Resisting Her (2 page)

Cole knew that all of the children, fourteen
of them under the age of eighteen, had been taken into Child
Protective Services. He had no idea what would become of those of
legal age. He supposed once they were brought in for questioning
and their statements taken, many of them would be free to go.

Gulping weak coffee from a paper cup, it took
him a moment to realize his boss was standing in front of his
desk.

“You look like shit, Fletcher.”

Cole didn’t bother explaining he hadn’t been
sleeping well, preferring not to get in a conversation about
exactly why that was the mysterious girl he’d rescued from the
compound still clouding his thoughts even in his sleep—knowing that
excuse wouldn’t go over well with Norman.

Cole rubbed a hand across the back of his
neck. “Thanks,” he muttered.

“You need a break, Cole. You’ve been working
eighty-hour weeks nonstop the past few months. Now that this case
is over, I’m not assigning you to another until you take some time
off.”

“What are you talking about, a leave of
absence?” Cole had heard of other guys messing up and getting
forced into a leave, if only to make an example of them. But as far
as he knew, he hadn’t fucked anything up, at least not lately, and
he was in line for a promotion at his next review cycle.

“No, like a vacation.” Norm’s stern gaze met
Cole’s confused one. “You’ve heard of a vacation, right?”

Cole almost laughed, and would have, had he
not been pissed at where this conversation was headed. It was the
exact same conversation he’d had with his meddling older sister,
Marissa, just a few days before. When she’d stopped by last weekend
and seen the dark circles under his eyes, she’d challenged him on
when he’d last taken time off. The truth was he’d never
purposefully taken time off work. He wouldn’t know what to do with
himself. The one and only time he’d taken some personal days was
the standard bereavement leave when his parents were killed six
years ago.

Norm was still staring down at him
expectantly. “I checked with HR, and they told me you’ve never
taken a single vacation day in six years with the Bureau.”

No shit. And for good reason. He’d be bored
as hell in two hours. “And what exactly do you expect me to
do?”

“How the hell should I know? Do whatever it
is people do when they have time off work.”

“Thanks, but I’m actually good. Just give me
another case, Norm.”

“This is non-negotiable.”

He wasn’t averse to taking on Norm, but he
wasn’t stupid enough to argue with him when that vein in his
forehead was throbbing.

Cole stood, knowing it’d be pointless to
press the issue, and scooped up the files from his desk. He’d just
work from home. Norm cracked a sideways grin and pulled the files
from his hands.

“No. No bringing work home. Get a massage, go
to the fucking Bahamas; I don’t care what you do, as long as you
take a break. Don’t come back until Monday.
Next
Monday,” he
clarified.

Fuck
. A week off of work with nothing
to do? He’d go insane.

Unless…

No, he knew he shouldn’t check up on
Savannah, but once the idea had planted itself firmly in his mind,
he knew it’d be damn near impossible to shake.

Cole spent the first two days of his vacation
much like he spent every other weekend: catching up on sleep,
hitting the gym, grabbing some takeout and parking it on the couch
with a beer and flipping aimlessly through the TV channels.

But by the time Monday morning rolled around,
he knew he was in over his head. There was no way he’d survive
another week of this shit. He was already bored out of his mind,
and it was day one of his Bureau-enforced vacation. Damn Norm.

Thoughts of Savannah continued to occupy his
mind, and he found himself wondering where she was and if she was
doing okay. After his third cup of coffee, he was jittery and
pacing. Damn, he’d be crawling the walls of his condo by noon if he
didn’t get out and do something.

Cole made a snap decision, knowing he
wouldn’t be able to let the thoughts of Savannah go. Not until he
knew she was okay. It was simple curiosity, nothing more. Plus,
it’d give him something to do to occupy his time. A win all round.
He’d do a simple stakeout, no big deal. After a quick phone call to
another agent that morning, he had a good idea where they’d taken
her.

The safe house.

She was taken to the only nearby facility
with an opening—a transitional housing development on the shady
side of town. Something about it didn’t sit right with him. She was
too innocent and good-looking to be somewhere like that.

He would stakeout the house, assuming she was
still there. Since the file hadn’t mentioned any other family, he
was betting she was. Once he saw her with his own eyes, and
confirmed she was safe and doing well, he would let it go.

Fall was Savannah’s favorite time of year.
The brutal heat of the Texas summer had dissipated and left the air
around her pleasantly warm, and more comfortable than stifling. She
was taking her third walk of the day. With nothing to do other than
sit and worry over the kids, she preferred to be outside, moving,
rather than sitting in the grungy halfway house.

She rounded the corner of the block she’d
grown familiar with over the past several days, surprised she
hadn’t worn a path into the sidewalk by now. There was a small park
across the street. She considered stopping to watch the children
playing, but kept going, knowing it would only dredge up memories
that would make her cry.

She couldn’t quite believe things had ended
the way they did. She felt conflicted being away from the compound,
empty in a weird way. It was all she knew, but she’d dreamed of
leaving the overly strict compound for the last few years. She’d
become disillusioned with their whole way of life after her mother
passed away four years ago. But there were certain things, and
people, she’d miss. She already missed the bustle of activity,
always having someone to talk to. She thought of Dillon, the only
other person her age, and wondered where he was.

When the sun began to sink lower in the sky,
she resigned herself to spending another night at the house. She’d
come to despise it for no other reason than how alone she felt
there. She turned right at the corner, surprised that she didn’t
recognize her surroundings. She’d been so lost in thought, and
over-confident in her ability to navigate, that she hadn’t paid
attention to where she’d wandered. She turned in a circle,
searching out a landmark, or street sign she’d recognize; but
unfortunately it did little good. She was lost.

She took a deep breath and willed herself to
stay calm. But the façade lasted about two seconds. She had no one
to call and didn’t even know the address of the house. She was
completely and utterly alone. After growing up in a household with
a dozen different women mothering her, the realization was a stark
one. She’d never been on her own. And she was already failing at
it.

Savannah wiped away the tears that had begun
to escape her eyes. What would she do if couldn’t find the house
again? The street had started with an L, hadn’t it? She supposed
she could go into a nearby shop and ask if they knew of a halfway
house close by. She’d probably sound like a crazy person, but what
other options did she have? She pulled in a deep breath, regaining
some composure, and looked through the window of a convenience
store. The guy at the counter met her eyes, then stared straight at
her boobs. Nope. Not going in there. Gaze cast down, she kept
walking.

With the thud of her shoes against the
sidewalk and the pounding rhythm of her heart guiding her, Savannah
continued on. The purr of a car engine lingered behind her. Not
passing. Shoot. This wasn’t a great part of town to be alone in.
What had she been thinking? So she quickened her stride, but the
car kept pace.

A large black SUV stopped alongside her. The
dark tinted window lowered. A rush of panic washed over her, and
tears sprang to her eyes.

“Savannah?”

The rough male voice knew her name. She
stumbled to a halt and dared a glance in his direction. She was met
with the concerned gaze of the FBI agent who had rescued her after
the compound was raided. He was tall, and broad shouldered with
dark hair, stubble dusting his jaw and his dark eyes were locked on
hers. She ventured a step closer to his SUV. She didn’t know his
name, or what he intended, but something in his dark gaze gripped
the very depths of her, and she knew instinctively that she could
trust him. At least she hoped she could. He hadn’t hurt her that
night. His touch had been strong, but gentle. Summoning, her
courage, she turned to face him.

***

Cole couldn’t believe his luck, that he had
quite literally spotted Savannah on the way to the safe house.

Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes
wild. Shit, she looked scared. Had someone done something to her?
The thought drove him nuts.

“Savannah?” he repeated.

Without waiting for her to respond, Cole
slammed his gearshift into park and hopped out, crossing the front
of the SUV to stand before her.

He lifted her chin, inspecting her face and
neck for marks, and gripped her upper arms to turn her in a circle,
looking her over completely. She appeared unharmed, so he didn’t
understand why she was crying. “What happened?”

She swallowed and looked down at the sidewalk
between their feet.

“Hey.” He brushed her hand with his. “You
remember me, right?”

She met his eyes and gave him a hesitant nod.
“What’s your name?” she asked, a nervous hitch in her voice.

“Colby Fletcher.” He offered her his hand,
and she slipped her delicate fingers into his palm.

“Colby,” she repeated in barely a
whisper.

“You can call me Cole. Everyone else does. Or
Fletcher, or Fletch. You know, whatever…”

She grinned, more with her eyes than her
mouth. His babbling had apparently scored some points.

“Now tell me what’s wrong,” he pushed. He
didn’t mean for it to come out as a command, but he needed to know
what had happened to her, manners aside.

“I went for a walk and got lost,” she said
simply.

Cole nearly sagged in relief. Thank fuck.
That, he could fix. God, if something had happened to her, he
didn’t think he could’ve handled it. Not with the worry that’d been
churning in his gut the last several days. “Come on, I can drive
you back.” He turned for the driver’s side again, but Savannah
remained rooted to the sidewalk. He returned to the spot where she
stood and spoke to her in hushed tones. “You can trust me,
okay?”

Her eyes flashed to his. He’d forgotten how
green they were. She squinted and blinked several times, as if she
was deciding. It was cute. Without another word, Savannah opened
the passenger door and climbed inside.

Cole’s skin tingled, hyper-aware of just how
close she was. She wore a pair of baggy jeans, torn at one knee and
a long sleeved thermal tee, but the ill-fitting attire did nothing
to temper the desire he felt. He gripped the steering wheel
tighter, his hands itching to fold her body against his own. Shit,
his libido was out of control when it came to this girl. Maybe he
really did need a vacation. Somewhere with sand and lots of women
in bikinis. Somewhere the hell away from Savannah.

Neither spoke during the short ride back to
the halfway house. Cole stopped in front of the two-story, pale
gray house flaking in paint. Both his and Savannah’s attention was
captured by a group of guys sitting on the wide front porch,
arguing loudly.

Savannah fiddled nervously with the door
handle, but made no move to exit the car.

“Listen, I don’t have to take you back right
away…we could grab a cup of coffee.”

Relief washed over her face. “Yes.”

There was no way he was sending her back
inside that house just yet.

Over steaming mugs of coffee at a nearby
café, Cole attempted small talk, but mostly they sat in comfortable
silence. Savannah seemed distracted and somber. He wondered if she
was counting down the minutes until she had to go back to that
house, and dreading it just as much as he was. “Do you have any
family you can stay with?” he asked finally.

A deep searing gaze communicated her need.
Cole’s worst assumptions were proven correct — she was all alone.
She swallowed and shook her head. “My mom passed away when I was
fifteen, and I never met my father. I suppose I could find one of
the women from Jacob’s group, but I don’t know…”

“Are you hungry? Have you eaten? We could get
you something.” Cole couldn’t stop himself from peppering her with
questions.

She kept her gaze cast down and shook her
head. “I’m fine.” Savannah sat quietly in her seat, her thin
fingers wound tightly around the coffee mug.

Cole wished there was something more he could
do for her. He wasn’t sure what to say, how to help, so he sat
silently across from her sipping his coffee.

By the time they reached the house again,
darkness had blanketed the sky. Cole shifted into park, turning off
the engine. “I’ll walk you inside.”

The house itself was large, but poorly
maintained. The furniture was old and unmatched, the beige carpet
stained and threadbare. Cole didn’t see much of the first floor,
beyond a dingy living room, before she led him upstairs. There were
several closed doors along the long hallway. Savannah stopped at
the second door on the right. The key fumbled between her fingers,
clanking against the wooden door. After three failed attempts to
unlock it, Cole removed it from her trembling hand, and deftly
opened the door.

The first thing he noticed was the odor—the
room smelled like wet gym socks. Savannah flipped on the light and
took several steps into the room. A single narrow cot on the floor
and a chair in the corner containing stray articles of clothing
were the only furnishings.