Burn on the Western Slope (Crimson Romance) (24 page)

He had made a sandwich out of the remaining eggs and salvaged bacon, warming them in the microwave to reheat. Now, they lay in bed to eat and talk.

She’d called the airline and they confirmed cancellation, so Garret didn’t see the rush to do anything, including asking her why she needed to split to Florida.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“Do you realize we know next to nothing about each other?” Garret asked.

Reagan drummed her fingers in the center of Garret’s chest and propped her head in her free hand to look at him. “I know I just had the best sex of my life.”

“Oh yeah?”

He couldn’t think when she tantalized his bare chest with her fingers. He grabbed her hand away and kissed them.

As much as he wanted to know about the investigation and learn about her lack of involvement with the Mass family, he wanted to know everything he could about her because … because …

Because she was a damn interesting woman. She made his blood boil with want and need. Desire. And right now, he desired to know everything about her for his sake, not for the sake of some stupid investigation.

Reagan impressed him. She was strong and courageous, tackling challenges with ease. The way she’d attempted her first snow sledding, her first ski outing, and finding the dead body. Sure, she’d screamed a little, but that was a normal reaction by any scared person. She didn’t cry, she didn’t go ballistic.

She didn’t run from a letter that threatened death.

He could see why the Mass family would want to keep her. Except that she had morals, and they didn’t.

“Yeah,” Reagan continued. “But don’t go getting a big head or anything.”

“I’m serious,” Garret said. “I’m thirty-six years old.”

“That old?” she teased, nipping her teeth across his chest.

“Chayton is more your age.”

Reagan stopped nibbling on his chest and sat up.

“So?”

“So. He probably knows more about you than I do.”

Reagan let out a sarcastic laugh. “Like what? I’m a graphic designer.”

“You never answered my question about having a boyfriend.”

Reagan shoved aside the covers but didn’t stand. “Yeah, because I’m such a slut I come to Montana and want to sleep with every guy I see.”

“I’m sorry.” He seized her wrist before she was able to venture any further. His body responded with a deep resonance within him.

“Actually, if you want to know the truth, I’ve already slept with every guy in Florida. That’s why I came here. I ran out of men.”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated as he looked into her eyes. Spectacular eyes. Eyes to make his body harden and his heart melt.

She didn’t move further out of his reach, but didn’t move into him either. She didn’t look away from him, a guy accused of having the stare of death when it came to his job, and he was the first to look away.

“I was married once,” Garret said when she didn’t answer him. “Years ago, right out of college.”

“What happened?”

“She didn’t like being an army wife. They had me for eight years, we were married for three. Been working for the government ever since.”

She began to relax again, even let him put his hand under the sheet and touch her body. Her warm, soft, and very sexy body.

“She was pregnant with another man’s child when she left me,” Garret continued. “I wanted to make sure the baby wasn’t mine before I let him grow up without knowing his real dad. I’d seen how it affected Chayton not knowing his mom. So I got the court to grant a paternity test. Turns out the boy wasn’t mine and my ex has been living happily-ever-after with this guy ever since.”

“I’m sorry,” Reagan said. “Did you love her?”

“I thought I did, but … ” His voice trailed and he shrugged. At the time, he’d thought Suzanne was special, but it couldn’t compare to what he felt with Reagan. Reagan was in the present and Suzanne was in the past, but he couldn’t recall ever experiencing these threads of emotion with his ex.

“What do you do now?”

“I work for the FBI.”

“What?” She jerked free of him and bundled the sheet around her. “I can’t believe you never told me. I can’t believe I never asked.”

“What did you think I did?”

“I dunno. Ski all day.”

Her reaction surprised him. He hoped it wouldn’t bother her, but if she was involved with the Mass family, it was reasonable to believe it would bother her. “Do you have something against cops?”

Reagan shook her head. “My ex-boyfriend was a cop.”

“Your ex?” he asked. Now they were getting somewhere. “What happened?”

“He was a jerk. I caught him in bed with another woman and I left. Once I make up my mind, it can’t be changed.”

“I’m sorry. When?”

“Two weeks before I came here and met you.”

He knew she’d been dating Kyle but he didn’t know it’d ended that recently. So he was the rebound guy?

“Don’t worry,” Reagan said. “It was over long before that. I just didn’t have the heart to accept it.”

So she was still in love with him. That’d cause a woman to protect her man, even despite scorn.

“No,” Reagan said. “That didn’t come out right. I accepted it, but we were both so busy with life and in our careers that it was easier to stay together at the time. I focused on my career and we lived together as roommates. It was just a comfort factor I guess. I didn’t love him.”

She didn’t love him but she stayed with him. Was she scared? Had he threatened her? Maybe she knew his business and, like a crime family, she’d never be able to live outside it.

She was here, wasn’t she? If she’d run away, he hadn’t found her yet if he was even trying at all. But what was the emergency?

“Since you’re a cop, even better, FBI, maybe you can help me.”

His heart pounded when she palmed his chest. He closed his eyes, nestling his lips to her neck. “With what?” He didn’t want this to be about Kyle. Had she suspected something? Did she know something? Was she ready to ask for his help? If so, he’d never have to admit his investigation and he could finally call Buchanan to pull in more guys.

“Kyle stole my money. At least I think it was him. And now I have to get back to Florida to straighten things out.”

Something as simple as stealing money? If what the feds knew about him was true, that should have been the least of her concern. “How did he steal it?”

“From my bank account. I’m not sure how, but I’m sure it was him. Or maybe my mom. Who else could it be? Did someone hack into my account? I kept it pretty safe, or so I thought.”

“Is that your emergency?” he asked. It seemed so innocent, just like the Reagan he had come to know.

“Well, the bank said they’d trace the money, but I feel I need to be there. I can’t sit here and trust someone else to take care of my business. I haven’t called Kyle yet but who else could have taken it?”

“How much money?”

“At least a hundred grand.”

Garret let out a low whistle. Kyle had taken her money and run, only she had no idea Kyle was missing. Should he tell her now?

“I’m lucky the other money is tied in investments and other accounts, because he might have taken that, too.”

“You checked those accounts, right?”

“Yes.”

Garret traced the length of Reagan’s arm with one finger, rising goose bumps on her skin, and massaged his palms down her arm. Squeezing both hands against her rear, he drew her into him. “I’ll look into this for you as long as you promise me you’re not going back to Florida anytime soon.”

“If you keep doing that to me, I can’t leave.”

• • •

Three days passed. Three glorious days in blizzard conditions with no electricity. Three days of roasting wieners and boiling water for hot chocolate in the fireplace. Three days of throwing snowballs outside, then coming back in and making love near the fire.

Three days spent in Garret’s arms. No special talk about where they came from or about their goals in life.

She learned a few survival techniques, like always having extra water and canned goods on hand in case the electricity went out. Chayton had a generator next door, but Reagan relished the long days with Garret in her bed, the only power being generated by their warm and willing bodies.

They spent most of the day sleeping in each other’s arms, after Garret called Chayton to say he was okay and she called Naomi to tell her she was snowbound. The days passed like a dream, and even though Reagan knew it wouldn’t last, if for no other reason than his career, she would enjoy it while it did.

By the third day, the snow stopped falling and the sun came out. Garret was growing restless. Pacing, looking out the window, texting on his phone and closing it if she walked up on him. She hoped it was just cabin fever causing this strange behavior, but even going outside hadn’t helped.

“When do you go back to work?” Reagan asked after another intensive bout of lovemaking and a late lunch. His job played an important role in their relationship. One day he would have to leave, and she wanted to be prepared.

Garret was lying on the bed, shirtless, and she sat upright beside him. His hands braced his head, his upper body vertical against the headboard.

“I have a couple of months off, but they can call me back at anytime if need be.”

“So you might have to leave tomorrow?”

“That’s a little extreme and unexpected.” Garret nudged his lips against hers. “Why, you want me to go?”

“No. Not at all.”

“You have a thing for government officials?”

“Maybe,” she teased, squeezing his bicep. “Or at least I do for big, handsome, strong agents.”

He chuckled, a deep, throaty hum in his chest.

“What is it like working for the government like that?”

“Well a few months ago you wouldn’t have recognized me. Had hair all over my face.” He swiped his hand across his face. “And my eyes were bluer.”

“You go undercover?” Reagan asked. A niggling doubt surfaced in her mind as she wondered how she would fit into his life.

Garret nodded. “I go undercover,” he affirmed.

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Sure, just as dangerous as driving down the road, especially near the slopes of Montana. Just as dangerous as skiing, jumping out of a helicopter, or sitting here by the fire. Being a businessman has its own dangers.”

“Well I would never jump out of a helicopter.”

“Maybe you should try it sometime. It’d cure your restlessness.”

Trailing her hands to the button of his jeans, she unbuttoned his top button and lightly grazed her hand across his lower abdomen. He donned his jeans when he’d risen to fix lunch, and she’d been trying to remove them ever since.

“I guess you crave the excitement, challenge, and danger that you get with that kind of job.”

“Nah. I became one because my dad was one and his dad was one. The excitement is just another benefit, but I can get that here in Montana. You ever drop out of an airplane going hundreds of miles an hour?”

“You’re crazy.”

“Keep touching me like that and I’ll show you how crazy I am.”

“What happened to them?” she asked. “Your dad and grandpa.”

“Papa lived to be eighty-eight and died peacefully in his sleep. My dad was killed on the job.”

Reagan’s heart sank. “I’m so sorry. What happened?”

It was like a bucket of paint, dark and dreary, had been thrown across his eyes. Glossy color replaced by a dark matte finish, concealing his true feelings.

“His backup wasn’t there for him.” His chest heaved, only slightly, but she caught the inflection. “Screwed Chayton up pretty bad.”

She wanted to ask “what about you?” but thought it’d be best to leave it alone. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stir up bad memories.” Reagan lifted her hand and he enfolded it with his.

“It’s okay. It’s just that Chayton has always blamed law enforcement for Dad’s death, his partner in particular. That’s why he’s got a grudge against cops. Well, that among other things. But you see, the last op I was in, I killed my partner.”

Reagan snuffled her gasp. “You killed your partner? Did you hold a gun to his head? Beat him with a tire iron?”

Garret’s gaze sliced into her, not hard or cruel, but weary, as if he’d been through this a dozen times.

“No. He was going into a warehouse to meet with the perp. I was supposed to connect with him but was late because I had to fight my way through three guys who wanted me dead. He went in, did the deal, and was shot in the back as he turned to leave. I arrived right after it happened.”

“And how’s that your fault?”

“How is it not?”

“If you’d been there, you’d probably be dead, too. And he’s the one who went in by himself.”

“I was supposed to have him covered. I wasn’t supposed to stand beside him, but I was supposed to hide, waiting and watching and covering him. I wasn’t there.”

“So you just let the guy raise his gun and shoot your partner?” she asked flippantly, hoping to get him to realize he wasn’t at fault.

His stare pierced her with shadows like he’d gone down this dark alley before and still hadn’t come to the light. “By then it was too late.”

“Any other agents?”

“Yeah, they came in with guns blazing right after it happened.”

“Well, then let’s blame all you guys.”

• • •

It had been in the heart of Alaska. Cold, so cold, and his clothes and gloves had been ripped, shredded and worn after fighting off three men and going through tunnels of wire to reach the warehouse where Jonathan was.

He’d been treated for frostbite and ordered to a vacation. And where had he gone afterwards? Back to the cold. He should’ve flown to Hawaii or another warm, coastal region.

“Don’t you think those bad guys knew all along?” Reagan asked. “They had it planned. They would’ve killed you if they could. Why else would they jump you and shoot him in the back?”

Garret didn’t know. He closed his eyes and let his neck find an uncomfortable angle on the headboard.

“Did he get caught?” Her words skipped across his chest before sinking into the dark, dreary recesses of his heart.

Why in the hell was he even finishing this conversation? Why not take off their clothes and fulfill his desire here and now? He hadn’t even told his brother about his fuck up. Why was he telling Reagan?