Midnight Bride. Barbara McCauley

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СКАЧАТЬ night,” he said, turning to face her, “after I got you back to the cabin, you gained consciousness for a few moments. You pleaded with me not to call anyone.”

      “I pleaded with you? Why would I do that?”

      “That’s what I would like to know.”

      There it was again, she thought with confusion. The mistrust. But why? If he truly didn’t know her, or she him, why would he be suspicious? He moved toward her again, arms at his sides, carefully watching her face.

      “You begged me not to let them find you,” he said, standing beside the bed.

      “Them?” She pressed her fingers to her temple and rubbed at the stabbing pain that sliced through her head. “Who?”

      “I was hoping you might be able to tell me that,” he said without emotion. “You said, ‘no doctor, no police, don’t let them find me.’ You also had no ID on you.”

      She’d told him not to call anyone? That made no sense at all. “Is that why you don’t trust me, why you don’t believe me? You think I’m an escaped criminal and I’m on the run?” she asked incredulously.

      “You could be anyone, darlin’,” Caleb said dryly. “But one thing is clear. You were definitely on the run. From something, or somebody.”

      If she’d had the strength she would have laughed. On the run. Why would someone like her be running from anyone? Ridiculous. Except—she closed her eyes as the pain became nearly unbearable—she didn’t know what she was like.

      A moment passed, then she felt Caleb lift her head and press two aspirin into her mouth. She didn’t want them, she wanted her head to be clear so she could think.

      But what good would it do to fight him? He was right; she did need to rest. She could think later, sort it out. Surely by the time she woke up, she would have her memory back, and she could call someone to come get her. Just an hour or two, then the pieces would fall in place.

      You could be anyone. Caleb’s words sent a chill up her spine.

      She swallowed when he held the water glass to her lips. His hands were gentle as he laid her head back down. Her lids were heavy, but she forced them open.

      “Hey, Caleb,” she murmured as he turned to leave.

      He looked back at her. “Yeah?”

      “I think I liked it better when we were married.”

      

      Caleb finished unloading the groceries he’d picked up in town, then moved into the living room. The fire he’d started almost two hours before was nearly gone, and a chill had settled into the cabin. Sparks flew when he threw three more logs into the fireplace, and new flames crackled to life.

      After Sarah had fallen back asleep, there’d been a break in the storm and he’d decided to drive into town while the roads were passable. He’d made some inquiries—whether there’d been any accidents on the mountain during the storm or if any strangers had been in—but no one had seen or heard anything unusual. He’d also stopped by the sheriff’s for a casual chat, but again, nothing. After buying a few things, he’d hurried back to the cabin just in time for the sky to open up again and unleash the current downpour. Wolf, who’d been posted outside Sarah’s door while he’d been gone, had taken off for parts unknown, mindless of the weather.

      Caleb threw another log on the fire and brushed his hands off on his jeans. He wasn’t expecting snow, but with the temperature dropping steadily over the past couple of hours, no doubt there’d be a coat of ice outside tonight thick enough to skate on. He frowned as he realized it might be difficult getting out again for a day or two.

      Which also meant it would be difficult getting in.

       Please don’t let them find me.

      Caleb narrowed his eyes and stared into the dancing flames. Sarah’s words and the desperate tone in her voice played over and over in his mind. She’d been nearly unconscious when he’d brought her in from the storm. Why would he give credence to anything a half-drowned, incoherent female said? Especially one who’d had a knock on the head. For all he knew, she might have meant the little green men with four eyes and antenna hair.

      He knew a lot about paranoia. It ran deep, made a person suspicious of everyone from the mailman to little girls selling cookies.

      And most especially, to women who washed up on the bank of a creek in the middle of the night—right outside the door of a high-level federal government agent, whom half the agency wanted to find and reinstate in service, and the other half wanted to kill.

      He certainly wouldn’t put it past the agency to sink to a stunt like this. Sending a female operative to find him. Not to bring him back, of course. Even though it had been six months, they knew only too well that no one could bring him back until he was damn good and ready. If she was an agent, her duty would be to assess the situation and report back, nothing more.

      He smiled slowly. Between climbing into bed with her, then rolling on the floor with her this morning, she’d certainly have plenty to report. Just thinking about those long legs and how incredibly soft her body had been underneath his brought an instantaneous tightening in his lower regions. And those eyes of hers. Lord help any man who fell into those baby blues.

      With a sigh, he picked up the fireplace poker and stabbed at the logs. He just couldn’t believe that the woman he’d pulled out of mud and water in near freezing temperature worked with the government. He’d always had an uncanny ability to spot another operative, and he didn’t want to believe that the agency would stoop that low, or jeopardize the life of an agent that way.

      But hadn’t that kind of thinking nearly killed him seven months ago?

      It had killed Tom and his wife, Jenny. Agents in Caleb’s department rarely married or had families. They didn’t even have friends. It was too risky. Not only because the work was dangerous, but the threat of retaliation and blackmail against loved ones was too great. And once an agent was in this highly specialized department, they didn’t get out. If you married, your spouse took the same risks as you. Tom and Jenny had known that and taken that risk. They hadn’t even seen their first anniversary.

      Caleb’s hand tightened around the poker as he stared into the flames. He still woke up at night with the sound of the explosion, still heard Jenny’s screams….

      That operation had been one massive screwup. After he’d gotten out of the hospital, Caleb had found every man responsible and had graphically demonstrated his anger. If it hadn’t been for Mike, and the man’s rank in the department, Caleb would be in the brig right now, instead of on a leave of absence.

      Mike Townsend was the only person Caleb would ever trust again. The only man he truly called friend. They’d entered the agency at the same time fourteen years ago and had both risen quickly, with Mike choosing command positions and Caleb preferring the hands-on assignments. They’d been to hell and back together, and each of them had saved the other’s life. More than once.

      That’s why, when he’d gone to town earlier, he’d called Mike, who had sworn he hadn’t sent an agent in. But Caleb knew that didn’t rule out the possibility someone else in the department had without Mike’s knowledge. And there was always the possibility, though remote, that she was from another СКАЧАТЬ