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Beauty and the Badge

Page 16

by Lyn Stone


  Mary felt a smile pull at her lips. “You’re welcome.”

  “Give me your feet,” he said abruptly.

  “What?”

  “Your feet. Those hands are cold, but I think we can rule out frostbite. Let me check your toes.”

  Mary hesitated for only a moment before she peeled off the dry socks she had donned. He encompassed both her feet in his large hands and began to rub. Tingles that had nothing at all to do with poor circulation ran right up her legs, straight to the core of her. She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling the heat building from the inside out.

  He released her feet all too soon. Mary opened her eyes and saw him looking at her with such raw need, she almost fell against him. Catching herself in the act, she quickly turned away and began pulling her socks back on with shaking hands.

  That was all she needed—to throw herself at him again. Nothing could go further in proving her guilt in his mind. He would think she was trying to bribe him with sex.

  She might have done just that if she thought it would work, but Ford wasn’t the type to be swayed in that way. No, he would need proof positive, something irrefutable that declared her innocent, before he would believe it. She must remember that this man thought she was a criminal. He had made up his mind, and nothing she could say or do here would make the slightest bit of difference.

  And yet, no matter what he believed her to be, Ford still wanted her. He made no secret of it, either. But it was a situational thing, having to do with availability and his notion of her morals—which couldn’t be all that lofty, considering her behavior thus far.

  She got up from her seat on the hearth, more eager to put distance between them than she was to enjoy the proximity of the fire. That burned brightly now, throwing inadequate waves of heat only a couple of feet from its source.

  The rest of the room had yet to absorb much of it. Mary figured activity would compensate a little, so she began searching for things they would need.

  She found a cast-iron pot in the kitchen and dashed out the back door. In moments she had the container filled with broken bits of long icicles that she had gathered from the edge of the low-hanging roof. For good measure, she returned for several plastic bowls that she set on the steps to collect the sleet-and-snow mixture that continued to fall

  Belatedly, she noticed a crinkled tarp bulging from beneath the crawl space under the cabin. She plucked an edge of it away and whooped with delight. Firewood, cut in uniform lengths, lay piled beneath the cabin. Dry wood! She pulled out several logs and stacked them on one arm.

  Ford met her at the door, gun in hand.

  Mary laughed. “Didn’t mean to shout. But look what I found!”

  An hour later, the main room of the cabin had warmed to a nearly comfortable level, at least near the fireplace. Mary had cleaned Ford’s wound as well as she knew how and doused it with the pitiful remainder of a bottle of bourbon she had found in one of the cabinets. He’d turned the air blue when she did that and hadn’t subsided much since, still muttering under his breath now and then about her sadistic tendencies.

  She had used one of his T-shirts to bandage his arm and helped him dress in the sweats he’d brought in his sports bag.

  One of the single-bed mattresses she’d lugged in from the bedroom lay in front of the fireplace. They reclined on it lengthwise, facing each other and absorbing the warmth of the fire.

  “Now, if we don’t starve to death, we’ll be all right,” she commented.

  Ford lifted the cup of soup Mary had made from the envelopes of dry soup mix he’d appropriated from the Knobletts’ kitchen. “Chicken-sleet soup’s not so bad.”

  Mary giggled and sipped her own. “But we can’t live on it.”

  “Nope,” he agreed. “I’ll scare up something a little more substantial when I get my second wind.”

  “I wasn’t complaining—just wondering how we’d solve the problem. There’s no food here except what you brought.”

  “Soup mix, instant coffee and ramen noodles,” he listed.

  “Uh-hmm. And the salt.”

  “Can’t have possum stew without that,” he said.

  Was he serious? Mary knew beggars couldn’t be choosers, but she wasn’t about to eat an opossum. “I’d sooner eat a house cat,” she said, relishing the last mouthful of her soup, wishing it could have lasted for days.

  “I’ll see what I can do, then.”

  She glanced at him and saw his expression. He had such an appealing grin. Great teeth. They were strong and white. No caps like Jim. She loved the indentations—almost dimples—that framed his expressive mouth. Just thinking about that mouth seemed too dangerous right now-when she felt so languid and relaxed. Remembering what those lips had felt like, what they were capable of...

  “Squirrels and rabbits are good,” he commented idly, setting his cup on the stones of the hearth.

  Mary recovered quickly, shaking off her thoughts of kissing. “I’m sorry to inform you, but I don’t eat anything that’s cute.”

  He laughed and lay back so that he was flat on the mattress. “Go to sleep, Mary,” he ordered, still shaking with mirth long after she had wriggled out a comfy spot and closed her eyes.

  What had she said that was so funny?

  The phone’s chirp interrupted Ford’s X-rated dream. Cursing, he pushed himself to a sitting position. He’d meant to turn the damned thing off. “What?”

  “Blevins, here. Where are you?”

  “Lost in the wilderness,” Ford muttered into the receiver as he yanked the corner of the sleeping bag up to cover his shoulder. The fact that Blevins knew they were no longer at Mary’s grandmother’s confirmed Ford’s suspicion. No proof yet, however, so he played it cool. “Look, we’re stranded God knows where, so don’t hassle me, all right?”

  He made static noises with the back of his tongue and interspersed them with words. “Sorry, almost out of range and I’m losing you. I’ll call back.” He punched the button, then the off switch and tossed the phone into the open zipper of his sports bag.

  Mary watched him, her eyes wide. “Why did you do that?”

  “Because he’s the son of a bitch who’s calling the shots on us. Literally.”

  She sat up abruptly, pushing her cover down to her waist. “What?”

  Ford blew out a breath of frustration. He knew he had to level with her. Guilty or not, her life was at stake here. “Yeah, think about it. I tell him where we are and, just like clockwork, up pops Perry.”

  “But why?”

  “The diamonds would be my guess. I don’t think Blevins was involved in all the heists, but he saw an opportunity here to get his hands on this take without even being suspected. He came in to honcho this investigation late, after I had pointed out the link between the other jobs.”

  Ford lapsed into thought for a few minutes before continuing. “It’s his connection to Perry I don’t understand. Why hire a hit man? Hell, Blevins had enough training, he could have taken out Antonio with no problem.”

  “What about Perry? Do you still think he’s the one after us?”

  “Definitely at your school. I recognized him the minute I saw him. Blevins could have contacted him easily enough with the information we had on file. Blevins even said he’d hauled him in for questioning once on another case. Never had enough proof to arrest him, and Perry knew that, so he had no reason to hide. Blevins probably hired him to knock off Antonio and grab the gems so they could split ’em.”

  “But—but Blevins is an agent!”

  Ford snorted. “And that’s grounds for sainthood? Hey, we can be just as greedy as the next guy. Look at me! I’m ready to chuck a perfectly good government job to join forces with Spider-Woman.” He shot her a pointed look. “And don’t think I’m hooked because of your stickyfingered life-style. Diamonds don’t mean squat to me.”

  Mary’s mouth dropped open. He just loved that speechless look of hers. Those eyes were so wide he could see the whites all around. The picture of innocen
ce, and maybe she was innocent. He knew better than to bet the ranch on that, but he couldn’t resist testing her.

  Before she could gather enough spit to speak, he continued. “See, Perry offs Antonio and can’t find the diamonds. Then when he discovers you witnessed the shooting, he comes after you. Now Blevins knows you might be able to ID Perry, which could lead to him. And he figures you’ve got the goods. So he sanctions the hit on you. They both figure you’ve told me everything. So now we’re a package deal.”

  She covered her mouth with one hand and lowered her eyes. Her head shook slowly as though denying what he’d said. When she raised her gaze to him, she looked more frightened than he’d seen her yet. “Then who can we trust, Ford? Who will save us?”

  He could hardly stand for her to look that woebegone. It wasn’t as if all hope had died. “I’ve got an idea how to get us out of this. My job’s probably history anyway, so I guess I don’t need to worry about skipping up the chain of command or throwing out wild accusations. I’m going to call the regional director and see if I can convince him.”

  “Blevins’s boss? What happens if you can’t make him listen?”

  He met her eyes directly and gave her the bad news. “Then we play hard to get. Indefinitely.”

  No use waffling, Ford thought. Now that he’d laid out his suspicions and plans aloud to Mary, they made perfect sense.

  He glanced at his watch. Four o’clock. Since it was Monday, Duvek should still be at his office. Ford reached for the phone again and punched in the number. Might as well find out exactly how they stood.

  He worried about how Michael Duvek would take a suggestion that one of the senior agents could be dirty. While it was true that nobody Ford knew of liked Blevins personally, the man had a good rep for his expertise with computers. And no one had ever questioned his abilities or his willingness to jump right in on a case involving gems, either. There could be a reason for that, Ford thought.

  A secretary answered on the second ring and passed him through. “Duvek, here.”

  “This is Ford Devereaux over in Nashville. We’ve got a large problem here, boss. Spare a few minutes?”

  “Well, the Boy Wonder,” Duvek said with a sigh. “What now? Have you been yanking Blevins’s chain again? He was ready for me to pull your badge last time we talked.”

  “I’m in no position to jerk anybody around right now. But I do have something smelly I’m about to throw at the fan. You’re not going to like this.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” Duvek asked in his upperclass Bostonian accent.

  “Just keep an open mind and stay with me, sir. Ms. Shaw’s life and mine are on the line here. Someone put out a contract on her and I believe I know who.”

  “Go ahead,” Duvek said seriously.

  Ford’s eyes locked with Mary’s as he related all that had happened. Well, almost all. He didn’t give their location. And he certainly didn’t mclude the fact that he had violated rule number one when protecting a witness of the opposite sex. Or a suspect.

  Still, when he’d finished, he had a sneaky feeling Duvek had listened between the sentences where that last secret was concerned. His next words confirmed it.

  “Devereaux, tell me you haven’t crossed the line with this woman,” Duvek said in warning.

  “Didn’t you hear a word I said?” Ford demanded.

  “Oh, yes, and I heard how you said them, especially the names. Are you...involved with Ms. Shaw? No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know about it right now. As for the rest, do nothing for the present Stay wherever you are. Don’t move unless you have good cause.”

  Ford laughed, more with relief than anything else. “Not much chance of that. I’ll call you back day after tomorrow.”

  Duvek confirmed. stating a time. “I’ll get someone on this immediately and see what I can uncover. And Devereaux?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Keep your head down.” He paused for effect. “Both of them.”

  Ford rolled his eyes as he punched off and closed the phone.

  “Is he with us?” Mary asked.

  “Absolutely. For some reason, I don’t think he was too surprised to hear about Blevins. Duvek’s a good man, spotless rep as an agent. We can trust him.” Ford smiled. “Even if he does talk funny.”

  “Hmm?” Mary glanced up at him questioningly.

  “Can’t say his r’s. Pure Boston. Sounds like Kennedy. He might be a dyed-in-the-wool Yankee, but he’s definitely one of the good ol’ boys in my book.”

  She moved over, either seeking body warmth or reassurance. “This scares me, Ford. What if Perry finds us here?”

  “Scares me, too,” he admitted, sliding his good arm around her and drawing her close. “But we’re safe here. There’s no way he can know where we are. Nobody can get to us, anyway, with the roads slick as owl... stuff.”

  “And when it melts?” she asked in a worried whisper.

  He lay back on the mattress and drew her down beside him, carefully wrapping the corner of her sleeping bag close around her neck and resting his hand on top. “We play it as it lays, hon. That’s about all we can do. But Perry has no reason to look for us here.”

  “When do you think that will happen? The melting, I mean?”

  “A day or two, a week, who knows? This is a freak storm. I should have paid more attention to the weather forecasts.”

  “What do we do in the meantime?” she asked, fitting her head into the curve of his neck.

  Ford knew she had no intention of setting him on fire the way she was doing. All she wanted was something to cling to in a world gone mad. He certainly understood that It was right up there in number-two position on his own list of desires. A little distraction wouldn’t hurt.

  “We could play Eskimo,” he said, dropping a none-too-brotherly kiss on top of her head, and nuzzling her hair. “Want to rub noses?”

  Chapter 12

  Mary didn’t mistake the half-serious tone of Ford’s suggestion. She leaned her head back and looked up at him. His thoughts were as clear as if he were speaking them. He wanted her and he knew she wanted him. His hand gripped her waist, long fingers moving in an insistent caress that sent heat surging through her veins.

  She slid one palm up his chest, smoothing the thick cotton of his sweatshirt over the muscles of his chest She explored the bare skin of his neck, feeling his pulse pound furiously beneath her fingertips. His indrawn breath and the flare of his nostrils excited her further.

  His mouth descended and she opened hers slightly, anticipating his kiss with a hunger she’d felt with no other man. The power of that hunger frightened her even as she welcomed it.

  His salty taste mingled with the sweetness of desire as his tongue invaded. Ford’s attempt at gentleness suddenly turned wild. His urgency encompassed her, demanded her participation, evoked all the feelings for him she had tried so hard to deny.

  “I need you, Mary,” he rasped as his mouth left hers and hungrily tasted her chin, her neck, and the spot beneath her ear that sent tendrils of fire curling through her body.

  She drew in a deep breath, hoping to gather some resistance, but it only inundated her brain with a heady mix of pine, bourbon, and Ford’s own enticing scent

  Her breasts swelled beneath his impatient hands. She raked her fingers through his hair, urging him to another lengthy, mind-drugging kiss. Craving more.

  His phone chirped.

  Ford dragged his mouth from hers. “Damn!” He gripped her almost painfully with his good arm and she felt his harsh breath of frustration rush out against her ear.

  He released her reluctantly, but held her gaze as he reached for the phone. His eyes told her this was not over. Mary knew that he’d never even entertained the thought of ignoring the call. Their lives could depend on it.

  “Yes?” he answered impatiently. Then his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

  Mary watched a rueful smile smooth out his frown as he said, “Yeah, she’s okay.” A small silence ensued as he lis
tened. “Look, buddy, I appreciate the gear and food. We’re settled in for the duration. Got plenty of wood, a little grub. Everything’s cool.... I might think about it once the ice melts. Any idea when that will be?” He listened for a while, nodding. “Yeah, don’t worry. I promise I’ll take care of her.”

  Ford remained silent for another moment. “No, they can’t do that. This phone’s encrypted. But I am going to stay switched off to save my battery. Don’t worry if you can’t reach us.”

  “Mr. Knoblett?” Mary guessed as he closed the phone.

  Ford issued a long-suffering sigh and rested his forehead against hers. “The old guy must be psychic. I think that call was as much a warning to keep my hands to myself as it was an offer of help. He guessed where we are. Asked me if I planned to do a little hunting—big game.”

  Mary drew back so that she could see his face. “You will, won’t you?” She sensed that Ford didn’t intend to run anymore.

  “Might have to,” he admitted.

  “You know Perry will come after us, don’t you?” she asked in a hushed voice.

  Ford released her hand, turned away from her and stared into the fire. “Only when I’m ready for him. There’s a chance Duvek might find him first, but I’m not counting on that. We’ve got nothing concrete on Perry but the fact that he followed us the day I picked you up at the school. Hell, we didn’t even see him the night of the shooting.”

  “It was his car, wasn’t it?” Mary argued. “The green one?”

  “From what I saw, it looked like the same make.” Ford shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair. “We have to assume it was. At least we don’t have to worry about him until things warm up. Knoblett says the whole county’s closed down, and they’re enforcing it. No vehicles allowed on the main roads. Nobody’s looking for us at the moment.”

  “What if Perry has tire chains or something?”

  “Wouldn’t help on this kind of ice. Even if he miraculously guesses where we are there’s no way he could get back to look for us until the roads open. Even then, driving in here would be impossible. He’d have to hike in through the woods like we did.”

 

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