in the air.

  Lyle dropped the shotgun and fell to the ground.

  A moment of panic hit Reece as his gaze quickly swept the area looking for an explanation of what had happened. Then Joe Hodges appeared in his line of sight. Mixed feelings of shock and relief washed through him. He lowered the pistol and held out his hand toward Brandi to help her to her feet.

  He watched as Joe kicked the shotgun out of Lyle’s reach, then bent down to check his vital signs. When he was satisfied that Lyle had a strong enough pulse and a non-life-threatening wound, Joe searched him for additional weapons.

  Then a flurry of activity seemed to erupt. The sound of a helicopter landing on the fire road. Frank James and another man, both in handcuffs, being escorted toward the cabin by two other men.

  Joe communicated with the helicopter. “All three in custody, one injured. Come and get him. Transport to the emergency room, maintaining custody.”

  Reece pulled Brandi into his arms, holding her tightly in his embrace. “Are you all right?”

  Her entire body trembled almost out of control. She slipped her arms around his waist and nestled her head against his shoulder. “Yes, I’m okay.” She looked up at his face. “Is it really over?”

  “Yes, it’s finally over. You’re safe now. They can’t hurt you.”

  He continued to hold her, his cheek resting against the top of her head. It was so comforting being in his arms. She couldn’t even describe what she felt other than completely drained. Her nerves and emotions had been in a constant state of turmoil for so long. It was a strange combination of elation, relief and confusion. Even the pouring rain couldn’t dampen the emotions coursing through her.

  Two more men arrived on the scene, apparently from the helicopter. They checked Lyle’s vital signs, loaded him onto a stretcher and carried him back toward the fire road. A couple of minutes later he heard the helicopter take off. Then he heard more vehicles on the fire road. It sounded as if an entire assault force had been marshaled.

  Joe turned his attention toward Reece and Brandi. Reece quickly holstered the 9 mm pistol, getting it out of sight.

  “I don’t know how you found me or why you’re here, but I can’t begin to tell you how glad I am to see you.”

  Joe ignored Reece’s comment. “I believe we have some business to transact.”

  “Yes, we do.” Reece retrieved his laptop computer from the hood of the SUV. “Let’s go inside where it’s dry and warm.”

  “You go ahead. I’ll be there in a minute. I need to give some final instructions to my men.”

  Reece and Brandi headed for the front door of the cabin. He glanced back over his shoulder and watched for a couple of seconds as Joe spoke to his team, then they led Frank and the other man away. Joe had a quick conversation with another of his agents, then everyone except Joe and one of his men disappeared from sight.

  Reece ushered Brandi inside and closed the door. He pulled her into his arms again, then brushed a tender kiss across her lips. “We definitely have things to talk about now. Your words…what you said—”

  “Okay, Reece. Let’s have everything.”

  The opening of the door and Joe’s voice interrupted Reece. He quickly turned Brandi loose.

  They spent the next half hour with Reece showing all the items to Joe and explaining everything he hadn’t already told him.

  “And what about that pistol you had?”

  Reece cocked his head and raised a questioning eyebrow. “Pistol? What pistol? I’m not allowed to have any firearms, at least not until I get my conviction overturned.”

  Brandi’s words cut into their conversation. “The pistol was mine. I’ve had it for a long time. I freely admit that it’s not registered, but I don’t carry it as a concealed weapon either. I kept it at my house. I retrieved it that first night when we went to my house to try and figure out what was missing.”

  Joe shot her with a look that said he didn’t believe a word she was saying. She held her breath, waiting for his response. After what seemed like an eternity, he wrote the information in his notebook.

  “Well, I guess that will explain the bullets from two different weapons.”

  A furtive glance passed between Brandi and Reece, followed by a look of relief that Joe had decided not to press the matter.

  A hint of nervousness continued to cling to Reece’s voice. “Now that we’ve answered your questions and turned over all the evidence, perhaps you could answer a few questions for me.”

  Joe closed his notebook. “What do you want to know?”

  Reece’s tone of voice conveyed several questions all wrapped up in one. “What the hell were you doing here?”

  “Trying to keep you from totally blowing my investigation out of the water.”

  “Me? What investigation?”

  “For the last year I’ve been involved in an investigation of organized crime infiltrating local political offices and law enforcement agencies. I’ve had Lyle Hanover and Frank James in my sights for six months. And then you walked into the middle of it. I wasn’t sure what to do, especially with you playing it so cagey and
not confiding anything other than Frank James’s name. But as soon as I heard your story I knew you were in the middle of a lot more than you realized.”

  “A little word of warning from you wouldn’t have hurt.”

  “You know better than that. I couldn’t divulge any information about an ongoing investigation.”

  “How did you find this cabin, and why were you here when we were supposed to be meeting elsewhere?”

  “I had a team of people working on finding you. We finally came across the utilities and property title in your mother’s maiden name. Then when I got a list of what you purchased from the electronics supply store—fortunately you didn’t find the second tracking bug before that stop—I knew you were gearing up for some trouble. I put Frank and Lyle under surveillance and came out here myself at night to look at this location.”

  “So that was you who set off the monitor alarm. Got out of the car, looked around, pointed to something, then got in your car and drove away.”

  “As soon as the surveillance reported that Frank and Lyle were together with a third man and headed in this direction, I knew where they were going. We beat them here and staked out your cabin. And the rest you know.”

  “I guess that covers everything. Well, almost everything. There is something you can do for me in exchange for the proof you needed showing the organized crime connection.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “You could put in a good word along with an official written report to the governor saying why I should have my conviction overturned and my private investigator’s license restored.”

  “Simple enough. Consider it done.”

  “Thanks.” Reece glanced at Brandi, then returned his attention to Joe. “Are we through here? I have some important unfinished business I need to take care of.”

  Joe rose from his chair. “Yes, we’re through here for the time being. I’ll need to have both of you come to my office so we can do an official report and discuss what part the two of you will play in the subsequent proceedings. Will ten o’clock Monday morning be convenient?”

  Reece shot a questioning look in Brandi’s direction and she nodded her agreement. He turned toward Joe. “That will be fine. See you then.”

  It only took a few more minutes to wrap up everything. Joe Hodges and the other FBI agent left. Reece closed the door, then turned toward Brandi.

  “Alone at last. We need to talk.”

  “Yes, I suppose we do.” A thousand butterflies collided inside her stomach. Had she made a colossal mistake when she’d told him she loved him? Was he looking for some way to let her down easy? Was she about to face a second moment of truth in one day? First the showdown with Frank James and his cohorts—ending in her actually shooting a man—and now this?

  He grabbed her hand and led her over to the sofa. After building a fire, he sat next to her. He pulled her to him, then placed a loving kiss on her lips. A low-level uneasy hum ran through his body. He knew what he wanted to say, but didn’t know how to say it.

  He nervously cleared his throat. “You can’t begin to imagine how much your words touched me. I only hope you really meant them rather than saying them in a moment of emotional turmoil.” He shifted his weight and turned until he faced her. “I love you, Brandi. I truly do. Until now I haven’t had anything to offer you other than my love. I had a prison record and an uncertain future, not terrific things to bring to a relationship. But now the circumstances have changed. I should be able to get my conviction overturned and my career restored. We have a future and I want us to spend it together.”

  “Oh, Reece…” She threw her arms around his neck. Tears of joy welled in her eyes. “I love you. I really do. I meant every word.”

  “I know we’ve only known each other a week, but it’s been quite the week. Is it too soon to ask you to marry me?”

  “It’s not too soon at all. And my answer is yes.”

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-2269-4

  WHO’S BEEN SLEEPING IN MY BED?

  Copyright © 2007 by SKDENNISON Inc.

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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  Table of Contents

  About the Author

  Books by Shawna Delacorte

  Cast of Characters

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Copyright