Shed loved him once, as much as shed ever loved anyone in her whole life. Hell, maybe she still did.
If he tried to leave, would she really pull the trigger to stop him from fleeing?
You wont shoot me, he said softly. At least, thats what I want to keep believing. So I wont put you in that position.
Youll turn yourself in?
He frowned. Id rather not. At least, not yet. Theres a lot I still need to tell you before youll understand exactly what were up against and why.
What were up against?
He nodded. I have to assume someone at that bank in Barrowville will remember the name Cade Landry. And why its so memorable. Theyll call the authorities to report my visit to the bank. And like you said, it wont take long for them to connect us. We were partners, Olivia. He moved toward her, walking with slow, sure deliberation. Lovers.
His voice lowered to a sensual rumble, bringing back a flood of memories shed spent two years trying to excise from her brain. Dont.
Its too late to undo it, Livvie. I took a risk coming here, and maybe I shouldnt have. He came to a stop just a few inches from where she stood, and she made herself remain in place, though the pounding pulse in her ears seemed to plead for her to run as far and as fast as she could.
Losing him once had nearly unraveled her. If she let him back into her heartinto her bedagain...
I said I was working with the Blue Ridge Infantry, and thats the truth. But its only part of it. His hand came up slowly until his fingertips brushed her jawline, sending a shiver of sexual awareness jolting through her. Did you know they were targeting The Gates?
She swallowed with difficulty. Of course. Weve been trying to bring them down since Quinn first opened the doors of The Gates.
Im not on their side, Olivia. Thats not what I meant by working with them He stopped midsentence, his head coming up suddenly. It took a moment for Olivia to hear what hed obviously hearda car engine moving up the road toward her cabin.
Landry moved away from her and crossed to her front window, sliding the curtains open an inch.
Could be a neighbor, she said quietly, suddenly afraid he was going to bolt, even though a few minutes earlier, shed been hoping hed leave and not look back.
It was just curiosity, she told herself, the need to know what hed been starting to tell her about his connection to the BRI. It certainly had nothing to do with the way her jaw still tingled where hed touched her or the quickened pace of her heart whenever she looked his way.
Theyre stopping here, he said bluntly, turning back to look at her. She saw fear in his eyes, raw and wild, and realized she had only a few seconds to keep him from doing something reckless.
She pushed past him and looked through the curtains. The truck that had stopped outside her house was a familiar but, under the circumstances, not exactly welcome sight. Its Alexander Quinn.
Landry groaned. Your boss.
She looked at him, wondering how much he knew about Quinn. You said youre not on the BRIs side. Neither is Quinn. If you know anything about The Gates, you have to know that.
That doesnt mean hes going to turn a blind eye to the warrants out for my arrest.
You might be surprised.
He shook his head and picked up his duffel bag. Im going out the back. Just give me a head start.
She caught his arm as he started past her, not letting go even when he tried to tug free of her grasp. Dont run. Not yet. My bedroom is through that doorway. First room on the right. Let me find out what Quinn wants.
Landry stared at her as if he were trying to read all the way through to her soul. Finally, the sound of footsteps on the front porch spurred him into action. He went through the doorway and veered right into her bedroom, closing the door behind him with a soft click.
Olivia took a deep breath just as Quinn knocked.
Showtime.
* * *
HER ROOM SMELLED like Olivia, that half-sweet, half-tart scent hed never been able to identify as anything other than her own unique essence. For a few seconds all he could do was breathe, fill his lungs with that scent, store it away for another drought like the two years theyd been apart since hed left Richmondand Oliviabehind.
The bedroom was small and sparsely furnisheda bed, a chest of drawers and a small trunk at the foot of the bed. The bedding was simple and neattwo pillows in pale blue cotton cases, sheets that matched and a thick quilt that looked handmade.
Despite the tension running through him like currents of electricity, despite the muted sound of the door knock just a room away, Landry couldnt stop himself from smiling. It faded quickly, but the flicker of sentiment remainedshe hadnt really changed in the past two years if she was still decorating with handmade quilts.
She made the quilts herself, a secret shed kept from her fellow FBI agents with the ferocity of a mother bear guarding her den. If you ever tell anyone about this, shed sworn when shed finally let him in on her secret, I will hunt you down and kill you.
The sound of voices drifted down the hallway. The rumble of a male voice, barely discernible, followed by Olivias alto drawl.
New bike? the male voice asked.
Picked it up at a yard sale, Olivia answered.
Landry pressed his ear to the door, trying to hear the conversation more clearly.
Its a mans bike, Quinn said in a tone that was deliberately nonchalant.
I bought it from a man, she answered, a shrug in her voice. Womens bikes are usually too small for a woman my height.
Good save, Landry thought.
I got a call from Daughtry, Quinn said, still sounding like someone making small talk. He said you got a hit on some bank account youd asked him to monitor.
That man doesnt know the meaning of honeymoon, does he? Olivia laughed softly, but Landry heard the faint strain of tension behind her words.
Did Quinn hear it, too?
One of the reasons I hired him, Quinn answered. But that doesnt answer my question.
You didnt ask a question.
Still as smart-mouthed as ever, Landry thought.
Whose account did you ask him to monitor?
Mine, she replied. Ive been noticing some discrepancies in my bank statement, so I thought maybe someone had hacked my password for that account. Its not a lot of money, but still.
So theres someone tapping into your account? Why didnt you just change the password?
That would only stop them from accessing the account. I wanted to catch someone in the act.
Did you?
Maybe. I have some feelers out.
Landry didnt hear anything else for several long seconds, not even an unintelligible murmur that would suggest theyd merely lowered their voices. The silence was unnerving. If he couldnt hear them, he had no way of knowing where they were.
Or how close they were getting to his hiding place.
Come on, he thought. Start talking again.
As much as I relish the screwball comedy potential of being snowed in with you, Quinn, youre not going to be able to get that truck back down the mountain if you dont make tracks in the next few minutes.
Now youre just tempting me, Olivia. There was a warmth to Quinns voice that made Landrys gut tighten.
What the hell?
Funny, Olivia said, but there was no censure in her voice, only a soft amusement that made Landry want to kick down the door.
Are you sure youre going to be okay here alone? A few of the agents are bunking down at the office for the duration. Its a little college dorm for my tastes, but I think you can handle the frat-boy atmosphere if youd rather tough it out in a crowd.
No, thanks, she said with a laugh that was too friendly for Landrys peace of mind. Ill be fine here. I have a load of résumés to go through and some housework Ive put off for the past couple of months. But thanks for the concern.
Are you sure everythings okay? Quinn asked in a tone so quiet and intimate Landry had to strain to make out the words.
Everythings fine.
Olivia, I know youre blaming yourself for how close Daughtry and Ginny came to losing their lives, but youre not infallible. Nobody in this business is. We all make mistakes.
Olivias response was spoken too quietly for Landry to hear. But Quinns next words gave him a pretty good idea what shed said.
There are a lot of ways to pay for mistakes. Sometimes your own conscience is the harshest judge of all. I think youve already given yourself more penance than Id have ever suggested. Thats why I let you come up with your own punishment.
I would have fired me.
Thats why youre not the boss.
There was another long silence. Landry clenched his fists to keep from reaching for the door handle.
Call if you need anything. I might know how to get my hands on a snowmobile. Quinns voice, tinged with amusement, broke the silence, and Landry started breathing again.
He heard the door close and waited until he heard Olivias footsteps outside the door.
Still in there? she asked quietly.
He opened the door to face her. I was contemplating escape.
Hes gone.
I heard.
One sandy eyebrow arched over a sky blue eye. You were eavesdropping?
Was there something you didnt want me to hear?
The other eyebrow joined the first, creasing her forehead. Whats that supposed to mean?
He meant to change the subject, talk about what a bad idea it was for him to stick around the cabin with her in case her boss decided to come back to check on her in that snowmobile hed mentioned. But those werent the words that came out of his mouth.
Instead, to his dismay, he asked, What the hell is going on between you and your boss?
Chapter Three
You were right, Quinn said. Hes there.
Anson Daughtrys voice over the phone picked up a little static as Quinn eased his Ford F-150 pickup around a mountain curve. What are you going to do about it?
Right now? Nothing. Shes going to be snowed in with him for a couple of days, and maybe shell get some information out of him.
Did you bug the place? Daughtrys question was delivered bone dry, but Quinn knew his IT directors unfavorable opinion about eavesdropping, especially on employees at The Gates.
If I did, I wouldnt tell you, Quinn answered just as drily.
So, youre just leaving her alone with him, without any way of knowing whether or not she might be in trouble?
She knows how to call for help if she needs it.
Daughtry made a sound of pure frustration. Dont you think hes dangerous?
Im sure hes dangerous. To someone. The question is, to whom?
So youre just letting Sharp find out for you? In a snowbound cabin?
If I cant trust my agents to handle themselves in dangerous situations with dangerous people, what the hell am I doing running a security firm? Quinn had hired Olivia Sharp because everything hed ever heard about her told him she was perfectly capable of holding her own in a high-risk situation. Shed been a member of an elite FBI SWAT team for six years, and in every dangerous situation hed put her in since hiring her, shed proved her mettle. Sharp is every bit as dangerous as Cade Landry ever thought of being, and she doesnt have any illusions where hes concerned.
She was involved with him before.
What makes you think that? Quinn asked carefully.
I hear things.
Then maybe you heard that theyre no longer together. And that it ended badly. Which means shes not going to assume his motives for showing up at her cabin in the middle of a snowstorm are entirely pure.
Loves not that straightforward, Daughtry said bluntly, in the tone of a man on his honeymoon.
Let me worry about my agents, Daughtry. You worry about your wife. Im sure shes shooting you glaring looks by now, considering how long weve been on this call. He pressed the end-call button on his phone and stifled a smile. One of his still-single agents had recently groused that the marriage bug was spreading like a contagion at the office, and Quinn couldnt really deny it.
Take a pair of single, physically fit, energetic and bright people, toss them in the middle of a high-risk, high-stakes situation and step back, because sparks were going to fly. A lot of the time, those sparks fizzled out to nothing once the danger was over, but in some cases, his agents had made real connections with each other, the kind that had a chance to last a lifetime.
Quinn was about as far as a man got from being a romantic, but hed learned a long time ago not to interfere when a man and a woman wanted to be together.
Very bad things could happen.
* * *
OLIVIA STARED AT Cade Landry, certain shed misunderstood his question. Because there was no way in the world hed just stood there and asked her what was going on between her and Alexander Quinn, as if it was any business of his. He wasnt a fool or an idiot, and only one of those would stand here in her bedroom doorway, two years after walking out of her life without even a goodbye, and question anything at all about her personal life. Especially in that particular tone of outrage.
But here he was, gazing at her with green eyes blazing with fury, his jaw muscles tight and his nostrils flaring.
Were going to pretend you didnt just ask me that question, she said in a deceptively soft voice. But she could tell from the troubled look in Landrys eyes that he heard the undertones of danger.
Im sorry. Youre right. Im in no position to question anything about your life. He looked down and started to move around her, heading toward the front room.
Where are you going? She caught up with him as he was reaching for the unloaded pistol still lying on her rolltop desk.
I shouldnt have come here.
She caught his hand, stopping him as he started to pick up the pistol. Why did you come here? Why now?
He looked down at her hand covering his, and she felt the muscles in his wrist twitch as he slowly turned to look at her. Because I dont know what to do next. And you were always my go-to.
Her heart squeezed into a painful knot. Even now?
Maybe especially now. He eased his hand from her grasp. She made herself let go as he took a step past her, back toward the center of the room. Maybe its better were more like strangers to each other these days. You can be objective about what I should do next.