Harlequin Romantic Suspense July 2021 Box Set

by Carla Cassidy

  “For last night, for making me feel safe after my nightmare,” she replied. That was exactly what he’d done for her... He’d made her feel safe and protected after the horror of the dream.

  “I’m glad I could be there for you. I’m just sorry you have that nightmare at all.”

  “I’m hoping it will go away forever once Leo is behind bars,” she replied.

  “I hope so,” he said. “I would never wish that kind of nightmare on anyone.”

  She turned back around and poured two cups of coffee and then carried them to the table. “Brad, I didn’t realize how much you’ve been suffering by sleeping on the sofa every night.”

  “What are you talking about? It’s been fine,” he protested.

  “No, it hasn’t been fine. I heard you moaning and groaning when you first got off it this morning. I know it’s hurting your back.”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s okay. I’m dealing with it.”

  “You shouldn’t have to deal with it,” she replied. She took a sip of her coffee and eyed him over the rim. She put her cup down. “Starting tonight, you’re welcome to share the bed with me.”

  His golden-green eyes stared into hers. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

  “We’re both adults, Brad. Surely we can share a bed and not go where we shouldn’t. I know you’d sleep better in the bed and that’s what’s important.” She offered him a teasing smile. “Besides, how can you protect me from a morning threat if you can barely crawl from the sofa?”

  He studied her for another long moment. “We’ll see how we’re both feeling when night comes,” he finally replied.

  For a few minutes they drank their coffee and enjoyed some casual conversation as the early morning sunlight slowly filled the room. “It’s so nice to see the sun,” she said.

  “Enjoy it while it lasts. When I checked the weather last night, the weatherman said more rain could be moving back in this afternoon.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t remember a time when it rained so hard and for so many days in a row.”

  “According to what the news is saying, it’s a historic year for the amount of rain we’ve received.”

  “I’m sure we’ll both remember these rainy days and this time here for a very long time to come,” she said thoughtfully.

  His gaze held hers intently. “I know I will.”

  “Someday I’ll tell my children about the handsome FBI agent who saved me from a raging river.”

  He released a small laugh. “And I’ll tell my buddies about the time I plucked a beautiful mermaid out of the water.”

  She laughed with him. “Right, a mermaid who was covered in mud and muck and crying her fool head off. I’m sure that’s every fisherman’s fantasy.”

  He opened his mouth as if to say something but instead raised his cup and took a drink and then stood. “So, what do you feel like for breakfast this morning?”

  “Could you make some more of those pancakes we had before?”

  “Pancakes coming right up.”

  “Can I help?” she asked and was unsurprised when his answer was no.

  She watched as he worked, admiring his efficiency, his complete ease in the kitchen. It was far too easy for her to imagine him in her condo, whipping up breakfast for the two of them after a night of lovemaking.

  It was a fantasy that caused her heart to squeeze tight with pain because she knew it would never happen. She would never tell him the depths of her love for him. She wouldn’t burden him with her love.

  He could never be hers, so there was no point. He had his life in DC and she had hers in Chicago. When this ended, he would go his way and she would go hers. Maybe she’d eventually meet a man just like Brad, but right now welcoming another man into her life felt too painful.

  She got up to pour herself another cup of coffee as a wave of depression tried to settle over her head. It didn’t take long for the pancakes to be ready and they sat down to eat.

  Already clouds were moving in and stealing the sunshine that had briefly shone through the windows. The clouds only made her bout of depression harder to fight off.

  “You’re very quiet,” he said when they were halfway through the meal.

  She released a deep sigh. “I’m a little tired of the clouds and I’m just wishing this was all over.” The latter part wasn’t exactly true. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with him, but she also was aware of the fact that spending more time with him would only make it more difficult to tell him goodbye.

  “How long do you really think we’ll be here?” she asked.

  He frowned. “To be honest, I’m not sure. I definitely don’t want to take you back if I still think you’ll be in danger.”

  “But, realistically, we can’t stay here forever,” she replied. “What if Leo is never arrested? Then what? Sooner or later I have to go back to my life.”

  “I know and realistically I can’t give you a definitive answer as to how much longer we’ll be here. Right now I’m just taking it day by day and hoping Leo will be caught.”

  “And you believe when that happens Rob will no longer be a threat to me?”

  “I believe once we get Leo in jail, then that will be the final catalyst for Jared to talk and I think he will confess to everything and that’ll mean the end of any threats against you.” He reached across the table and lightly touched the back of her hand. “Are you sick of me already?” he asked with a touch of humor in his voice.

  “Of course not,” she replied with a smile. “Come on, I’ll dry if you wash.” She stood up, grabbed her plate and carried it to the sink.

  As they washed the dishes, rain began to pelt against the windows. “So, want to play some cards?” he asked when the last dish had been dried and put away.

  “I guess I could take another day of beating the pants off you,” she said with a grin even though she was a little sick of playing cards.

  They played for the rest of the morning as the rain continued to beat against the windows. When they decided to break for lunch, she had an idea to break up the monotony.

  “Can I help with lunch?” he asked.

  “Yes, you can go sit on the sofa and let me take care of it,” she replied. Even though it was raining outside, that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a picnic inside.

  For the next half an hour, she boiled eggs and deviled them, then she made a quick macaroni salad and sandwiches and packaged them all in separate storage containers. She then added two of her chocolate bars, some potato chips, and placed it all in one of the grocery bags.

  She then went into the bedroom and grabbed the lamp on the nightside table. She took off the shade and carried it into the living room, where she plugged it in and turned it on.

  “Now, that really brightens things up in here,” he said.

  She smiled and then spread a blanket out on the floor. “Consider it artificial sunshine. If we can’t have a picnic outside, then we can have one inside.” She waved her hands over the blanket. “Welcome to my picnic.”

  He slid from the sofa to the blanket and sat cross-legged while she grabbed the grocery bag off the table.

  She joined him on the blanket and then began pulling out the food containers. “Wow, how did you know that I love a good picnic with macaroni salad?” he said with a goofy smile.

  She laughed and threw a potato chip at him. “You’re a dork.”

  “I thought you were the dork,” he replied teasingly. “Besides, on the hundredth day of rain you have to get a little dorky to stay sane.”

  “So, do you like picnics?” she asked.

  “To be honest, I’ve never been on a real picnic before.”

  She looked at him in surprise. “For real?”

  “For real. If I ever had a picnic with my mother and father, I don’t remember it. And after my mot
her’s death, the last thing on my or my father’s mind was a picnic in a park.”

  “Do you have a lot of memories of your mother?” she asked. She saw the splash of grief that crossed his features. “I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have asked that,” she said quickly.

  “No, it’s okay. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot. When you’re a kid, you just assume your parents are going to be there forever and so you don’t gather memories. I have more impressions than any single memories. I do remember she smelled like spring flowers and she loved to laugh.”

  A warmth leaped into his eyes. “She worked part-time as a waitress, but she was always home when I got in from school. She was soft-spoken and I didn’t know until after her death that she was the gears that kept everything running smoothly. Whenever I’d screw up, she’d have a teachable moment with me.”

  “And what did a teachable moment look like?” Simone asked curiously. The rain that had beat against the windows seemed to have stopped for now. However, the room was semi-dark other than the halo of light the little bedroom lamp provided.

  “A calm discussion where we talked about what I did and why I did it.” He released a sudden laugh. “And then it looked a lot like extra chores and groundings.”

  “That’s the way it was for me and my sisters. Mom knew exactly what to say to make me feel so guilty and sorry for whatever I’d done.” She froze as the sound of a vehicle pulling up sounded from outside.

  Brad jumped up from the floor and grabbed his gun off the coffee table. She also got up and stood just behind Brad as he approached the door. He opened the door, his gun pointed in front of him.

  Standing on the stoop was a man with a grizzly gray beard and a chubby face. He was clad in a bright yellow rain slicker. “Whoa!” he exclaimed when he saw Brad’s gun. His arms shot up in the air. “I’m Nico from Nico’s Grocery just down the way.”

  Brad held the gun pointed at him for another long minute and then lowered it. “Sorry about that,” he said without any other explanation. “What can we do for you, Nico?”

  “I’m just driving around and letting everyone in the area know the road coming in has flooded and it doesn’t look like it’s going down anytime soon. So if you need anything, I’m all you have for now.”

  “We haven’t seen anyone anywhere around here, so I’m not sure who all will be affected by the flooding,” Brad replied.

  “There’s the Ingram family’s cabin beyond those trees.”

  “I didn’t think anyone was in that cabin,” Brad replied.

  “They’re there. They’re a nice couple with two children. I’m sure they’re really sick of this rain.”

  “Aren’t we all,” Brad said.

  “And believe it or not, there’s some people camping here and there. How would you like to be in a small tent through all this?” He laughed. “Shoot me now, right?” His laughter stopped and his eyes widened. “I mean, don’t shoot me.”

  Brad laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to shoot you and we appreciate you stopping by to let us know where things stand.”

  “No problem, and just remember I have some supplies if you need anything. And now I’ll just leave you alone.”

  The two men said goodbye to each other and then Brad closed and locked the door. He turned and looked at Simone, his eyes dark and troubled.

  “So, what exactly does this mean?” she asked, not liking the look in his eyes.

  “It means two things. If there’s somebody hiding around here who wants to harm you, we can’t get out. And if we find ourselves in a tough situation, nobody can get in to help us.”

  Simone stared at him and her heart beat a little faster. “Surely if anyone is out there wanting to hurt me, they would have already tried something.”

  “I hope you’re right. Right now it’s like we’re on an island and we only have each other to depend on.” He offered her a smile. “We’ll be fine.”

  “Of course we will,” she replied, but an unsettling disquiet swept through her. Brad’s smile had curved his lips, but it hadn’t lightened the darkness in his eyes. He was worried, and that worried her.

  Was there really somebody out there watching and just waiting for the perfect opportunity to take her out? Was it possible they were trapped on this “island” with a killer? A cold chill grabbed hold of her knowing they were now cut off from any backup if a killer suddenly showed up.

  * * *

  Leo felt as if he’d been wet for months. He’d been hunkered down in his little tent, trapped by the torrential rain that had fallen, a tent that had collapsed on top of him more times than he could count.

  Dammit, he deserved so much better than this. Once this was over, he’d make Rob pay him enough money to not only get out of the country but also enough so he could live the kind of life he deserved no matter where he landed.

  He was wet, cold and hungry. And he was majorly ticked off. The only thing that drove him now was the fact that he was going to kill Simone Colton. He couldn’t wait to pull the trigger and watch the blossom of blood explode out of her chest. Or maybe he’d take a head shot and watch her brains blow out.

  It was just like mag-fed paintball. Load the gun, pull the trigger and watch the paint explode on your target. Only in this case it was load the gun, pull the trigger, and instead of paint, it would be blood exploding from the target.

  He’d killed four men before and now he looked forward to killing a man and a woman. The freakin’ weather had kept him hunkered down, but now it was just a matter of time before FBI agent Brad Howard and Simone Colton would be dead. His blood sang through his veins as he waited for the perfect opportunity to play a little mag-fed paintball with a real rifle.

  CHAPTER 10

  They returned to their indoor picnic, but Brad could tell Simone wasn’t feeling it anymore. She was quiet as they finished eating, and when she offered him one of her chocolate bars, he declined.

  They cleared the mess and then she settled on the sofa with her chocolate bar and he grabbed his cell phone to text Russ for an update in the case.

  Nothing. Still nothing to report. Where the hell was that kid? Where on earth had Leo disappeared to? He tossed his phone on the table and then went to the front window and peered outside.

  Was there any kind of danger lurking outside? Or had he overreacted to the whole Rob Garner thing? Had he torn Simone from her home and her family because of his gut instincts...instincts that had been all wrong?

  Now even if he wanted to take her back home, he couldn’t. Suddenly his head was filled with so many doubts. Had he overestimated Rob’s wrath? Was he really just a bully who beat kids and mouthed off to women and wasn’t a physical threat at all? Had the carjacking really been a random act?

  He glanced over to where Simone had fallen asleep curved into the arm of the sofa. Love for her buoyed up inside him. He had no idea exactly what she thought about him. Granted they shared an off-the-charts mutual physical attraction for each other, but when they’d had sex, love had had nothing to do with it. It had just been raw, wild sex.

  Still, he knew he was in love with her. In any case, it didn’t matter...it couldn’t matter.

  It was just a strange twist of fate, or his own paranoia that had them here spending this time together in such close quarters. In reality, even if she told him she loved him, what could he offer her?

  A long-distance relationship that would only fail because no matter how hard he tried to maintain it their work schedules would work against them. He’d really never believed much in long-distance relationships. That wasn’t what he wanted for himself and it wasn’t what he wanted for her.

  She deserved a man who was present in all the hours of her life. She needed a man who cheered her on in her work at the college, one who would hold her through the nights.

  It was a lose-lose situation no matter how he looked at it. Somehow, he ne
eded to gain back his professionalism where she was concerned.

  Even knowing that, when bedtime rolled around and she insisted he share the bed with her, he didn’t put up much of a fight in favor of sleeping on the sofa.

  She went into the bathroom, took a shower and then changed into a cotton nightgown with a sleeping moon on the front. He then took a quick shower and pulled on a pair of navy boxers, then went into the bedroom.

  She was curled up under the covers on one side of the bed and he placed his gun on the nightstand, then slid beneath the covers on the other side. “Ready for the light to go out?” he asked.

  “Ready,” she replied.

  He reached out and turned off the lamp on the nightstand and the room went dark save for a small sliver of moonlight that danced through the window. The bed felt wonderful after so many nights of the lumpy, uncomfortable sofa. In fact, he felt as if he hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep since they’d arrived here.

  He lay on his side of the bed, careful not to encroach on hers. It was enough that he could feel her body heat and smell the heady scent of her.

  Every muscle in his body remained tensed, waiting for her to go to sleep before he did. The minutes ticked by and he could feel her tension.

  She released a deep sigh. “I guess I shouldn’t have taken that nap this afternoon.”

  “Not sleepy?” He raised up on one elbow and gazed down at her. She looked positively beautiful with the silvery moonlight painting her face. He fought against his instant arousal.

  “Not very. What about you?”

  “I’m tired,” he admitted. “This bed feels amazing.”

  “You should have told me how miserable you were on the sofa after the first night you slept there,” she replied.

  “I was afraid to mention it. I was afraid you might see it as a ploy to move in here and jump your bones.”

  She laughed. “I probably would have thought that.”

  He frowned thoughtfully. “Simone, all day long I’ve wondered if I was wrong to take you away from your home and family. I’ve wondered if I overreacted to Rob’s threats against you.”