“Is the only reason I’m alive,” she said, catching up to his train of thought. “The first scenario would mean he’s been around all these years, watching me. And the second…”
Angry enough to spit mortars, Kell finished the sentence for her. “The second means there’s a leak in the department, and I dragged you from your safe existence out into the open.”
16
JAMIE WOKE TO COMPLETE darkness. Not the darkness she was used to in her bedroom at night, but a darkness so thick, she saw nothing. She knew she was in Kell’s SUV, and wherever they’d stopped, they hadn’t been here long; the interior was still warm, though missing him.
It had been almost seven before they’d left Weldon. Since Kell hadn’t wanted to stop until they reached their destination, he’d asked one of the troopers to pick them up burgers and fries from Juan Cantu’s. From the clinic, they’d headed south; from a distance, a cruiser had followed.Traveling back roads she hadn’t known existed, Kell had stopped only once—in a town smaller than Weldon for gas. He’d told her the maneuvers were to guarantee no one but the troopers stuck to their tail, and the troopers were to dissuade anyone stupid enough to try tailing them. If the man with the tattoo was indeed their murder suspect, he’d have no bread crumbs to track to find them.
She needed to use the bathroom. She need to stretch her legs, her back and arms. She was used to moving all day, not sitting, not riding. She needed something besides the melted ice from their to-go order to drink.
But Kell was calling the shots, so she waited. His endless stream of questions before she’d told him she was spent, dried up, out of words, had made her situation perfectly clear. One wrong move—intentional or accidental—could undo all his precautions.
She was aggravated, inconvenienced, irritated, afraid. But she was not stupid. And so she pulled her knees to her chest and curled in on herself, waiting.
Moments later, she heard what sounded like footsteps on planking, and raised her forehead from the cradle of her knees in time to see Kell descending a set of porch steps in front of a small log structure.
Warm yellow light spilled from the doorway, illuminating his way to the front of his SUV. And then she remembered that he’d told her about this place. He fished here, hunted, holed up to get away.
Jamie lowered her feet to the floor and sat forward, waiting as he came around to open her door to the smells of earth and pine and midnight, as he moved into the bright wedge of space there and smiled.
“Sleep well?” he asked.
She nodded. She guessed she had. She’d drifted off before the sun had set, and hadn’t even stirred when he’d parked. “What time is it?”
“Ten-thirty or so.” He gestured toward the cabin. “I fed the generator and turned on the water. I need to haul in the food from the cooler, but that can wait. I’d rather you get settled first.”
She’d been out of sorts earlier, resenting him. Now she could only remember how thoughtful he was, how strong and kind, how cute. She climbed from her seat and stepped into his arms. He groaned and wrapped her up tight.
“Does that mean you forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive.”
“I know none of this is easy,” he said, using the heel of his palm to massage the length of her spine.
She shivered, snuggling even closer. Being in his arms felt so good, so right. “I’m pretty sure life’s not supposed to be. At least not all of it.”
“Maybe not. But this goes above and beyond what most people face.”
“In case you haven’t noticed yet, I’m not most people.”
He leaned back far enough to see her expression, and stared at her for a long moment, seeming to weigh which thoughts were safe to share, and which were best kept private as he brushed strands of hair away from her eyes.
She wondered about his private thoughts, if they mirrored hers in considering the possibility that they’d been thrown together by fate—and for more personal reasons than solving the Sonora Nites Diner murders.
But he gave nothing away when he said, “I’ve noticed a lot of things about you. Some of them you may not like.”
Uh-oh? “Such as?”
“You snore.”
She huffed. “What? I do not.”
“You do. And I’ve got the broken right eardrum to prove it.”
He was teasing her, she knew it, trying to keep things light. She appreciated the effort, deciding two could play this game. She pulled away, punched his shoulder, too emotionally spent to be embarrassed over what was more than likely the truth. “I’m sure that was just the hum of all that equipment running there on your dash.”
“Trust me. It wasn’t a hum.”
Okay. Now he was asking for it, she mused, fighting a grin. She could dish back to him as much teasing snark as he delivered. She stomped around him, heading for the porch steps, and calling over her shoulder. “I hope you’ve got an extra bed because I’ll be sleeping alone in yours.”
Behind her, he whooped and hollered and cackled like a hyena, and she decided then and there that she loved him.
THEY SLEPT TOGETHER. They didn’t have sex. Kell spooned behind her, an arm securing her, and kept her close to his body most of the night When they’d last been in bed together, he’d told her he wasn’t a cuddler and not to take it personally. Now she was left trying to figure out how to interpret that he didn’t want to let her go.
With so much on her mind, she woke before he did, and though she lay there soaking him up as long as she could, eventually nature called. As quietly as possible, she slid from the bed. While in the telephone booth of a bathroom, she washed her hands and face, then tiptoed barefoot to the front of the cabin.Kell had left her backpack on the sofa with his, and brought in the food her mother had gathered at his request. He’d done all that, however, after tucking Jamie into bed wearing her undies. It had been too dark—and too late—to do any looking around, so she found her sandals, a pair of khaki knee shorts, a white camisole tank top, and then she found the back door.
Kell’s cabin sat in a valley; she assumed in the Guadalupe Mountains since they’d left the Davis range behind. He’d taken a long and winding circuitous route, and when the sun had set, it had made off with her sense of direction.
From the back porch, she could see the sun teasing the tops of the rocky peaks, and she guessed it was between eight and ten. Either way, she was surprised Kell wasn’t up and on the phone. She was also surprised at the sense of absolute peace that enveloped her as she braced a shoulder on a rough-hewn beam and leaned, arms crossed, into the railing.
The day would be miserably hot before it was over, but for now, she welcomed the dry warmth, the air that smelled of piñon and raw earth. She didn’t pick up wafts of spicy meats cooking, the way she did when walking to and from work and passed the Cantus’. She didn’t catch the scents of exhaust and farm animals that were constants in Weldon. She smelled solitude and comfort and calm.
She breathed deeply, realizing, when she finally heard Kell stirring inside, that her blood was stirring, too, in anticipation. And then she smelled coffee and smiled. Life. The only way it could get any better would be for her not to be in danger of losing hers. She didn’t want to lose it. Especially not when she’d just found her place and her man.
Oh, that sounded so good. Her man. She knew she was running on adrenaline, endorphins, and those hormones had a lot to do with her state of mind. The state of her heart was another thing. She hadn’t stopped thinking about Kell since meeting him.
Yes, he was working her case and that had brought them into contact. But her thoughts weren’t about bloodshed and loss. She thought about the way his eyes crinkled at the corners, the way his mouth did the same when he smiled. She thought about his teeth and his tongue, the pressure of his lips against hers.
She thought about his brothers. Brennan. Terry, whose full name was Terrance, he’d told her. She thought about his mother decorating his house, about his father teaching Kell how to cobble together a computer to cut costs—all stories Kell had shared over their reheated soup and sandwiches before they’d returned from Midland to Weldon.
She thought about his mentor, a family friend, being the lead investigator on the murder case, how Kell was now honoring Warren Sheets by continuing his work. He was an honorable man, her Kell. A good man she was going to fight for. Now that she’d had a taste of the real thing, she couldn’t see herself settling comfortably into spinsterhood, even with a daily cup of tea with JB, and a calico cat for company.
Behind her, the door onto the railed and covered porch opened, and Kell came out, two cups of coffee in hand. He had on jeans. Worn jeans. Tight jeans. The lower legs bunched at the tops of his boots. His gray athletic T-shirt hung loose. She didn’t know if she was happier to see him or the coffee.
“Good morning. Did I wake you?”
He nodded as he sipped.
“I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s quiet out here. I’m going to wake to any noise. Especially when I realize that it’s you making it.” He sipped again. “I like you here with me.”
“Because you know I’m safe?”