Hot Pursuit (40 page)

“Ha!” Angel said out loud to the red light.

That would be like asking Wolf to trade in all he was just to be her boyfriend. She hated admitting it, but the adrenaline junkie in him turned her on.

Which brought on another question. Once she managed to nail Cortez to the cross and, once again, turn Zounds into the sleepy fishing community that it was before the bastard moved to town, would Wolf even like it here? Granted, he was here to catch someone who wasn’t Cortez—the Mulligan Stew assassin. Once Wolf caught him, and Angel didn’t have any doubts that he would, he was that driven, would Cortez keep Wolf here? Or would Wolf simply move on to the next job?

And the next lady in whatever town that sent him to?

That damn near had Angel seeing red.

The light changed. She headed to the hospital and parked in the visitor section. By the time she’d entered the ER doors, where Wolf had told her they were headed, she at least appeared calm.

“Oh my God,” Angel said ten minutes later when Ben explained to her in whispers in the ER waiting room how he’d found Zoey.

No wonder Wolf had run out the door. He’d told Angel he couldn’t talk on the phone because it was dangerous. He had meant it. He and Ben had been heading to Cortez’s home.

She hung her head, fighting tears and hating herself for being so damn selfish. “Crap,” she whispered under her breath, staring at the floor as she covered her face with her hands. She was a fool in the worst sense of the word. Lightening up over Wolf’s behavior would be an understatement of commands she could give to herself. After all, wasn’t he the perfect man when they were alone with each other? He fixed things around her shop without even a hint on her part that they needed to be fixed. When Wolf ran out the door, it was because someone’s life depended on it, whether he was ridding the world of a criminal at large or saving her dear friend from a monster. A little leniency on Angel’s part would go a long way.

Large hands pulled her up against a virile body. Then Angel did start crying, one because the man she had been giving thought as to whether it was worth her time to “train” or not was holding her close to him; and two because if Wolf hadn’t been there, Zoey might not be alive right now.

“Thank you,” she managed, pushing away just far enough to stare up at Wolf.

She extended a smile to Ben when she realized he was standing right next to Wolf, looking as miserable and unsure of what to do as Wolf.

“What for?” Wolf looked seriously confused.

Dear Lord. Could she be falling in love with this man?

“For being you.” She slapped at her tears and managed to keep smiling. “For not being afraid to run into dangerous situations in order to save someone’s life. If it weren’t for both of you, Zoey might not be alive if she’d been left in that house much longer.”

Zoey was admitted. Since the nurse on the floor was one of the regulars in the bookstore, knew Angel really well, and understood there wouldn’t be any immediate family coming in to sign for Zoey, she informed the doctor on staff as much. Although he made a show of reluctance—the young doctor wasn’t from Zounds—he consented and informed Angel, Wolf, and Ben on Zoey’s status. The head nurse further informed her staff that either Ben or Wolf would be in the room with Zoey at all times. If anyone, and the head nurse did mean anyone else, was to try to visit Zoey, Ben, Wolf, or Angel was to be notified immediately. Angel gave the nurse a meaningful hug and thanked her with more tears.

She really needed to quit with this crying thing. It wasn’t her style.

“Her right wrist is broken. It appears from X-rays that it has been broken before, possibly when she was a child, from the amount of scar tissue. She’ll have a cast for a while, and will need to schedule a follow-up with her regular doctor once she is released,” the doctor had told the three of them outside Zoey’s room later that night. “Otherwise, considering how she looked when she came in, she’s got a cut on her lower lip that we put a few stitches in, but no other injuries. We’ve sedated her, but I’ve ordered some more tests in the morning once she is more alert.”

Angel curled up on a chair next to the bed, shortly after midnight. The doctor’s words kept replaying in her mind for some reason. Something told her that Zoey’s
regular doctor
would be someone on Cortez’s staff, which wouldn’t do at all. Another thing that wouldn’t do, Cortez couldn’t live in this town any longer. Somehow, Angel needed to get the bastard to go, through the law or whatever means necessary. How did a person go about hiring the Mulligan Stew assassin, she wondered, then drifted off to sleep.

*   *   *

Wolf woke up disoriented at first, scrubbed his face with his hands, then dragged his fingers through his scalp, giving himself a little massage. Then sitting, he remembered how he’d decided to make use of the empty bed next to Zoey’s. His hand brushed against hard metal, and he looked down at the tip of the gun he wasn’t supposed to have in the hospital. He’d stuffed it under his pillow the night before.

Oxygen in use be damned. It wasn’t in use in this room, and if Cortez or any of his bullies showed up, Wolf would be ready for them. He slipped the gun inside his coat pocket, which was still at the end of the bed. Angel was still asleep in the chair, curled up in an adorable ball. Her curls were tight around her face, which was so peaceful in sleep.

He’d noticed that before about Angel. When awake, she was on top of her act, running that store with tight efficiency. Not a soul walked through that door that Angel didn’t know by name, other than the occasional straggling tourist. Angel knew everyone’s likes and dislikes in books and always was around the corner of her counter, as if she had just been waiting for that particular person to enter her bookstore and had a recommendation for them.

But when Angel slept, all the focused determination on her pretty face faded. Although he knew her first name was really Angelina, she truly was an angel. Her face was so smooth and her expression one of peaceful sleep. Her small body was wrapped cozily into the chair, with her knees pulled up to her chest.

Wolf studied her body, the soft rise and fall of her chest as she breathed slowly, her narrow waist, and the soft curves of her ass and hips. God, he loved gripping those hips. There were so many things he could do with that sultry little body. Angel loved all of it. Wolf imagined what else he could do with her sexually. Would she go for anal sex? He hadn’t asked, but just thinking about it woke up the rest of his body. He shifted uncomfortably in his jeans and glanced toward the door to the hallway. The morning shift of nurses would probably be parading in soon. Best to make use of the bathroom, then wake his sleeping beauty.

As he splashed water on his face and combed his hair with his fingers, images of Angel the night before came to mind. When she’d looked up at him with her tearstained face and thanked him, he knew right then he’d give her the world if she asked for it. With a grunt, as he glared at the mirror, Wolf decided right away it would be best never to let her know that. Angel was a smart woman, though. Would she be able to tell by looking at him how far he’d gone in falling for her?

Already he knew that he hadn’t run out the door to help with Zoey because of Ben. Wolf’s gut instincts had been right, too. Angel’s tears had been more of a thank-you than her words. Wolf had helped with Zoey because she meant so much to Angel.

Walking back into the hospital room, Wolf pulled out his phone as he looked down at Angel. He shot Ben a quick text.
Need coffee. Come guard the room.
He looked over at Zoey, who looked so tiny in the hospital bed. Best he could tell, she hadn’t moved since last might.

Her pretty face was so bruised. There was a cast around her petite hand and wrist, which lay over her stomach outside the covers. Her thick, long black hair was parted on either side and fell in long strands down her chest. He guessed he got what Ben saw in the girl. Zoey came with a hell of a lot of baggage, though. Even if she escaped her father’s grip, she might never recover emotionally.

Which was why Angel was perfect for Wolf. He shifted his attention from one woman to the other. Angel had her act together. She didn’t need Wolf; she wanted him. For him, that spoke volumes. When a lady was doing just fine on her own and still wanted him in her life, that was what love was all about.

“Love?” he snarled under his breath, then checked quickly to make sure he hadn’t woken either woman.

Throughout the day, Wolf and Ben swapped off guarding the room. Zoey woke up that morning, and the doctor spoke with her. Angel sat by her bed, brushed Zoey’s hair for her, and brought damp washcloths and took her time carefully cleaning Zoey’s face and wiping down her arms. By the next day, Zoey was sitting, sipping juice through a straw, and was coherent. The doctor agreed to release her to Angel’s care.

Which Wolf didn’t care for one bit. Not because it would steal all time for him with Angel away, but because he would have to guard that store as if his life depended on it. It wasn’t his life he was worried about, though. Angel would now be in as much danger as Zoey.

“There’s nowhere else she can go,” Angel pointed out to him as they walked slowly down the hall from the elevator to Zoey’s room late that morning. “And think about it. She’s actually really safe at the store. My bookstore is well armed with security now that would wake the dead if it went off.”

He grinned inwardly remembering how they’d tested it after he’d installed it and Angel had damn near jumped out of her skin. Every dog in a mile radius had continued to howl their protest even after he’d shut it off.

“And I have an FBI agent coming into town this week.” She grinned up at Wolf, that determined, energetic look planted well on her face. He loved how her eyes almost glowed lavender when she was enthusiastic about something, and getting Cortez out of town had become her lifeline. “He is very interested in investigating Emilio Cortez,” she added, whispering.

“You’ll get him.” Wolf wrapped his arm around Angel, proud of her endeavors in making the law throughout California incredibly aware of what the bastard was doing to the little town.

Zoey’s door was only slightly ajar. The wall where the bathroom was made it impossible to see into the rest of the room, though. Wolf reached for the door, ready to push it open, and paused.

“I’m telling you, man, you didn’t slip on the job. She’s going to be fine,” Ben said inside the room.

Wolf put his finger to his lips as he stared down at Angel. Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him. She looked confused, but that was okay, as long as she remained quiet. Who was Ben assuring that they hadn’t slipped up on a job?

“She’s asleep right now.… Nope, out like a light.” There was a noticeable sound of affection in Ben’s voice. “And no, she didn’t say a word to anyone. Yes. Quit worrying. I told you already. We found the car together and I didn’t guide him there. Lord, have a little faith.”

Wolf prickled. Ben had already known where the Taurus was? Was that what he was talking about? Wolf’s ears burned, anxious to catch every word. Who didn’t say a word to anyone, and about what? Was Ben talking about Zoey? If so, that meant she had been at Maggie’s house the entire time she was away from Ben. Which would mean Zoey probably was leaving Maggie’s in the Taurus when she had pulled over.

“Yes, she told me. It was Wolf who found the ticket pressed against the windshield almost under the hood. I had suspected the truth, but she was pulled over by the local sheriff, and yes, his balls were in Cortez’s pocket,” Ben snarled, his outrage justified by the fact. “Zoey didn’t have a clue that was why he pulled her over. He told her there was a taillight out and asked her to sit in the backseat of his cruiser while he called in her information. The moment she was in the car, the fucking sheriff took off. Zoey had turned the car off before getting out and had slipped the keys in the ashtray, which apparently is where she normally keeps her own car keys.” Ben, coming from a large city, had been as perturbed by this fact as Wolf had been when he’d learned about it.

“She told me Cortez had promised to disfigure her so badly that no man would ever want her again.” There was silence only for a moment. “I told you, none of this is your fault. Zoey is a pro at slipping through fingers. She’s spent her entire life sneaking around and knows how to watch her own back. I don’t know that I could hold on to her if she didn’t want it.”

Wolf ached for more information. Would Ben at least say a name? If Wolf had that, he would have all he needed. He’d hold Ben at gunpoint if it meant taking him to the Mulligan Stew assassin. But Ben said good-bye and his tone changed when he started speaking in hushed tones to Zoey.

Wolf pushed open the door, giving Angel a quick shake of the head as her only warning not to say anything.

“Hey, man,” Wolf said, entering the room.

Zoey looked at Angel and smiled, or what came close to one with her puffed mouth and thin line of stitches. Angel was immediately at her side. Ben stood from the bed, giving the women space.

“We’re just waiting on the doctor. I hear she should be here any minute. I would really rather take Zoey back to the cabin.”

Wolf would rather that, too. “Who were you just talking to on the phone?” he demanded, and enjoyed the moment of surprise when Ben wasn’t ready for the question.

Ben was a pro, though. Wolf would give him that. The man masked all emotions in a heartbeat.

“When?” he asked.

“Just now.” Wolf wasn’t in the mood for crap. He had his fill of hospitals, especially one this small that didn’t even have a decent cafeteria but instead just a snack shop. “I stood at the door and listened.”

Wolf eyed him a minute, and the look Ben gave Wolf was one of complete challenge and aggravation. “A friend in L.A.”

“Cut the bullshit, man,” Wolf snarled.

“What’s your problem?” Ben snapped right back at him. “You shouldn’t eavesdrop on conversations. There are quite a few people in L.A. as worried about her as they are me,” he insisted, thumbing toward Zoey as he did.

Less than an hour later, he and Angel led the way to the bookstore, with Zoey and Ben following.