Microsoft Word - DeadHeat_wrp356.doc (8 page)

there.”

Jenna looked everywhere but at the bastard who’d

humiliated her. Her lips throbbed, along with other parts

of her body, and her face was on fire. She could only

imagine what her hair looked like. With all that steam

they’d generated, it must be one big frizz ball. Taking a

deep breath, she fought to regain control. Stay calm,

Jenna. “I'm meeting a friend. Remember?”

His eyes narrowed. “You can't go running around by

yourself. Not after what’s happened tonight. It's not safe.”

What was happening here? She'd just experienced

the most momentous sexual experience of her life, and he

wanted to talk about being safe? How could he just ignore

what had happened? Was the man even human?

Obviously, he planned to ignore what had been for her a

life-altering experience. She damn well wouldn't give him

any more satisfaction than she already had.

She lifted her chin. “I promised to meet Dani and

that's what I'm doing. I'll either drive to the farm

afterwards, or I'll sleep at the track. I'll be safe there with

all that security you have around.” She bent down to pick

up her jacket and purse off the floor where they'd landed.

Stepping around him, she walked toward the door.

He grasped her arm. “Jenna. There’ll be no bar-

hopping tonight.”

Glancing at the hand on her arm, she stared into his

eyes until he let her go. “What the hell business is it of

yours? I'm over twenty-one. I'll go where I damn well

want with whomever I damn well please.”

His jaw clenched and a muscle twitched in his cheek.

“If you insist on meeting your friend, then I'm going with

you. Somebody's out to get you, in case you've forgotten.”

Someone other than you?
She shrugged. “Suit

yourself. Meet you on the backside.”

They walked side by side, but might as well have

been a mile apart. Jenna checked to make sure the

apartment door locked, and they parted and moved to

their separate vehicles. She inhaled the sweet scent of the

evening air, compliments of late afternoon showers that

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had freshened the earth.

“Rye?”

He paused by the door of his SUV. The dim light

masked his expression.

“I plan on forgetting what happened in the hall just

now. A word to the wise—don't even think about a repeat

performance.” Without waiting for a response, she slid in

the driver's seat and started her car. After he backed out,

she followed.

Having to look at the back of his SUV irritated her.

Driving slowly, she let cars get between their vehicles

while riding the waves of humiliation that rolled over her.

Rye had used her. No, she’d allowed Rye to use her. Never

in her life had she been so hot and ready for sex. And he'd

stopped touching her just as easily as shutting off a TV

program he didn't feel like watching.

Christ. How could she work with him every day? Why

had she reacted with such abandon? She'd been around

plenty of attractive men. Why did it have to be Rye who

pushed the right buttons? She needed her head examined.

A quick glance at the dash clock told her she wouldn't

be meeting Dani tonight. Stopped at a red light, she

flipped open her cell to check the messages. Two from

Dani. She’d grown tired of waiting and had gone home.

Jenna started to dial Dani's number, but changed her

mind. Her friend would more than likely be in bed by

now. Tomorrow they’d reschedule their date.

Rye was leaning against the door of his SUV when

Jenna pulled in and parked on the backside. She turned

off the engine and noticed two men, the night guards Rye

had hired. Even dressed in dark clothes, they stuck out

like tits on a bull. Then again, they weren't there to sneak

around. Their job entailed keeping intruders out.

Jenna knew she should get out of the car. Instead,

she rested her head against the seat and closed her eyes.

Through the open window her ears feasted on the silence.

Other than security, no one wandered on the backside at

night. Liniment, the most prevalent smell, day or night on

a racetrack, made her nose tingle. No matter what the

scents, all were fresh. People often asked her how she

could stand the manure. For horse lovers, there were no

bad smells on the track.

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Dead Heat

Her errant thoughts drifted back to Rye. Her feverish

longing refused to go away. The places on her body his

hands had touched still burned. She gulped in a few deep

breaths for courage before getting out.

****

was Jenna doing? If she still planned to meet her friend,

she'd better get moving. Remembering how she'd short-

circuited in his arms made him hard all over again. Damn

it. It had taken the entire ride for his hard-on to go away.

She'd been so damn hot. Her sexy sweet smell still

lingered on his fingers.

Damn Brett. Damn the FBI. His brother's request

had put him in a no win situation. When he'd told Brett,

no problem, he could do this, he didn't really know Jenna

Green. Knew of her training abilities, but hadn't spoken

to her or been around her.

The day he'd officially hired her, he'd decided a quick

roll in the hay might be a pleasant diversion. Today, he

was in danger of losing his heart. He could have so easily

taken her in that hallway. It had killed him not to, but he

wanted more. More than just instant gratification and a

'well, that was fun, let's do it again soon' end to an

evening.

He pushed his body away from the SUV and walked

toward her car. She flinched when his hand lightly

touched her elbow.

“Are you okay?” He'd have to be blind not to see the

shudder that ran through her. Great. She couldn't stand

his touch. And he didn't blame her.

“Yeah, I'm just dandy.”

He ignored the sarcasm. “We have to talk, Jenna.” He

squatted down, putting himself level with her face. “About

tonight. What happened between us wasn't

premeditated.”

He couldn't see the color of her eyes in the darkness,

but he didn't need to be psychic to know the gray was

dark and stormy.

“Forget it. It's over. It won't happen again.”

He trailed his finger down her arm. “I want it to

happen again. But in the right place, at the right time.”

She tugged her arm away. “You jackass. What makes

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you think I'm willing to participate in your sex games?”

His temper rose. “Sex games? Is that what you think?

That I was playing a game?”

He stood and straightened his shoulders, scowling

down at her. “I could have had you right on the floor. Or

up against the wall.” He raised his hand to stop her when

she opened her mouth. “But I didn't. Want to know why?

I'll tell you. You deserve better than that. We both

deserve better than that.”

Anger disappeared from her face, replaced by

confusion. Serves her right for thinking he was a pervert.

“Are you planning to sit here all night?”

“I called Dani. She's already gone home so we can

just go back to the farm.”

“Good. I'm tired.”

The moment they stopped talking, he heard a slight

ticking sound from under the hood of her car. “What's that

noise?”

“What noise?”

“Something's ticking.”

She stuck her head out the window.

The surge of panic in his chest almost choked him.

“Jenna, listen to me. Come to me. Crawl out the window.

I'll help you. Don't open your door. Don't touch anything.

Leave the keys in the ignition.”

He sucked in his breath and mentally counted to ten

while she wriggled her way out from under the steering

wheel. She crouched on the seat. The moment she leaned

her body through the open window, her arms wrapped

around his neck.

Rye put his hands under her armpits and yanked her

out of the car. The instant her feet touched the ground, he

took her hand and they raced away from the vehicle.

The deafening explosion shattered the peaceful night

into a fiery ball. The force of the blast propelled their

bodies forward.

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Dead Heat

The strong, sickening smell of gasoline assaulted

Jenna's nose. She struggled to separate the distant wail of

sirens from the loud ringing in her ears, reminding her of

the day she and her father had gone to the shooting range

without ear protection. She lay face down on the ground.

With a groan, she rolled onto her back and stared at the

black sky.

Fiery heat blasted her from flames flickering in the

near distance. What the hell was going on? Memory, like

the explosion itself, ripped through her. She sat up to look

for Rye. Dizziness overwhelmed her.

God. She used the palms of her hands to steady

herself. Where was Rye? The ringing in her ears changed

tones. It took her a few seconds to realize her cell phone

also was ringing. She dug in her pocket and pulled it out.

A loud moan came from somewhere to her right. She

answered the call, holding the phone with one hand and

crawled toward Rye. “Hello?”

“Last warning. Next time you die.”

The caller disconnected. Die? Bewilderment pushed

aside all rational thought. She tried to put the phone back

in her pocket, but fumbled and dropped it.

By the time she reached his side, Rye stirred.

Someone wanted to kill her. Now Rye's life was in danger,

too. She lifted his head onto her lap and waited for help to

arrive. She pushed the silky hair from his face.

Rye's eyes flickered open, and he tried to rise. “Are

you okay?” he croaked. He touched her cheek.

“I'm fine,” Jenna answered. At least for now.

By the time the police and fire engines arrived, the

grooms who lived in small units near the barns had

gathered to watch the burning car. Where were the two

security men Rye had hired? Why hadn't they rushed to

help? A beam of light bounced across the soft earth, moving

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towards them. Jenna raised a hand to shield her eyes as it

drew near.

“I swear. You two are one giant beehive. Always

attracting the bears.”

“Hello to you, too, Sergeant Hills,” Rye said.

“There's an ambulance on the way,” Hills said.

Rye struggled to his feet and reached down to help

Jenna. “Cancel it.”

“At least get checked over. Let's wait in your office.”

“Nothing's broken, nothing's burned. We’re fine.”

Jenna and Rye leaned against each other and walked

toward the barn. “Where are the guards you hired?” she

asked. “I saw one on each end of the barn when I arrived.

Why didn't they help us?”

“Their job is to guard Rising Sun and Tsunami. For

all we know, the explosion could have been a distraction

to get the guards away from the barn. I still think

someone wants to harm those two horses.”

“I agree about Rising Sun. The mob thinks he belongs

to them. But I'm not too sure about Tsunami.”

A lock of Rye's hair fell to his forehead, and she

raised a hand to brush it away. He beat her to it. Thank

God, he didn't notice her lapse.

“At the Keeneland Sales I bid as high as I had to in

order to get Tsunami,” he continued. “Kincaid gave up the

fight. Maybe his orders were to buy the horse at all costs.”

When they rounded the corner of the barn, Rye

reached into his jacket pocket for the key to the tack

room. He flicked on the light switch. Jenna squinted at

the brightness. After a few blinks, she took one look at

Rye’s clothes and reality hit. Black smudges marred his

face. She glanced down at her own clothes. Her jeans

looked like she'd been burning brush.

Hills shuffled into the room a minute later. “You

haven't been totally forthcoming, Mr. Cameron.”

Rye's shoulders tensed and the tell-tale muscle

twitched in his cheek. Jenna switched her attention to the

detective. What was he talking about? What did Rye know

that he hadn't shared with her? The two men moved to

Rye's office and shut the door.

This was about to become one hell of a long night.

She picked up a gallon of spring water. Her hands

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Dead Heat

trembled, sloshing the clear liquid over the top. She held

the plastic jug with both hands and poured water into the

back of the coffee pot. Unlike most people, she calmed

down with a cup of coffee. She put ground coffee in the

basket with jerky movements and pressed the brew

button.

After rapping her knuckles on the office door, she

walked in. Conversation ceased. “Coffee's brewing,” she

said to the ensuing silence. Hoisting herself, she sat on

the corner of Rye's desk, and met his gaze head on. “What

do you know that I don’t?”

He picked up a pencil, and she grabbed it before he

started to drum. “The FBI's interested in Dimitri's