by Jenny Penn
That had been entertaining to watch, though most of the fun came from knowing Jack had finally met his match. With her Bugs Bunny-style ingenuity, only Kathy could be declared victor of round one. Given how Jack had flown out of the library that morning and then come begging Collin to keep Kathy “entertained,” Collin could only assume Kathy had won their second round.
Losing twice to the same female in less than twenty-four hours had to burn, especially given that Jack had never been defeated by a woman before. The fact that she’d taken down the master made Collin kind of eager to meet Miss Kathy Coben and find out how well he fared against her so-called charms. He’d also like to know what the hell she was up to.
Collin didn’t need Jack ordering him to stick to Kathy like white on rice. He’d already been planning to. Collin had meant what he’d said earlier. He’d come to cover Jack’s back. Clearly, no matter what else she might be, Kathy Coben was a distraction for Jack, making her dangerous.
Of course, blind loyalty didn’t pay the bills or fund the resources to back Collin’s endeavors. Those two things came from Amos, meaning Collin couldn’t avoid answering his cell when it lit up with Amos’s number.
“Yeah?” Collin answered, not bothering with a more formal greeting. It would be wasted on Amos. The man wasn’t known for his manners.
“Hitchens?” Amos’s rough voice barked through the receiver. “Where you at?”
“Sitting in Humble,” Collin replied, leaving it simple. He hadn’t agreed to work for Amos yet, and wouldn’t be sharing information freely.
“You talk to Jack yet?”
“Yep.”
“And?”
“And”—the jerk of Kathy’s door opening had Collin fumbling with his phone while he tried to straighten up and talk at the same time—“it’s just like I told you before I left. It’s going to take some time, convincing, and quite possibly a miracle to get him on board.”
“Miracles happen every day, Hitchens.” The words might have been optimistic, but Amos’s tone was downright grumpy. “You just have to have hope. Like I got hope that you’re going to help solve this case before my clients’ patience and money wears out.”
“I’m trying,” Collin assured him, turning over the Jeep’s engine as Kathy trotted over to her little compact and slid in behind the wheel.
“Well, even if you fail at that, I got something you could use to brighten my days with.”
Collin smirked at that thought. He didn’t think Amos ever relaxed enough to have a happy day. “Yeah?”
“Nick Cooper came home.”
It took Collin a second to digest that simple statement, his mind distracted by pulling out behind Kathy as she backed her car into the street. Even when Amos’s words made some sense, they still left Collin confused.
“What?”
“Nicholas Thomas Cooper,” Amos repeated with exaggerated slowness. “I believe you know the man.”
“Yeah.” He could figure out what was coming, too, but what he didn’t understand was, “What do you mean by ‘came home’?”
“I mean home, as in where his mommy and daddy raised him.” It was strange hearing the words “mommy and daddy” come out of the cranky old general’s mouth, but the obnoxious tone eased the awkwardness. “Which would happen to be up in Danville…Wyoming…Ring any bells?”
“No. Why? You think he might be working on this case?” Collin offered up with his own false optimism, dawdling at a stop sign as he watched Kathy’s compact make a turn further down the road. It wasn’t until her car disappeared from sight that he eased forward.
“I don’t really give a good crap about that.” Amos crushed any hope Collin might have harbored. “What I do give a crap about is Nick. The word is his last assignment blew up. A woman died. He feels responsible. They’re saying he’s used up, burned out, had his day—”
“I get it.”
“I bet you do.” Amos sighed heavily, an almost sympathetic sound but Collin wasn’t fooled. “It’s kind of like how your marriage left you—a wasted shell of a man.”
“Thanks.” Having heard these snide comments from Amos for over two months, Collin had grown kind of immune to them. There wasn’t any point in arguing with the man. He wanted Collin to be pathetic and heartbroken. That’s just what Collin was.
“Well, anyway. I figure you know about that kind of stuff and could maybe offer your buddy a guiding hand in this, his time of need.”
“And what if Nick isn’t interested in listening?” Collin caught sight of Kathy’s car making another turn onto the main highway and could tell she was heading back into town, probably headed back to work.
“It never hurts to ask, Hitchens,” Amos shot back. “Worst you can hear is no.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Collin replied dourly, though he was more sore at the idea of having to stare at the library for the next five hours than at Amos for sending him on another impossible task.
“Do, and give me a call when you know something.”
“Got it.” The line went dead before Collin finished speaking. Sighing, he looked to the bright side. It wouldn’t hurt to talk to Nick. It had been a long time since they’d hung out, and Nick had always known how to keep things entertaining.
Not that his day was going as slow as Collin had feared. Before he could toss the cell back onto the seat beside him, it started dancing and singing in his palm. This time Jack’s name flashed over the screen, which couldn’t possibly be good.
“Hey, man. What’s up?”
“Kathy Coben is on her way out to the ranch.” Jack had never sounded so panicked. It almost tempted Collin to taunt him.
“No, she isn’t. I’m following her right now, and she’s headed back to—” Collin paused as Kathy’s car failed to turn down the road toward the library and kept going right through town. “Oh, well. I guess she’s not.”
“She can’t come here, Collin. Not until I know what she’s planning on telling Amanda Johnson.”
“Relax, man. I’ll handle it.” Collin didn’t know how, but he’d figure something out.
He’d have flattened a tire or two if the woman had pulled over for gas or a quick run into a store. If he’d had any kind of entrance to her life, Collin would have made a phone call with some fake emergency that ruined her plans. What he actually had, though, was nothing.
Kathy Coben didn’t slow down, didn’t pull over, didn’t give Collin anything to work with as she sped out of town. In fifteen minutes she’d be at the entrance to the ranch and beyond his reach, which left him with only one maneuver to bring her down.
Making the sign of the cross and offering a quick prayer that this didn’t end badly, Collin pressed down on his gas pedal. Instantly his Jeep sprang forward, accelerating from fifty to ninety within seconds. With the flat stretch of straight road barren but for Kathy’s bumper looming large as he closed in on it, Collin whipped around her, clipping the edge of her bumper with his.
Even as he shot past, dust waved over his window as Kathy’s car went spinning off into the prairie. Slamming on his brakes just as hard as he had the gas seconds ago, Collin whipped the Jeep across the highway and off onto the shoulder.
His hard stop caused its own wave of dirt to puff up and cloud the air as he leapt to the ground. Waving it away, he headed for Kathy’s car. She’d spun completely around and buried the front end of her car in the drainage ditch. Covered in dust, the tiny car looked wrecked out, though Collin suspected that had more to do with its multicolored body pieces and rusted bumper.
At least there was no smoke pouring out of the engine and the hood still lay flat. By the time he’d reached her, Kathy had already shoved her door open and stumbled out. That had to be the best sign, even if she wobbled a little on her feet.
The guilt that Collin was fighting fell away as those big brown eyes looked up at him. Kathy’s gaze hit him like a sucker punch, leaving Collin reeling for a moment. In that instant, he got why Jack was acting so out of character.
The way she looked up at him through those tear-glistened lashes made Collin about forget his own name. Sweetness and sadness and fear, and every emotion that made Collin want to fold her into his arms and keep her safe and protected, swirled in those eyes, hypnotizing him for a moment.
“Is my nose broke?” Kathy asked pathetically, her hands falling from her face.
“No,” Collin assured her, not thinking about the intimacy of his gesture as he reached out to gently soothe the harsh, red blush streaking across her cheeks. “Just a little burnt from the airbag.”
“Oh.” She appeared to consider that for a second before her big doe eyes rounded in alarm. “I don’t look like Rudolph, do I?”
“No.” Collin couldn’t help but smile at how cute she looked. “It’s already starting to fade.”
“You’re lying, but thanks.” Kathy sighed, stepping back from his touch without comment.
The small withdrawal irritated Collin, even though he knew he had no right to touch her anyway. It didn’t matter. Some primitive part shouted “Mine!” from deep within him, urging Collin to step forward and force her submission to whatever caress he felt like giving her. The depth of that spontaneous drive had Collin shifting in the opposite direction.
He did get it now, how Jack had gotten himself played by such a little thing. And God, but she was small. Normally people looked bigger up close, but Collin could have sworn that Kathy looked pretty normal sized last night and at a distance. Up close, though, she didn’t even come all the way up to his shoulder.
He tended to prefer taller women, Collin reminded himself in a vain hope to dampen the lust tightening his muscles. He liked them less curvy, too. Not so soft and warm looking, like a heaven waiting to be penetrated by nothing but hard aggression as he fucked—
“Well, this just sucks.”
Oh, yeah. Sucking. He hadn’t thought of that, but now that Kathy mentioned it, those full lips looked just about as tempting as the full globes of her breasts. Collin could already imagine her tied up with two nipple clamps holding those sweet tits nice and tight together, making a velvety tunnel to pump his erection through and right up to the full pucker of those—
“Hello!” Kathy waved a hand in front of his face, snapping Collin out of his sudden wayward daydreaming. “You hit your head or something in the accident?”
“What? No. I just…” Collin took a deep breath and forced it out slowly, buying himself time to figure out a good excuse. “A little shaken up is all. I’m real sorry about what happened. I don’t know—”
“Ah, forget about it.” Kathy cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Accidents happen, but please tell me you have insurance.”
“Of course.” Though Collin hoped not to have to use it. Kathy’s relaxed attitude gave Collin reason to try. “But I’d be willing to pay for it cash outright.”
“Trying to avoid the insurance rate hike?” Kathy nodded with a smile. “I get it, but I don’t know you, which means you’re not from around here, and that means I don’t have any assurance that you’ll be around to pay the bill.”
Collin instinctively responded to her smile and her bluntness. Extending a hand out, he began with the more formal introduction process that might, hopefully, lead him back to a familiarity where he could touch her again.
“Collin Hitchens.” He didn’t bother with a lie, not seeing any reason to. He wasn’t the one undercover. “I’m new to town.”
“Kathy Coben.” Her palm was soft, cool against his. “I’m old to town.”
“Then I’m sure you know what mechanic you’re going to have fix this. If you can get an estimate, I can get you payment in the same day,” Collin offered. “I’ll even overpay a little so if anything else—”
Kathy’s laugh cut him off. “Trust me, Mr. Hitchens, Cindy will have padded the bill already, especially because you aren’t a native. There’s like an instant fifteen-percent fine from being out of town added to all tourists’ bills around here.”
“Is that right? And it’s Collin.”
“Well, Collin, if you’re not related to a local…” Kathy left him a moment to correct her if necessary. When Collin didn’t, she shrugged. “Then it just depends on how much of an asshole you are. If Cindy likes you, there might be no fine at all, but if she hates you, then fifteen might be a charitable reflection of her animosity.”
“I take it, I’m off to a bad start,” Collin guessed. “Running native off the road being a bad thing and all.”
“Well, that all depends on how I tell the story.”
The twinkle in her eyes warned Collin that he was being teased. Never ignorant of a woman’s glances in his direction, Collin was well aware of the looks Kathy kept casting him. Just knowing she watched had him flexing every muscle he could as he reached for the wallet in his back pocket.
“Then I guess I better be extra nice to you, huh?” Collin cast her his little half-smile that always made women melt. “Still, just to show you I’m an honest guy, why don’t I give you the insurance information and the hotel that I’m staying at? When you get that bill—what?”
Kathy had stepped closer to take the card he’d pulled out when suddenly she halted. Looking at him like he smelled bad, the woman actually leaned in and sniffed him. Collin figured he stank given the way she shot backward, her features widening with a look of horrified shock.
“You know Jack!”
Chapter 6
“What?” Collin found himself freezing under that accusation.
“You”—Kathy leveled a finger at him—“smell like him.”
“What?”
“You used the same soap.” That finger came waggling closer, and Collin found himself backing away from Kathy’s forward march. “Which makes sense because Jack’s pants were too damn short. That’s because they were your pants!”
“Maybe he likes short pants. That is whoever this Jack is.” Collin really needed to come up with some answers or excuses, but his normal smooth and adept mind was too mesmerized by watching the little powder keg in front of him ignite.
“You work with him, don’t you? You’re a fucking Fed, just like him!” Kathy ignored Collin’s comments, still focused on putting all the pieces together. “Oh, my God, I’m being tailed!”
“Hey look, lady—” Collin held his hands up in surrender, coming to a stop right over the dotted yellow line dividing the highway. “I don’t know what kind of psychotic breakdown you’re having, but maybe you should just take the insurance card.”
Like he’d shot her, Kathy reeled back, her face going lax as some revelation had her staring at Collin in horror. “You ran me off the road on purpose!”
Collin could feel the burn spread from the tips of his ears in a flush across his cheeks. He never once in his life blushed, not over anything, not until he’d met Kathy Coben and her big brown eyes. She made him feel lower than the dirt beneath her feet with that look. The guilt washing up like bile from his stomach had Collin trying to appease the sensation.
“It isn’t like that. I—”
“You are a liar,” Kathy spat. “And don’t think I don’t know what this is all about. Your buddy, Jack, the DEA agent, knows he screwed up last night, and so now he’s called in for backup, and what do you think the media is going to have to say about a government official running a poor, innocent woman off the road?”
Well, that confirmed Kathy did know too much, but it also showed how twisted her conclusions had gotten. Collin tried to start to set her straight, but was almost instantly rebuffed.
“I don’t work for the government. I—”
“Like I believe anything you have to say.” Kathy didn’t even bother to look back as she started storming back toward her car. It left Collin no choice but to chase after her. Everything might have gone to hell, but he still had to try to fix the situation.
“Where are you going?” Collin asked as Kathy slid into the driver’s seat. “You can’t drive the car like that.”
He d
idn’t get an answer, but had to wait for her to slip back out to see she’d gone in to retrieve her cell phone. It was a silent threat, but Collin didn’t jump to the bait. Instead he crossed his arms over his chest and gave her that patient look he’d used often on his nephews. It worked on them but didn’t get so much as a blink from Kathy.
Maybe she didn’t notice, too focused on dialing a number. There were too many for her to be calling nine-one-one, but Collin’s concern that she’d called the police was only temporarily alleviated.
“Tony?” Kathy snapped into the phone, pausing only long enough to listen to the response before she started complaining. “Hey, look, I’m out on Highway 156, and my car’s stuck in a ditch thanks to some asshole who decided to run me off the road.”
So she’d called one of her boyfriends, soon to be ex, to rat Collin out. Well, that didn’t impress him in the slightest. He’d be more than happy to meet Kathy’s Tony and have some words with the man. Obviously he wouldn’t be too hard to get rid of, given only a punk would leave his woman loose in a bar to pick up other men. Of course, only a man who couldn’t satisfy his woman suffered that betrayal. Actually Collin figured he should probably punish Kathy for that misdeed. He didn’t put up with cheaters.
“I’m fine,” Kathy shot into the phone with enough annoyance to make the statement believable. “And I don’t need an ambulance. What I need is for you to come out here and give this bastard a ticket.”
Collin met her smug look with a smirk as she snapped her phone closed. “So your boyfriend’s a cop. So what? Something tells me after he hears about your bad behavior last night, he’s not going to be your boyfriend for long.”
“Tony’s not my boyfriend. He’s a good friend who dates one of my best friends. And he’s not a cop.” Kathy’s grin grew large enough to reveal some teeth. “He’s the sheriff.”