Chapter Fifteen

“Morning.” Tess smiled as she walked into Jesse’s room, fingering her rose quartz necklace.

“Morning.” He grinned then lowered the volume on the TV. “Are Eric and Tiger here?”

She sat in the chair beside the bed. It was nine a.m., just over twelve hours since his surgery. His eyes were no longer rimmed with pain, although the nurses had told her he was still running a low fever and they planned on keeping him in the hospital until his temperature returned to normal.

“Eric’s outside waiting for Dayne. As for Tiger, I seriously doubt dogs are allowed in a hospital.”

Jesse frowned. “But they’re cops. Both of ’em.” Her brother reached for the cup of water on the table and put the straw to his mouth, taking noisy slurps.

“I don’t know what the rules are, even for K-9s. You’ll see Tiger soon enough.” A spurt of relief shot through her. If her brother was well enough to be thinking about a dog, then she had high hopes his recovery would be quick.

The sooner the better.

After Eric had left her standing in the hallway, more sexually aroused than she’d been in her entire life, she felt like a complete fool.

The man was confusing as hell. He’d thrust her from him, and the look on his face had been one of utter disgust. Her mistake, one she wouldn’t make again. Besides, given what he’d told her about his friends’ murders, he’d kick her to the curb if he knew the insidious depths of what she was hiding.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” she began, knowing her brother wouldn’t like what she was about to say. “I’m doing the controlled delivery in your place.”

Jesse released the straw from his mouth. “What? No.”

“Yes, I am,” she insisted, thinking briefly that her brother’s reaction had parroted Eric’s verbatim. “You told these people you’d make the delivery today, and we can’t put them off any longer. It’s my decision, and Eric agrees it’s the only way to make this happen, and the only way to fulfill your promise to the prosecutor. You’re in no shape to do it, so I’m doing it for you.”

“I dunno about this.” He shook his head. “It could be dangerous.”

“You know I’ll be careful.” She reached over and squeezed her brother’s hand. “Eric has a plan. He’ll explain more when he gets here.”

Scrabbling claws came to her ears, and a moment later, Tiger trotted into the room, followed by Eric.

“How you doing, kid?” He set a few magazines on the table.

“Better now.” Jesse’s eyes lit with excitement as Tiger neared the bed, and Tess was grateful for the diversion. Her brother tried sitting up, then grimaced and eased back against the mattress. “Thanks for bringin’ him.”

“You’re welcome. Brought you some K-9 magazines.” He nodded to the table.

“Cool, thanks.” Ignoring the magazines, Jesse waved Tiger closer to the bed so he could pet him. The dog’s tail whipped back and forth, smacking against the side of the bed.

The plan had been not to look at Eric any more than necessary, but his thoughtful gesture at bringing Tiger and the magazines tugged at her heart. When she nodded her thanks, the look he returned was cool and impassive.

Try not to think about him. Or his bone-melting kisses that made her hotter than a blister bug in an Alabama pepper patch.

Great. Alabama. Talk about a sobering reality check.

She pushed a button on the bed’s remote, raising the mattress so Jesse could sit up more comfortably. She gave Tiger a hearty scrubbing behind the ears, and in return he bestowed a lick on the back of her hand. “How did you get him past the nurse’s station?”

“It wasn’t a problem.” Eric sat on a corner of the mattress at the foot of the bed. “Even if Tiger wasn’t my partner, this hospital has an established pet therapy program.”

Tiger rose on his hind legs to rest his front paws gingerly on the bed beside Jesse, as if he inherently sensed her brother’s fragile condition and didn’t want to cause him any discomfort. He rested his muzzle on the mattress, allowing her brother to pet his ears and head.

She ran her hand along Tiger’s back, feeling the dog’s muscles bunch beneath her fingers. “It’s amazing how they know when someone is in pain.”

Jesse managed to shift slightly on his side to face Tiger. The dog stretched closer and landed several light licks on her brother’s face. “Do you think I could ever be a K-9 cop?” He looked hopefully at Eric.

Eric hesitated before answering. “Maybe. Some day.”

Meaning, if her brother didn’t wind up with a criminal conviction that would sully his record and follow him for the rest of his life.

When Eric’s gaze flicked briefly to hers, it’d softened, making her heart yearn for something that could never be. Heat crept to her neck and face, reminding her of the way her body temperature had soared the minute his lips had melded to hers.

She quickly looked away to find her brother watching her oddly. He knows. Jesse might be ten years her junior, but he’d always picked up on her feelings, and it was obvious to him that something had happened between her and Eric, even if he didn’t know exactly what.

Luckily, Eric had spent most of the drive to the hospital on the phone with his boss, going over last-minute details for the controlled delivery, so she’d been spared any awkward conversation about their aborted hallway encounter. Their hotter than hell hallway encounter.

Dayne strode into the room. “Feeling better?” he said to Jesse.

“Yeah, thanks.” Jesse glanced briefly at the FBI agent, but his attention was entirely on Tiger.

“Got a minute?” Dayne asked Eric, canting his head to the hallway.

“Yeah.” Eric glanced at his watch, then to Tess. “We’ve got plenty of time, nearly four hours before the meet.” He winked at Jesse. “Keep an eye on Tiger for me, will you?”

“Sure thing.” Jesse grinned.

The men headed out of the room, leaving her and Jesse alone with Tiger, who seemed content to remain on his hind legs, snuggling his head tenderly against her brother’s side.

“So?” Jesse’s hand stilled on the dog’s head. “What happened?”

“What do you mean, what happened?” Unable to sit still beneath his accusing stare, she stood and began to pace the room, although she knew darned well what he meant. She just didn’t want to give voice to it.

“Tessie.” He gave her a duh look. “Did you and Eric do it?”

She spun on him, somewhat shocked by his blunt accusation. Then again, he was a teenage boy. They didn’t know any other way when it came to talking about sex.

“No, we didn’t do it.” She flopped back on the chair and crossed her arms.

“Oh.” The abject look of disappointment on her brother’s face almost made her laugh. “You know, it’d be okay with me if you guys did.”

She huffed at the ridiculousness of their conversation. “Thank you for your permission, but I can assure you, it won’t happen. Ever.” Because it can’t.

“Why not?” He glanced at the open door, lowering his voice. “The guy’s got a major boner for you, and you’re hot for him. Look, all I’m sayin’ is that I approve.”

“Approve of what?” Eric asked as he and Dayne came back inside.

Tiger lowered from the bed to sit beside Eric, while Dayne remained standing by the door.

“Nothing.” Tess pressed her hands to her warm cheeks then caught her brother’s knowing grin.

Shoot. Am I that transparent?

The thought had her face heating more.

“Did you tell him about the change of plan?” Eric asked.

“Yeah, and I don’t like it.” Jesse’s lips twisted in disapproval.

“I don’t blame you,” Eric said. “I don’t like it, either, but it’s the best shot we have of getting you out of this mess and obtaining the information we need.”

A phone rang, and Eric reached into his thigh pocket.

Jesse’s phone.

He’d taken custody of it last night at the hospital. “It’s them.” He looked at Dayne, who quickly closed the hospital room door. “Hold this.” He handed her brother the phone. “Don’t answer it yet.” He yanked another phone from the clip on his belt.

From her position, Tess saw that Eric had set his phone to record mode.

The phone kept ringing.

“Act like everything’s fine.” Eric spoke quickly. “As soon as you answer, put the call on speaker. Tell them the pickup is fixed and you’ll meet them at the truck stop at one o’clock. Don’t say anything about being in the hospital.”

“Okay.” Jesse gave a tense nod then answered the call, immediately putting it on speaker. “Hello?”

Tess gripped the armrests. Maybe they were only checking up on the condition of Jesse’s pickup. Or maybe something was wrong. Either way, this couldn’t be over too soon.

“Where are you?” a male voice asked, one that sounded identical to the man who’d answered the phone on Friday at the Marshal’s office.

She loosened her grip on the armrests. She’d half expected the voice to be that of Mark Pritchard—the man she thought she’d seen in the parking lot the other day.

“Hunterdon County.” Jesse watched Eric for cues. “I’ll be at the truck stop at one o’clock.”

“We’re moving up the timetable,” the voice continued. “Meet me at ten o’clock. Sawmill Road in Lebanon, mile marker seven. There’s an old red barn on the right side of the road. Park in front of the barn doors and wait there.”

Eric nodded, but his face was tight, his brows bunched.

“Okay.” No sooner than her brother said the word, the call ended.

Eric turned off the recorder on the phone. “Damn, that’s less than an hour from now.”

“Do you know where that barn is?” Dayne asked.

He nodded. “I think so. There are a lot of old abandoned barns on that road. Once we know exactly which property we’re dealing with, we can run it for ownership. The problem is that’s a rural, two-lane road. No shoulders and no good place for surveillance teams to stage nearby during the meet. Anyone pulling over would stand out like a sore thumb. The nearest place to park is an elementary school lot about three-quarters of a mile to the south.”

“Which means,” Dayne added, “we won’t be close enough to pick up audio or visual transmissions in real time. The best we can get are the recordings we pull off the truck after the meet.” He unclipped his phone from his belt. “I’ll tell the teams to haul ass to the new staging location.”

“I’ll call in for air support.” Eric stood and punched in a number on his cell phone. “With direct line of sight, a repeater in the chopper should be strong enough to bounce the transmissions to our location in the parking lot.”

“Good idea.” Dayne opened the door, turning at the last second. “Meet you both outside.”

Tess couldn’t calm the gnawing fear in her belly. She didn’t know what a repeater was, but she understood that the change of meet location was throwing a major chink in Eric’s plan, one that would give her considerably less protection. “How far is the drive from here?”

“About thirty minutes,” he answered. “But we need to go the lab first and get the pickup. We have barely enough time to make it there and get to the meet.”

“Eric.” Jesse managed to push himself up on one elbow. “Will she really be safe?”

“I swear I won’t let anything happen to her.” Blue eyes lasered into hers. “I’ll protect her with my life.”

…

The door of the pickup squeaked as Eric opened it. He hadn’t meant to say something right out of a bad Hollywood movie, but the words had flown from his mouth, and he’d meant every one of them.

He would protect Tess. If necessary, with his life.

It didn’t matter to him that their time together was short or that she would never be his. Tess McTavish was special. He’d always known that. She was not only the loveliest woman he’d ever met, but a beautiful soul to be protected at all costs.

Sap. There he’d gone again with the Hollywood script. Again, he’d meant it.

“We reloaded the drums on the pickup and replaced the bed cap.” He pointed to the tiny pinhole camera the techies had installed at the base of the windshield, just above the dashboard. “That’s where the camera is. The microphone is right behind the front bumper grill, so make sure you turn off the engine as soon as possible, or we won’t be able to pick up any sound.”

Standing beside him, Tess was tiny. Fragile, even. The black sleeveless blouse and just-above-the-knee length skirt wasn’t her typical over-the-top colorful style, and it made her skin seem paler, like pure alabaster.

“Got it?” he asked when she didn’t respond. He touched his fingers to her arm, and she nearly jumped.

“Yes.” She nodded. “Turn off the engine. Got it.”

Did she?

The tense set of her mouth and the slight furrow between her brows didn’t come from fear alone. It came from something else. She’s distracted. Tess might be standing inches from him, but her mind was a thousand miles away and the clock was ticking.

“Hey.” He cupped her chin. “I need you with me on this. It’s important that you remember to turn the engine off so I can hear what’s going on. Otherwise, you’re as good as alone out there.”

“I got it,” she repeated, but her eyes were still distant.

He wished they had more time for him to get to the bottom of what was distracting her, but the hourglass was about to run out.

“I plugged the meet location into your cell phone.” He nodded to the phone he’d already set in the cup holder. “I also wrote down directions in case your phone loses signal.” He didn’t like the last-minute change of venue for this op, but they’d have to roll with it.

Dark clouds rose in the distance, accompanied by an occasional flash of lightning. Rain began to fall, pinging on the hood of the truck. Not good. If the storm headed their way, the chopper would be grounded, and they wouldn’t be able to see or hear a thing.

“I can do this.” She nodded, as if trying to convince herself more than him.

“I know you can,” he replied softly. What he didn’t say was that with every passing second, he was so regretting going along with this plan. Stupidly, he’d thought that when this moment came, he could handle it, but man was he wrong.

The irrational urge to sweep her in his arms, carry her away, and tuck her safely in his house where nothing bad could happen to her was as clear in his mind as a billboard sign.

You’re crazy. Insane.

No, he was scared out of his head.

For her.

Suck it up and get it done.

“Dayne and I will head out first,” he said. “Wait five minutes, then start driving. Don’t make any quick turns or the drums will shift. We’ll all be in the school parking lot you’ll pass on your left, less than a mile from the barn. Assuming you can convince them you’re Jesse’s sister, make the delivery, then get the hell out of there. We’ll do the rest. Drive directly to the Flemington post office in town. An agent will follow you there and drive you home.”

Home. The idea that she would be there when he returned was about the only thing keeping him from acting on his urges.

She nodded, outwardly calm and collected, but the pulse at her throat beat rapidly. Normally, he’d be having this talk with an informant he’d wired up or an undercover agent. Not a woman he…

Cared about. A lot.

The steady whop-whop got louder. An unmarked chopper flew low, staying well beneath the cloud cover, which, he noted, was lowering by the second. Damn. He recognized the chopper’s tail numbers and prayed the storm held off long enough.

Rain pounded harder. He stepped aside for Tess to get in the truck.

“I’ll either be on the first surveillance shift or doing recon, so I won’t be home until after midnight.”

Without looking at him, she nodded then adjusted the seat and rearview mirror. The only outward sign of tension was the whitening of her knuckles on the wheel.

And of his own where he gripped the edge of the driver’s door.

Knowing she was about to drive into a dangerous situation was messing with his perspective and his objectivity, because he wanted to do something he shouldn’t. Something he’d sworn to himself that he wouldn’t do again.

Leaning into the cab, he slipped his hand to her nape, drew her to him, kissed her quickly, then drew back. Startled green eyes locked with his. For one long moment, they remained that way, their faces only inches apart. Then her hand shot out, cupping the back of his head, tugging his mouth to hers.

The kiss was frenzied and hot. Deep and wet. He was drowning and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Her taste, the very essence of her breath was warm and honey sweet. He knew damn well that Dayne was waiting for him, watching him kiss her, and he didn’t care.

He pulled away, his chest heaving as he sucked in air. Her lips were parted as she did the same.

To keep from reaching for her again, he fisted his hands at his sides. Don’t go, he wanted to say but didn’t. Couldn’t.

Only after he shut the driver-side door and turned away did he fully understand what had just happened.

Something inside him had snapped, and he’d had the unsettling feeling he would never see her again.