by Paige Tyler
As painful as it was to think about, Riley let herself imagine what could have been. If she weren’t moving to parts unknown, would things have gotten serious between her and Cade? Would they even have gotten married? She liked the idea that they might have.
Tears abruptly stung her eyes. What was the use of daydreaming about something that wasn’t going to ever happen? All it did was make her feel more wretched.
Angrily wiping away the tear that trickled down her cheek, Riley jabbed her spoon into the ice cream again, only to freeze when she heard a loud thud coming from the front of the house. It sounded like it had come from the living room, she thought. But before she could even begin to puzzle out what it could have been, she heard a series of loud bangs. Oh God, she thought. Gunshots!
With the colored lights on the dash flashing and the siren blaring, Cade made the two-hour drive to the safe house in half that time. The local police were already there, as was an ambulance, and Cade felt his blood run cold at the sight of the latter. Had that bastard Caruthers succeeded in killing Riley this time?
Cade barely put the car in park before he was out and running toward the house, flashing the silver star on his badge to the cops standing along the perimeter as he did so. Taking the steps two at a time, he hurried into the house to find the paramedics kneeling down beside the Marshals that had been guarding Riley. Both men had been shot, Thompson in the shoulder and Morris in the stomach. Afraid to think what that meant for Riley, Cade strode over to crouch down beside the woman tending to Thompson.
“Where’s Riley?” Cade asked.
Thompson jerked his head toward the rear of the house, only to wince at the movement. “She must have gone out the back,” he said. “The shooter went after her.”
Swearing under his breath, Cade got to his feet and raced through the living room and down the hallway to the back of the house, pulling his weapon as he went. The kitchen door was wide open and Cade immediately headed for it.
In the backyard, there were several uniformed cops standing around talking, and Cade hurried up to them.
“Has anyone gone after them?” Cade asked, referring to Riley and the man hunting her.
One of the cops shook his head. “No,” he said. “We have some dogs that should be here any minute, though. We’re waiting for them.”
Cade stared at the other men in disbelief. The ground was soaking wet and the tracks through the mud were obvious to anyone. He could have stood there and berated them for their lack of police work, but decided that it would be a waste of time. Instead, he headed into the woods behind the house.
A path led directly from the backyard to a dense, wooded area, and even if the ground hadn’t been muddy enough from the rain they’d had earlier in the day for him to see footprints, Cade instinctively knew that was where Riley had gone. It was the only place to go really. And though Cade was grateful for the muddy tracks, he also knew they would give Caruthers an advantage as well. But Riley was a fast runner, Cade reminded himself as he set out after her. And if she had a good head start, there was no way Caruthers would catch up to her. Unless she ran out of places to run.
Cade had been running for at least twenty minutes through the wet, slippery forest, at the same time working hard to keep his eyes on the tracks in the mud, when a dark shape suddenly burst through the trees and over a small hill directly ahead of him. Skidding to a halt, Cade instinctively took aim with his pistol, only to let out a sigh of relief when he realized it was Riley. Her long hair was a wild tangle around her shoulders, and there was mud all over her clothes. But Cade didn’t think he’d ever seen her look more beautiful.
For a moment, Riley just stared at Cade, unable to believe that he was really there. Then, with a cry of relief, she closed the distance between them and threw herself into his arms. His closed around her tightly, enveloping her in his warmth, and she sobbed against his chest. She was safe now, she told herself.
“Oh God, I w-was so scared, Cade,” she told him, her breath coming fast and hard, the words half-muffled against his chest. “I d-didn’t know wh-what to do, so I ran. But he f-followed me...”
Cade smoothed her hair with his hand. “Shhh, you did good, sweetheart,” he said softly. Then, still holding onto her, he took a step back to gaze down at her. “Where is he, Riley?”
She looked up at Cade through her tears. “Somewhere behind me, I think,” she said. “I doubled back, but I think he must have realized it because as I was running, I could still hear him behind me every once in awhile.”
Cade’s gaze quickly darted to the wooded area around them before going back to her. “Go back to the house,” he told her. “The police are there, so you’ll be safe.”
Riley frowned up at him. “What are you going to do?”
His jaw tightened. “I’m going after the guy that tried to kill you.”
She tightened her grip on his arm. “You can’t!” she protested. “He’s got a gun!”
“So do I,” Cade told her. “Now, go back to the house.”
“Cade...” she began, but he cut her off.
“Dammit, Riley, for once in your life just do as you’re told!” he growled. “Now, go!”
His tone brooked no argument, and this time, Riley obeyed. Still reluctant to leave Cade alone, however, she took off at a slow trot over the sloppy, uneven ground. She was exhausted and would rather just have waited and walked back with Cade, but she understood his desire both to keep her safe and to catch the guy that had been terrorizing her once and for all.
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t worried for Cade, and she couldn’t help but stop when heard the sound of footsteps crashing through the forest behind her. The hit man had caught up to her already, she thought. Even though Cade had told her to go back to the house, Riley found herself turning around and heading back toward the clearing where she had left Cade. Heart hammering wildly in her chest, she got there just in time to see the hitman standing in front of Cade, gasping for breath.
“Drop the gun and put your hands in the air!” Cade ordered, leveling his own weapon at the man.
Riley held her breath as she waited to see what the man would do. For a moment, he just stood there, his gun still pointed at Cade, and Riley felt fear grip her. Oh God, what if he shot Cade? But to her relief, the hit man tossed the gun onto the ground and slowly lifted his hand above his head.
Relieved that it was finally over, Riley jogged back over to where Cade was standing. Though it wasn’t her intention to distract him, she did, and in the split-second it took for him to glance her way, the other man charged.
Riley opened her mouth to warn Cade, but it was too late. The other man had already knocked him to the ground and they were grappling.
Her eyes wide, Riley watched helplessly while the two men struggled with each other. She had to help Cade, she thought. But how? Not quite sure, she ran toward the men, only to jerk to a halt when she saw Cade’s gun go flying into the bushes. Her first instinct was to go look for it, but she knew it would take forever to find it, so instead, she reached down and scooped up a heavy branch that was lying on the ground.
Gripping it tightly, she slowly approached the two men. They were rolling around on the ground, each of them struggling furiously to gain the upper hand. She had to be careful, she told herself; she didn’t want to end up hitting Cade by mistake.
Suddenly, the hit man rolled on top of Cade and drew his arm back to punch the Marshal. Knowing she wouldn’t have a better opportunity, Riley swung a vicious blow at the hit man’s head, only to hit Cade across the shoulders instead when he rolled his opponent over.
“Dammit, Riley, what the hell are you doing?!” he yelled at her while he still grappled with the man.
“I’m trying to help!” she shouted back.
“Well, stop it!” he ordered.
Disregarding what Cade said, Riley tightened her grip on the branch, ready to whack the guy again if she got the chance, but it wasn’t necessary. Within a few moments, Cade
had the hit man subdued and cuffed.
Cade glared at her as he hauled the man to his feet. “I thought I told you to go back to the house,” he growled.
She gave him a sheepish look as she dropped the branch on the ground. “I know, but I thought you might need help or something.”
“Really?” he said sarcastically. “And how did that work out for you?”
The question really didn’t require and answer, but Riley gave him a sheepish shrug anyway. “I’m sorry I hit you,” she said.
Cade gave her an exasperated look but made no comment. “Come on,” he said, and still pushing the hit man in front of him, led the way back to the house.
When they got back, the place was a complete madhouse. There were dozens of police cars, as well as what looked like every Marshal from the Seattle and the Tacoma office. Of course, there was already a lot of press there as well, but to Riley’s relief, they were relegated to a spot behind the yellow tape at the bottom of the driveway.
Riley didn’t really need any medical attention, but at Cade’s insistence, she allowed the paramedics to check her out. The EMT fussed over ever scratch and scrape, and was just finishing up with her when Deputy Chief Conner walked over.
“The other Marshals that were with me,” she said. “How are they?”
He nodded. “They’re both in surgery, but they’re expected to make a complete recovery.”
She nodded, relieved to hear that. “That’s good,” she said. “So, what happens to me now?”
Conner shrugged. “Actually, that’s up to you.”
Her brow furrowed. “Up to me?” she said. “I don’t understand.”
“It turns out that Albert Donatti didn’t hire Caruthers to kill you. after all,” Conner explained. “As a matter of fact, Donatti is really no longer a threat to you at all. He turned evidence on some of his own and is now in the WitSec Program himself. We’ll have to go through some bureaucratic procedures, but I would think that you would be removed from the list of protected witnesses.”
It took a moment for Riley to wrap her mind around what Deputy Chief Conner had just told her. “So you’re saying that I don’t have to move then? That I can go back to using my real name again?”
The older man gave her a small smile. “I think that’s all going to be up to you now,” he told her. “We would certainly move you one more time, though, if you wanted us to.”
Riley glanced at Cade to find him watching her with those remarkable gold eyes of his. “Actually,” she said softly. “I kind of like it here in Seattle.”
Conner nodded. “Then it’s settled,” he said. “I’ll have someone take you home.”
Riley hoped that Cade would volunteer, but to her dismay, Deputy Chief Conner was already calling over another Marshal.
“Like I said, there’s some paperwork we’ll need to go over, Ms. Barnett, but we can do that another time. Deputy Brogan will take you home,” the older man said to Riley, and then, giving her a nod, pulled Cade off to the side to speak to him before walking over to intercept the group of reporters coming their way.
Riley hesitated, giving Cade a glance out of the corner of her eye, but he was deep in conversation with the uniformed police officer that had come up to him. Disappointed that he wasn’t even going to say goodbye to her, she followed Deputy Brogan toward his car.
She was just about to get in when she heard Cade calling her name. Her pulse skipping a beat, Riley tried to hide her eagerness as she turned to see him jogging toward her.
“I wanted to catch you before you left,” he said.
Riley held her breath as she waited for him to continue. He glanced at the other Marshal standing by the driver’s side door, and then back at her. “I can’t really talk to you here, though,” he said. “Would it be okay if I stopped by your apartment later?”
She was tempted to ask him what he meant when he’d said that he couldn’t talk about it there, but Deputy Chief Conner was already calling Cade over to talk to the press. “Of course,” she said. “That would be fine.”
He looked relieved. “I’ll see you tonight, then.”
As she watched him walk away, Riley tried to tell herself not to read too much into Cade’s wanting to see her, but she couldn’t suppress the surge of excitement that began to course through her.
Riley changed clothes half a dozen times that night before finally settling on a simple skirt and camisole top. She had no idea why Cade had asked to come over, and told herself again not to read to much into it. For all she knew, he might be bringing over that paperwork that Deputy Chief Conner had mentioned. God, she hoped not!
The doorbell rang then, interrupting her thoughts, and Riley felt her pulse quicken. Smoothing her hands over her short skirt, she gave herself one more look in the mirror before hurrying to answer the door. Once in the entryway, however, she paused to take a deep, calming breath. She couldn’t ever remember being so nervous! Wetting her lips, she ran her hands over her skirt again, and then threw open the door.
Cade was dressed and jeans and a button-up shirt, and looking even more gorgeous than Riley remembered, and she must have stood there gazing at him for a full minute before she finally managed to find her voice.
“Come in,” she said, taking a step back so that he could do so.
He took in her outfit, his gaze lingering on her legs for a moment, and Riley felt herself blush. “You look nice,” he told her.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
He cleared his throat. “I didn’t know if you’d eaten already, so I stopped by to pick up some Chinese food,” he said.
Riley glanced down at the bag in his hand in surprise, realizing that she hadn’t noticed it before. This was definitely not an official call, then. “No, actually I haven’t,” she said. Giving him a smile, she took the bag. “I’ll get some plates.”
“That’d be great,” Cade said as he followed her into the kitchen. “But I was hoping we could talk about what happened the other night first.”
Riley’s heart plummeted, the smell of the food wafting up from the bag making her feel sick all of a sudden. This was the part where Cade told her that he hoped she hadn’t read anything into what had happened between them at the hotel, and that while they couldn’t have a relationship, he hoped they could still be friends, she thought.
Swallowing hard, she set the bag down on the counter and turned to look at him.
Cade cleared his throat again. “I know that we didn’t really get off on the right foot, and that there was a lot of stuff that happened between us at the safe house, but I think we have a connection,” he said, and then immediately held up his hand. “Before you say anything, let me finish.”
Riley almost smiled. She hadn’t been going to say anything, but it seemed obvious that Cade had rehearsed whatever he was going to say quite a bit and didn’t want her to interrupt him. In all honesty, she didn’t know where he was going with this, but the part about them having a connection definitely made her pulse quicken.
“Actually, there’s more than a connection. As cliché as this is going to sound, I think we were meant to be together,” Cade continued. “I know that when this started, you were just a witness I was supposed to protect, but even though you drove me crazy most of the time, I found myself drawn to you. And that feeling got stronger the more we were together. I don’t know if you feel the same way, but I do know that for my part, I want you in my life.”
She blinked up at him, suddenly unable to breathe. “What are you saying, Cade?” she asked softly.
Cade reached out to gently brush a strand of hair back from her face. “I’m saying that when you were in danger, I could barely think straight, and that made me realize what you mean to me.” He paused and took a deep breath.
“What I’m trying to say is that I’m in love with you, Riley Barnett.”
Riley caught her breath, speechless. Of all the things she had expected Cade to say when he had come over tonight, telling her that he had fall
en in love with her had definitely not been one of them.
In front of her, Cade suddenly looked unsure of himself. “I think this is the part where you’re supposed to say something,” he told her quietly.
She took a step closer to him, her lips curving into a smile. “Well, then how about this?” she said. “I love you too, Cade Cutler.”
A grin spreading across his handsome face, Cade slid his hand into her hair and bent his head to kiss her on the mouth. Riley melted against, parting her lips to urge him on with her tongue, and by the time he lifted his head a few minutes later, she could barely breathe.
“Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way,” he said. “We need to talk about what happened in those woods behind the safe house today.”
Her brow furrowed in confusion as she looked up at him. He wanted to talk about that now? “What about it?” she asked.
He lifted a brow. “I told you to go back to the safe house, and instead, you decided not to.”
She chewed on her lower lip. “I told you,” she said. “I was worried about you and thought you might need help.”
Cade’s jaw tightened. “Riley, you once again foolishly put yourself in danger,” he said. “And more importantly, you refused to do what I told you to do.”
Riley looked up at him from beneath lowered lashes. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I promise I won’t do it again.”
He let out a sigh. “I know you believe that,” he said. “But I need to make sure, and since the only way I can ever seem to get you to really listen to me is to give you a spanking, that’s what I’m going to have to do.”
She blinked at him in surprise. “A spanking?” she echoed. “You’re not serious!”
Cade couldn’t really mean to spank her, not after telling her he loved her, she thought. But he had already taken her hand and was leading her into the living room.
“But you said you loved me!” she protested.
