“Alyssa!”
Norman sounded enraged as he yelled her name. Caleb didn’t like how close the sound was either. He looked at the house behind them.
“I need you to stay here,” he ordered, pointing Alyssa toward a gap between two bushes still miraculously alive against the back end of the house. “Stay low and don’t come out until I say.”
“But what about you?” she rushed.
It was endearing, he had to admit. Even with some madman yelling her name and chasing them with a gun, she was still worried about him.
“I’m going to stop this man named Norman,” he promised. “Because you are not his.”
He could tell Alyssa didn’t like the idea, her brow drawn in as a look of concern clung to her expression. Still, she did as she was told and crouched down in the gap.
“Be careful,” she whispered. “That’s an order.”
Caleb couldn’t help smiling.
“Yes, ma’am.”
He pulled his gun high and crept around the front of the house. There was a fifty-fifty chance Norman was making his way toward them through the front yards, while there was also a fifty-fifty chance he was going around the back. Caleb kept his breathing as steady as he could and hoped he’d chosen the right direction.
When he’d planned on going toe-to-toe with the man responsible for taking Alyssa, he’d hoped that he’d have her well hidden or out of danger altogether. And that he’d be dealing with Dupree. Not some mystery man. Now Alyssa was hiding in the bushes while he was making decisions that could easily backfire.
Which was exactly what happened.
No sooner was he aiming his gun out around what used to be the front porch than Alyssa let out a gasp loud enough that it drew his attention backward. Caleb spun around, gun ready, and felt his stomach plummet.
A man was standing next to Alyssa, his own gun pointed at her head. He was panting but in no way looked any less dangerous. And it wasn’t just any man.
“You,” Caleb bit out. “I knew you had something to do with all this.”
The man with horn-rimmed glasses managed a quick grin.
“You really are good with faces, but don’t feel bad, Deputy,” Norman said in between catching his breath. “I’ve fooled smarter people than you.”
Norman was a few feet from Alyssa, but that didn’t comfort Caleb in the least. Even if the man was a poor shot, the chances of him hitting her if he pulled the trigger were too high.
“What do you want?” Caleb asked, his own gun aimed forward. He could hit Norman if he wanted to, but what if the man pulled the trigger before he could stop him?
There were too many variables.
And none of them were good.
“I want you to leave us alone,” Norman practically growled. His demeanor shifted into what Caleb could only describe as disgusted. “Stop trying to save her when she isn’t yours to save!” Spit flew out of his mouth as he yelled. His face turned red.
Caleb didn’t have time to be confused. His attention listed over Norman’s shoulder to a pair of headlights in the distance. Caleb hoped beyond all hope that it wasn’t Dupree making his way back.
“You should mind your own business,” Norman added, unaware of the car. He shook the gun. Caleb realized it wasn’t because he was trying to appear more threatening. Instead it was the man’s emotions bleeding through. He was angry.
Really angry.
Reckless.
“You put a bomb in her car,” Caleb pointed out, trying to buy time to devise a plan that wouldn’t risk Alyssa getting shot or caught in the cross fire. “She needed help, so I helped.”
Norman shook his head with fervor.
“It wouldn’t have hurt her,” he defended. “She didn’t need you or your help. She still doesn’t. She needs me. Not you confusing her.”
The car was close enough that Caleb could see it wasn’t a car at all but a four-door Bronco.
One he’d seen before.
“Then let her stand up,” Caleb said, thinking fast. “You have a weird way of showing you want to protect her if you won’t even let her stand up.”
It was a weird thing to say, he knew, but Caleb hoped it would do the trick.
“Of course she can stand up,” Norman answered.
“Then let her!”
Norman’s nostrils flared, but he addressed Alyssa directly. “Show him, Alyssa. Stand up!”
Alyssa followed the order without comment. She might have been unable to see the Bronco barreling toward them, but now, Caleb hoped, the driver could see her.
Thankfully, he did.
The driver changed course just in time to jump the curb.
“Run,” Caleb yelled.
Alyssa’s sight might have been compromised, but her legs didn’t have any trouble moving. Norman whirled around but didn’t act like a deer in headlights. What he had in anger he also had in speed. He dove out of the way as the Bronco hit the side of the house, separating Caleb and Alyssa from the rage-filled Norman.
The driver’s door swung open, but the man inside didn’t make it out before gunshots slammed into the other side.
“Get in,” the driver yelled.
Caleb didn’t need to be told twice. He ran to Alyssa’s side and helped her into the back seat floorboard. When he shut the door he lay on top of her, elbows on either side of her body, shielding her from any bullets that made it through. “We’re in!”
Metal scraped against wood as the Bronco floored it in Reverse. Glass shattered overhead.
“Backup’s behind me, but we’re going to get you two out of here first,” the driver yelled. “Hold on!”
Caleb kept his gaze down, eyes only for the woman staring up at him. The motion of going backward shifted his body against hers. It was a welcomed feeling. Concrete proof that she was with him.
“Are you okay?” he asked. The Bronco swerved to the side and then shifted into Drive. “Did he—did they do anything to you?” He moved the hair out of her face, more to check her skin for any signs she’d been touched. It was as clear as it had been the night before.
A wild expression crossed Alyssa’s face. It was one Caleb couldn’t place. He opened his mouth to repeat his question with more force, already getting angry at the possible answer, but she was faster.
Alyssa threw her arms around his neck, pulled him against her and kissed him hard. Unlike the kiss he’d given her minutes before to help focus her attention, this one was rough and hungry. It pulled his breath from him and begged for more.
And he wanted that.
Parting her lips with his tongue, he finally was able to taste her, returning the kiss with equal force. After days of danger and uncertainty, Caleb answered a longing he’d been trying to deny.
An attraction he’d tried to ignore. To distance himself from. A woman who had invaded his thoughts from the get-go, thoughts he was unable to shake free from since.
He shifted his weight enough so that his hand was free to grab her. To feel her. His fingers wrapped around her hip. He pulled her up against him and felt her breath hitch against his lips.
Caleb wanted to deepen the kiss. He wanted to explore more of her.
But he also knew it wasn’t the time.
With more self-control than he thought he had, he gently pulled away.
Alyssa was trying to catch her breath, her pink, pink lips darkened from the contact and her blue eyes focusing on him.
“You two okay back there?” called their driver, foot still pressed hard on the gas pedal.
“I’m okay,” Alyssa finally answered for the both of them. Her voice was ragged but stronger than it had been.
Caleb waited a beat, still caught in her blue-eyed stare, before he answered, “I’m okay too.” Finally he tore his gaze from th
e woman and focused on the driver in the front seat. “Thanks for the save, Sheriff.”
Sheriff Reed didn’t take his attention off the street, but when he answered there was no doubt in Caleb’s mind that the man was smiling.
“It’s what I do.”
* * *
IT WAS LIKE her life was now made up of moments that were either on the extreme side of the danger spectrum or floundering in a deep calm. Though, sitting in the conference room at the sheriff’s department, trying to make out the blurs on the whiteboard across from her, Alyssa thought maybe calm wasn’t the right choice of words.
She let a sigh out that no one heard. It was the first time she’d been alone since the sheriff rescued them. Even though he’d brought deputies on his tail, they still hadn’t been able to capture Norman. Or Dupree, for that matter. Which was the main reason it was now seven in the morning and she was still at the department. Everyone on the force seemed to be out on the streets, hunting down the two men. Dupree they knew, but his connection with Norman and who Norman was, well, that was the mystery. One that she wished she could help solve.
Another sigh climbed out of her mouth and through her lips. She traced them with the tips of her fingers.
In all the madness that had happened, how did she always come back to a kiss?
Two kisses, actually, she thought, cheeks heating while somewhere lower warmed. She couldn’t forget that one she’d planted on the unsuspecting deputy. No, she definitely couldn’t forget that.
Or the fact that he’d responded.
In more ways than one.
If it had been up to her, she would have let the deputy take her right then and there, sheriff in the front seat and all. She’d been so relieved and happy to see him in the house. That enthusiasm had waited until she felt even a small amount of safety.
And then she had needed to let him know how she felt about it.
“More important things,” Alyssa whispered to the empty room. “Focus.”
“What was that?”
Alyssa jumped and looked at the new body in the room. The image might be blurry, but Alyssa knew it was the dispatcher, Cassie. The woman had already stopped by when she first came in to work to check on her. Thanks to her, Alyssa was also wearing a pair of exercise pants and not her sleep shorts. Which somehow had made her feel better. Or, at the very least, a little more in control of the situation.
“Oh, nothing,” Alyssa hurried, the heat of her blush getting a little hotter. “Just, you know, talking to myself to keep awake.”
“Well, I think I might be able to help with that!”
Alyssa smelled the coffee before she even saw the cup.
“The perk of being across the street from a coffee shop,” Cassie added. She leaned against the table’s edge, closer than if she’d taken the seat next to Alyssa. Which was probably on purpose so she wasn’t a blur in her vision.
Alyssa hoped after all this was over that she’d become friends with the dispatcher.
If Alyssa survived the madness.
“I know this is a weird thing to bring up right now,” Alyssa started. “But I wanted to thank you for the advice.” Cassie raised her eyebrow in question. “For telling me to request Caleb for protection. I, well, I don’t know how everything would have played out otherwise.”
Cassie’s lips curved up into a small smile. “I’m glad he’s worked out for you. He seems to be a good guy.” Her expression dampened. “It’ll be a shame when he goes back to Portland. The department will suffer for it.”
Alyssa had spent the last few days stumbling upon realizations that had turned her blood cold. However, Cassie had just shared information that had a parallel, if not equal, effect on her. More than anything she’d bet that Eleanor had been trying to tell her the same thing she’d just learned before the explosion that had killed Ted happened.
That Caleb didn’t plan on staying in Carpenter.
And why would he?
Feeling her face harden into what she hoped was a normal smile, Alyssa nodded.
Voices floating down the hallway toward the conference room saved Alyssa from having to pretend she wasn’t upset. Disappointed was not a strong enough word.
“Well, speak of the devil,” Cassie greeted Caleb. He was holding a duffel bag and looked as tightly wound as could be. Alyssa couldn’t blame him for that. But she also couldn’t meet his eye at the moment. Not when the news of him eventually leaving hurt more than she was comfortable with. Instead she deferred her attention to Captain Jones behind him.
“Anything?”
The captain shook his head. Despite his earlier grievances with Caleb, he didn’t seem to have any undue anger radiating off him. Instead there was an intense focus that Alyssa was finding synonymous with the Riker County Sheriff’s Department.
“Nothing concrete,” he answered. “And not Norman or Dupree. We’ve even looked everywhere you suggested that you found Dupree frequented when looking into him last year.”
“Maybe they’ve left Carpenter altogether,” Alyssa pointed out. Though she didn’t want to see either man again, she realized the danger of them possibly never being caught would increase if they left town.
It was Caleb’s turn to shake his head.
“There’s a reason Dupree didn’t leave when he had the chance,” he said. “Whatever plan Norman was talking to you about must be keeping them here until it’s finished.”
“Not to mention Norman—” the captain started, but he cut himself off right after.
Alyssa let out her third sigh in a handful of minutes.
“Norman seems to want me,” she finished for him.
“Which might be a good thing,” Captain Jones said. “It could keep them in town, which gives us the time to complete our search and find them. It’s not ideal, but none of this is.”
“Captain.” A female deputy stopped in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt, but Chief Hawser would like a word with you. He’s on hold in your office.”
“Okay, thank you.” Jones turned to Caleb. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to let me know. The sheriff too.”
Caleb nodded. A look passed between the men, but without her glasses Alyssa couldn’t tell if it was a good one or not.
“I also need to get back to it,” Cassie said at her elbow. “I just wanted to make sure you had some caffeine in you.”
Alyssa smiled.
“And I thank you for that,” she said. “And the pants.”
Cassie patted her shoulder and followed the captain out. Then it was just the two of them.
Alyssa couldn’t avoid the deputy anymore. “So, what now?”
Chapter Eighteen
If you had told Alyssa the week before that she’d be naked in Deputy Caleb Foster’s house, she would have laughed. Not to mention ask who Caleb Foster was. Staring at her reflection in his bathroom mirror, she marveled at the fact that she’d never even known he had existed until a few days ago. Now there she was, freshly showered and contemplating her relationship with the man a few rooms over.
That was one of many curveballs she hadn’t been prepared for in the slightest. The others being the still unknown man who was Norman, her nightmare incarnate Dupree and their joint, mystery plan that either did or did not involve her. All during a week that should have been spent putting away the Storm Chasers once and for all.
Alyssa hoped she’d eventually be able to hit all those life curveballs.
In the distance the clink of dishes broke her out of her reverie. She grabbed the towel and dried the rest of the way off before diving into the duffel bag Caleb had packed while she was at the department. At the time she hadn’t known the deputy was going to her house but was grateful he had. Along with clothes, toiletries and a pair of shoes, he’d managed to find her spare set of glasses, b
eneath the couch of all places.
Slipping them on had reduced her anxiety by half. It was one thing to be scared. It was another to be blind and scared.
Alyssa changed into a pair of sports shorts and a plain T-shirt. She might have gotten a few hours of sleep the night before, but it hadn’t been enough to replenish any exhaustion caused by the chaos that had come after. Unless it was absolutely necessary, she planned on staying put for the time being. Caleb had assured her that the captain and sheriff had assured him that they would be the first to know if any break in the case happened. On the off chance Dupree and Norman tried to track Alyssa down again, there was an undercover black-and-white car outside on high alert. So, until that break came, all they had to do was wait.
Which made her anxious for another reason.
Alyssa sucked on her lip and exited the bathroom.
“Thanks again for letting me stay here,” she greeted the deputy when she got enough courage to walk into the living room. He was settled on the couch, so she took the chair at his side. Close but not too close.
“I’m just returning the favor,” he said with a shrug. “You opened your home to me more than once already.”
Alyssa’s face began to heat at the thought of his hand gripping her body, feeling the beginnings of his arousal pressing against the thin material of her sleep shorts.
But then just as quickly she remembered Cassie’s words.
He was leaving Carpenter.
He was leaving her.
“So, what did Deputy Mills have to say?” she asked, trying to curb her hurt before he could see he’d caused it. He’d taken a call from the man just before she excused herself to go shower.
“It was actually from his father, but he said Dante will be fine.” He pointed to his cheek. “He has a hairline fracture but nothing permanent. When he was awake he told the captain that Dupree used the butt of his gun to knock him out. He didn’t even hear the man coming.”
“It’s a good thing he did that instead of shoot,” she pointed out. The spot on her back that was puckered from her scar tingled. “He hasn’t always been reserved about doing that.”
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