“Good morning,” the doctor said to her, flashing a set of pearly teeth that magnified his dark, Latino good looks.
“Dr. Nunez, I didn’t know you were coming,” Tory said, smiling.
No, she didn’t. Because Josh had conveniently forgotten to mention it.
“You ready to look at that mare?” Josh asked the vet.
“I could use a cup of coffee first.”
“Of course!” Tory said. “Come on in.”
Nunez waved at him and smiled. The man walked into the house and Josh’s irritation grew. He wanted to grab Nunez by the seat of the pants and drag him out of there, haul him out to the barn where he belonged.
Josh softly cursed. Jealousy wasn’t in his nature. Or at least it hadn’t been. He headed for the barn, determined to put an end to his petty thoughts.
He was almost there when his cell phone rang. Pulling the phone out of his pocket, he recognized the caller and pressed the phone against his ear. “Hey, big brother, what’s up?”
“Got a call from Ross Townsend in Phoenix.”
“Yeah, what’d he have to say?”
“Unfortunately, he hasn’t come up with squat on Bridger, nothing to connect him to Lisa Shane, but apparently there was a second abduction. This one ended in murder.”
“I know. Detective named Larson flew in yesterday from Phoenix. Wanted to talk to Tory.”
Linc went silent. Josh could almost hear his brother’s brain spinning. “That doesn’t sound good. Townsend said the girl was a little redhead. She was kidnapped and held prisoner, beaten, and raped like the Shane girl. Only this time she ended up dead. Larson thinks Bridger could have killed her?”
“He’s gathering information, following his gut. He wanted to hear what Tory had to say.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Neither do I. The good news is Ham says Bridger’s still in Phoenix. Ham’s been checking Bridger’s office periodically, making sure he hasn’t left town.”
“I still don’t like it.”
“There’s something you’re going to like even less.”
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“Taggart came back out yesterday. Long story short, Saldana and Whitmore were revenge killings, probably payback for some Afghan Mullah’s son who was killed by special ops soldiers in the fighting in the Bala Murghab Valley. The rest of the guys are still deployed. Of the three who got out of the marines and came back to Texas—including me—two are dead.”
“That’s it. I’m calling Deke Logan as soon as we get off the phone. I want men posted around your property. If this guy comes after you, he won’t get past them.”
“I’ve got Cole and Noah, a couple of vets working nights. You don’t need to do that.”
“Too bad, little brother. I only found you a few years back. You made it home alive from the war. I’m not standing by and letting some bastard kill you.”
He probably should have been angry at his brother’s high-handedness, but he was getting used to Linc. Besides, it felt good to have family, someone who cared if you lived or died.
He thought of Tory, remembered the tears in her eyes, how worried she was about him, and his chest felt tight. He thought how worried he was about her, and silently cursed.
“All right, I won’t argue. I’ve got other people’s safety to think of besides my own. I don’t want any of them ending up as collateral damage.”
“Then it’s settled. With luck, Logan should be there this afternoon.” The call ended.
Since he had plenty to do besides worry, Josh went back to work.
*
The evening was balmy, stars poking through the blanket of darkness, a light breeze in the air. Cole pulled his silver Chevy pickup over to the curb across the street from Brittany’s little gray house. With its white shutters and flowered walkway, it had an old-fashioned charm that perfectly suited her.
Sitting there with the engine off, he could see her through the living room window, sitting on the sofa, holding a book in her hands. He’d been parked there last night, too, like some idiot voyeur, trying to work up the courage to knock on her door.
He should have just called, asked if he could come over, but he was afraid she’d say yes. He kept thinking about what had happened the last time, how he had humiliated himself, how he’d acted like a callow teen with his first woman, instead of a battle-hardened soldier who’d stared death in the face.
A battle-hardened soldier who’d come home without his legs.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. Britt had said it didn’t matter. Was he brave enough to find out?
Clenching his jaw, he cracked open the door and slid down from the seat. These days, he rarely noticed the hitch in his stride as he walked, but he noticed it now, felt gangly and awkward as he crossed the street, walked up the path, and knocked on the front door.
He could hear footsteps on the carpet. She paused to check the peephole, then pulled the door open.
“Cole!” He hadn’t expected the warm smile that broke over her face. It made his chest clamp down.
“It’s so good to see you,” she said, stepping back to welcome him. “Come on in.”
He took a deep breath and crossed the threshold. He almost couldn’t believe he was there, ready to conquer his demons. He was ready. But what if Britt had changed her mind?
“Would you like a drink? I have a bottle of scotch and a bottle of vodka, stuff my ex kept in the house.”
Her ex-fiancé, Avery Kaplan. Callous sonofabitch. Cole had been engaged to a girl like that, always out for herself. Heather and Avery would make a perfect pair.
“Thanks,” he said. “I’m okay for now.” Though he could certainly use a little false courage. “I just . . . I wanted to talk to you about what happened last time.”
Her cheeks flushed prettily. With her dark hair and big blue eyes, Brittany was a beautiful woman. Sweet, too. A schoolteacher. He had known her since college, had always liked and respected her.
“Would you like to sit down?” she asked.
He couldn’t look away from those pretty blue eyes. He opened his mouth and his brains fell out. “I’d like to take you to bed. That’s what I wanted to do the last time I was here. I haven’t thought of anything else since I walked out the door that night.”
“Oh,” she said, and suddenly he felt like a fool.
“Damn, I’m sorry. Really. I don’t know why I said that. I shouldn’t have come. I apologize for being so forward. I hope you’ll forgive—”
Her kiss cut off his words. Britt looped her arms around his neck, went up on her toes, and just kept kissing him.
A low groan escaped as Cole hauled her against him and deepened the kiss, tasting the sweetness that seemed to pour right out of her. The smell of spring flowers drifted up and his arousal strengthened. He’d been a fool to leave before. No matter what happened, he wasn’t leaving again.
Lifting her into his arms, he carried her into the bedroom and set her on her feet next to the bed. “I want you, honey. I want you so damned much.”
“Oh, Cole, I want you, too.”
“Are you sure? If . . . if it bothers you, I’ll understand.”
She cupped his face between her hands. “You have no idea, do you? You have no idea what an incredible man you are. Take me to bed, Cole Wyman. Put me out of my misery.”
Cole felt his mouth edging into a smile. It was the last thing he’d expected. “You sure?”
“Are you kidding?” She kissed him again and he kissed her back until both of them were breathing fast and he was so hard he ached.
After that, everything just seemed to fall into place. Two cogs fitting perfectly together, two people made just for each other.
Everything is going to be okay, he thought as he lay beside her, words that hadn’t entered his head since that terrible explosion in the desert. Everything is going to be okay.
And as Brittany snuggled against him as if she belonged there, Cole believed it.
Chapter Thirty-One