Bounty (Walk the Right Road)

by Eckhart, Lorhainne

  “No, I want to talk about you and why you seem to understand so easily what I’ve been through: investigating this girl’s death, the family I left so long ago…” She jabbed her finger between her and Zac. “I could barely stomach talking to the Quinns, and they surprised me. I couldn’t make sense of it, I’m still struggling, but you…you find it so easy.”

  He didn’t answer but groaned and looked away.

  “Zac, seriously, I want to know. Where do you come from?”

  He moved off the bed so fast she almost tumbled onto the floor. “Why are you pushing this? You want to start a fight with me? Is that what you’re trying to do?” he shouted and started pacing.

  Diane knew she had hit a nerve. It was like poking a lion with a stick: Any other person would be smart enough to walk, no, run away, but not Diane. No, here she was, enjoying this, and she had no interest in stepping back. She jumped off the bed and stalked right for him, and he gave her a warning glance, even raised his hands up to get her to back away, but she didn’t. She pressed her hand flat against his chest, feeling every hard, tight muscle. She could feel his heart pounding and the heat burning into her hands.

  “You can’t scare me away. I want to know why you understand so much, why you care.”

  She was getting loud, and Zac wasn’t happy. He wasn’t exactly frowning, but his eyes were shooting off a spark any sane person would have backed away from. She could feel the warning waves rolling off him, and they could have burned her, but she welcomed the warmth. Anyone else would have left the room, run, and been halfway across the county, but she had no intention of backing down any time soon.

  It happened so fast. He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around, slamming her against the wall with his body. His lips claimed hers in a deep kiss. He pressed his hard, muscled body against her as his hand slid down over her bottom, lifting and pulling her closer. His kiss was so hard, nothing nice. No, it wasn’t weak and kind or pretty, but she didn’t want those things. She wanted this fierceness from him. He was all male and pushy and possessive, and he tasted every part of her. He took it as if he had every right, and she let him. She felt full of him as he explored her, and not for one second did she think of pushing him away. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her fingers dug into his back, and she opened her mouth wider. His tongue swept through her mouth, tasting and twining with hers in a kiss so powerful and possessive that she had to breathe through him to get air.

  His hands were so large, running down her back and slipping under her shirt, under her bra, unsnapping the clasp. He slid his open mouth over her jaw, nipping at the skin and then her lower lip, then teasing the sensitive skin down her neck before lifting his head so he could rip her shirt and bra off and pin her topless against the wall. He was kissing her again, deeper, her hands running over his chest and pulling at his shirt, yanking at the buttons. She was so needy she couldn’t get close enough to him, and he was lifting her as she wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing every hard part of him into her. He was moving, taking her with him across the room to the bed, laying her on the mattress. He was on top of her and didn’t give her any chance to catch her breath as their hands touched and studied each other. She pulled at his shirt, which was tucked into his waistband, and then he pulled back long enough to rip off his own shirt and toss it.

  He was on her again, pressing her into the mattress with his weight. She could feel the hard length of him as he covered both her breasts with his calloused hands. She didn’t have a small bust, just average, but he covered them and squeezed and took his time, skimming her nipples with hands that seemed to know exactly how to drive her wild. With shaking hands, she gripped his back, running her hands frantically over the smooth skin and down the side to skin that was puckered and ridged. She pulled him closer. He traced his tongue down her neck and took her nipple into his mouth, and Diane thought she was going to come off the bed.

  “Zac!” It came out sounding strangled, and he shoved her legs apart with his, pressing his hips between them and grabbed her leg, lifting it over his hip, anchoring her to him.

  Somehow he unzipped her pants. Frantically, she toed off her shoes, and the rest of their clothes disappeared, flung everywhere across the room. He ran his hand over her stomach, which wasn’t as flat as she liked, and for a minute she felt self-conscious of her average body, which was far from that of a cover girl, worrying that maybe she wasn’t pretty enough. She started to pull away, her arms covering her breasts, when he held himself up to study her with dark, shimmering eyes, breathing hard as if he’d sprinted a mile just to be here now.

  Instead of pulling away, he moved both her hands above her head and kissed her again, deeply, his warm breath feathering against her lips. His hardness pressed into her, the size of him, and she worried for a second and broke away, gasping out, “Condom.” He reached into his pants pocket and slid one out, covering himself, when a knock sounded at the door.

  “No!” Diane cried out. “Just ignore it.”

  But someone pounded again. “It’s Sam,” came a yell from outside the door.

  “For fuck’s sake,” Zac bit out. Oh, he was mad, and he pulled away. “Your friend’s timing sucks.” Zac ripped off the condom and reached for his pants, shoving his legs angrily into his jeans.

  Diane lay on the bed, the chilly air cooling her down in a way that left her feeling empty. She sat up, pulling her legs up to hide herself, glimpsing the clothes scattered here and there.

  “Here.” Zac tossed over her underwear and jeans. She couldn’t help feeling absolutely mortified. Her cheeks were burning as she pulled on her clothes, turning her back on Zac. He dangled her bra over her shoulder, and she snatched it from his hands.

  Sam pounded on the door again. “Open up! What the hell are you doing in there?”

  Diane pulled on her shirt and turned around seeing a look in Zac’s eyes that had her cheeks burning brighter. Reality really was a bitch, and she was angry at herself for what they’d almost done. With a quick roll in the hay, the awkwardness between them would have been worse. She couldn’t take it, so she hurried to the bathroom and slammed the door, turning on the tap, splashing cold water on her flushed face and then gazing at her eyes in the mirror. It was loneliness that gazed back at her. She shut off the water and could hear Sam talking.

  She opened the door, and both men stared at her, Sam’s cheeks tinged pink. Of course he knew what they had been doing.

  “What do you want, Sam?” Diane asked.

  He glanced over at Zac and then back at her. “I was just telling Zac there’s an early morning flight I can take out of Sandpoint, but I can’t get a rental car this time of night to get there.”

  Zac dug out a set of keys from the pocket of his leather coat. “Take the SUV. I’ll get another vehicle here in the morning.” He dropped the keys in Sam’s palm.

  “You sure?” Sam asked. This time, he didn’t look at Diane.

  “Yeah, we’ll be fine. Go.”

  Diane then noticed that the lines around Sam’s eyes appeared deeper, as if the worry he’d been hiding and holding on to was now starting to beat him up. “Zac’s right, Sam. Go. You need to work things out with Marcie, talk to her, and fix everything between you two.”

  He glanced at her sheepishly, and it was awkward. Diane couldn’t help her basic instinct of wrapping her arms across her middle. She forced a smile to her lips but felt not one twinge of the happiness and lightness she was trying to put out there. She hated this awkwardness between them.

  Sam snapped the door open and held the edge of it with his hand. He hesitated as if gathering his nerve to say something, but he wouldn’t look at her, just nodded and stepped out the door, leaving her feeling even lower than before. It was as if being with Zac had made her a tart or something. That was exactly what she had picked up from Sam, and she didn’t like it one bit.

  The silence that was left in the room lingered, and the seconds ticked by at a snail’s pace. Zac cleared his throat,
and Diane gave him that same stiff smile and said, “Goodnight, Zac.”

  He glanced away, his expression shutting down as he stiffened. He grabbed his jacket, pulled the door open. Diane stared at his chest, refusing to meet his eyes, cupping her hands across her breasts and feeling an ache rip through her as if she’d done something wrong. Was it shame, all of because of sex? Or almost sex, anyway.

  “Diane, look at me.”

  She glanced up at him, willing away all emotion from her face. “Yes, Zac?”

  He frowned and then shook his head as he stepped toward her, touching her face. She slapped his hand away, and he didn’t blink, but he did pull back and leave. The door closed in her face, and she listened to his footsteps as he walked away. Diane was alone again, this time filled with a horrible emptiness.

  Chapter 21

  Diane’s head felt like lead as a pounding on the door brought her bolting upright. She’d been asleep, maybe, she thought. Diane dragged her fingers over her closed eyelids, wiping the grit from the corners. She was so tired. After all, she’d tossed and turned most of the night, flicking the TV on and off, anything to take her mind from the dark places it was going. She tossed back the covers and opened the curtains, the bright sun streaming in, leaving her blinking.

  “Diane, open the door,” Zac said as he pounded again, and she pulled it open, realizing as he stared at her in her nightshirt that she should have pulled on her coat first. “You okay?” he asked as he stepped in, and Diane went back to the bed and sat on the edge, yawning.

  “Just tired. What time is it, anyway?”

  “After nine. I thought you would have been ready.” He shut the door and pulled open the drapes to let the sun in. “I got us some wheels. Got my gun back, too, from Deputy Wally. You’ve got time for a quick shower, and then we’ve got to go.”

  She stared at him and couldn’t get over how fresh he looked, clean and tidy as if he had no worries. Then she noticed how he stood off to the side and glanced casually out the window. He wandered over to the window on the other side of the door and peeked out the corner of the still closed drapes before letting them fall back.

  “Something wrong?” she asked.

  He just shook his head. “No. Come on, get in the shower. I’ll order coffee and breakfast sandwiches for us to go.” He grabbed her room key and slipped out.

  She stared at the closed door, wondering what that was about, and then stumbled into the bathroom and flicked on the shower. She realized that unless she wanted to give Zac an eyeful, she’d better bring her clothes with her, since he had taken her key and was obviously planning to let himself in.

  She rummaged in her bag for clean underwear, a t-shirt, and jeans before shutting the bathroom door. She stood under the hot spray, lingering for a minute, willing it to wake her and clear the cobwebs from her head. She heard the door close when she shut off the water.

  A knock sounded at the bathroom door. “Diane, rock and roll. Come on.”

  “I’m coming,” she said. “It’s not as if all of us had a great sleep last night,” she muttered under her breath.

  “What was that?” he said.

  She gasped, wondering if his hearing was that good. “Nothing. I’ll be right out.”

  She toweled off, irritated that he found it so easy to brush off what had happened between them, or rather what had almost happened between them. Hell, it was as if he’d forgotten the entire romp, and Diane had to blink back the sting in her eyes, fighting to shift her thoughts to something else. Was she that forgettable? She tossed the towel in the bathtub and refused to look at her naked body. Her thighs were solid, not flabby, but they weren’t toothpicks, either. Her butt was average, her waistline was there, she had a slightly rounded belly, and her breasts were an average size 34-B, nothing spectacular. Maybe she was forgettable.

  She pulled on her clothes, ran a brush through her damp hair, and then brushed her teeth. She pulled open the bathroom door, and her gaze immediately went to Zac leaning against the frame, sipping coffee from a paper cup. His dark eyes revealed nothing as he took in all of her, and she had to remind herself to breathe.

  Diane grabbed her bag and tossed it on the bed, stuffing every loose item she had in it. She zipped it up and then glanced around at the king-size bed, the rumpled pillows and bedding strewn everywhere. Her sidearm was on the nightstand, and she clipped it on. She could feel Zac watching every move she made, but she didn’t have the courage just yet to look at him. She pulled on her jean jacket and then lifted her bag. “Ready.”

  He was blocking the door, still holding his coffee and looking mighty uncomfortable. What was that about?

  She cleared her throat and gestured to a coffee sitting on the corner table with a paper bag. “Is that mine?” she asked.

  “Your breakfast, too.”

  “Cool. What do I owe you?” She refused to look at him as she looped the strap of her bag over her shoulder and strode to the table, grabbing the coffee and the paper bag. When she faced Zac, he was staring at her with a fire burning in his eyes, and she wondered if he was considering slipping his hands around her throat and squeezing. Whoa. “Are you okay? Because we should get going,” Diane said in a voice laced with a heavy amount of lightness.

  He set his coffee down and stalked toward her. Diane felt her heart hammering in her chest the closer he approached, and she lifted her coffee and breakfast bag in front of her and held it close. She was determined to stand her ground, fighting every basic instinct to step back. He put his hands on her shoulders and held her close. Then he leaned in and kissed her in a deep, open-mouth kiss, his tongue dipping in as if he had every right, and he kissed her deeply before pulling away. Her mouth gaped, and all she managed was a squeak. Not one intelligent word would pass her lips, and he smiled slowly as if he’d just proven a point. Then, in a move that had him looking extremely happy, he strode to the door, pulling it open as Diane stood gaping at him like an idiot.

  Chapter 22

  Diane ate her breakfast sandwich and drank her coffee from the passenger seat of the dark green luxury sedan. She ignored Zac or tried to, at least, as he seemed lost in thought and more than happy to let her stew in silence. Well, two could play that game. Diane was the queen of stewing, holding on to things forever. She wondered for a moment, as she stared out the window at the heavy trees and miles of highway, who would crack first. She’d replayed that kiss over and over, trying to figure out what the hell Zac was about.

  “Here’s the border. Get your ID out,” Zac said as he slowed behind the cars stopped at the crossing.

  Diane took it in. She remembered all too well crossing this border with Jack that night, but so much had changed. It was newer now, with a canopy that extended over three lanes. Even the buildings there, she didn’t remember seeing them before. It appeared busier, far different than it had been a lifetime ago, except sitting in a line, waiting their turn, was the same.

  Diane shut her eyes, going back to that night so long ago, when she’d sat on the bench of Jack’s pickup, wearing that old, cotton dress. Her long hair was a tangled mess because she’d leaped from bed and fled before getting a chance to run a brush through her hair and braid it neatly, as she had done every day. She had stared and worried as the man dressed like a cop came closer. When it was their turn, Jack had rolled down his window, and all she remembered was the fear, her heart pounding as she held her breath. The man had looked in, glanced her way, and Jack said, “My daughter and I are going home. We were visiting my sister in Creston.” He’d showed his ID, and the man had looked at her again. Maybe it was the plea in her eyes or something else he saw, but he had nodded and said, “Go on through. Welcome to the USA, Mister Larsen.” And Jack had started his vehicle and driven right on through.

  “Diane.” Zac touched her arm, and she realized she was gripping her shirtfront, breathing so fast her heart was racing as she blinked back that memory. “They need ID. Are you okay?”

  He rolled his window down. She couldn�
��t answer; her hand was shaking as she pulled out her badge, and the customs officer leaned down and rested his hands on Zac’s open window. Zac showed his ID with the coroner’s office, and Diane leaned over and flashed her badge. “I’m a detective with the Sequim detachment,” she explained.

  “Where are you folks headed?” The customs officer glanced in the backseat and then between Zac and Diane.

  “Just across the border to Bounty,” Zac said.

  “Carrying any weapons?” the officer asked.

  “My sidearm.” Diane opened her jacket.

  “I have a nine millimeter I’m licensed for,” Zac said.

  The customs officer jabbed his thumb to a covered area. “I want you to pull over there and get out of the vehicle.” The guy moved away and walked beside the vehicle, directing Zac where to park.

  Zac glanced at Diane and then stepped out of the vehicle. Diane followed and stepped around the car.

  “I’ll get both of you to step around to the front of the vehicle.” The customs officer gestured, and another officer appeared and opened the car door, popping the trunk.

  “What do you think they’re doing?” Diane muttered, a little irritated. After all, she was a cop; they should have been working with her, but instead she felt as if they were treating her like an average Joe. What did they think they were doing, bringing something illegal across the border?

  “IDs again, please.” The officer held out his hand, and Diane and Zac handed over their IDs. The officer disappeared into the building, and she watched him through the glass, where another uniformed man was typing on a keyboard and then picking up the phone.

  “Maybe he’s calling Green to make sure we are who we say,” Diane said. She yanked a package of gum from her pocket and offered a piece to Zac. He shook his head. Diane popped a piece in her mouth and chewed. That was what she did when she got nervous, and it was way better than smoking or drinking, in her eyes. Those habits were something she’d seen far too often from other officers when everything got too much. “Think Green’s going to hang us out to dry again?” she asked.