Darke Heat (8 page)

Bill’s face broke into a grin. “Paige, girl, the county is
never
gonna be able to outdo your family for trouble,” he said jokingly.

“Yeah, well, since I’ve been home, the crime wave has certainly gone up and none of the Conners can take credit for it.”

She walked toward the house to get something cold to drink. As she came out onto the porch, Bryce drove in, followed by the Sheriff, with Officer Spencer, and pulled up behind Bill’s work truck.

Paige watched Bryce get out of his car. First, those long legs, then the rest of him. His face was a masterpiece of masculinity, his features chiseled into harsh plains and sharp angles. His hair and eyes were dark brown. Paige knew she was staring, and needed to snap out of it. She felt his return stare piercing all the way to her toes. It was worse than when she had her girlish crush as a teen…this was full-blown attraction.

“Paige, come show us the pit,” Bryce said.

“Now what do you have to do with dog fighting, Bryce?” she asked.

“I’m a Fed. The good Sheriff asked me to consult on this and use my resources to help.”

“It’s in the barn. Bill can show you. I need to finish in the house.”

“Scared?” Bryce asked.

“Not on your life, Prescott!”

“Oh yeah, prove it,” he dared her.

There it was. The one dig sure to get her to respond, like a juvenile trying to prove her worthiness.

“Bryce, I’m an adult. I don’t play dare games anymore.”

“Hmm, too bad,” he said.

The slow smile on his face made her wonder what the heck he was thinking. It had nothing to do with looking at a dog pit, she was sure. He was acting real strange and it was causing her to get nervous. What she didn’t need was the man of her dreams to start pouring on the charm and have her falling for him while she was trying to get on without him. There were too many secrets between them. She really needed to keep a level head and then find out when he’d be leaving, because knowing Bryce as she did, there was no way he would stay in the area permanently.

Paige turned to go back into the house without a backward glance. She had work to do, and touring dog pits with Agent Bryce was not going to get it done.

While Bryce and the Sheriff went in to look at the pit, Officer Spencer caught up to her.

“Paige, you ain’t thinking of telling anyone about our past now, are you?”

“Nope, I figure you don’t want much to do with me now that I’m not a defenseless teenager.”

“Now, Paige, we were just going to have some fun,” he said. His face smirked in an evil smile. His intent was there in his eyes.

“Well, now I see attempted gang rape in another light. Should you and your buddies come around, I have my twenty-two and eight trained dogs. Next time, maybe I won’t call them off. Maybe I’ll just let them turn you into pulled pork. No pun intended,” she replied.

His face turned molten. “You keep your dogs under control or they will be put down,” he threatened.

“I wouldn’t threaten my dogs if I were you, George. I can always train more dogs. They can find you anywhere, once they have your scent.” She saw the effect her words had on him. He looked angry and frustrated. Well too bad. She needed to remind herself why she wanted to move back here. Right now, none of the reasons seemed to compare with this level of grief.

Then she thought of her brothers. This was the area they knew as home. Hopefully, she could convince them to think of it that way again. She didn’t trust this man, not even a little bit. She wouldn’t take a chance on opening her door until he left. It was like a standoff, but she breathed a silent sigh of relief when the Sheriff called him and he turned to join the men in the barn. She stood there until he was out of sight, then entered the house and got to work.

A short time later, she heard the back door open. At first, she thought it might be George returning. She prepared herself, ready to attack. Instead, there stood Bryce. She relaxed her guard and let out a breathy sigh of relief. For just a moment, the fantasy played out in her mind that they might live here together one day, but she snuffed the thought and looked at him, waiting for him to tell her whatever it was he needed to.

“Paige, the recent bust I was a part of had far reaching tentacles. I took a bullet, and if it weren’t for Sheba, a lot of good men would have died. I think the dog pit was used recently as a way to scare you off. The active dog-fighting ring doesn’t use this place normally, but they could be changing their operation. My concerns are that they’d tag you because of me.”

“How do you figure? You and I are nothing, right? One night doesn’t mean squat, so why would they focus on me?”

“Don’t kid yourself, Paige. That one night
was
something.”

“Look, let’s keep the mistake, as you so aptly called it, out of this and any future discussions. So far that has been your modus operandi. Don’t change on my account.”

“I’m going to let the topic drop for now, but here’s where things are getting tricky. They knew it was your dog. They know I’m from this area and so are you. They’ve figured out there’s some connection. What’s important is to keep you safe.”

“Oh, and what about keeping you safe? And what about keeping my dogs safe? I don’t scare easily, Bryce. I don’t back down, and I don’t quit. However, I’m not stupid. So I’ll be careful. My brothers should be home in another week for some R and R. I’ll have extra eyes and guns around. If the drug dealers or dog fighters think I’m something to you, they’ll soon figure they are wrong when they see you with your next conquest. Now if you are done giving me the little talk, I’ve got work to do.” She turned to go back the way she came before she fell apart. She just needed a little time to come to terms with the reality that she’d been used this time to get to Bryce. She’d not gone a step, when a strong arm whipped her around into a bear hug and the glittering brown eyes of a very pissed off DEA Agent looked directly into hers.

“You were not a conquest,” he said just before his lips descended in a brutal, demanding kiss that left her legs wobbly and her breath catching in the back of her throat. She wasn’t sure how long he held her. He kissed her until his anger cooled. The kiss finally gentled when she stopped resisting and gave him the kind of kiss back that he was demanding without words. Then he abruptly put her from him.

“We will have that talk, just not now.” He turned and stomped out of her house.

She stood staring after him and wondered what there was to talk about. The man was making her daft. What were they talking about?

He couldn’t believe he was letting her stay, and yet what could he do? She was a free woman, and the property was hers, but this entire scenario sucked. There was so much going down around the place he felt every nerve on edge. Seeing Paige standing there, so close he could smell her flowery perfume, took his breath away. When did he get so caught up in the fire in her eyes and the way she felt in his arms? And now she was in danger.

He felt his gut clench. Things were escalating, and she was right in the middle of it. He needed to get some of his men to keep an eye on the property, but he planned to be the one getting up close and personal with Paige. The thought of any of his men getting close to her, didn’t sit well with him at all. In fact, he felt a very male possessiveness. He’d never been this worked up about Sharon, his ex, no matter how much she flirted, and Paige didn’t flirt.
No, she pulled out her twenty-two and rammed the barrel under your nose
, he thought with a smile. The girl didn’t back down from a confrontation.

Driving back to the station, he knew he needed to make some calls and wondered why Paige’s brothers hadn’t come to help. The only reason he could think of was that she hadn’t told them what was going on. Well, Miss, that was the first thing he was going to get onto. He’d give both her brothers an earful. They needed to get their butts back here and protect her. On the other hand, he sure didn’t want to have to deal with their attitudes when he made a play for their sister. But her safety came first, and there was no one he’d trust more than her brothers.

He walked into the station and crossed the main room on the way to his temporary office. Sheriff Markham gave him some space to work from since they decided to team up as a task force to get these criminals off the streets and out of Darke County.

Bryce overheard Markham asking his deputy about another killing.

“Hey, Blake, what have you got on the body we grabbed by the lake?”

“Ballistics doesn’t match the body we found at Paige’s place, for one.”

“All right, come into my office and let’s go over what we do have.”

“Sure, let me get the files.”

“Prescott, can you join us?” the Sheriff requested.

The station seemed to continue its usual hustle, but there was something off and he knew it. He just couldn’t put his finger on it. He was a dang good cop, but the perps all seemed to have the drop on him and it was getting annoying.

“Shut the door, Blake,” Markham said, pointing to a chair while reaching for the file they had on the two dead bodies. “I don’t care what ballistics says, these two murders are connected, and I want you to stay on top of this case.”

“What’s this about another killing?” asked Bryce.

“A man’s body washed up on the lake. A hunter found it and called it in. Another one shot in the head, execution style.”

Blake was a sharp, by-the-book cop who’d recently moved to the area, and Bryce was coming to figure out that he was about the only cop he trusted right now, besides Markham, whom he’d grown up with.

“Sheriff, can I say something off the record?” asked Blake.

“Yep, what?”

He shifted in his chair, but looked straight at Bryce when he spoke. “I don’t believe in coincidence.”

“I don’t either.” The Sheriff fiddled with a pen on his desk.

“These killings are similar,” said Blake.

“Yep,” agreed Markham.

“Things just seem to not be on the up and up, if you know what I mean?” Blake said

“Oh yeah, I know exactly what you mean. That’s why you and Bryce are the only ones I’ve been giving my information to. I want you to keep it all confidential. I think the good ole boys of Darke County are playing in some deep waters, and I’m not trusting any of them.”

“Okay, sir, I get your meaning.”

And from the intent look in his eyes, Bryce knew he did. They had a dirty cop on the payroll of the criminals. That was the only explanation for the leaks that had them playing historian to events after the fact.

Bryce sat back in his chair after the deputy left the office.

“So Jack, what’s up?”

“We got a mole, and we got a lot of drug trafficking going on. They’re using the lockes to transport, you knew that. But there are other things going on that has criminal activity shooting through the roof. I don’t have the manpower or resources for this level of activity. So what can you do for me?”

“I’m bringing the full weight of my department into play. Whatever you’re dealing with is related to my last case up near Detroit. The kingpin in that operation knew about my affiliation with Paige Conner and he’s targeting her. She also stepped into a dog-fighting kennel, so she’s pissed off some local bad ass. Dog fighting is a Federal offense. I’m calling in her brothers for a little back up to help keep her safe. Paige is now in the cross hairs of a drug cartel and a local crime ring. I’ll be keeping watch on her, but you’d be smart to do the same. She’s the lynch pin to several crimes.”

He thought of Paige’s cat–eyes spitting fire at the odds and felt his blood thicken below the waist. The woman had a visceral effect on him. It was a gut level response to her. He knew she’d be a distraction, but he couldn’t avoid her. She was now part of the case. He’d tried to avoid her for that very reason. It was a double backfire. By avoiding her, she now thought he was playing her. Now he needed to stay close, to keep her safe, and he needed to keep his mind on the case.

He thought again about the area around Paige’s property. What made it so desirable to two different criminal elements? It was close to Cooper County, but so were a lot of other properties, and the man-made lake was nothing special. There were lots of man-made lakes around. The settlers dug them to drain the swamps, so they could plant their crops. They functioned the same way even now, as reservoirs for the substantial rainfall.

The Detroit element needed to make Methamphetamine, so there had to be a meth lab somewhere close by. The Locke would provide a way of transporting their illegal goods without using roads. They could move the merchandise without being detected. Paige’s property had a canal that fed into the old Locke system. That had to be it. It was the only thing that made sense.

Now, he just needed to find the lab, shut it down, and catch them so he could cut off their pipeline to Detroit by way of the Lockes. It was a plan…a sketchy one, but a plan nonetheless. He and the Sheriff needed to set a trap to catch a mole, and some criminals, and still be available to protect Paige.

He’d go by her place on his way home tonight, just to be sure she wasn’t still there after dark.