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might depend on it. Father, he thought silently to the old man he d treated so badly in recent years,
help me save her!
As if in a dream, he saw Bernadette, her dark eyes solemn and unblinking. He saw through her eyes
the room, the window, the man standing behind her with a loaded pistol while a dark woman, Cara
Dominguez, spoke on a phone. There was another woman as well, armed with an automatic rifle, and
another man with a pistol.
 God, he whispered unsteadily.  Keep your head down, baby. Keep your head down!
Even as he thought it, he heard the first of three shots. They were quick, deliberate, and, apparently so
accurate that the people inside couldn t even react because the phone suddenly rang.
 Let s go! Colby told Sarina.
Both had their pistols out and they were running for Bernadette s life.
Colby didn t stop to open the door, he kicked it in. He went low, Sarina went high, as if they d
practiced the assault all night. The Dominguez woman had Bernadette around the neck and she was
crouched, the pistol at the child s neck. The other three members of her group were on the floor, one
dead, two badly wounded and useless.
 I will kill her! she told Colby, screaming.  You will not stop me!
Colby took a slow, careful breath. He didn t lower his pistol.  Baby, you know what to do, he
whispered.
 Yes, Daddy, Bernadette said, her voice shaking, but her eyes full of courage.
 ¿Que? the Dominguez woman demanded. Her grip on Bernadette tightened.  What are you& ?
Bernadette s eyes closed and she went completely limp all at once. She was small, but such a dead
weight that the Dominguez woman had to shift her weight suddenly. The tiny movement gave Colby a
shot and he took it. He got the woman in the chest. She groaned and fell, her lung punctured. The gun
fired, but into the floor.
At the same time, the downed man got his fingers around his pistol and raised it, but Sarina was equal
to the task. She winged him in the arm holding the gun and it flew out of his hands.
Colby shot forward and scooped up his daughter, holding her so tight that she shivered, her little arms
hard around his neck. Sarina disarmed the woman on the floor and kicked the man s pistol aside
before she went rapidly to her family. She slid an arm around Bernadette, too, and kissed her hair.
 I was scared to death, Sarina said shakenly.
 Great shot, by the way, he told her, grinning.  I couldn t have saved myself in time.
 Thanks. Oh, Colby! she groaned.  What a close call!
He kissed her hungrily.  Bernadette and I knew what we were doing, baby, he told Sarina.  We just
couldn t tell you! He smiled at Bernadette.  God, I m so proud of you! he told her.  So proud! You
were very brave.
 So are you. I heard you, in my head, she told him seriously.  You said to keep my head down.
Somebody shot those men, before you and Mama came, and that other woman& !
Cash came up on the porch so silently that nobody heard him until he was in the room, the rifle slung
over his broad shoulder. He surveyed the damage and nodded.
 I need to get in more practice, he muttered coldly as he noted the two who were only wounded.
They gave him horrified looks.
 You did great, from our point of view, Colby said sincerely. He held out his hand.  Thanks!
 I ll second that, Sarina said with a tearful smile.  Thanks a million!
He shrugged.  All in a day s work, he assured them, as he shook Colby s hand, and with a warm
smile at Bernadette, who returned it.  But I count favors, he told Sarina.  And I really need an
investigator.
Making drug cases is the biggest part of what I do here. I ve got a missing woman who s up to her
neck in the Dominguez operation. She s still out there, somewhere, and she ll probably replace
Dominguez.
This isn t over, by a long shot.
She looked at him and then at Colby and Bernadette. She smiled.  Okay, she agreed.  I ll give Cobb
my resignation today, she said. She glanced at Colby s delighted smile.  Where are we going to
live?
 We ll rent a house for the time being, he said huskily. He cuddled Bernadette close.  How would
you like to live on a ranch in Jacobsville, baby, and have your own horses?
 Oh, Daddy, I d love it! Can we?
He looked over her head at Sarina, in a way that could have set fire to dry leaves.  Yes, we can.
 Are you going to marry my mommy? she persisted.
He smiled.  We ll talk about that later. Right now, we ve got a drug bust& 
Cash s phone rang. He answered it, glancing at Dominguez, who was cursing steadily.  Stop that, he
muttered,  there s a child present!
 And she speaks Spanish, Colby seconded, glaring at the woman.
 Right, Cash said into the phone and closed it. He grinned.  It seems that the rest of the beekeepers
are now in custody, along with their product. They ll be guests of the federal government for some
time.
 How&  Colby began.
 Oh, I phoned them, Cash said easily.  I saw Dominguez go down in my scope and figured you had
the situation in hand, so I gave Cobb the green light. He and the rest took out the operation.
 We weren t even needed, Sarina sighed.
 I wouldn t say that, Cash replied, noting the results of their raid.  Nice shooting, he told them both.
 Not so nice, Colby muttered.  I wasn t aiming for her shoulder, he added deliberately, and the
woman on the floor stopped cursing and went white.
 You can practice on our local gun range whenever you like, Cash told him.  Sort of a thank-you for
letting your wife work for me.
 You re welcome, Colby said, looking past him at Sarina with warm eyes. He still had to tell her
about their marriage. He hoped it wasn t going to be a disappointment.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
LATER, when Cash found out how Colby got Bernadette to go limp in the nick of time, he took them
all to his house and introduced them to his beautiful, and very pregnant wife, Tippy. She had the same
gift that Colby and Bernadette shared, and found the successful end to the kidnapping not at all
unusual. Despite her fame she d been both a model and film star she was as down-to-earth and
charming as her husband, and her young brother who lived with them.
Colby and Sarina left Bernadette with the Griers, and young Rory, while they went back to the motel
and talked about the future. But talk was on the back burner the minute the door closed. In the
aftermath of terror and potential tragedy, they were both too aroused to need words. They ended up
on one of the big double beds in a tangle of arms and legs, throwing clothing over the side as fast as
they could release hooks and buttons and snaps and zippers.
They came together in a firestorm of passion, barely capable of rational thought at all. She arched up
to meet the furious thrust of his body, clinging as the movements sent her quickly right over the edge
of the world. As she fell into what felt like throbbing fire, she heard his harsh groan at her ear.
Consciousness eluded her for breathless seconds.
When she opened her eyes again, she was shaking in the aftermath. So was he. They were both wet
with sweat.
She managed weak laughter and then groaned as her arm protested the exercise she d exacted from it.
 Does it hurt? he asked apologetically.
 Yes, but I don t care, she laughed wickedly. She looked up at him, feeling the throb of him deep in
her body. She shivered again. She linked her arms around his neck.  Don t stop, she whispered.
 I m not sure I could, he replied, grinning back. His hips rose and fell and quickly humor melted
into a rekindling of the helpless ardor that had sent them spinning down into oblivion. He heard her
voice at his ear, whispering that she loved him, that she d never stopped loving him. The pleasure was
so intense that he actually cried out.
WHAT SEEMED like hours later, they lounged together on the rumpled bed, catching their breath.
 Volcanic, he murmured.
 Feverishly passionate, she replied drowsily. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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