That Summer Night (Callaways #6) (26 page)

She lifted her head to smile at him. "You sound pretty sure there's going to be a next time."

"Well, I might have to kill myself if there's not," he murmured, meeting her gaze. He let his finger drift down the side of her face. "You're special."

"So are you."

He shook his head. "No, I'm as beat up as my truck."

"You do have a lot of scars. I want to know the stories behind them."

"No, you don't," he said.

The seriousness of his tone told her to be careful, but she couldn't be too careful. She wanted him to know how she felt. "I'm not scared of your scars, Reid."

"Maybe you should be."

"Well, I'm not. And maybe I can't appreciate the beauty of your truck, but I can appreciate you." She scooted forward and kissed him on the lips.

"I knew you were going to be trouble the first night we met," he said.

"This kind of trouble?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He smiled. "I hoped for this kind of trouble, but…"

"But what?"

His smile faded. "I was more concerned about the what-comes-next kind of trouble."

"I told you I don't have any expectations," she said, knowing that was no longer completely true. Actually, it had probably never been true, but he didn't need to know that.

"You did say that," he agreed. "But you're not the kind of woman who just has sex for fun."

"I haven't been in the past, but maybe I should be, because this was really fun."

Reid brought out the side of her that had always scared her a little, the side that wasn't smart, practical, analytical or logical, the part that was romantic, passionate, daring.

"You told me to ask for what I wanted earlier," she said. "So I did. It was good advice."

He gave her a wry smile. "Happy to help."

She smiled back at him. "So, I promise that come tomorrow I'm not going to cling to your leg or beg for your love or text you a million times. But tonight, I'm going to be a little girlie."

"You've already shown how girlie you are."

"Well, it gets worse."

"How so?" he asked warily.

"I want to cuddle."

He laughed. "That I can handle."

"Good." She put her head back on his chest, closed her eyes and sighed with pleasure. "This is perfect."

* * *

It was perfect, Reid thought. Terrifyingly perfect. He'd never been that interested in spending an entire night with a woman. Sex was great. But afterwards, he liked his own bed, his own space, and usually he cut and run as soon as possible. But tonight he had no interest in going anywhere even if he could leave. He wanted to hold Shayla until the morning, until the sun crept up in the sky, until they both had to face reality.

But now, he just wanted to enjoy.

Her softness, her heat, enveloped him, making him feel like he'd finally come out of the cold. The numbness of the past few months was completely gone. He felt alive, painfully alive. His leg was cramping a little bit under hers, but it was a good ache, and one he wanted to hang on to, just like he wanted to hang on to her.

But he wasn't a fool. Shayla and he were as different as night and day. And once this was all over, which would probably be soon, she would go back to her life, and he would finally have to figure out what his life was going to be. But he knew one thing. He knew now that he wanted to have a life, and that was because of Shayla.

She'd come to him to save Robert, but maybe he was the one who was going to end up being saved.

As she curled up even closer to him, he closed his eyes and wished for the night to go on forever, because in the morning they were both going to have to start thinking again.

Chapter Nineteen

Shayla awoke to a crashing clatter and a male curse. She wrapped the blanket around her body and bolted out of bed.

Reid was in the living area, surrounded by a pile of camping gear that appeared to have come out of an overhead storage unit in a blaze of glory. Reid was rubbing a red spot on his forehead.

"Are you all right?" she asked quickly.

"Fine. Sorry. The box broke. I didn't mean to wake you."

"What time is it?"

"A little after eight. I need to get on the road soon."

"Right," she said, as he reminded her of the task ahead, the reason she'd come to him in the first place, which certainly hadn't been to have sex. But it had been really good sex, especially the interlude in the middle of the night when a delicious dream had turned into an even better reality. She blushed at the memory.

Reid smiled and then crossed the room, leaning in to steal a kiss. "Morning, beautiful."

She smiled back at him, pleased by the tender look in his eyes, the way he'd dropped everything to give her a kiss. She wished they could have spent the morning in bed together. But Reid was obviously focused on what he had to do. And she needed to focus on that, too. "I should get dressed."

"I wish I could tell you not to, but—"

"But Robert is waiting for you."

He nodded. "Have you decided where you want to go today? I'll drop you off on my way out."

"I have decided. I have to make one call first. Then I'll let you know."

As she turned, her gaze caught on a gun sitting on the counter. Her heart stopped and her breath stalled in her chest. Her mind flashed back to the clinic, the gun in the man's hand, the thundering blasts, the bullets whizzing by her head. She sat down on the couch, her legs suddenly weak. "You're taking a gun?"

Reid frowned but gave a grim nod. "Yes." He paused, giving her a long look. "Are you all right?"

Her blood was roaring so loudly through her veins she could barely hear the question.

Reid was suddenly on the couch next to her, taking his hand in hers, giving her fingers a reassuring squeeze. "Shayla, come back."

She gave him a blank look. "What?"

"You're not in the clinic. You're safe."

"How did you know where I went?"

"You're white as a ghost, and I can practically see the scene you described to me earlier playing out in your eyes."

She licked her lips. "The gun reminded me."

"Sorry. I should have put it away. I wasn't thinking."

"Are you really prepared to—to shoot someone?"

"I am," he said, not the slightest hesitation in his voice. "But only if I absolutely have to, and there's no other choice."

"Do you think that's going to be a possibility?"

"I don't know. Karl Straitt is dead, and Robert is on the run. I have to be prepared for anything."

Logically, she understood what he was saying. The closer he got to Robert, the more danger Reid would be in, but she couldn't stand the idea of Reid getting hurt because of her. And it would be because of her. She'd gone to him. She'd told him to go to his brother. She'd pushed him to help Robert.

"This is my fault," she said. "I should have insisted Robert go to the police, or I should have gone to the police and told them what I knew."

"You knew nothing. You still don't," he reminded her. "It's going to be okay, Shayla. You did the right thing."

"What if it's not okay? I don't want you to suffer for whatever Robert has done."

Some emotion passed through his eyes at her words. "Well, I appreciate that, but this isn't on you, Shayla. I'm choosing to do what Robert asked me to do. He's my brother."

"A brother who's bringing you into danger."

"Well, I like danger," he said lightly.

"This isn't a joke," she protested.

"I know." He gave her another kiss. "I can take care of myself, Shayla. You don't need to worry, but you do need to get dressed."

She gave him a long look, making a sudden decision. He wasn't going to like it, and she wasn't going to tell him until she absolutely had to.

* * *

While Shayla was getting dressed, Reid put a first-aid kit, a knife, a sweatshirt, an extra t-shirt, and a sleeping bag into a backpack. As he packed, his movements were swift and sure. He'd prepared for battle a thousand times, and while this battle might turn out to be nothing more than delivering a notebook to Robert, he was going to be ready for anything. Along those lines, he threw some granola bars and apples into the pack along with several bottles of water.

He'd just stashed the pack in the back of the truck when Shayla came out with her overnight bag and her bridesmaid's dress. She'd put on jeans and a t-shirt and had pulled her hair back into a ponytail. He could see a tender red area by her ear, and his body instantly hardened with the memory of that delicious little bite. But he hadn't meant to hurt her. He never wanted to hurt her.

"What are you looking at?" she asked, a self-conscious light in her eyes.

"You. I seem to have trouble taking my eyes off of you." He took her bag and tossed it behind the seat, then laid her dress on top of it.

"Why do you have to be so charming when you're leaving?"

He smiled at the question. "I've always been better on my way out the door."

"I think you're pretty good on both sides of the door." She put her hands on his shoulders and pressed her mouth to his. "One for the road."

He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her back in. "Let's make it two."

The second kiss went on a lot longer than the first, and by the time it ended she was breathless.

"Man, I wish we could go back inside," Reid said. "Robert is always screwing up my life."

She smiled. "I have to admit he's been a thorn in my side this week, too."

"Then it's time for me to pull out that thorn. Get in. I'm going to lock up."

He headed back to the boat, checked to make sure he had everything, then grabbed Robert's notebook and returned to the truck. He tossed the pad behind the seat as Shayla buckled her seatbelt.

"So where do you want to go?" he asked as he started the engine. She stared back at him with blue steel in her eyes, and his heart sank. "No way. You're not coming with me."

"I have to come with you, Reid. I started this. I need to finish it."

"You almost passed out when you saw my gun on the counter."

"I was surprised, but I'm over it now. I want to go with you. I want to be your backup."

"You won't be my backup, you'll be my liability," he said forcefully. "If I have to worry about you, I won't be concentrating on my job. You're not coming."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, stubbornness written in every line of her face. "I won't be a liability. I can take care of myself. You don't have to worry about me."

"I may not have to worry about you, but I will. This was the deal all along, Shayla. I go to meet Robert on my own. If you won't give me another address, I'll take you to Nicole's house."

She groaned. "You're so frustrating."

"So are you."

"Fine, take me home then. I'm not going to my sister's house."

"You're better off staying with your family."

"You don't want to take me with you, that's your choice. But you don't get to dictate what I do while you're gone."

He sighed. "Home it is."

They didn't speak as they drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and back into San Francisco. Reid was happy with the silence. He needed to focus on the trip ahead and not let himself get distracted by a beautiful and now angry angel.

As he came to a stoplight, he glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a sedan moving into his lane three cars back. His nerves tightened. He'd looked around the harbor when he'd been loading up the truck, and he hadn't seen anyone watching the boat, so where had they come from? He mentally cursed himself for missing something.

Two more blocks, and the car was keeping pace but carefully staying almost out of sight. He made a quick turn. By the time he got to the end of the block, the other vehicle was making the same turn. He weaved across three lanes, heading back toward the bridge.

"What's going on?" Shayla asked in surprise.

"We've got company."

She glanced over her shoulder. "I don't see anyone."

"Black sedan."

She didn't say anything for a moment, then said, "I see them. What are we going to do?"

"We're going to lose them."

He wove in and out of traffic and had a bit of a lead by the time he hit the Golden Gate Bridge. When he got over the bridge and onto the wider highway, he sped up, hitting ninety as he put some distance between him and the sedan. When the sedan was out of sight, he made a quick exit, and drove through the parking lot of a crowded mall, then back on to the city streets.

"I don't see them," Shayla said, turning around in her seat.

"Keep an eye out," he told her.

"I guess this means I'm not going home."

"I guess it does," he said grimly.

"It's the right decision."

"I hope so," he said, not at all sure it wasn't the worst possible decision.

* * *

Shayla's neck began to ache as she scanned the highway behind them. Reid had turned off the main freeway, taking long, winding side roads through farms and vineyards leading into the Napa Valley. She hadn't seen any sign of the sedan in at least thirty minutes.

"I think they're gone," she told him, shifting in her seat as she rolled her neck around on her shoulders. "Do you think they were watching the boat all night?" The thought of that made her feel a little sick to her stomach.

"It's possible," Reid said in a clipped voice. "I should have taken you somewhere else last night. That was stupid."

"We're okay," she said, wanting to take away the guilt that was clearly raging through him.

"Only because they had a reason for watching us and not doing something else."

"Something else like…" Her voice trailed away. She didn't want to voice or even think about what that
something else
could have entailed. "Why would they have been watching us?"

"They probably think one of us will lead them to Robert."

"Are we going to lead them to Robert?"

"Not if I can help it."

"Where are we going now?"

"Robert asked me to meet him in the mountains. We'll need to make a stop on the way in though."