Bitter Wild (17 page)

Jack
was starting to get tired of constantly finding himself torn between his
professional instincts and his personal ones. Everything Casey said made sense.
It would be better to go after Jester now, while they still had a chance of
catching him by surprise, than to wait and wind up having to go after him when
he’d had time to prepare for them. Sooner or later he’d try to come back out
the way he’d gone in and Jack was going to have to stop him. Once that
happened, if Jack didn’t take him down with the first shot, it would
undoubtedly turn into an all-out war. Jack’s ammunition supply was limited.
Jester’s was too, but since they didn’t know how much he still had of what he
took from Millie Pratt’s house it wouldn’t be Jack’s first choice to engage in
that kind of shootout. There weren’t any good choices here, but after a few
minutes of thought he was finally forced to admit that Casey’s plan was the
best one. He met her gaze as he tried to tell himself that he wasn’t going to
let her get hurt.

“Okay,
we’ll go, but you’ve got to promise me that you’ll do what I tell you, when I
tell you without even the slightest hesitation. It could mean both our lives if
you don’t.”

She
nodded. “I understand.”

Jack
had half expected another lecture on how well she could handle herself. She
didn’t so much as blink as she accepted his terms, though. She just held his
gaze and waited for him to tell her what he wanted her to do. He wasn’t sure
he’d ever fully grasp all the complexities of this woman. The only thing he did
know for certain was that he wanted to. It was a hell of a time to figure out
that he was falling in love with her. He forced himself to ignore the
inappropriate thought.

“We’ll
go together, keeping to the cover of the trees as much as we can. Is this cabin
hard to spot?”

She
shook her head. “No. The trees are thick here, but within three-quarters of a
mile they’ll start to thin out considerably and you’ll see the valley opening
up to the right. The cabin sits just at the edge of the trees. There’s a
wide-open hundred foot or so deep ledge in front of the cabin. It’s broken by
the river about five-hundred yards above the cabin. You’ll be able to hear the
water once you reach the cabin, though the river is out of sight around a
slight bend.”

“How
many rooms does the cabin have?”

“Just
one.”

“That’s
good, at least.” His gaze dropped to Chance. “What about him? Can you keep him
quiet and out of the way?”

Her
hand dropped to the dog’s shoulder. “Chance will stay right by my side if I
want him to. And he’ll never bark unless he’s trying to warn you of something.”

“I
guess that’s good enough. When we get to the cabin, I’ll go check it out
alone.”

She
shook her head. “There’s a problem with that. The cabin has two doors. One in
front and another in back. Though the trees start to thin out considerably,
they don’t disappear completely. They run all the way along the ledge, right up
to the edge of the river. It’s possible that Jester could duck out the back door
and get into cover without me ever seeing him. One of us should take the front
and the other the back.”

Again,
Jack was stuck weighing the pros and cons of following Casey’s suggestion. The
last thing in the world he wanted was to let her anywhere near the line of
fire. He was already worrying that he’d put her too close to the danger. Having
her take up a position where she could provide him with cover fire if necessary
was one thing. Letting her take an active role in breaching the cabin was
something else entirely. If Jester was in there, he wouldn’t go down quietly.
Jack couldn’t even allow himself to think about living with himself if anything
happened to Casey. He wanted desperately to tell her to just stay hidden. But
the fact was, if he went in alone and Jester managed to get the drop on him
then he’d be dead and Casey would be all alone. He didn’t doubt that she could
handle herself just fine. Jester was a frightening man, though. He enjoyed
causing others pain. Knowing Casey, she wouldn’t just stand by and let Jester
get away. She’d go after him herself and she might very well die trying. As
much as he hated to admit it, they would both be better off if they worked as
partners. He let his gaze focus on her face once more.

There
were vague circles beneath her eyes. Evidence of how sick she’d been and of the
fact that she wasn’t completely over it yet. She probably ought to get a round
of antibiotics just to be on the safe side. And a tetanus shot would be a good
idea, too. Not to mention some kind of pain medication for her leg and her
shoulder. She needed a doctor, some decent food and a long sleep in a real bed.
The sooner they took care of Jester, the sooner they could get the hell back to
civilization. He nodded.

“Okay,
we go together. We’ll work out the details when we get there.”

Casey
was absurdly pleased by the fact that he’d decided to accept her help without
her having to fight him over it. Up until this point nearly every decision
they’d made had turned into some kind of negotiation. Did this mean that he’d
finally accepted that she was useful as more than just a guide? That thought
made her pause. Exactly what was it she wanted him to need her for, anyway? She
was his guide. That’s the job she’d been hired to do and she’d done it. If Skip
were still with them, she wouldn’t be participating any further at all. Trouble
was, she didn’t think her current emotional response had anything to do with
Jack’s willingness to rely on her when he had no other choice. Some part of her
wanted it to mean more than that. She wanted to believe it was some indication
that they could be partners in more than just this way. She closed her eyes as
she felt the desire flare inside her. She wanted him. Not just as a friend or
someone she trusted. She wanted him as a lover, as a part of her life on a
daily basis. Dear God, how could she have fallen in love with him so fast?

Jack
frowned when Casey closed her eyes. He reached out and touched her face. It was
too intimate a gesture but he couldn’t make himself stay within professional
boundaries. Her eyes opened and she fixed her amber gaze on him.

“Are
you okay?”

She
nodded. “Yes, just tired, that’s all.”

There
was more to it, but Jack didn’t press her. The expression in her eyes had less
to do with her physical distress than with her emotions. Whatever she’d been
thinking, it was the kind of deeply personal emotion that he knew he had no
right to ask about. He wanted to, though. More than he could ever have
imagined. Reluctantly, he let his hand drop away from her face.

“The
sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get back to civilization.”

He
turned away too quickly to see the sadness that his words caused her. Casey was
no fool. She wasn’t naïve. She knew Jack could never be happy with her. They
were too different. They had no common ground and nothing was going to change
that. No matter what they felt for each other, if indeed he did share her
feelings, the gulf separating their worlds was impossible to breach. Better to
help him finish his job so he could go home and they could both get on with
their lives. Obviously, that’s what he wanted most. She pushed herself to her
feet and focused her mind on doing her job. There would be plenty of time to
drown in her emotions once Russell Jester had been captured or killed.

Jack
glanced at Casey as she stopped beside him. She spoke without looking at him
and there seemed to be more tension in her than he’d noticed before.

“We’ll
go in slow and quiet so we can get a good look at things. Once we’re close
enough, I’ll let you take the lead.”

She
moved away, leaving him to follow. He did so without comment. There wasn’t
really anything to say, anyway.

It
didn’t seem to be long at all before Jack noticed the rise to his left. A few
minutes later he realized that the trees to his right weren’t as thick as they
had been. He didn’t notice the sound of the water for a while. It just hit him
suddenly that the roar he was hearing was water crashing against rocks. Next
thing he knew, Casey was stopping behind a particularly large tree. She didn’t
speak, just motioned for him to join her. He moved to her side and she pointed
in the direction she wanted him to look. He leaned around the tree and was
shocked to see the small cabin a few hundred yards away. Even more startling
was the open space he could make out directly opposite the cabin. The trees
stopped about thirty feet away from the cabin and he could just make out the
open expanse of the valley Casey had described. He studied the area for a long
while, searching for any sign of movement as well as working out the best
approach for them to take. Finally, he leaned back and turned to meet Casey’s
gaze. He spoke in a barely audible whisper.

“I’ll
take the front and you take the back. Stay out of sight of any windows and keep
your eyes open for any movement. When you reach the cabin, don’t go through the
back door. Just stay at the corner and be ready if he comes out the back.” He
paused for a moment, then continued. “If he so much as glances in your
direction with a weapon, don’t hesitate to shoot. He’ll kill you without a
second thought. You can’t afford to give him that chance.”

Casey
shook her head. “I won’t.” She waited a moment, then gave him a rueful smile.
“And I’ll do my best not to shoot you by accident.”

Her
humor caught him off guard for a moment. It was so unexpected that it actually
took him a few seconds to register that she was smiling at him. It was the
teasing in her voice, the mischievous gleam in her eyes that caused him to
snap. He’d been wanting to kiss her from the moment they’d met. That desire had
only grown stronger in the intervening days. Suddenly, he couldn’t hold back
any longer. There was a reasonable chance that one or both of them might get
hurt or even killed in the next few minutes. He realized he didn’t want that to
happen without admitting to her and to himself, that he wanted her. He lowered
his gun and reached out with his free hand to cup the back of her head. He
didn’t ask her permission, didn’t pause to see if she wanted his kiss. He just
pulled her forward and captured her mouth with his own.

Casey
felt a number of things ricochet through her at the moment their lips touched.
First, she was shocked by the suddenness of the kiss. Second, she was confused
by it. Third, she was caught in a flash of uncertainty as to whether or not she
should allow it. Fourth, though, was the undeniable rush of pleasure. It was by
far stronger than anything else she felt and it easily spurred her into motion.
She had the rifle in her hands and she let it slip to the ground, holding onto
it by the sling until she felt it hit the ground. Then she let it go and lifted
her hands to tangle her fingers in Jack’s hair. She didn’t know why he’d
suddenly decided to kiss her and she didn’t care. All she wanted was to make
sure it was a kiss neither of them ever forgot.

Jack
supposed he’d expected a quick joining of their lips. He hadn’t really gone
into the kiss with any sort of plan of action. It had been spur of the moment,
a gut reaction to the danger they were in and the days of pent up longing. He
wouldn’t have been surprised if she pushed him away. He half expected her to do
just that. And maybe that was why he was so stunned when he felt her grab hold
of him and turn the kiss into something straight out of his most erotic dreams.

She
opened her mouth and sent her tongue across his lips. Her body seemed to melt
into his so that he could feel the swells of her breasts even through all their
layers of clothes. Jack felt a shockwave of heat rush through him as their hips
met. He wasn’t remotely prepared for the passion she poured into her kiss. He
couldn’t have ended it even if he’d wanted to. Their tongues met and tangled in
a wild frenzy that instantly had Jack going up in flames. He wanted more. He
wanted everything she had to offer. Leave it to him to finally give in to the
need that had been clawing at his gut for days right at the moment when it was
impossible to follow through on the promise in the kiss. They were close enough
to Russell Jester to practically smell him and here Jack was starting something
they couldn’t possibly finish. He forced himself to end the kiss.

He
glanced around, then leaned his forehead against Casey’s. They were both
breathing hard. Jack’s entire body was tight with raw hunger. He’d wanted to
let her know that he felt something for her. Clearly, they both knew the
attraction was mutual now.

“You’ve
got incredible timing.”

Jack
leaned away from her, not certain if she was being sarcastic or not. When her
gaze met his, he saw the wry amusement in her eyes. He shrugged, smiling
crookedly. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”

He
leaned forward and kissed her lightly once more before forcing himself to let
her go. She bent to pick up the rifle she’d dropped while he scanned the area
around them. Chance was sitting a few feet away, watching him with those eerily
wise eyes of his. Jack considered for a minute that the dog almost looked
worried, as if he was able to understand the implications of the kiss Jack had
just shared with Casey. After the days he’d spent in the dog’s company, he
could just about believe that the animal saw and understood things better than
Jack himself did. But whatever the dog’s thoughts, Jack knew he had better get
his focused on the business of apprehending Russell Jester. He could work out
his feelings for Casey once the danger was past.