by Rachel Lee
She nodded, her gaze drifting away. “That was a great break. I recently lived in Houston,” she added. “You been there?”
“On a visit,” he said vaguely. “I lived in Boston for a brief while.”
She nodded, but he could tell he was losing her. That offended him somehow. He sought a way to get her attention back. “If you’re after scenic pictures, you should come to my ranch. Fantastic view of the mountains.”
She returned those dark eyes to him, and he felt soothed. She was interested. He could see it. “I’d like that. We usually send a photographer out, though. A pro. But I could take some pictures to give him ideas.”
“Cool! Not all your photos should be from the top of the mountains.”
Just then the phone line rang. He cursed it because it was for him and he was next on the rotation. But he couldn’t let her see that he didn’t want to answer, that she had become more important.
Another friendly smile. “Excuse me.” He touched his headset and walked toward the console. “Crisis hotline, this is Calvin. What can I help you with tonight?”
DeeJay moved toward the door, spoke a few words with Dory, then turned to wave at him. He had her, he thought as he waved back and continued to listen to the woman sobbing on the line. DeeJay would come to the ranch. He just had to make sure she didn’t bring the guy with her. Of course, if necessary he could deal with the man, too. In fact, it might make things cleaner. Folks would just think they had finished their job and left, rather than have her husband raise a ruckus. Yeah, that would work better.
Gage opened the door, letting her exit ahead of him, and Dory locked it behind them.
Later, when he was done with his call and they were waiting for the next, Dory remarked, “That was odd.”
His attention pricked. “Why?”
“I just can’t imagine why a travel writer would be interested in us.”
He could. She had been summoned. But even as he thought that, a warning sounded in the back of his head. Maybe she had another motive. Maybe he should watch her carefully before he made his move. Spiders, after all, waited until their prey was truly tangled and even tired before they approached to sting it.
Spiders were so smart, but he was smarter.
* * *
“I want everything you’ve got on Calvin Sweet,” DeeJay told Gage when they reached the corner and were about to part ways.
“Why? Houston and Boston?”
“That and an invitation to his ranch.”
Gage shook his head a little. “There’s probably not much. He’s never been in trouble with the law, but I’ll see what I can get, starting with his job application. Really, do you think a serial killer would be working at a crisis hotline?”
“Ted Bundy did. By all accounts, he was good at it, too.”
She took some satisfaction from seeing his eyes widen. “Hell,” he muttered.
“It’s a long shot, but right now it’s the only one we have. And I’m late meeting Cade at the diner. By now he’s probably wondering if I got myself abducted.”
She was turning away when he touched her arm. “Good job of questioning,” he said.
“It was only one remark. Wish I’d had time for more.” Then she marched down the street, remembering the young man with the dark hair and eyes. He seemed so nice. So inoffensive. Almost eager to please.
He was at least worth looking into.
* * *
“I was starting to wonder,” Cade said when she slid into the booth he’d staked out.
“I ran into Gage, and he showed me the hotline center. We’ll talk about it when we get out of here.”
She looked at him and saw that he had raised one brow. “Takeout or dine in?” he asked.
“Takeout,” she said immediately. “I’ve scratched the itch for now.”
He smiled crookedly. “I got another one to scratch.”
She could still blush, something she hadn’t realized. She thought she’d left that in her distant past, but there was no mistaking the heat in her cheeks. There was also no way to mistake the way his smile widened.
They skipped the steak sandwiches this time and ordered grilled chicken breasts, broccoli and baked potatoes. A meeting of minds, DeeJay thought wryly.
Excitement dogged her all the way home, even though she warned herself not to make too much of it. Cade let her be until they were back at their own kitchen table, a table that was steadily disappearing beneath papers and notes.
She pushed everything to one side while Cade apparently decided they were going to eat like civilized people. He brought out plates and cutlery and started another pot of coffee.
DeeJay went to get her tablet, and while he put the food on their plates, she started a search for Calvin Sweet in Houston and Boston. If she could find anything, she’d expand it.
Of course he didn’t pop up at the top of any list. There seemed to be a lot of Calvin Sweets in the world. She tapped her way through page after page, while she ate with one hand. Next she intended to switch to state databases.
“Going to fill me in?” Cade finally asked.
She looked up from the computer, suddenly realizing she’d broken yet another rule of partnership: sharing information. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. But something’s got you going. I’d like to hear it.”
“It’s probably nothing,” she said truthfully. “But I met a young man tonight at the crisis center. Probably in his early thirties. We had a casual conversation, and I questioned him about where he lived. Houston and Boston came up.”
He grew still. “Amazing,” he murmured.
“Too amazing, probably. But he grew up here and left for the city lights, I gather. Came back after his mother died. And he invited me out to his ranch because he has a great view of the mountains. Like I said, too amazing. Slim to unlikely. But Gage is going to look into his background. He doesn’t expect to find much because this guy’s never been in trouble with the law. But then, there’s his job application. It might reveal more.”
All of a sudden Cade was smiling broadly. “Great job, DeeJay! Great job.”
“Or maybe a waste of time and resources,” she admitted honestly. “I’m trying not to get too excited.”
“Doesn’t look like you’re quite succeeding.”
She pushed the tablet to one side and forced herself to pay attention to dinner, and to him. “Houston and Boston are big cities,” she said. “You could probably find a dozen people in this town alone who’ve been there, or even lived there. And he said he only visited Houston.”
“Did he give you any kind of vibe?”
She shook her head. “Friendly, courteous, warm. Exactly the kind of guy who would take that job. I don’t doubt for a minute he was sincere about liking to help people.”
He nodded, his gaze growing distant for a few seconds. “Liking to help people doesn’t mean you can’t also like to kill them. In fact, you might even see some murders as a form of helping.”
“Too true. Anyway, a call came in before I could learn anymore. I’d have given anything to find a spiderweb in that office and have time to carry on about it.”
He surprised her with a chuckle. “That would have been a sight to behold.”
She pursed her lips at him. “I can pretend to be a weak, scared female when necessary. I don’t like it, but I can do it.”
“I hope I get to see the show sometime.” But his eyes were still smiling at her. “Not much scares you, does it?”
“I’ve faced most of my fears, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have any left.” Like fear of letting a man close enough to hurt her again.
He ate some more chicken, pointing to her plate as if to remind her to eat, as well. She needed to, she realized. The army had taught her not only to sleep at any o
pportunity, but to never pass up a meal when you were in the field. All the cold walking around town had caused her energy to ebb. She was running on excitement now. Sooner or later, the crash would come.
“So which databases do you want me to search? No point in duplicating your efforts, or Gage’s.”
She swallowed a mouthful of chicken and quickly sipped some coffee to wash it down. “That diner may make killer steak sandwiches, but the chicken is dry.”
“Maybe it’s something new they added and they’re just learning how. Or maybe Mavis was annoyed at how much room I took up while I waited for you. They were fairly busy.”
She laughed at that.
“Databases,” he reminded her. “What do you want to know?”
She thought he could probably work it out on his own, but it was nice of him to ask. “I was thinking DMV. If he moved away for a while, we should be able to find out when he canceled his Wyoming license and when he got it back. In short, the period of his absence. If the dates come close...”
He nodded. “Anything else?”
“I’d like to look at his birth registry. Once we know who his mother was, maybe we can find out what she looked like.”
“I can check local obituaries, too. In case.” He paused, a broccoli floret on his fork. “I hate to say this, because I’m truly worried about you, but your idea could work.”
She felt flattered. She was more used to hearing about how she wasn’t getting it, that she didn’t understand what she was doing—at least when it came to those rape cases. She gave Cade high marks for saying it when he’d been so opposed to her taking the risk.
But Cade was different, she admitted when she had finished eating, cleared away her dishes and gone to get more coffee. At every turn he treated her like an equal. Her first impression of him couldn’t have been more wrong. Clearly, he wasn’t part of the men’s club that she’d come to know all too well that thought women were not as good as they were.
Cade cleared his own dishes. She had a feeling they were going to wait a while before washing.
Then he stole her breath. “So, do you want to work or do you want to make love?”
Speechless, she watched him standing there, leaning back against the counter. A faint smile danced over his lips. Wonderful lips, as she had discovered.
She knew what she should answer, but it was too late. His words had stoked desire in her instantly, pushing it from the back burner right to the front, and it was set to a high flame.
“This is insane,” she heard herself mumble.
“Maybe.” But instead of dropping the subject, he came toward her and held out his hand.
Now that they’d crossed the first line, she could no longer pretend to herself that he wasn’t a fabulous figure of a man. Broad shouldered, narrow hipped, his chiseled face softened with a small smile.
But it was more than that that drew her to him. Despite their rocky start—and she had to admit she’d set out to be difficult because she had misinterpreted him—he had remained on an even, respectful keel. Not once had he attempted to diminish her mind or her skills. Truly a new experience for her. The few men she had dated— mistakes!—had always eventually tried to find some way to reduce her. When the power plays and the criticisms had begun, she’d invariably taken a hike.
But she’d been in close quarters with Cade for days now, and not in the least little way had he tried to devalue her.
That made him unique in her experience.
He was still holding his hand out to her, and she reached for it. Whether they were burning bridges or building them, she had no idea. She just knew she couldn’t pass this up.
* * *
Cade was past arguing with himself. The bug had bit. He wanted this woman again, craved her. He couldn’t exactly put his finger on what was so special about her, but she was special. Attractive, yes. Smart, certainly. A good detective, among the best. She consistently impressed him, and without her thorns he’d dropped his caution.
Maybe that had been a mistake, but the mistake had already been made. She might never want to see him again after this case, might even have good reason, but at least they could steal a few blazing moments of pure delight in between rounds of shadowboxing with this killer.
At that point he was past caring whether she’d learned something important that day or if they were headed to another dead end. Events would unfold one way or another, but right now he wanted to bury himself in her.
One thing for sure, reality wasn’t going away. Hell, maybe what was happening between them was real, too. Maybe it wasn’t just a fleeting attraction and a need for brief escape from the ugliness they were forced to deal with.
He liked her, he wanted her, and he decided to put his head on hold for a while and just enjoy the next hours with her. Little enough to ask when they’d been thrown into the vile maelstrom of a serial killer.
The bedroom was still dark, the curtains drawn. Some light seeped in around them, enough to guide them as they faced each other and undressed. The air became pregnant with expectation and the enticing scent of growing arousal. Even before he had shucked his jeans, he was throbbing so hard he thought he’d burst. His entire being seemed to exist between his legs, everything becoming irrelevant except the woman who faced him, steadily revealing her exquisite charms.
And they were exquisite. Keeping herself in shape had kept her shape perfect. Life had endowed her with just enough womanly charm—full but not overlarge breasts with brown, engorged nipples, a small waist and flaring hips. Height had given her long, graceful legs and gently tapering lines, the sight of which made his mouth grow dry.
He filled himself with the sight of her, and then she startled him with a small laugh.
“Cade,” she said, “I’m cold again.”
He could deal with that. He swept the blankets back on the bed and carried her down, wiggling just enough to pull the covers back up over them before he lay atop her, cradling her face in his big hands.
“Warming up?” he asked as he watched her eyelids grow heavy and passion relax her face.
“Like a house on fire,” she murmured. Her hips pushed up against him. “Don’t dawdle. Please...”
He took her at her word. A pause to roll on a condom, a pause that he cursed because it let the cool air beneath the blankets, then he lowered himself swiftly and filled her with his entire length. She drew a deep breath, eyes widening.
“Feels so good,” she mumbled.
Then he was lost. Her hips rose again, and he plunged even more deeply. It was going to be a hurried, wild ride, but apparently that was okay with her, too.
The explosion came fast, furiously, deafening him like a thunderclap. He knew instant pleasure when he felt her peak with him, heard the moan escape her.
When he collapsed on her, her arms wound around him as if she were afraid she might fall.
* * *
It took Cade a long time to return to earth. Longer than it had taken to claim DeeJay. He lay beside her, stroking her from shoulder to hip beneath the blankets, wondering at himself. That was surely the most graceless coupling of his life. Like a bull rutting in a pasture. No foreplay, nothing. Just a taking.
How did she bring him to that point? He’d never gotten that way before.
“You okay?” he asked finally, his voice rusty. He half feared what he might hear.
“Mmm.” She rolled toward him and slipped an arm across his chest. “I liked that.”
“I’m feeling like I shortchanged you.”
A little shudder, like a silent laugh, moved through her. “Trust me, I don’t feel like it.”
He hoped not, then decided to take her word for it. Only she could know. Now he ran his hand down the silky skin of her back and rump, loving the way she felt. “I could get addicted,” he admitted.
Their eyes met, and suddenly they were laughing and hugging like a couple of silly kids. He wondered if he’d ever felt this comfortable with a woman right after sex. He doubted it. Something about DeeJay made him more honest. Damned if he knew why.
Maybe because she lacked any pretenses. Except, he suspected, for her aura of toughness. Somewhere inside she must have been wounded by her rape and by needing to resign her commission. There had to be scars, but she carried on like a soldier.
No pun intended, he told himself. He brushed her short hair back from her face and smiled into her dark eyes. “You are one hell of a woman,” he said.
“You’re one hell of a man,” she replied.
“No, I mean it. You amaze me.”
“I meant it, too. You’re the first guy I ever worked with who has made me feel fully equal. And you don’t seem to be struggling with it.”
“I’m not. You’re at least as good as anyone I’ve ever worked with, and probably a whole lot better.”
She smiled, a beautiful smile, and moved her head closer to kiss him.
“Well, if that’s how you thank me for compliments,” he said a breathless minute later, “I’ll be sure to hand them out like candy.”
She laughed and touched his nose with her fingertip. “Don’t ruin it.”
She cupped his cheek and kissed him again. Then she rolled back a little and sighed.
He knew what she was thinking: time to get back to work.
She was right, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. “I wish that shower was bigger,” he remarked, holding off the inevitable moment.
“You take one first. I’ll go make some more coffee. I think we’re going to need it.”
“Someday I’d like to get off the hyped-up-on-caffeine train. Just for a few days.”
She laughed again and rolled out of bed, stretching before she reached for her clothes. He could have watched her do that forever. “Do you really think,” she asked, “that you’d be happy sitting on a beach with nothing to do?”
“Hell, yeah, for a few days.”