Scent of Danger

by Judith Rochelle

  With the first touch of his mouth on her skin any lingeringtraces of nervousness fled. His mouth was everywhere on her face—her cheeks,her eyelids, the line of her jaw. When his tongue reached into the hot well ofher mouth it left no surface untouched. He feathered kisses along the column ofher neck, nipping at the tender place where neck and shoulder joined, a placeshe’d never before thought of as an erogenous zone.

  And while he was teasing her with his mouth, his hands werelearning her body. Warm palms cupped her breasts and long fingers pulled at hernipples, squeezing them gently and tugging at them. His fingertips traced theslope and swell of her breasts, rasping at the sides, brushing against the softskin until her skin felt too tight and her nipples throbbed with an incessantbeat.

  Her own hands were far from still. She traced the slope ofhis shoulder, the muscular line of his arms, buried her fingers in the finegold of the hair on his chest and scraped her fingers over his flat, brownnipples. His breath hissed in her ear as she pinched and tugged at them andrubbed her face against his chest.

  His fingers touched the curve of her hip, the slight swellof her abdomen, the shape of her thigh, trailing fire every place they brushedher skin. And all the while his mouth continued worshiping her lips and herface.

  When his hand drifted to the curls covering her sex shefroze for a moment but Rick put his mouth to her ear and whispered wonderfulthings to her, erotic things, teasing things that made every pulse beat harderand moisture gather between her thighs. Under his sensual touch she relaxed andgave herself over to the sensation swirling inside her.

  When he slipped two fingers inside her heat, she was shockedto discover how wet and slick she was, how ready for his invasion. Her musclesclamped down on him, drawing him further inside her. Against her thigh she felthis erection, like a thick, heated rod, imprinting itself on her.

  As he set up a rhythm with his fingers that ignited everydormant nerve in her body, she automatically moved her hips to the same tempo.Above the bandages he still wore, the fine hairs of his chest abraded thealready sensitive skin of her breasts, as his tongue returned to hisexploration of her mouth.

  He broke contact for a moment, groaning slightly as hereached for a foil packet in his nightstand drawer.

  “Help me,” he pleaded and Kelly, fumbling nervously, helpedhim roll the condom in place.

  Then he lifted one of her legs and rested it on his thigh,his shaft pressing against her, seeking entrance. She shifted her body slightlyto accommodate him and he used his hand to guide himself into her. And then theonly thing she could do was hold onto his shoulders for dear life as waves ofsensation rolled over her and the drumbeat of her climax began deep in herwomb.

  Even with his limited mobility his hips rolled and thrustuntil she thought she couldn’t bear the tension one moment longer.

  “Now,” he whispered in her ear, reaching between them tofind that hard bundle of nerves.

  The shared climax broke over them with the force of athunderstorm, shaking them, tossing them into space as if some giant fist hadgrabbed them and refused to let go. When the storm finally passed, they layspent, sweat-slicked bodies pressed together, hearts hammering, lungs draggingin air as they struggled to return their breathing to normal.

  “I’m not sure that was good for you,” Kelly said at last.

  Rick kissed her cheek, his breathing still choppy, hisbreath like little puffs of air against her skin. “Darlin’, I don’t think itwould have been good for me not to do that.”

  “I hope you didn’t hurt yourself,” she said, her voiceanxious.

  He brushed stray curls away from her face, his electric blueeyes blazing into her. “I didn’t but even if I did, I’d do it again. That wasamazing. Totally amazing.”

  Kelly bit her bottom lip. “Was I…you, know…all right?”

  His lips curved in a slow smile. “You were unbelievable.Incredible.” He lowered his voice. “Addictive. I may never be able to stop forthe rest of my life.”

  She gave him an answering smile. “I hope not.”

  A sober expression replaced his smile. “I mean it, Red.Whatever happens with this mess we’re in, I’m never letting you go. Mark andDan said the same thing when it happened to them. When Fate sends you someoneyou connect with, you don’t turn away.”

  This was so new to her, so different from her otheruncomfortable relationships. She was afraid if she closed her eyes it wouldsuddenly all disappear. Whatever it was Rick Latrobe felt, she felt it too andshe planned to hold onto it.

  Being careful of his wound, Kelly spooned against him, headnestled on his arm. His other arm was thrown over her body, his hand cuppingher breast. And that was how they fell sleep.

  Despite the vertical blinds on the windows, sunlightflooding the room woke them in the morning. Rick’s hand was still covering herbreast, one leg thrown over her thigh. She could feel his morning erectionpressing hard against her backside.

  But Xena was pushing at her hand, demanding attention to herearly morning needs.

  Rick groaned. “We have to teach that dog how to let herselfout,” he complained. “She’s interfering with my plans.”

  Kelly laughed. “We have plenty of time for your plans. Letme get her taken care of, then I’ll help you shower.”

  A slow grin spread over his face. “I sure do like the soundof that.”

  “You have a lecherous mind,” she teased and rolled out ofbed, pulling on her shirt and jeans from the day before. “Come on, Xena. It’syour turn first.”

  The dog followed her down the stairs and waited while sheturned off the alarm with the codes Rick had given her. But when she opened theback door Xena stopped on the porch, scenting the air. Refusing to move.

  “What is it, girl? Something out there.”

  Moving back just inside the doorway she scanned the yard,wishing that Rick didn’t have quite so many old, thick trees. It gave him theprivacy he wanted but didn’t do much for security. She hoped his system workedas well as he promised.

  At last she was able to nudge the dog into the yard. Shecompleted her business rapidly, then bounded back into the house and nudged thedoor closed. She whined and tossed her head until Kelly bent down and put theirfaces close together. At once an image flooded her mind, little more than ashadow. A man dressed in black from head to toe, something long in his hands.Then it was gone.

  “Okay, okay,” Kelly said, resetting the alarm. “Let’s gotell Rick.”

  “There can’t be anyone out there,” he argued. “No one canget past my system.”

  “Okay,” she said with reluctance, “but I’d trust Xena overany system any day.”

  He picked up the radio from the nightstand where he’d leftit. “I know Alpha changed shifts at six this morning. Let’s make sureeveryone’s in place.” He clicked the talk button. “Everyone report in.”

  It took only seconds for the three men hidden in the area tosignal their presence. Rick set the radio back down.

  “Let’s shower and eat and I’ll check the tapes on thesecurity cameras.”

  Rick would have prolonged the shower if Kelly had let himbut she insisted they could play later. Xena’s edginess was making her uneasy.When they dressed, they each checked their handguns again and stashed them ontheir bodies. Rick picked up the radio and clipped it to the waistband of hisjeans.

  The minute they hit the front hall downstairs, Xena pushedRick toward the kitchen with her big body. Kelly moved to the living roomwindow and peered between the slatted blinds but in seconds she felt Rickbehind her, his hand clamped on her wrist, pulling her away.

  “Someone may be out there. My partners said strange carshave been doing regular drive-by surveillance. The team didn’t report anythingsuspicious but it only takes a second for someone to turn onto this street andcruise by. If someone’s there you don’t want to let them see you.”

  He pushed her behind him and went to take a look for himselfwithout disturbing the slats. Xena growled louder and again pushed herselfagainst Rick, sho
ving him away from the window. When Rick tried to resume hisposition, Xena just pushed harder.

  Rick backed away from the window and Xena planted herselfbetween Rick and the wall. He lifted the radio to his mouth and asked each teammember to check in again. Two of them reported all clear.

  “Strange car cruising by,” the third man reported. “I wasjust about to buzz you. It’s made a pass twice.”

  “Can he see you?” Rick asked.

  “Are you kidding? I didn’t start doing this yesterday,Rick.”

  “Sorry. Okay. I’m calling the office. Stay alert.” Hereplaced the radio on his belt, still trying to see out the window. He slippedhis cell phone out of his pocket and pressed the button that rang the Phoenixprivate number. Mark answered on the first ring.

  “Trouble?” he asked, ignoring the amenity of a greeting.

  “Maybe. Xena seems to think there is and I trust herinstincts. One of the team out there reports a car cruising more than once. Idon’t want them to reveal themselves yet just in case. I’m going to check thetapes.”

  “Be right there.”

  Rick clicked off.

  Kelly picked up her rifle from the table where she’d leftit, checked the load and snapped the barrel back in place.

  “I hope to God we don’t need that,” Rick said.

  “Better safe than sorry,” she told him.

  Rick had started toward the window again and once again Xenawas in his way, preventing him from moving forward.

  Rick reached down and touched the dog’s head. “Okay, girl.We’ll wait.”

  He led Kelly into the den where he flipped on the monitorthat showed all the camera feeds and pressed rewind, then play. In a momentthey saw an innocuous gray sedan passing the house, driving the posted speedlimit. Two minutes passed, then the car drove by again from the oppositedirection.

  “Could be someone looking for a house number but I don’tthink so,” Rick said. “All right. Let’s get some coffee.”

  Kelly followed him into the kitchen and dug in the cupboardsfor coffee supplies. The drip of the coffee maker was the only sound to breakthe silence.

  * * * * *

  When his cell phone rang Zarife looked at the number on thereadout and quaked. Source unknown. That meant only one person. He pressed Talkand lifted the phone to his ear.

  “Yes?”

  “You and your family have to be the stupidest people I haveever done business with,” the man on the other end said.

  His voice was so cold Zarife shivered. “I don’t understand.The money was in your account as promised. We took delivery as agreed. Ifyou’re worried about Rick Latrobe, I am helping your man locate him as wespeak.”

  “Well you’d better damn well find him,” the man spat,“because we’ve got bigger troubles than you can imagine. You tell your father Ithought he was a careful man with brains. He’d better be glad he’s not in mysights right now.”

  “Excuse me?” Zarife was shaking. What could have gone wrong?“I have no idea what you’re talking about. The raids have all gone well. Soonthe entire territory will be ours again.”

  “If we’re not all in prison first.”

  A sudden bubble of nausea rose in Zarife’s throat. “What areyou talking about?”

  “I’m talking about the fact that the last raid was not justa miserable failure. Your father and his people left one of the rifles behindand it’s been traced.”

  The bubble threatened to pop. Zarife swallowed hard. “Do youmean…”

  “I mean we’re in a shitload of trouble. It feels like everygovernment agency under the sun is digging into this and men in matching blacksuits are asking questions we don’t want answered. Is that clear enoughfor you?”

  Zarife felt the vise of a headache gripping his temples.This couldn’t be happening.

  “Have you spoken to your father lately?” the man asked.

  “Not since a week past,” Zarife told him. “In our lastconversation he assured me all was well.”

  “You’d better give him another call. Tell him no more raidsuntil this blows over. If it ever does. And he and his people better figure outhow to disappear from sight for a while and take all that gear with them. Do itnow.”

  The connection was gone. Zarife looked around him. He was ina strip mall and had found an outside bench to sit on while he took the call.People were walking past him in both directions, none of them appearing tonotice him.

  He would have to call his father. All their dreams wereabout to disappear. How could this have happened?

  * * * * *

  Greg Jordan lowered his binoculars and let them hang fromthe strap around his neck. The binocs were the most powerful he could buy andeven at that distance the clarity was unbelievable.

  He couldn’t believe that luck had been with him again, kindenough to provide a hiding place for him that wasn’t out in the open. If hehadn’t had to move his car so quickly… If he hadn’t nearly been hit by thatother vehicle… But he had and now he was invisible as he watched the housewhere his quarry was sequestered. He only needed it for a short time, longenough to see who went in and out and what their pattern was, if any. He’d seenwhoever it was that brought Latrobe and the girl leave, then someone let thatungodly dog out in the yard, a process they repeated in the morning. Otherwisenothing.

  Okay. He needed to scope out what was at the rear of thehouse, because those few minutes might be his only chance to make his hit. Hecould do it. He’d been a sniper for too many years and he hadn’t lost his edge.But he needed a place to wait unseen and an escape route.

  If things went well, one more day and he’d be done. Hecouldn’t afford to hang around much longer. Now that Rick Latrobe was out ofthe hospital the man would pull out all the stops to find him and Greg couldnot allow that to happen. He’d be damn glad to get rid of that son of a bitchonce and for all. He’d do his thing and get the hell out of Dodge.

  He scanned the front of the house again, looking for anysign of activity. For a moment he thought someone was looking back at him froman upstairs window. His heart tripped a beat then settled again. He couldn’ttake the chance of being spotted. But when he refocused there was no one there.

  Letting himself out of the house at the side door, he madehis way to his car parked two blocks over. He’d moved it every couple of hours,just in case someone was checking. He drove slowly down the street, a man in noparticular hurry to any watching eyes, until he was on the street facingLatrobe’s backyard. Stopping for the briefest amount of time, he found what hewas looking for, made another pass in the opposite direction, then found a newparking space. He’d catch some sleep tonight and make his plans.

  Once he was back in the house, he flipped open his cell andpunched in the speed dial for Zarife.

  “You’re off the hook,” he told the other man. “I found him.I’ll take care of it myself.”

  “We have a slight problem,” Zarife told him, his voice edgedwith tension.

  Greg was instantly alert. “A problem? What’s that?”

  But before Zarife could answer him, the phone beeped to lethim know another call was coming through.

  “I have to take this call,” Greg snapped. “I’ll get back toyou.” He depressed the Flash button. “If you’re calling about my project I’vegot it handled.”

  “Have you now,” the voice growled. “Well, it better behandled damn fast, because we have big, big trouble.”

  Greg’s body tensed. “What kind of trouble?”

  As the voice on the other end explained the new situation,Greg Jordan suddenly saw his dreams of retirement on a tropical island fadingfaster than morning clouds.

  No! He was not going to let this happen. Not when he’d putup with so much crap and done what had to be done to get there.

  “The media has the story,” the man said. “And governmentinvestigators are hot on everyone’s tail. We can’t allow Latrobe to talk toanyone. So far the shooting seems to have scrambled his brains. But this is asmart man. He’s going to connect t
he dots any minute.”

  “It’ll be done tomorrow night. But you’d better have a damnplane ready to get me out of here.”

  “The plane will be waiting until midnight at the place wherewe brought you in. After that it’s every man for himself.”

  And like that the connection was gone.

  He pushed the button to reconnect with Zarife.

  “I know what’s happening,” he bit off. “You’d better standby in case I need you.”

  “Need me for what?” Zarife asked, his voice shaky.

  “I don’t know yet. Just don’t go anywhere.”

  Greg had to smother an urge to toss the phone against thewall. Instead, he forced himself to concentrate on the view of Latrobe’s house,scanning for any new activity. When he was sure he had his anger under control,he picked up the phone and punched in a number he hadn’t called for a longtime.

  “Me. Yeah. I need you to meet me at our usual spot and takeme to your place. I need some supplies again. Mine are inaccessible at themoment. As soon as it’s dark.”

  When he disconnected the call he felt better. Lying down onthe living room couch, he set his watch alarm and closed his eyes.

  The alarm woke him at seven and he was instantly alert. Timeto get going. Quickly he let himself out of the house, keeping close to thehigh shrubs in the yard, walked three streets over and got in his car. Tonighthe’d take care of damn Rick Latrobe and get his ass out of there. And lifewould be good again.

  * * * * *

  When Mark rang the doorbell Rick checked through the spyholein the door, disengaged the alarm system and cracked open the door.

  “Stick your hand in so Xena knows it’s you,” he told hisfriend. “She’ll remember the handshake and your scent from Dogwood House.”

  “She won’t bite it off, will she?” Mark asked, only halfjoking.

  “Not unless we tell her to. Come on.”

  The big Ovcharka had planted herself on Rick’s feet themoment the bell had rung. Now she sniffed at the protruding hand, liftedherself up and moved to the side to let Mark enter.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, raising his eyebrows at the twoarmed people who greeted him.