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Chapter Eleven

Emery strode toward the cabin in the early morning light. He peered at the windows, looking for some sign of life inside.

Tori had kissed him again this morning before crawling into bed. Just a quick peck, but there was nothing friendly about it.

He could still hear her voice, quietly rambling when he passed out. He couldn't remember a single thing she'd said, but her nearness and the sound of her were comforting.

He glanced through the windows, but couldn't make out more than deeper shadows. It would be good if Tori could sleep longer. It might help make the day shorter for her.

The back door squeaked as he pulled it open, but that was unavoidable. He stepped into the kitchen and blinked in the relative brightness of the LED lantern. Tori sat on the counter in a pair of running shorts and a tank top.

“Wondered where you were.” Her voice was still husky from sleep.

“Just looking around.”

“Anything out there?” She ripped open a package of powdered donuts and held it out to him, but it wasn't the donuts he wanted.

He plucked one from the package and lifted it to her lips. She didn't hesitate to open her mouth and bite it in half, leaving a smear of white sugar across her lips.

“Nothing.” He shoved the other half donut into his own mouth, watching her tongue swipe the residue from her skin. He caught himself before he mimicked the action.

“What's our game plan?”

He leaned against the refrigerator and pondered their options. There were too many questions and not enough answers.

“Do you think the hit team is connected to Evers somehow?” Tori's voice was quieter, smaller.

“Unlikely.” He'd thought about that long and hard before discarding the idea. It was too coincidental. Besides, the mob didn't play well with anyone, and Evers wasn't the kind of person to share turf with anyone, even on a temporary basis. He wasn't sure how the Eleventh factored into things yet, but he'd find answers.

What Emery wouldn't give for a laptop and a Wi-Fi connection. He was pretty sure he could uncover something now that Evers's organization appeared to be in bed with the Eleventh. He hadn't paid as much attention to the Eleventh's soldiers' activity on social media since they'd been focusing on Evers's dummy corporations. The two working together was the only explanation for the Eleventh to be openly hanging out at Greenworks. There was a good chance Emery could pick up something on the Internet, now that he knew what to look for. The Eleventh crew wasn't anywhere near as tight-lipped as Evers's people.

“Will you say something, please? I'm tired of listening to myself think.”

“Things we know.” Emery held up a finger and ticked off each item. “Someone is protecting Evers. Maybe even someone in the FBI or higher up. We can probably assume Evers knows we are FBI and that we successfully infiltrated his organization through Dustin Ross before he died. It makes sense that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. With Evers in prison, he needs foot soldiers now that Dustin is gone. The Eleventh has a process that works for them, but they aren't the sophisticated machine that Evers had going. They're also expendable.”

“I need coffee if you're going to talk this much.”

“You said to talk.” He grabbed a bottled latte from the cooler and handed it to her. They'd be without hot coffee until they got back to civilization.

“I know. Do you talk to Aiden like this?” She twisted the top off and drank deeply of the creamy liquid.

“When I have something to say.” He watched her throat flex as she swallowed. He'd felt those same muscles constrict under his lips yesterday.

She breathed deeply, perking up a bit. “Okay, keep going.”

“The hit team does not fit into their operation.” Emery stared at the floor, rolling the question over in his head.

“What if Evers's organization is trying to pick us off? Divide us? It's not like we've raided any of his other operations. Fuck, we can't even get FBI backup to pull that off. I don't believe in coincidences. Someone in the FBI could be protecting him, but I'd guess whoever
they
are also can't hang us out to dry directly. That still doesn't totally explain the hit team.”

Emery had gathered enough evidence to prove the nefarious activities of a couple of Evers's fringe companies over the course of the last few weeks. They'd still been denied operational authority to raid.

“The Russians have to be here on their own. For some other reason. Someone else wants you and your sister dead. I think it's time we made use of Detective Smith,” Emery said.

“Really?”

“He wants the same thing we do. Fuck, he wanted to talk the other night. Said he had something to tell Aiden, but I forgot. I was too focused on you.” It was a potentially dangerous mistake. What if Smith knew something? What if he'd been trying to warn them? Emery's single-minded obsession had him tripping up where he shouldn't.

“What did he want to talk about?” Tori asked.

“I don't know.” Emery scrubbed the side of his face. This wasn't normal. He was usually on top of things, but the threat to Tori had overridden all priorities. “I've got to talk to Detective Smith.”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“No way. Emery, we've got to stay off the grid, remember?”

He glanced at her, noting the lines of worry and wide eyes. She was awake now, and maybe even scared. He crossed the space between them in a single stride and gripped the edge of the counter on either side of her legs. There were a number of laws he'd broken to protect her, and he'd break more to keep her safe. These were truths he'd grown comfortable with.

“We can't contact Smith. It's not safe,” she said.

He hated seeing this strong woman afraid. Not that he could blame her. In her shoes he'd probably be halfway across the country by now, and with good reason.

“Tori, if these guys are as good as they're supposed to be, they'll find us eventually. We need help. We need Smith to at least run interference with the Eleventh and keep them off our ass while we handle this mob mess. If we can't get it from CJ, maybe Smith will help us. We did him a solid calling him in for that arrest. He owes us.” And Emery would call in the favor on Tori's account. When Aiden and Julian were debriefed on exactly what was going down, Emery did not expect things to go well. Shit was going to hit the fan, because he seriously doubted CJ would rock the boat right now with the crew. “Is there somewhere nearby we can go to use a pay phone? Something they can't link to us?”

“Let me think.” She cradled her head in her hands.

He had to touch her. It had been over six hours since their last kiss, and nearly an hour and a half since he'd sat in the living room watching her sleep.

Emery wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to the edge of the counter, hugging her to his chest. She came willingly, resting her head against his shoulder and looping her arms around his neck. He felt her breath against his skin when she sighed. In his arms. He barely dared to breathe for fear of waking up and realizing this moment was a dream.

“There's a campground. We passed it on our way here.” Her voice was slightly muffled, but he felt the vibrations down to his bones.

“Good.” He wished they had a different ride. The Tesla was flashy. Perfect for his role in Miami, but out here it would stick out. If they could acquire another set of wheels, that would be ideal, but time-consuming and risky.

“We should go now, before it gets too much lighter and people are up and around.”

“One of us should go—”

“No,” Tori snapped and sat up straight. “We don't split up.”

“Okay. Then the faster we go, the better.” Did they pack everything up and take it with them? If Smith had something to tell them they might need to go fast.

Tori pulled him closer, squeezing his shoulders and burying her face against his neck. He gently hugged her, allowing his eyes to close and his senses to revel in the smell and touch of her body.

“We're going to be okay,” he said.

She straightened, nodding, but made no other reply. For lack of anything better to say, he backed up a few steps, giving her space.

“I'll get the food packed up. Can you get the bags?” She gathered the prepackaged foods back into the plastic bags, moving with purpose. It appeared she was making the call. They were preparing for another run. Another place to hide. Hopefully this time and place would provide them with more security—and a little privacy.

Emery didn't know what to call this thing between them, but he wasn't about to let it go. He wanted her. The Russians couldn't have her.

* * *

Tori glanced at Emery's profile as he drove. The newly risen sun bathed his face in a golden light she itched to reach out and touch. He calmed the panic in her soul and made her heart beat fast for a whole other reason.

She'd often imagined what sex with Emery might be like. How it would feel. His quiet demeanor had led her to think of him as a strong, gentle giant. Boy, how wrong she'd been. He hadn't hurt her, but she'd been shocked and thrilled by his roughness and the barely contained power. But where did they go from here? What did it mean?

Last night she'd finally shoved her lust for Emery to the backseat and focused on the immediate needs—which did not include a stroll through her fantasies. Today, no matter how much she tried to focus on the dangers facing them and their crew, she couldn't ignore the way her nerves bunched and tied themselves into knots every time she looked at him.

“Emery?” She turned to face him, giving in to the desire to simply look at him.

“Hm?”

How did she ask him without sounding pathetic?

“About yesterday . . .”
You know, when you fucked my lights out?

“Which part?” His calm, even tone gave nothing away. The jerk. Couldn't he be as tightly wound as she?

“Is that going to change things?” She held her breath, praying he wouldn't be obtuse this time.

“I'm going to assume you aren't talking about the hit team or Greenworks or—”

“I mean between us, asshat.”

He glanced at her, the little thought lines bracketing his mouth. What did that mean?

“Yes,” he replied.

“Yes—what?”

“It changes everything.”

Not even her imaginary version of Emery said more. She stared at his profile, trying to puzzle out his words. They didn't calm her or ease her mind. Change in a bad way? Or a good one?

“I want you safe. That's got to be my first priority, then the crew. I can't offer you more than that right now, but I have no intention of pretending like yesterday didn't happen.”

Tori turned to look at the road, her mind abuzz with a hundred possibilities. She couldn't argue with his logic; she could even get behind it.

“Tori?”

“That's perfect. I don't think I could forget either.”

She noticed the yellow-and-black KOA signs ahead of them. There were people moving around the RVs in the campground, but not much activity. It would have been better if they'd gotten up earlier to do this run, but it couldn't be helped.

“While I call Smith can you see about ice?” Emery asked.

“Of course.”

He turned the Tesla into the campground, easing down the gravel path lined with palm trees. The first row of RVs sported container gardens and plastic pink flamingos. The residents clearly didn't intend on moving anytime soon. There were a few people out sipping their first cups of coffee and enjoying the morning sunshine, but not many.

“How's the car's charge?” she asked.

“Fine.”

“What's fine?” She peered at the dash but Emery cut the engine before she could see how many bars of charge the electric car had under the hood.

“We could go a couple hundred miles still.”

Emery parked the Tesla in front of what appeared to be the administration offices, general store, and hot dog stand all in one. A pay phone out front had wires hanging out from behind the unit. Not a good sign.

“I'll find a phone to use,” he said.

“I'll get ice.” Tori pulled out the handgun she'd stashed in the glove box and stuck it in her waistband at her back.

“Think you'll need that?” Emery asked.

“You never know.”

She stepped out of the car and pulled the big, ugly aviators down to shield her face under the ball cap. Her hair was pinned to her scalp to hide her long, red hair.

The ground was damp with dew, and dust clung to everything. Her feet thumped on the wooden floorboards as she crossed to the double front doors of the general store. She glanced over her shoulder at Emery striding toward a group of older men, his cap pushed up and a smile she didn't recognize on his face. It looked plastic and wrong to her, but only because she knew him.

She'd never seen him at work in the field, only at the garage when he was in his element. It struck her again that there was more to him than she'd ever guessed. He wasn't just a tech, he was a dangerous field agent with the skill to mesh into any environment.

And he was on her side.

Tori pushed the doors of the store open and glanced around. There were a couple of dining tables on the far side where people were gathered for coffee and donuts. Several older women had their heads together, whispering furiously, their penciled brows arching at whatever was being discussed.

She smiled at the bored teen manning the register and glanced around for anything useful. Armed with a plastic basket, she grabbed a couple of packaged foods and a bunch of barely ripe bananas.