* * *
THE CROW OF A ROOSTER somewhere outside the bedroom slowly drew Katie out of her healing slumber. Her head was nestled in the crook of Joe’s shoulder. She felt the heaviness of his arm around her. The sun was barely tipping the horizon, a soft, muted glow around the thick curtains drawn across the window. Snuggling deeper against Joe’s warm, strong body, Katie felt him awaken. His arm tightened momentarily around her shoulders. Katie absorbed the stolen moment. No man had ever made her feel like this. His hand moved slowly down her left arm, exploring her. Heart exploding with joy, Katie moved her hand across his naked chest.
The rooster crowed again.
Joe lifted his head, sleep torn from him. “Damn rooster,” he muttered.
Laughing softly, Katie whispered, “He’s one heck of an alarm clock. Iris has a rooster that deliberately sits outside the window of her bedroom. He wakes her up every morning.” Tangling her fingers through the dark hair across his chest, Katie luxuriated in the moment. The room took on a golden hue as the first rays of the sun spread across the valley and silently flowed against the house. Pressing a kiss to his shoulder, she felt the strength of his muscles beneath his flesh. Joe was in shape, but then, he’d been an officer in the Marine Corps.
He wiped the sleep from his eyes and groused, “I’m not so happy about it. My parents warned me about that rooster. Ever since I moved back home, he’s decided it’s his job to wake me up.”
Chuckling, Katie stretched beside Joe. “Iris loves her winged alarm.” Her curves fit his angled ones and she luxuriated in the sensations of her hips meeting his, a heavy warmth stirring to life within her lower body.
Joe managed a partial laugh. He tightened his arm around Katie, wanting to keep her close. “I don’t.”
“Obviously.”
Joe looked into Katie’s drowsy eyes. “How are you feeling this morning?” he asked, his voice thick. Lifting his hand, he gently pushed dark strands away from her features. As his gaze dropped to her soft lips, Joe felt his body tighten with need. He understood what an accident could do to a person. The bruises along her right shoulder were a bright purple this morning. When the van had careened and flipped, she’d landed heavily on the right shoulder after she’d managed to release the seat belt.
“Much, much better,” Katie replied, smiling at him. His beard had grown, making the curves of his cheeks more hollowed. In her vivid imagination, it gave him the look of a predator, only the good kind. A number of dark strands dipped across his brow. Taming those strands back into place, she said, “I don’t feel like a jigsaw puzzle this morning. My right arm and shoulder are sore, but nothing like yesterday.” She saw the desire in his eyes. Her heart responded and she felt a scorching heat explode to life. Loving Joe was so easy, so natural. Katie pressed herself against him, her lips resting lightly against his mouth. “Love me, Joe.” She slid her fingers into the waistband of his pajamas and pushed the material away from his hips.
Joe groaned as her fingers teased his hip and the inside of his thigh. Her lips captured his and all his anguish and worry dissolved beneath the exploring heat of her eager mouth. Within moments, he had unsnapped the buttons on the oversize shirt she wore and divested her of the trousers. As he pulled Katie gently on top of him, Joe realized this could be the last time he would ever be able to love Katie. The thought staggered him as her soft weight settled upon him. Her mouth moved wetly across his. Joe inhaled her sweet womanly fragrance mingled with the pine scent of the soap she’d used last night. Her fingers caressed his face and tangled in the short strands of his hair. Scalp tingling wildly in the wake of her slow assault upon him, Joe felt her hips moving suggestively against his own.
Her breasts pressed insistently into the curled dark hair across his chest. He felt her nipples pucker and become firm. The sensation sent shock waves of pleasure down through him. Katie smiled and it was a smile of a woman wanting her man. It made him feel powerful and strong as her supple body moved teasingly across his.
For just this moment, Joe wanted to absorb Katie into his pounding heart and hardened body. Never had he loved a woman more than her. She was part fey, part human and her mouth incited his, her tongue dipping like a hummingbird into his mouth. It felt as if she were drinking him into her and the sensation ripened his screaming senses. There was something about Katie, something he couldn’t put his finger on. She was part raptor with her bold assault upon him. She was part woman, eyes half closed, cajoling him to join her. Surrendering utterly, he inhaled sharply as she lifted her hips and enveloped him, drawing him deep within her tight, wet confines. The vibration reverberated through him like thunder on a hot summer day.
Her kisses became torrid as she moved sinuously, urging him to join the chaotic rhythm of two hungry bodies starving for one another. She was taking him to places he’d never flown before. Joe realized the precious gift Katie was to him. She was like melting gold to be lovingly molded between his hands. Time meshed and spiraled within Joe. He could feel Katie loving him with a depth and appetite he’d never before encountered. Gripping her flared hips, lips pulling away from his clenched teeth, Joe urged her on. He felt the explosiveness of her body contracting around him like a tightening fist. Katie cried out, arched her back, her head thrown back as the scalding heat surrounded him. In seconds, Joe felt a fiery explosion flow through him. Eyes tightly shut, he was paralyzed with intense pleasure.
The intensity eventually lessened. Joe went slack and relaxed into the bed, Katie’s sleek body on top of him. He heard her whisper his name and she collapsed against him, head nestled next to his jaw. Gold light sparkled like fireworks behind his tightly closed eyes as he rode a widening wave of continuing pleasure. Her hair tickled his jaw and cheek. Her scent filled him and made him hungry all over again. Katie’s flesh was damp and so was his. Weakly, Joe lifted his hand and traced the length of her spine. His hand came to rest on her hip and he smiled, sated as never before.
The joy and profound love Joe felt for Katie was gnawed at by the knowledge that he had to talk to her after breakfast. Deep in his heart, he knew Katie would never forgive him for what he’d done to her. He understood her strong sense of right and wrong. She’d struggled to define herself after being abandoned, and it had taken internal brute strength to rebuild her life without her parents. Even worse, he was a traitor to her. He’d gotten closer to her than anyone. As he leaned up and kissed the slender length of her neck, he tangled his fingers through her dark hair and murmured, “I love you, Katie. I’ll always love you... Remember that.” Joe rested his brow against her head. Joe had never felt so happy or so grief-stricken in the same moment.
Lifting her chin, Katie smiled drowsily down into Joe’s green eyes. “I love you, too. Yesterday—” she whispered, lifting her fingers and grazing his stubbled cheek “—all I could think about after the accident was you. All I wanted was you, Joe. I knew if you’d been there, I’d have been safe. I wouldn’t feel so scared, so in danger.” Leaning over, Katie pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. “Yesterday,” she whispered against his lips, “I realized I loved you with everything I had.”
The words were like arrows in his heart. His mouth tingled in the wake of her caressing kiss. Katie was inches away. Like a thief, he sponged up the look of love glowing in her eyes. In a few hours, she would never again lie in this bed with him. They would never again be like two eagles free-falling. He wanted to cry. It took everything he had to force his personal feelings aside. Right now, because he loved Katie, he had to do everything in his power not to destroy her.
* * *
“THAT WAS A WONDERFUL BREAKFAST,” Katie told Joe, reaching out and touching his hand.
“I make a mean Denver omelet.” He smiled. They sat at an oak table in the kitchen. Slats of sun stole through the eastern window, filling the room with radiance. Before they had come home yesterday, Katie had retrieved clean clothes from her suite at the El
k Horn Ranch. Joe’s fingers tangled with hers. She looked innocent in the pink T-shirt. “Come on, let’s have coffee in the living room.”
Katie nodded and placed the pale green linen napkin across the empty plate. “Sounds wonderful,” and she rose, holding Joe’s calloused hand. Earlier, while she had showered, Joe had driven over to the facility. He’d weighed and fed each of the raptors. Upon his return, he’d made her a delicious breakfast.
Joe poured coffee into two orange mugs and carried them into the living room. Katie was sitting on the golden couch, legs crossed. Her hair was drying after the shower, a beautiful frame for her shining blue eyes and soft, smiling lips. Their lovemaking was mirrored in her face. After handing her the mug, Joe walked around the coffee table and sat in a chair opposite Katie. He watched her sip the coffee with relish. She was leaning back in one corner of the couch, looking incredibly happy.
Joe took a deep breath. “Katie, there’s something I need to tell you. Your van being attacked yesterday wasn’t an accident.”
She placed her coffee on the table. “What?”
Joe set his mug aside. He felt as if he were facing a firing squad. He forced out the words. “Katie, I’m not who you think I am. I’m an FBI agent. I was sent undercover to find out if you were hooked up with Janet Bergstrom because she is part of the Los Lobos cartel.” He saw his words land on her like artillery shells striking a target. One moment her eyes were soft and happy. The next, filled with shock. The soft pink color in her cheeks dissolved to white. Inwardly, Joe wanted to scream, but he couldn’t. He sat tensely as Katie tried to absorb his explanation.
“Wh-what? Wait, you’re an FBI agent?” Her heart tumbled. Fear struck at her. “My mother’s connected with a cartel? What are you talking about?” Fear jagged through Katie as she watched Joe’s face become unreadable.
“There are two drug cartels trying to set up business in this town, a Mexican one and a Guatemalan one. Your mother is part of the Guatemalan cartel. After serving her prison sentence, she lived in Guatemala. When she returned to the U.S., she set up Mercury Courier Service in Cheyenne. The FBI has been watching her for some time and they know, but can’t yet prove, that she’s working for Los Lobos.” It pained him to see the anguish suddenly appear on Katie’s face. Opening his hands, Joe added in a husky voice, “Yesterday wasn’t an accident, Katie. The FBI and the sheriff think it was the Garcia cartel from Mexico who put out a hit on the van—and you. It was their way of warning Los Lobos to get out of town. If they don’t, there’s going to be a bloodbath.”
Stunned, Katie tried to assimilate his explanation. “My mother is not a criminal.” She leaped to her feet. “She can’t be, Joe! She just can’t be! You’re lying to me!”
Joe slowly unwound from the chair. Fear in her eyes, her voice, cut him like a knife. Grief and shock played out across her expression. “I’m not lying to you, Katie. I’m telling you this because you can’t go back over there today and work. You have to know the truth. The sheriff thinks there’s going to be war between the two cartels. That puts you in danger, Katie. I—I can’t allow you to go back to that office. Not without knowing what’s going down.” His chest hurt. He saw the sudden realization in Katie’s eyes about his part in all of this.
Katie jabbed her finger at him. “You lied to me! How—how could you do this to me, Joe? Coming here to get a job was nothing more than a convenient cover and you were after my mother the whole time? After what we went through?”
He couldn’t stand the look of devastation on Katie’s face. In seconds, he moved around the coffee table, gripped her shoulders and rasped, “Katie, I’m sorry. I’m sorry to my soul I had to do this to you. The FBI thought you were a part of your mother’s ring. I knew you weren’t. Later on, I was proved right. But your mother...” and his voice lowered to a growl “...is working with Los Lobos. She is running guns and drugs. We can’t prove it yet, but we know it. You wouldn’t have been attacked yesterday, Katie, if you weren’t driving illegal guns to Idaho Falls. You didn’t know it, but your mother did. She sent you out on this mission. Do you understand?”
Jerking out of his grip, Katie moved to the other side of the coffee table, breathing hard. With trembling fingers, she pushed strands of hair away from her face and glared at Joe. “You have to be lying! That was an accident yesterday!”
Joe winced over the cry of desperation in her voice. “Katie, I know this is a lot to throw at you. But I couldn’t let you walk out of here today and not realize what was really going on. You’re in danger.”
A sob worked its way up and out of her. Her heart was broken because she loved Joe. And she loved her mother. Had they both betrayed her? Tears rushed to her eyes. “No. You have to be lying about everything!” she shrieked, running for the door.
Joe captured her.
“Let me go!” Katie lashed out, striking his shoulder with her hand.
Pulling her close, Joe breathed raggedly, “Stop, Katie. Stop! I’m not going to hurt you. Stand still. Please. Don’t fight me. God, don’t fight me....”
His embrace was a vise around her. Katie struggled fiercely, her arms trapped at her sides. Anger, fear and anxiety flooded her. She couldn’t escape. “Damn you! Let me go!”
“No,” he rasped, seeing distrust coming to her eyes. “Not until you stop trying to run, Katie. That’s what you’ve done from the time you were born. You’d run every time there was something serious you had to face.” His heart was breaking. Tears welled up and ran down her cheeks. Her mouth, once soft, was now contorted with anguish. And he’d caused all of it. Shattered, Joe pleaded huskily, “Katie, stop fighting. Please come back and sit down. There’s more I have to tell you. I can’t let you run this time....”
Katie knew she couldn’t escape. And yet, in some part of her functioning mind, she knew Joe had not meant to hurt her. Sagging against him, she began to cry out of frustration. She heard him groan, felt his arms loosen around her. She wanted to hate him, but she desperately needed him as her whole world unraveled in the space of minutes. His arms were firm without being hurtful. But still, as she stood in his embrace, Katie realized she couldn’t trust Joe. Had her mother really used her, too? It was the last thing she wanted to think. Why, oh why, hadn’t she seen all of this? Once more, her blind trust had gotten her into trouble. Only this time, it had turned dangerous.
“All right?” Joe whispered against her hair. “Come on, Katie. Let’s go sit down.”
Sniffing, she felt Joe release her. She wiped her wet face and glared up at him. He looked so sad and apologetic. Her heart lurched. How much she loved him. But he’d lied to her. “What else do you want to tell me?” she demanded, her voice thick with tears.
Joe held out his hand toward her. “I’ll tell you everything, Katie.”
She walked past him, chin up, refusing even to look at him. Katie sat down, her mouth pursed. She watched him walk, his shoulders slumped and head bowed. He sat down in the chair across from her. “What else haven’t you told me?”
Joe began in a softened tone, not wanting to hurt Katie any more than he had already. Her hatred of him was clear. His gut hurt so much he wanted to grip his stomach and lean over from the pain. But he couldn’t. He told her about the computer terminal, the FBI being unable to hack into the system, no matter how hard they tried. The FBI felt Janet’s computer contained two software programs. One was for the IRS and law enforcement, should they confiscate the equipment. The other program was connected directly to Los Lobos in Guatemala. Joe shared how many guns and drugs were being driven to various drop-off points in a five-state area around Wyoming.
As Joe painted the picture, he saw the life drain out of Katie. Desperately, he wanted to protect her from all of this. When he was finished, she seemed even more in shock, her eyes dull-looking, her body language defensive. Joe couldn’t blame her. It was a helluva lot to pile on anyone.
Finally, her voice trembling, she asked, “Does the FBI think Janet used me?”
“Yes,” Joe admitted, his heart heavy as he saw the words create more anguish in Katie’s eyes.
Katie rubbed her face and shook her head. “I—I just can’t believe this!” Her mother had come to the hospital, she’d thrown her arms around her, she was concerned for her. That didn’t mesh with this new information.
“Katie, you can help the FBI prove, once and for all, whether your mother is involved with Los Lobos. They were wrong about you. They can be wrong about Janet. You could help prove her innocence.”
Jerking up her head, she stared at Joe. “How? Tell me and I’ll do it. I know she’s innocent.”
“We need to go to the sheriff’s office, Katie. Cade Garner is part of the county drug task force. My boss, Roger Hager, is flying in this morning to Jackson Hole. He’s coming with a plan. And you need to be there because we need your help.”
“What about my mother? What’s happening with her?”
“No one has indicted her yet,” Joe said softly, hoping to mollify her outrage. “If you can help us, Katie, we’ll all know one way or another.”
Torn, Katie looked down at her hands curled into fists in her lap. “Okay, I will. I know she’s innocent, dammit. I know it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“DAMMIT, XAVIER, I’m pissed!” Janet was breathing like an angry bull as she spat out the words. She was in the shipping area of her business, pacing back and forth. She told him everything about the attack. “And the friggin’ cops are all over me! It’s a damn good thing I got legit software covering up what we’re really transporting in those vans.”
The Defender Page 29
