by Jenny Penn
“Oh.”
Okay, that was actually worrisome because landing in the can wouldn’t look good to Amos and would only piss Jack off. His predicament should have pissed him off, but Collin was still too hard to work up a good mad. He blamed the sweet scent of cherries for his condition.
But, God, she did smell good, probably tasted even better. Eyeing the smooth glow of her skin, Collin bet she felt best of all. He could only imagine how she’d feel all slick and soft as he ground against her. She’d be hot to touch, and he bet she’d flush right from the tips of her ears all the way down to the pink, little—
“Cindy?”
Kathy’s voice shook Collin away from his delightful fantasies and back to the harsh realization that he had a long road before he made good on any of them. It would help if he could focus, something he didn’t normally have trouble doing.
“—yeah, I was hoping you could get the tow truck and come pull me out…No, don’t worry about the cost.” Kathy shot Collin a pointed look. “Insurance is going to cover it.”
“Very good,” Collin commented the second she disconnected from her call. He had to force himself to sound bored, when really he was starting to get kind of nervous. “You’re making a paper trail, but that isn’t going to be of any interest to anybody because I don’t work for the government and I don’t know who this Jack is you’re all wigged out by.”
Kathy didn’t say a word, didn’t even bother to look up from where she punched in a new set of numbers on her cell’s keypad.
“What?” Collin taunted, thinking there wasn’t any other person he could fear at that moment. “You going to call your mother now and complain?”
“Amanda?”
The sound of that name panicked Collin into instant action. He didn’t even have to take a step forward to snatch Kathy’s phone right out of her hand. She might have kept narrowed eyes on him and been visibly tense with anticipation, but she didn’t even get a chance to blink before Collin snapped her phone shut and curled a fist around it.
“Okay, we’re done playing that game now,” he stated in a firm enough tone that caused hardened criminals to shut up. They didn’t have anything when it came to the balls of pint-size librarians apparently, because Kathy did more than just argue. She stepped forward, closing the gap between them.
“I say when we’re done,” Kathy declared with all the authority of a six-star general reprimanding a private.
“And you’ve only just begun, right?” Collin shot back, keeping the phone well out of her reach by retreating ever so slightly. “I’ve heard that line before, sweetness. So you’re going to have to come up with one better.”
“I might have something,” Kathy assured him.
Maybe he shouldn’t have taunted her given the situation, but Collin kind of liked how feisty she got when he did. As big as it was insincere, Kathy’s grin looked downright menacing. She could pull off the smile but not the effect, not with those rounded cheeks and big doll eyes.
Collin could already imagine those cheeks all puffed out and flushed as he fed every inch of his dick past those pouty lips. She’d be on all fours looking up at him like he was king. When that moment came, adoration and lust would fuel the passion shining in her gaze, begging him silently to give her more than just a taste—
“It’ll bring you to your knees,” Kathy promised him.
“I do some of my best work there.” Collin knew she was talking about revenge, but then again, so was he. There were at least a dozen kneeling positions he knew of that could make the little darling come for hours and several more that he’d like to experiment with.
“What?” Kathy blinked, obviously confused. “Listen up, meathead. I’m threatening you. You’re not supposed to be smiling and making jokes.”
“I know.” Just like he knew he shouldn’t be teasing her, but Collin couldn’t seem to stop himself. “But you’re too cute to take seriously.”
Kathy’s jaw snapped shut, clenching as her eyes narrowed on him. It wouldn’t have surprised Collin if she actually growled. She might have, but cheery chimes of a pop song tinkled out with high mirth from the phone in his hand. The sound had him glancing at the phone with disgust.
“‘Get The Party Started’?” Collin cast Kathy a critical look, but couldn’t hold his serious expression through the rest of his insult. “Please tell me you don’t still listen to Vanilla Ice.”
“Give me my phone back.” Kathy slapped a hand out, clearly un-amused.
“Can I be ‘Let’s Get It On’?”
“Now!”
“Not into Marvin, huh?” Collin shrugged, backing up as Kathy lunged for the phone. She couldn’t jump that high, but she did make the move look sexy with all those curves bouncing around. He wondered if he could make her do it again. “How about we rock it, baby? You can make me ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’?””
“I think ‘You’re So Vain’ is more appropriate. Now give me my phone or I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” Collin asked, smug with assurance that she wouldn’t have an answer. His boost of confidence didn’t last long. In fact, it faded right along with the tension holding Kathy stiff. Apparently she did have an answer, a good one.
“Or I’ll tell Tony everything I know when he gets here. Trust me, you won’t be running him off the road when he takes off for the Reese Ranch.”
“Uh, no.” Collin shook his head. He’d dealt with more than a few overwrought women in his lifetime and knew that a strong stance and a hard tone could pull every one into line. “You’re not going to do that. What you’re going to do is calm down and start—”
“Calm down,” Kathy repeated, sounding astonished he even suggested such a thing. “You tried to kill me.”
“And if you believed that, why are you standing here threatening me?” Collin shot back, finally annoyed that Kathy seemed immune to authority. “Shouldn’t you be running down the road, screaming in fear for help?”
Kathy ignored that bit of obnoxiousness, instead pressing forward her too-logical, very-annoying reasoning. “If you don’t let me answer the phone the next time Amanda calls, she’s going to get worried. Then your buddy, Jack, will have a real mess on his hands. Trust me, I know Amanda.”
Collin might not know Amanda, but he’d read her file. She was a loose cannon, a powder keg that could set off a dangerous chain reaction if she learned any of the secrets Kathy might be privy to. He had to convince Kathy to keep her mouth shut. The only problem was how.
“And that would be fun, making a mess for this Jack guy?” Collin needed to find a weakness, a motive he could exploit. His best guess right now was that Kathy wanted to stick it to Jack, but she probably cared more about her friend. He could work with that.
“Don’t even bother with ‘this Jack guy,’” Kathy shot back. “I know you’re working with him or I would be running down the road screaming for help.”
“Fine,” Collin conceded. Irritating her by treating her like she was stupid wouldn’t help, especially not when he needed her to respect his own reasoning. “I know Jack. We’re old friends, but that’s not the point.”
“No, the fact that you almost killed me is,” Kathy harped. “I may never have much trust in the government, but running an innocent woman off the road is lower than even I thought you guys were capable of.”
“I don’t work for the government.” Collin shouldn’t allow her to sidetrack him, but something about her attitude irked him. He’d spent his whole life in service to a country and a government he was proud of. Nothing pissed Collin off more than when people protected by that government started talking about it like it was the enemy.
“But you did almost kill me.”
“I did not!” Collin clenched his fist until Kathy’s phone started to crack in his right hand. A part of him wanted to crush the little bit of plastic, but the depth of that urge startled him enough to stop the impulse. He didn’t get mad. He didn’t yell. Both things were a sign of a loss of control. No five-foot-t
wo-size librarian was going to cost him that.
She wanted to. Slowly opening his eyes as he released a deep breath, the first thing he saw was the twinkle in Kathy’s big, doe-eyed gaze. A smile lingered over the tips of her lips, teasing him with the clear message that she enjoyed making him crazy.
Collin stiffened up slowly, taking the time to find a calm, rational tone before he spoke. “Look, I’ve done that move hundreds of times. You weren’t in any danger. There were no cars, no trees, no wall, no anything for you to run into. There was no risk or I wouldn’t have done it.”
“You don’t know that.” Kathy snorted. “I could have lost all control and flipped. My car could have rolled down the street. I could have been crushed, trapped inside, pinned beneath the steering wheel. What if they had to cut my legs off just to get me free?
“Or—” Kathy warmed to her subject. Her hands started to exaggerate the words tripping out of her mouth with dramatic flair. “My car could have burst into flames as my tank ignited, and then I’d have the joyous experience of being burned alive. Or maybe I get knocked unconscious and—”
“Maybe you watch too much damn TV,” Collin cut in, not interested in all the ways Kathy could imagine her own death. “And none of that is the point.”
“Then what the hell is the point?”
“Your friend, Amanda Johnson, is in danger.”
That simple statement sobered Kathy up, bringing her hands down and a dark shadow to her gaze. “I know that. I’m just concerned that she might not know it.”
“And you don’t think seeing her friend, Will, shot down by drug dealers wasn’t a wake-up call to that fact?” Collin shot back. “Or do you think your friend is beyond stupid?”
“She doesn’t know everything.”
“And she doesn’t need to.” Collin didn’t even take a breath for fear of giving her a chance to get a word in. He needed to make his point and make it fast. “Whether you like him or not, Jack is one of the good guys. His whole mission is to keep your friend from dying. Now you can go and blab whatever it is you know, but then you got to accept the consequences when Amanda goes off the deep end and throws the only thing standing between her and death off the ranch. Think about it.”
Thankfully, she did. Backing up slightly, Kathy studied him with the kind of quiet thoughtfulness that had Collin holding his breath. She really was adorable. Angry, happy, even studious, her expressions glowed with a kind of internal passion that tempted Collin. He bet she’d be absolutely mesmerizing when she came.
“And who is to say that somebody else won’t step up and protect Amanda? Because I’m pretty sure the Reese brothers aren’t going to leave her undefended.”
“And who is to say the replacements will be as good?”
That earned him a sour look. “I don’t trust you, so why would I listen to you?”
Collin didn’t have time for a good answer. A set of flashing lights had appeared on the horizon, and the phone in his hand had started singing again. Time had run out. He barely managed to get out one last line as he dropped the phone back into Kathy’s waiting hand.
“Because you know I’m right.”
Chapter 7
Kathy hated to have to admit that Collin had a point, but she consoled herself with the knowledge that she’d reached the same conclusions he had long before she’d even left her house. Her temper, though, had a way of making her forget all sense. That not only explained her need to threaten him, but why she’d let it slip that she knew Jack worked for the government. Hell, if the man hadn’t remembered last night, he’d soon know that there was something to remember.
Thankfully Amanda’s call distracted her from doing more damage to her cause. By the time she’d gotten done assuring Amanda everything was all right, Tony had shown up to breathe fire in Collin’s direction. Kathy egged him on enough to earn the handsome jerk no less than seven tickets, though she steered clear of anything that made the accident sound intentional. Getting Collin arrested might be fun, but she really didn’t need to piss off any more federal agents then she already had.
That didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy watching him squirm. Of course, watching Collin, if that was his name, would have been enjoyable no matter what he was doing. The only way it could have been more enjoyable was if he was wearing less, not that his shirt left much to the imagination.
The white cotton wrinkled along the hard lines of his body, indenting and accentuating the massive bulge of his arms and chest and folding in along the creases of his ripped abdomen. Wide and thick, Collin looked only a tad shorter than Tony, but a whole lot more scrumptious.
Collin moved with the same lethal grace Jack had, even if he had given up the short haircut they’d no doubt both gotten in the military. While it was easy to imagine Jack as some pissed-off, bad-ass marine ready to beat the crap out of whoever pissed him off, Collin’s more tousled honey locks lightened his hard features. Stray golden strands fell in soft waves over the sparkling depths of his green eyes, highlighting the glittering mirth that filled his gaze despite Tony’s best efforts to ruin Collin’s day.
Those eyes, they trapped a woman and made her forget every damn thought in her head. That’s the only reason it took Kathy so long to put two and two together. It also explained why it took Cindy so long to get Collin’s credit card information once she showed up in the tow truck. Tony might be the love of Cindy’s life, but Kathy knew that girl would always be shameless when it came to admiring a prime piece of male flesh. Kathy also knew that wouldn’t stop Cindy from charging Collin a premium for being from out of town, not to mention running Kathy off the road.
If having both Tony and Cindy taking pieces off Collin’s hide wasn’t enough to appease Kathy, she certainly walked away feeling gratified that Collin had failed in his mission. He might have wrecked her car, but Collin hadn’t managed to stop her from making it to the Reece brothers’ ranch. That’s just where Tony agreed to take her after Cindy had hauled her car off.
Kathy didn’t deny that she’d enjoyed shooting Collin a smug grin as she’d walked away with the sheriff. Now she cast the same smile in Jack’s direction as she hopped out of Tony’s truck and into the large yard in front of the ranch’s main house. Jack stood off in the horizon, a dark, angry shadow that tracked her every step up the porch.
Amanda greeted them with the enthusiasm of an inmate long banished to solitary confinement, refusing to let Tony leave without a cup of coffee. Kathy trailed behind them into the kitchen, pausing only long enough to cast a look over her shoulder, but Jack had disappeared. She suspected he was off to go listen to whatever bugs he had planted in the house. Kathy didn’t doubt the mics existed, and if they didn’t, then this would all be a waste of time.
Heading into the kitchen, she joined Tony at the old, wooden table tucked along the front wall, taking the seat beside him as Amanda brought over the coffeepot and an extra cup. Amanda locked gazes with Tony in a pointed look as she began filling up all the mugs.
“So? Anything new?” Amanda asked that question with enough depth to have Tony shooting a quick look in Kathy’s direction before shrugging.
“You two don’t have to pussyfoot around anything just ‘cause I’m here,” Kathy informed them, hoping like hell Jack was listening in.
“We’re not—”
“I know.” Kathy cut Amanda’s denial off with an exasperated huff. “What? Do you think I’m dumb?”
“No, of course not,” Amanda rushed to assure her. “It’s just—”
“That I wouldn’t be able to spot a conspiracy?” Kathy finished for her, turning the statement into a question as she cast Amanda an overly dramatic look of surprise. “Will’s dead, money’s missing, Amanda’s locked up out here. I can connect those dots, thank you very much.”
Tony snorted, rolling his eyes before pinning Kathy with his sour look. “Whatever it is you think you know, Kathy, you don’t want to know.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
&nb
sp; “It means you’re nosy.” Amanda smiled at her own blunt summation, settling into her seat on the other side of the table before informing Kathy of the fact she was more than well aware of. “It gets you into trouble.”
“And we’ve had enough funerals,” Tony tacked on. “I’ve told Amanda and Cindy the same thing I’m about to tell you, let the authorities handle it. We’re not going to have a repeat of the Big Berry incident. Got me?”
“Are you ever going to let me live that down?” Kathy scowled at Tony, more than tired of hearing about Berry.
“No,” Tony answered instantly. “You enticed a known rapist to chase you.”
“And I led him right to you!” Kathy shot back, because despite all the grief people gave her about that event, everything had turned out fine. Better than, actually. “And I collected three thousand dollars in reward money.”
“You could have gotten yourself killed or worse.” Tony growled, his features showing the strain of his temper. “And this time it definitely will be worse.”
“I couldn’t live with that,” Amanda stated softly, breaking apart Tony’s and her argument with the quiet grief in her tone. “There’s enough blood on my hands.”
Ah, hell. Kathy should have figured Amanda would feel guilty about everything. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t to blame. Amanda had always felt responsible for Will. Reaching out, she gave Amanda’s hand a quick squeeze and offered her a smile.
“Don’t worry, Mandy. I’m not in any kind of danger.”
“And you’re not going to do anything that will land you in any,” Tony finished for her.
“Of course not.” Kathy shot him a frown for being so bullheaded. Tony was ruining her moment and probably making Jack feel all sorts of vindicated. Kathy couldn’t allow that. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to sit back and pretend like nothing’s going on, especially not if Amanda’s going to be charged with accessory to murder.”
“What?” Tony shook his head as his nose wrinkled like he’d smelled something foul. “You’re crazy and you’re talking crazy. Nobody’s going to charge Amanda with anything. Trust me, I would know.”