Hell on Wheels

by Karen Kelley

  But they did hesitate after he opened the door and motioned for her to go in first.

  “Not scared, are you?” His glance skimmed over her in a way that made her skin turn from cold to hot.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Still, she had to force her feet to move. When the door closed behind her, she wanted to turn around and run as far and as fast as she could. Anywhere that would take her away from Josh.

  Hell, it wasn’t even Josh who worried her. It was her reaction to his charm, his delicious muscles, the raw sexuality that oozed from him.

  She drew in a shaky breath.

  On the other hand, she wanted to be the bounty hunter who captured Adam, even if she had to share the money and glory with Josh. She straightened her spine. She would just have to contain her desires, and certainly not let him see how he affected her senses.

  One rule Rodney had taught her: Stay strong and don’t let the enemy see your weakness, whether facing something as simple as a job interview or capturing a skip. Always show confidence, he’d told her.

  And she’d show confidence this time, too.

  She sauntered into the living room of his apartment. It looked like most apartments. There was only one difference. A tornado had struck his.

  “You don’t believe in cleaning? Against your religion?” It wasn’t so much dirty as it was littered. Magazines, books—stacks and stacks of them.

  He had a couple of pictures framed and sitting on his end tables. An older couple in one. They looked comfortable with each other. His parents? There was a resemblance.

  Her gaze moved to the other picture. The younger couple was familiar.

  “Friends?” She turned and looked at him. “I mean, you have their picture in your wallet so they must be close to you.”

  “You snooped?”

  Great, this was a good way to start their partnership. Brazen it out, she told herself.

  “It’s my job to learn everything I can about people.” She shrugged. “You would’ve done the same.”

  “You’re right. So maybe you’ll be forewarned not to leave your purse out where I can look through it.”

  “I don’t carry pictures.”

  “No friends?” He smiled.

  “No.” She didn’t bother to enlighten him about her relationships. People found out one thing, then they began prying for more information. It was as if they wanted to dissect her and see what made her different from everyone else.

  Hell, they should spend some time examining their own lives and stay the hell out of hers. She was perfectly content to go through life without friends. A lot less to deal with.

  But she had Moji.

  “I have one friend, sort of,” she corrected, then wondered why she felt the need to be honest with Josh.

  For a moment, she thought he was going to ask questions so she quickly scanned the coffee table for something else to talk about.

  Her gaze skidded to a halt. “Playboy?”

  His face turned a rosy hue.

  Interesting.

  “You don’t strike me as the type who would go for the girlie magazines.” When he opened his mouth, she quickly put up her hand. “Don’t tell me, you only read the articles.”

  “It’s an autographed copy. I dated Miss April.”

  Miss April. Okay. Before she could say another word, he started to pull off his jacket. Her eyes widened. If he thought…

  He paused. “Mind if I get comfortable?”

  “As long as you don’t strip to your skivvies—and I don’t really care if you dated the whole calendar.” She didn’t care. He could date every bunny and populate the world with little bunnies and it wouldn’t bother her in the least.

  He grinned as he removed his coat.

  Josh really had an ego problem. She would not become one of his has-beens. Her feet had traveled that road one too many times.

  When he tossed his belt onto the back of a chair, she saw that he’d gone to Mark Danford’s house prepared. He wore a belt, and on his belt he’d hooked a telescoping baton, mace, and a handgun.

  “Nothing like going equipped,” she commented.

  “Always.” His gaze skimmed over her. “I guess you weren’t expecting trouble?”

  Did he question that she might not have been ready for anything? If he did, he’d better think again. She raised her skirt; strapped high on her thigh was a nickel-plated 9mm. She unfastened the leather and tossed it to the sofa. “You’re right, that feels better.” That would show him.

  When she looked up, Josh was staring, but not at her face.

  “Do you have a problem?”

  “No, but you have the sexiest legs I’ve ever seen on a woman.”

  Something inside her stomach fluttered. Raising her skirt up to the middle of her thigh hadn’t been her most brilliant idea, but she did feel more comfortable without the leather holster strapped to her leg and she had proved she’d been just as prepared as Josh.

  Hell, he should know she wasn’t the most ladylike person he’d ever met. She’d never be the kind of woman he dated. She was not the type to stare adoringly at anyone. That thought brought a bitter taste to her mouth.

  Before she could even open her mouth to tell him that he was barking up the wrong tree if he thought to flatter her, he did an abrupt about-face and went to the other room.

  “Back in a minute,” he called over his shoulder.

  All alone. Well, at least in the living room. Now she could breathe easier. There was something about being alone with Josh that made the room seem like it was closing in around her, not suffocating exactly, but too damn close.

  She eyed the magazine. Miss April. Hmm…She had warned him that she was a habitual snooper.

  Casually, she flipped it open to the middle. Miss April unfolded in all her naked glory right before her eyes. Josh had told the truth—it was autographed.

  To, Josh and a night spent under the stars, flowing wine, and the best damn orgasm I’ve ever had!

  From experience, she knew Miss April wasn’t lying. Kind of slutty-looking, if you asked her. And who would want bazoombas that big? Josh was lucky the cover girl hadn’t rolled over and smothered him. Sitting up would probably prove to be hazardous. Besides, it was probably the wine that made her all-night orgy seem so spectacular.

  You didn’t have any wine, a naughty voice chided, and sex with Josh had been pretty darn spectacular, too.

  No, she didn’t even want to go there. This was a purely business association.

  She quickly returned the magazine back to its exalted position on top of the others when she heard a door closing. All she needed was Josh to catch her snooping. As if she really cared what the hell Miss April looked like. The bitch could have three eyes for all she cared.

  Josh returned to the living room a few minutes later with an easel, a black marker, and a dry-erase board.

  She didn’t move, only stared, Miss April completely forgotten. Suddenly, she felt as if it were the first day of school and she didn’t know diddly squat about what was to take place. Rather than slip into her seat and try to become invisible, she raised her chin. “I thought we were going to try to catch Adam Sinclair.”

  “We are.” He looked at his supplies, then back at her. “I think better when I’m writing stuff down. I thought we could combine our notes and see what we come up with.”

  Made sense. Damn, she almost hated that it did.

  She had to remember Josh was her partner, not her enemy.

  For the next hour, Josh jotted all of their ideas down. The places they knew Adam had lived. They’d already checked those and come up empty. The properties had been sold or were rented out. What information they had wasn’t as much as Cody had hoped.

  “I think we should watch the half sister’s place, see if anyone shows up.”

  “And I suppose you know where she lives.” She stood, pacing the small confines of the room. The small space was beginning to close in on her. She needed to be outside in the fresh air, even if the the
rmometer had been steadily climbing all afternoon.

  “Her address was on the papers Danford needed signed. Right now, she’s all we have to go on.”

  That’s why he hadn’t minded leaving. Josh had the information he needed, and if she hadn’t decided to go partners with him, he’d probably have left her to flounder on her own. But she had partnered with him, so maybe it was a moot point.

  She went to the window and looked at the street below. The pizza place had a steady flow of customers. Her gaze moved to a young couple as they leisurely strolled hand in hand down the street. She was obviously pregnant and they were obviously in love.

  Love, a wasted emotion.

  “So, where are we off to?”

  “Let’s just say you might want to pack an overnight bag.”

  She faced him once again. The look in his eyes should’ve warned her that she might not like where they were headed.

  She crossed her arms in front of her. “Did I mention I don’t like games?”

  “How do you feel about margaritas?”

  A cold, clammy feeling washed over her. “Please, tell me that she doesn’t live in Mexico? You and I both know what the Mexican government thinks about bounty hunters crossing into their country uninvited. They’re still pissed about that CIA job.”

  He didn’t look like he was joking so she continued.

  “I’d rather not share a cell with the other recovery agents who thought they could cross over, grab a fugitive, then scurry back.”

  “Nope, not quite Mexico. Just damn close.”

  For a minute he’d worried her. She really didn’t want to screw around with a foreign government.

  She grabbed her gun, but rather than hiking up her skirt, she dropped it into her purse.

  When she looked his way again, she thought she noted a look of disappointment. Partners, yeah, right. All he wanted from her was sex, the kind that got really nasty.

  Naked sweaty bodies straining toward climax. Hands caressing, hers sliding over his body, touching…tasting.

  Her belly tightened as a deep ache grew inside her. Josh was the quintessential bad boy. A man who could bring a woman to her knees with just one look from those sexy blue eyes. She would fight this attraction…

  Who was she trying to fool? Hell, she wanted the same thing. Maybe they were only fooling each other. Sex between them had been hot enough to set the bed on fire. She only had to decide what was more important: catching a fugitive or making love.

  “I’ll just throw some stuff in a bag and I’ll be ready to go,” he said.

  She watched him leave. Why deny it? She wanted Josh.

  He came back a few minutes later with a small duffel bag. “Ready?”

  She nodded, not really trusting herself to speak. He locked his apartment and they left. When he climbed into his junker, she had to admit she was a little disappointed. For a moment, she’d hoped he’d take the Mustang.

  The Chevy looked like she was on her last legs. “Will she make it?”

  “Yeah. I want to run her on the open road. Blow some of the soot out of her. She’s been stuck in the city too long. I’ll follow you to your apartment.”

  She only nodded and walked to her car. It was a damn shame she wouldn’t be riding in the Mustang.

  True to his word, Josh followed her right up to her apartment, then inside. The hairs on the back of her neck tickled with awareness.

  “I’ll grab some things and be right out.” She hoped he didn’t notice the tremble in her voice.

  Once inside her room, she closed the door and leaned against it, taking in deep breaths. This wasn’t going to work. How could it?

  Think about Adam, she told herself. Her tense muscles began to relax. She’d never brought in a bounty this high.

  It would probably be enough that she could make a down payment on a place close to the ocean. A new start, that’s what she and Pearl needed. To wipe the slate clean and start all over.

  Bringing in Adam would prove her worth and tell everyone this was what she was supposed to do.

  She pushed away from the door, hating that she felt the need to prove anything to anyone, but she did. Maybe she just needed to prove it to herself so that she’d know being born—her life—wasn’t a mistake.

  It only took a few minutes to change into jeans and grab a bag that she kept packed and ready to go. She rolled it to the living room.

  “Keep your seat,” she told Josh. “I have to make a couple of calls.”

  She dialed her mother’s number first. Pearl answered on the third ring.

  “Mom, hey, I’ve got to go out of town for a few days.” Her words sounded clipped, unnatural to even her own ears.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “No,” she hedged.

  “You’re going after that man, aren’t you? The one who didn’t show up for court?”

  Was that a note of fear she heard? No, she had to be mistaken. “I’m going to give you the number of a…a friend. If you need anything call and ask for Moji.”

  “Moji? What kind of name is that?”

  “Just call if you need anything, okay? I’ve got to go.” And it would take all day to explain Moji.

  “Cody?”

  “Yes?”

  “You will be careful?” Pearl hurried on. “I don’t mean because you pay the rent or anything.”

  Silence.

  She gripped the phone a little tighter. For a few seconds it was hard to swallow. She finally got past the lump in her throat. “Hey, I’m always careful…Mom.” She took a deep breath and quickly gave Moji’s number to her mother before resting the phone back in the cradle, but it was another few seconds before she could regain her composure.

  Had Pearl meant what she said? Could she be worried? She quickly tamped down the warmth that was beginning to spread through her.

  Damn it, why did her mother have to get all…motherly right now?

  She squared her shoulders and dialed the gym. When Moji answered, she quickly told him what was going on, then gave him her mother’s phone number and hoped like hell the two didn’t meet. Her mother would probably have a heart attack. She didn’t even want to picture Moji sashaying up to her mother’s apartment in a blue kimono and knocking on her door.

  When she turned around, Josh had an odd look on his face. “What?”

  “Nothing. You ready?”

  He started to reach for her suitcase, but she quickly grabbed it. “I can do for myself.”

  “Fine with me.” He straightened and strolled toward the door.

  As she followed, she called herself every kind of a fool there was, but she couldn’t keep her gaze off his butt or her thoughts out of the damn bedroom.

  This is going to be strictly business, she told herself.

  Strictly business? His low-slung jeans hugged him in all the right places. Places she’d love to explore with her hands—with her mouth.

  Her gaze slowly moved up, landing on broad shoulders, muscled arms. He opened the door, letting her go through first.

  “You don’t have to act the gentleman,” she grated out, more angry at where her thoughts were going than at his politeness.

  “You’re really sexy when you get angry.” He lightly ran the back of his hand over her cheek. “Your eyes dance with a green fire.”

  For a second, she was mesmerized by the soft tone of his voice, the feel of his hand on her face. She caught herself from leaning closer, tasting his lips.

  She straightened her spine. “And you are so full of it, Josh Pierce.”

  “So I’m told,” he said as he waited for her to lock the door.

  He’d soon learn she wouldn’t be one of his…playthings. When she worked, she was all business.

  “I can see the wheels furiously turning inside your head.” He fingered his car keys as they went toward the elevator.

  “Yeah, well, be careful my wheels don’t pulverize you.”

  “That’s what I like about you, your sense of humor.”


  Note to self: don’t tell jokes around Josh.

  Chapter 12

  Josh glanced in Cody’s direction. The only real emotion he’d seen during the whole trip down to the border town was when she’d slid into the passenger seat. She’d smoothed her hand over the worn and faded blue vinyl, then sighed with what sounded like regret.

  It went downhill from there.

  The drive was torture. Not only was she sitting in the passenger seat, but she wore that damned sensual fragrance that wrapped around his senses, transporting him to a beach, the sand, the surf, and Cody going for the all-over tan.

  Hell, it was a wonder he didn’t have a wreck.

  Nine hours of silence didn’t help, either. The most she’d said was yes or no answers to his questions.

  By the time he pulled into the space in front of their motel rooms, he was ready for a break from her silence. The next clunker he bought would at least have a working radio.

  He unlocked his door, went inside, and tossed his duffel bag on the bed. Not the Ritz, but it would suit the purpose—sleep. Unless he could charm his way into Cody’s bed. So far, the only thing he could imagine himself snuggling up to was the extra pillow. He had a feeling she was still miffed over Marianne.

  His gaze moved around the standard cheap motel room. Double bed, cigarette burns on the chipped dresser…His gaze came to a grinding halt.

  A connecting door. Interesting.

  He strolled over to it and tested the knob. Not locked. He silently turned the knob and nudged the door open. Cody was in the process of stretching. When she bent at the waist, he unashamedly admired the view. He was suddenly jealous of her faded jeans. What he wouldn’t give to cover those sweet cheeks.

  She abruptly turned. Her surprise immediately changed to a frown.

  “We have connecting rooms. The door wasn’t locked,” he explained.

  She didn’t look nearly as thrilled that their rooms connected. At least, not as thrilled as he was. His fantasies, on the other hand, were kicking into high gear. Not only could he visualize her naked on a beach, but naked on her bed.

  Until she marched over—and closed the door firmly between the rooms. He heard the distinct click of the lock on her side.