Collision Course (24 page)

“I
agree.” Serrano sat forward. “Notify us at once when you have his location. I
will take care of it.”

Bennett
had an overwhelming urge to smash his fist into the two arrogant faces but at
the moment he wasn’t in a position to do so. Losing his temper would get him
nowhere. When he’d taken care of Haggerty he’d have plenty of time for revenge.

“I have
men on standby,” Bennett growled.

El-Salaki
made a rude noise. “So far your men haven’t been too successful. Tobias and I
will trap the rabbit and take him down.”

Bennett
wanted to argue but it would be useless.

“Fine.”
He distributed new burner phones. “We should destroy any others we have and
program only our numbers into these. Let’s set them up now. When it’s done,
we’ll destroy them.”

The rain
hadn’t let up when his plane lifted off and headed toward home. Those two could
say and do what they wanted. He would kill Haggerty himself.

*****

Trey
rotated his neck to work out the kinks. They were finishing their second pot of
coffee and had been sitting at the kitchen table for more than two hours. Joe
had listened to everything Trey had to say, but he was meticulous with his
questions. Over and over, he took Trey through everything from the first phone
call to barely getting out of town to ending up in Connolly and setting up shop
at the Half ’n Half. Then he went over it all one last time, scraping every
detail from Trey’s brain, as well as Casey’s. The yellow pad in front of Joe
rapidly filled with notes. When he’d wrung all they had to give from them, he
put his pencil on the pad and assessed Trey with sharp eyes.

“Well,
now. I’d have to say you stepped in a big deep pile of shit.”

Trey
snorted. “No kidding. You don’t know how many times I’ve wished I’d never
answered the damn phone.”

“Then
you’d still be having those little suspicions about Bennett,” Casey reminded
him, “and the man would still be doing the kinds of things that get a lot of
people killed.”

“You’re
right. I know you are.” Trey reached for her hand. “I’m sorry as hell you’re
caught in the middle of my mess, Casey. I never meant for you to get so
involved.”

She
squeezed his fingers. “My choice, ace. I could have walked away any time.”

“I know.
Still…”

“Still,
nothing. I’m in it with you.”

“I’d say
I’m damn lucky I ended up in Connolly. Or maybe fate pointed me in the right
direction.”

He
wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her hard and deep, but it wasn’t the
time for it. He settled for lifting her hand to his lips, kissing the knuckles.
He didn’t miss Joe’s searching look or his sudden, protective body language. A
clear message—don’t mess with my friend or you won’t be breathing too well.
Trey would make damn sure the man knew how he felt about Casey and how real his
feelings were.

“Think
we can focus on business here kids?” Joe’s voice had a touch of wry humor. “We
have a pesky little emergency to take care of, remember?”

“Sorry.”
Trey released his grip on Casey. “You’re right. And I’m grateful you’re letting
us intrude and dump my problem on you.”

“I have
to say,” Joe told him, “I’m impressed you dug up as much as you did.”

Trey
shook his head. “To tell the truth, I figure I can’t be too good if they found
me out.”

“It took
them a few days, though, and they had to put in extra security to do it. Don’t
be too quick to dismiss what you did.”

Casey
had been silent while Trey spit out his story. Now she asked, “So where do we
go from here?”

“You
ditched the laptop, right?” Joe confirmed.

They
both nodded.

“So we
need to recreate all the data you’ve told me about before you speak to your
friend.”

“I saved
everything in a file in Internet storage,” Trey told him. “We could pull that
up to begin with.”

Joe
shook his head. “Not touching it. You don’t know what little traps you might
have picked up and left sitting there, waiting to be activated. We’ll start
from scratch. I can promise you no one ever knows when I’m on their tail.”

“I want
to thank you for your help.”

Joe
winked at Casey. “You can thank my girl here. Her word’s better than gold and
her bullshit meter’s the best. She’s says you’re a good guy and need my help,
you got it.”

She got
up and went around the table to give him a quick hug. Trey felt a sudden prick
of jealousy before reminding himself the two were old friends, nothing more. If
Joe meant more to her, she wouldn’t have been marking time in Connolly,
wondering what to do with the rest of her life.

“Where
do we start?” he asked, anxious to get moving.

“I
start. I’ve got what I need from you to get going. Casey, how about making some
sandwiches for us? You’ll find everything you need in the fridge and the
breadbox. I’d offer to fix them, but I think it’s more important I get started
on our project. Then I think the two of you need some crash time. It’s been a
long, tense day for both of you.”

Trey
frowned. “You don’t want me to sit with you while you work?”

Joe
laughed. “You’re kidding, right? No one has eyes on me when I do my thing.” He
smiled at Casey. “Not even you, sugar.” The grin disappeared. “I also want you
both to stay inside until we get what we need and you’ve made your contact,
Trey. My property is surrounded and protected but let’s not take chances.”

“We left
without any preparation,” Casey reminded him. “I don’t suppose you’d have an
extra toothbrush or two.”

“It so
happens every now and then a rare guest spends the night so I lay in a supply.
Come on. I’ll show you where you’ll bunk and where the bathroom is. Then you
can get going on those sandwiches.”

“You’ll
let me know when you get something?” Trey asked.

“Oh,
yeah. Count on it. I’d say you two are about out of time, so let’s not waste
any.”

He
showed them to a large bedroom with its own bath in one wing of the house. Trey
was heading off to give Casey a hand in the kitchen when Joe tugged on his arm.

“Give me
a minute, okay?”

“Sure.”
He followed the man into central command, prepared to give him more
information, but Joe had something else in mind. He nudged Trey away from the
doorway so it appeared they were huddled over something.

“Don’t
take offense, but I don’t know you from the horse in the barn,” Joe said.

Trey’s
stomach knotted. Was he going to refuse to help? Call someone to take them
away?

“I
understand what you’re saying,” he said, wondering where the man was going.

“So I’m
going to tell you one time and hope you get the message. You’ve got a damn fine
woman in there. The best.” He tightened his fingers on Trey’s arm. “Somebody
gave my girl a raw deal and she’s still bleeding from it. I’d hate to see it
happen again.”

Trey
pried the fingers away and met his gaze. “You don’t have to worry about me. I
haven’t known Casey long but I’ve heard you can fall in love in an instant. I’m
here to tell you it’s true. You’ve got no worries about her as far as I’m
concerned.”

“Good.
Because if you’re lying, there won’t be enough pieces of you left to find when
I’m done with you.”

Trey
made himself take a deep breath. The man cared about his friend, nothing more.
“Message received.”

Joe
nodded. “Then we understand each other.”

“Problem?”
Casey asked when he walked back into the kitchen.

“No.
Just a couple of things he wanted to clarify.” Trey tried to make it sound as
casual as possible.

She
glanced at him. “Joe…can be a little overprotective at times. He was the same
when we were in the feds together. Like a big brother.”

“I guess
you’ve kept in touch since then?”

“Yeah.
We have.” She studied his face. “If he comes on a little heavy, I want you to
tell me.”

“No
problem. We’re good.” He deliberately changed the subject. “I guess we’re ready
to eat.”

Casey
carried a plate to Joe. Then she and Trey ate in silence in the kitchen. They
could hear Joe clicking away at his setup as they tidied afterwards and made
their way to the room they would use.

Trey lay
on his side on the bed, Casey spooned against him, his arm curled around her. He’d
taken the Glock from the waistband of his jeans and placed it on the nightstand
within easy reach, although he didn’t imagine he’d need it in such a fortress.
He set the cell phone next to it.

As tired
as they were, the tension of the day still clung to them, making sleep next to
impossible. Darkness had set in not long after they retreated to the bedroom
and he couldn’t help wondering when Max would call. He tilted his wrist to
check his watch yet another time. They were an hour earlier here than the East
Coast which made it nine-thirty there. He wondered if Max’s wife—it had to be
her answering the phone—would give him the message. If she did, would Max would
call him?

Would he
even believe him?

Joe was
busy digging into files with his sophisticated electronic shovel. Trey had no
doubt the man would get the evidence. He had to make himself relax in the
meantime.

Casey
moved, wriggling her sweet little ass against him and in an instant, his cock
hardened to the point he thought it would poke through his jeans.

Good
going. The wolf is creeping up to the door and you think about sex.

Well,
they couldn’t do anything until Joe had all the information and god! he wanted
to touch Casey all over.

“You
saved my ass,” he murmured in her ear. “Not just in Connelly, but bringing me
here. I think I’ll have to keep you.”

“Are you
serious or teasing?”

He heard
the tension in her voice and leaned in to kiss her cheek.

“Honey,
you know I’m serious. I keep telling you, right?”

“Don’t
say it if you don’t mean it,” she warned.

“I never
say anything I don’t mean. Let me show you how serious I am.”

He
tugged her t-shirt free of her jeans and slid his hand against the warm, smooth
skin. She made a funny little sound and pushed against him. He tugged at her
ear lobe with his teeth, traced the shell with the tip of his tongue and kissed
the tender spot on her neck. Cupping her breast in the palm of his hand, he
brushed his thumb across the nipple. Even through the fabric of her bra, it
stiffened at his touch. Casey’s breathing stumbled.

He took
his time, his touch gentle as he caressed her. Every time they fell into bed,
they were so hot for each other they raced to the finish. Now he wanted it
slow, as if to reassure himself it was real.
She
was real.

Pushing
up her bra, he skimmed his hand over the bare skin of her breasts, a light
brush over the nipples, loving the little sound of indrawn breath. He pinched
the pebbled tips, squeezing and releasing, each time drawing a soft moan from
her. And all the while he traced the slender column of her neck with his
tongue, nipping then soothing with his lips.

Sliding
his palm along the smooth skin of her tummy, he found the snap of her jeans,
popped it and lowered the zipper. As he slipped beneath the silk of her panties
and found the warm wetness of her cunt, she pushed against his touch, urging
him deeper.

Trey
used one of his legs to separate hers, to give him better access. She was
already soaked, her clit hot to his touch, her labia slick and smooth. He kept
his thumb on the swollen knot of flesh and nerves, pressing against it as he
dipped his fingers into her, the muscles of her pussy clenching around him.

Casey
bucked against him, trying to move, to urge him to do more. Faster. But he held
her relentlessly in place, busy moving in and out of her hot channel while his
thumb kept up its torment of her clit. He felt it when the rhythm caught her
and her hips moved, her body riding his touch.

He blew
in her ear then licked the skin again. Her ass rubbed against his straining
cock as the tension in her body uncoiled and snapped through her. As the orgasm
broke over her, Trey lowered his head enough to capture her moans with his
mouth and swallow them. Her body strained then convulsed, the walls of her
pussy vibrating, clenching, squeezing, as she poured into his palm.

His
heart raced as he held her, the tremors in her body easing. He lifted his hand
to his mouth and licked her juices away, loving the taste of her. His shaft
felt iron hard and he wanted to be inside her more than he wanted his next
breath. But he had no condoms with him and he wouldn’t ask her to take a risk.
Not in the middle of an explosive situation.

He was
about ready to head for the bathroom and take care of business himself when
Casey turned in his arms to face him, a satisfied smile on her face. She looked
incredibly sexy with her t-shirt and bra hiked up to expose her breasts, her
jeans undone and her body still flushed from passion. Her eyes were hot as she
scanned his face and when her tongue came out to lick her lips, it about did
him in.

“Casey,”
he began, “I don’t have…”

“Ssh.”
She touched his lips. “Don’t say a word. Just…let me.”

Now it
was his t-shirt being tugged free, his pants being unzipped. He gasped when her
hand snaked beneath his boxers to find the thick hardness of his cock. She
closed around him, gentle at first then firm.

Dipping
her neck, she trailed little kisses over his stomach, the touch as light as a
butterfly kiss, but he felt the electrical charge clear to his balls. Gripping
her silky hair, he tried to guide her lower but she had her own ideas, set her
own pace, just as he had with her.

Her warm
tongue traced the furled flesh of his navel before drawing a line down to the
nest of hair surrounding his shaft. He gritted his teeth to maintain some semblance
of control as she teased him with her mouth. Shifting again, she slipped one
hand between his thighs to cup his balls, using the other to grasp his dick.
She set up a slow rhythm, squeezing his balls at the same pace.