by Carolyn Lee
"Don't worry, I'm not going to shoot you. I’m just getting this." He pulled something from his pocket and opened it up, holding it out to her. Nikki stepped forward and looked at the ID he held out.
"You're Border Patrol?"
"Just got the badge today, start next week. I spent the last ten years in the FBI. Dealing coke isn't on my resume. Heroin either. I've also never dabbled in human trafficking, prostitution, or armed robbery."
Nikki held her hands up in mock surrender. "Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. I had to ask."
"Why? Why did you have to ask?"
"Um, because."
"Because you are working a case and I am your suspect? Was that thing on the beach the other day a set up?" He lost his smile and all the humor left his eyes.
"Yes. I mean, no."
"Yes or no, to what?"
"I had no idea you would be at the beach. I didn't even know who you were until we met that morning."
"But I was still a suspect in your case."
"Sort of." Nikki kicked at an invisible rock on the floor, refusing eye contact with Keegan.
"How?"
"I'm not a cop. I'm with the DEA. I've been staking out your place here for a couple of weeks. Apparently, the property has been empty so long it has become a stop on a drug train."
"So, you've been spying on me?" Oh boy, he didn't look happy.
"Not intentionally."
"Stop being coy, Nikki."
"I was here the other day when you were with your mother."
"You spied on me and my mother?"
"I told you, it wasn't on purpose. I was scoping out the place, looking for this barn when the two of you were out walking around. I hid in an old shed behind the house."
"So, when did I become a suspect?" He sounded less annoyed and more amused. Good. Maybe she hadn't ruined everything.
Everything?
Good lord, was she going to be planning a wedding next?
"I was just doing my job. You bought property that for all intents and purposes had been abandoned for a dozen years. Suddenly you show up here the same time a drug cartel moves in. What was I supposed to think?"
"And my mom? She plays a part in this ring as well?"
She shrugged. "The only thing I figured your mother did wrong was think you need to join a dating website."
"You heard that?"
Nikki nodded. "Sorry. For what it's worth, I think you will find a wife just fine without a computer."
"I'm not looking for a wife."
"Of course not. That's not what I meant." A low rumble sounded from outside the barn. "Do you hear that?"
"Yes. It sounds like a diesel engine."
"It's them! Quick! We need to get out of here! My team hasn't arrived yet." Nikki ran toward the back door and peeked out. Waving to Keegan to follow, she slipped outside. The tree line was close enough for them duck into without being spotted. Once they were beyond the wood line, Keegan took the lead.
"Over here." Nikki followed Keegan through the trees until he pulled to a stop. They peered through the branches at the side of a small moving truck. Two men were carrying boxes from the back of the truck into the barn.
"That's an odd way to transport drugs," Keegan whispered against her ear. Hopefully the involuntary shiver that ran down her spine wasn't as visible as she thought.
"I think they are shipping them inside dollhouses or something like that. Henry said it was from a Chinese toy company."
"Chinese cocaine? I didn't think that was a thing."
"It's not. The grow countries ship to China first and then smuggle them in to the U.S. like this." Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and checked the screen. "My boss says the team is stuck at a bridge lift. There's a barge moving through with a tug. Could be thirty minutes or more before they get here."
"Damn bridges. That is the one thing I can't get used to living around here. Every single time I have somewhere to be a draw bridge is up."
"Impeccable timing, that's for sure. I'm going to sneak closer and see if I can get some pictures of the guys unloading." Nikki switched her phone to camera and started inching her way toward the truck.
"I'll be right behind you." Keegan drew his gun and followed after her, taking a path a bit off to her left. She was used to working on her own. It was kind of nice having someone watch her back for a change.
The back of the truck stood open to the big double barn doors. Two men she definitely didn't recognize had just finished off loading their cargo and were leaning against the cartons smoking cigarettes. They were saying something but she couldn't make out what it was. Using the zoom feature on her camera she snapped a few pictures and sent them to Henry to run through the system before slipping back into the woods to find Keegan.
"See anything useful?"
"Got a couple of pictures of the guys but they haven't opened anything. They just stacked the boxes in the middle of the room."
"Let me see the pics. Maybe I will recognize someone."
Nikki handed him his phone and Keegan scrolled through them. "Nope. Don't know the guys."
They were picking their way through the brush when Nikki caught the shoelace of her running shoe on a tree root propelling her forward into Keegan's back. As she grabbed for a low hanging branch, her fingers slipped though the leaves, scraping chunks of skin right off. For the second time in two days Nikki knocked Keegan the ground, landing square on top of him.
She was spread-eagle across Keegan's back. His face was buried in dead leaves and dirt. "Oh my—I'm so sorry." Nikki tried to climb up off of him but her shoe lace was still tangled in the root, her foot turned at an uncomfortable angle.
Keegan rolled to the side under her. "You know, you don't have to keep tackling me this way if you want to be in my arms. I'd happily oblige without bodily injury to either of us."
"I—I—" Nikki felt the heat in her face as every drop of blood in her body rushed to her cheeks. "My shoe is stuck and I think I twisted my ankle."
Keegan reached up with both hands and pushed the hair out of her face. "There's no need to be embarrassed. I was just kidding. I don't mind this a bit."
"I'm not usually so clumsy, I swear."
"I wish I could say that women throw themselves at me all the time but that would only be if they thought I was my twin brother. He's the one that usually gets all the action. At least he was. Now he is an old married man." Keegan grinned as he pulled a stick out of her hair. "I'm going to slide out from under you and see if I can detach your shoe. Don't go anywhere."
"Don't worry, I won't. Do you think they heard us?"
Keegan carefully worked his way out from under her. "Nah. If they did they'd be shooting at us by now." He crawled over her and worked her shoelace free. Rising, he offered her a hand and pulled Nikki to her feet. At least he tried to. As soon as she put pressure on her left foot, a sharp pain shot straight up her leg. Nikki leaned against a tree.
"Damn it!"
Keegan dropped to one knee and felt around her ankle. "The bones feel intact. You probably just twisted it up a little. A little pain reliever and some ice and you should be fine."
"This is just wonderful. Son of a—"
"Whoa! Virgin ears over here!" Keegan covered his ears with his hands.
Nikki dissolved into a fit of laughter. "Yeah, right. You really expect me to believe that?"
Keegan pressed a finger to his lips. "Shhh—do you hear that?"
The sound of an engine roaring to life filled the air. "The men are leaving."
He nodded. "I think so."
A minute later the truck was gone and everything fell silent. Nikki tried her ankle again but it screamed at her.
"We should go check out what they left in the barn." Keegan nodded in that direction.
"We shouldn't do anything. This is a DEA case. You're already involved enough and you shouldn't be."
"Are you serious? I'm a government agent, same as you. Actually, we could be talking about interagen
cy cooperation here. How did you say those drugs got here?"
"By ship."
"Crossing the United States border you mean?"
Nikki didn't say anything. Keegan was sort of right and there was no way she was admitting that. This was her case, not his, and she had worked really hard on it. She wasn't going to let anyone steal her glory—no matter how good his ass looked in those jeans of his.
"You think my ass looks good in my jeans?"
"What?" Nikki asked, the flush returning to her face. "Did I say that out loud?"
Keegan nodded. "Yup. You sure did."
"Damn it all to hell!"
Keegan turned a little to look behind him. "So, it looks good, huh?"
She slugged him on the arm. "Don't let it go to your head. A good pair of jeans can make any ass look half way decent."
"You didn't say 'half way decent.' You said 'good'. I heard you."
"For crying out loud! No wonder you aren't married."
"Hey, that was a low blow." He scowled at her.
Nikki crossed her arms over her chest and scowled back. "Well, you are infuriating."
Keegan held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, fine. I'm out. It was nice knowing you, Nikki." He turned and started walking away. Good. He was too damned distracting anyway.
Nikki started toward the barn. At least, she intended to. One step on her injured ankle had her on the ground. "Son of a bitch!" She fell backward and shook her fists at the sky. She was going to have to crawl out of there.
A shadow fell across her face. "Having a little trouble?"
"Go away." Nikki covered her eyes with her arm. If she didn't look at him, maybe he would just leave. Not that she had that kind of luck.
8
Keegan
Nikki looked adorable there on the ground, her arm over her eyes. It took all his self-control not to scoop her up and take her home with him. Instead, he squatted beside her. "Come on, let me help you out of here."
She shook her head but didn't say anything.
"Look, I'm not the kind of guy to just leave a woman stuck in the woods. If you don't let me help you, it will make me look bad."
"Yeah, I can see how the squirrels would care."
The squirrels. She was a feisty one, all right. He reached down and scooped her into his arms.
"Stop! What are you doing?" Nikki pounded his chest with her fists. "Put me down! I'm a federal agent. You can't do this."
Ignoring her, he headed back through the woods to the barn. Nikki twisted and turned in his arms, every movement making him breathe faster and not from the exertion of carrying her. His muscles tensed, holding her even closer against his chest. She stilled suddenly. He could feel her heart pounding and heard her breath hitch. Was she feeling the jolt of electricity arcing between them the way he was?
They emerged from the trees in front of the barn. The double doors had been closed. Nothing else looked disturbed aside from the matted grasses where the truck had passed through.
"Let's see what your boys were off loading." Keegan strode over to the barn and pulled open one of the doors.
"You could probably put me down now." Nikki said quietly.
Yeah, he probably could but he didn't really want to just yet. He crossed the room to where the cardboard boxes were stacked and gently lowered Nikki to the floor. He felt the absence of her warmth and softness immediately. "There you go. Don't put a lot of weight on that ankle right away."
"Don't tell me—" She took a step and fell to her knees. Keegan reached under her arms from behind and hoisted her back to her feet.
"I told you to take it easy," he whispered against her ear.
"I know. I'm stubborn, I guess." She tried to step forward but he held her close, his chest pressed to her back. He wondered if she could feel the way she affected him. The fruity scent of her shampoo tickled his nostrils. He took a deep breath, savoring the feminine smell. After a moment he stepped away, keeping a hand on her elbow to keep her up.
"I imagine that stubbornness has come in handy some on the job."
"Very much so. Let's look in one of these boxes and see what we are dealing with here."
Keegan pulled a pocket knife from the back pocket of his jeans. "Allow me." Carefully, he slipped the knife through the tape securing the box so as not to damage the contents.
"Be careful. We don't want anyone to know we touched the stuff."
"Don't worry, I'm a professional." Keegan laughed as he finished cutting the tape and pulled the box open. He let out a long, low whistle.
"What? What is it?" Nikki stepped over and looked inside. "Oh hell. That's not drugs."
9
Nikki
Nikki reached in the box and pulled out a long, sleek piece of hollowed out steel. There were at least two dozen in the box. "Damn. These are AR-15 parts."
"You know your weapons."
"Don't you?" Nikki replaced the piece and closed the carton.
"Of course, but drugs are your specialty."
"And it's not like you are ATF."
"True. It's a hobby then." Keegan stepped over to another box and opened it. "Nikki. Over here."
She hobbled over to where Keegan stood peering into a box of steel parts. "Whoa."
"Yeah. Your guys aren't selling drugs. They are moving weapons."
The sound of an engine broke the quiet around them. Nikki looked through the door but couldn't see anything yet. Still, the noise grew louder and louder. "Someone's coming again. We need to get out of here."
Keegan shifted the boxes so that the ones they opened were under some untouched cases. The truck pulled to a stop outside the barn. "Come on, we need to get out of here." Nikki started hobbling toward the back door.
"Go! I'll be right behind you." Keegan finished moving a couple more boxes and then, true to his word, was right behind her. The big double doors opened, bathing the interior in late evening sunlight.
"Who the hell are you?" a voice yelled. "Stop!"
Keegan yanked at the back door, pulling it open for the second time that day. As he bent to scoop Nikki up in his arms, a bullet whizzed by her head, splintering the wood of the wall in front of them. A second bullet and then a third flew past them. Nikki pulled her gun from her waist and fired several rounds over Keegan's shoulder as he ran them through the door. Footsteps pounded behind them. Keegan ran faster. Nikki fired her gun until she ran out of shots. Keegan practically flew over the ground as he made his way toward the road.
"My car is parked that way." Nikki pointed west. Keegan turned in the direction she indicated and ran for all he was worth. They burst out of the overgrown grass onto the road. Nikki grabbed for the key she had stuffed into her bra and Keegan sprinted the rest of the distance. Bullets rained in around them as their pursuer picked up speed. When they reached her car, Keegan set Nikki on her feet and she unlocked the driver's side door. As she scrambled across the seat, Keegan slid in behind the wheel. The engine had barely turned over when he threw it into gear and spun the tires. The vehicle shot forward as the back window exploded.
"Are you hit?" Keegan yelled over the racing engine and screaming tires.
"No! I'm fine! Just get us the hell out of here!" Nikki fumbled with her seat belt as Keegan took a corner on almost two wheels. He drove straight to the interstate without slowing down. Once he joined the regular traffic heading toward the beach, he finally let off the gas pedal some.
"Well, that sucked."
"No kidding. This car is almost brand new."
Keegan pulled the car off the interstate at the next exit. When they came to a stop in a convenience store parking lot, he turned the car off and rested his head against the headrest. The last time someone had shot at him like that, he had nearly lost the woman he loved. Margot had been hit and his heart had stopped beating as he watched her fall to the ground. If not for that near fatal injury he never would have known about her engagement.
He hated the fact that he had been the other man almost as much as h
e hated her for putting him that position. At least he would hate her if he didn't still love her. The adrenaline dump that had propelled him from the barn was wearing off. He broke out in a cold sweat. Closing his eyes against the onslaught of memories, he took several steadying breaths as the effects wore off slowly.
"Are you okay?" He felt a hand on his arm but he didn't open his eyes just yet.
"Keegan?" This time the hand squeezed gently. "Are you okay?"
Rolling his head to the side, he opened one eye and smiled at the worried woman next to him. For a split second he had forgotten he wasn't alone in the car. "I'm fine. Just needed a minute to let the adrenaline wear off."
"I'm sorry you had to carry me."
He smiled more broadly remembering the feel of her in his arms. That memory quickly replaced the ones of Margot. "It wasn't much of a hardship."
Keegan watched as a delicate flush passed over her creamy skin. Without thinking about what he was doing, Keegan reached up and ran his fingertip lightly along her the line of her jaw. "You're pretty when you blush."
Nikki looked away and he instantly felt like a fool.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
She turned back to face him with a small smile. "It's okay. I—you just surprised me. I'm not used to guys saying nice things. Thank you for the compliment."
"I can't imagine that. There must be plenty of guys vying for your attentions."
"If you count a narcissistic ex and an overprotective boss, then sure."
Keegan laughed. "I might understand a little something about both of those things."
"Aren't we a pair? Thanks for getting us out of there. Without you, I would have been a sitting duck."
"Without me, you might not have been discovered."
"Yeah, there's that. But we made it out and that's all that matters."
"Well, that was definitely more excitement than I have had in a while." Keegan sat up and turned the car back on. "I need to go back to the house and get my truck."
"Truck? I thought you had some little sportster car."
"Traded it in. Not very practical. How do you know what my car—? Oh, right, you were spying on me the other day." He pulled out of the parking lot and headed back toward the interstate.
