Pure Dynamite (28 page)

Behind her, he shifted, drawing her close as his chin nuzzled her hair. His hand clutched her hip.

"Mmmmm," he whispered. "Sleep good?"

"No."

"Could have fooled me the way you were snoring earlier."

"I don't snore."

He laughed, and she realized he had been teasing. Which infuriated her. Bad guys shouldn't tease, either.

"I need to use the bathroom." She struggled to sit up and found more sore muscles. Her ankle throbbed.

Adam swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

"Like hell I'll stay here," Renata whispered to herself. She scooted to the edge and stood, testing her ankle. It wouldn't take her full weight, but she could hop.

Adam's voice startled her. "Planning to make another run for it?"

She turned. The rebuttal on her lips died. He wasn't wearing a shirt, which gave her a nice view of firm abs as he walked. His hair was still disheveled from sleep, his cheeks dark with overnight stubble. Under different circumstances, she could imagine her jaw dropping to see him striding toward her.

He lifted a hand to cover his scars. "Sorry." Snagging his T-shirt off the floor, he tugged it over his head.

Too late, Renata realized he assumed she stared at his scars. She hadn't noticed them.

He picked her up and carried her
out
of the bedroom.

"I can walk."

"Limping doesn't count. Besides, this keeps the pressure off your ankle."

He set her down beside the half bath off the kitchen. "Your toothbrush and clean clothes are already in there. I'll be out here if you need anything."

The bathroom had
all
the necessities but one—a window. She leaned against the vanity, finding her balance before trying to change clothes and examine her injuries.

Her ankle looked more swollen this morning, the bruising and soreness worse, too. She touched her side gingerly. It hurt. So did her arm. She stripped off her shirt. Quite a few bruises had risen on her arms and legs, nothing serious. But the scrape on her side looked nasty, red. She'd need to clean it with peroxide.

She finished dressing and raked her fingers through her hair. Her appearance was her last concern. Except for her lack of underwear. Particularly, a bra. She looked down at her nipples poking out beneath the T- shirt. She pulled the fabric away, which only seemed to make it worse. She grabbed the shirt she'd slept in and put it on, too. The extra layer helped.

Adam was in the kitchen making coffee when she opened the door. "Have you checked Lyle yet?" Adam nodded. "He's still sleeping. Nevin said he took more painkillers during the night."

She put a hand on her hip, displeased. "He shouldn't have free access to them. They're not candy."

"It's hard for me to say much without getting in his business."

"Oh, right! I forgot the prisoner's code of ethics. Tell me this much then: Has he abused drugs in the past? Had any addiction issues?"

Adam gave her a
wry
look. The police files he'd seen mentioned under-age drinking at parties, but not drug abuse. Of course that could be one of the things his family had swept under the rug. Before landing in prison, Lyle had been arrested several times, but charges were always dropped when witnesses refused to testify or evidence disappeared.

"I don't believe he's an addict. But he's not above recreational use. I'll mention it to Nevin, though." He pointed to a chair. "Now let me wrap your ankle and we'll go outside."

"I can do it myself."

He ignored her, taking her foot gently in hand. "It looks sore as hell. I'll get you some ibuprofen."

When he finished they went out the back door onto a large, elevated deck. Renata shielded her eyes against the glare of sun.

"Wasn't sure I'd recognize it after all the rain." Adam turned his face up and drew in a deep breath.

His pensive tone made her wonder what it must be like to be locked away. Had he not considered the punishment before committing the crime? Or
had he
thought he'd get off?

She stared at his handsome profile. With his eyes closed, his dark lashes seemed even longer; the hollows beneath his cheekbones more profound.

His eyes opened and he turned smiling faintly when he caught her staring.

Flustered Renata raised her chin and scowled. "How much longer will you keep me?"

"I'm not sure."

"Would you let me contact my mother? Or sister? Let at least one of them know
I'm
alive."

"That won't make them feel any better," he said. "The minute you hang up, they'll begin wondering whether you're still alive."

She hated that he was right. Which didn't lessen her desire to contact them. Wanting distance from him, she limped to the far side of the deck and looked over the rail. The ground was fifteen feet straight down. She saw the scattered woodpile.

Adam followed her. He shook his head. "That explains your skinned up side. You're lucky you didn't break your neck."

Renata nodded absently, her eyes skimming the woods beyond the yard. If she got another shot at escape, she needed to know the lay of the land.

From what she could see, it was good she had opted to avoid the woods last night. The uneven terrain was pocked with gullies. Downed trees crisscrossed one another, broken branches sticking up like spikes.

She started to turn away when a flicker caught her eye. She narrowed her gaze,
trying
to see what had moved. A squirrel? Bird?

A person.
Had Adam noticed?

She glanced sideways, debating what to do next. If
she screamed, she could put the other person at risk as well as blow her chance at rescue.

Adam's hand closed over her mouth as his arm snaked around her waist, restraining and lifting her at the same time. She struggled but in seconds they were back inside the kitchen.

She bolted for the front door, ungraceful but determined.

"Stay down, damn it!" Handling her roughly, he pulled her to the floor then snapped the deadbolt in place.

"Is it the police? Will you let me go?"

"Be quiet or I'll have to gag you." Adam had only managed a brief look at the man. He'd been dressed in camouflage and was pressed into a small ditch, his assault rifle pointed right at them.

Easing up, Adam peered around the edge of the window blind but saw nothing. Shit! The man had either moved or was too well hidden. One thing was certain: The man was careless to let himself be spotted. Which meant it might be someone acting alone. A bounty hunter? A kamikaze jackass?

He'd take a bounty hunter any day over the police. Adam could easily take out a single man, even a couple of men, whereas a confrontation with the law would blow everything. A screwup now would send Willy and his other two sons deeper underground.

He wondered how they'd been found. Had one of the McEdwins' contacts been careless? Or dropped a dime for the reward?

What now? They had no car. They couldn't make a run for it. With Lyle injured and doped up, they'd never make it on foot. And the last thing Adam wanted was a shootout. He couldn't afford bullets flying with Renata inside.

"Follow me." He dragged her toward the hall. He needed to alert Nevin about the intruder.

Lyle was awake and talking on the phone. If he was talking to Willy, they needed to get help. Now.

Bursting in, Adam pointed to the phone. "Who's that?"

Nevin, who'd been reclining on the couch, pulled his own pistol when he saw Adam's gun. "What the hell's going on?"

Lyle's face grew red. "Look, sugar, I need to go. Me too. Can't wait."

Adam felt his jaw tense. Was that how they'd been found? "You called your girlfriend? Don't you know the FBI has tapped the phone of your every known associate?"

"Give me a little credit. She's safe. Her father is—"

Nevin interrupted. "Her father's no dummy. He knows what to watch for."

"Well, somebody's slipped up." Adam motioned toward the window. "I just spotted someone behind the house, in the woods. He's in camo."

Nevin lowered his gun and put his hand over his chest. A grin spread across his face. "Jesus Christ! You almost gave me a heart attack. That's one of my men. Keeping watch."

"Keeping watch? For what?"

Nevin nodded at Renata. "After your girlfriend's little disappearing act last night, I figured we could use backup."

Adam didn't bother to hide his fury. "When did you plan on telling me? I don't like being kept in the dark. And I damn sure don't like someone creeping through the woods with a gun leveled at me."

"It wasn't leveled at you." Nevin glanced at her again. "Just think of it as an early-warning system. You and my little brother were a hot commodity before that deputy died. Now you're cop-killers. Every law enforcement person in the nation just made you their personal enemy."

"An early-warning system doesn't mean jack if we don't have a means to get away. I want a car. If that had been the cops, we'd have been shit out of luck." Adam pointed to Lyle. "And he wouldn't make it fifty feet without collapsing."

"Wait a minute," Nevin frowned, confused. "You mean there's not a car out in the garage?"

"Not yet," Lyle confirmed. "Pa's making arrangements."