tight muscles across his shoulders and neck. Right now he'd have given his first born
for an aspirin.
"You there, O'Donnell?"
"I'm here."
After another lengthy pause Mac said, "You know I'll free someone up to help you
as soon as possible. You're all she has."
* * * * *
Emma couldn't tell Officer Johnson she suspected Officer Reddins had followed
her. It sounded too ludicrous. Unless the police department somehow believed she had
something to do with Grant's disappearance?
After Johnson left, Emma hastily jumped into her SUV and locked the doors
immediately. Had she made a terrible mistake leaving the sanctuary of Shane's house
and his arms?
Memories of Shane's lovemaking stirred her heart and threatened to send tears
rushing to her eyes once more. She shook her head. Depression pushed her down and
she headed toward the hotel. When the sedan didn't appear in her rearview mirror, she
decided she'd overreacted earlier. She picked up a quick sandwich at a drive-thru
before continuing. All the while she tried to decide what to do once she left Gambit
Creek.
A dozen blueprints spun through her mind like pinwheels, gathering speed until
they blurred. She could return to the university and perhaps obtain a position in the
anthropology department. Maybe even start her doctorate so that she could teach. She
dismissed that idea quickly, knowing in her heart that she didn't enjoy teaching.
She could find another job with a Denver archaeological consultant firm.
Unfortunately, the firms knew each other and they might shun her if Grant told them
about this dig. If they believed him, she'd never get a job in archaeology from a private
company in Colorado.
She could go to Longmont and acquire a position doing something very different.
Maybe move in with her parents until she found her footing. Instantly she nixed that
idea. She'd never move in with her parents. Never.
Or she could move out of state. She'd considered the concept before. At that time
her parents had sent her to college to study something "useful". Accounting. Business.
She'd hated it and changed majors to archaeology and they'd withdrawn their
financial support. She could still hear her mother's high voice warbling on. She'd never
make it in the big, bad world. Resisting their tirades, she'd persisted by working two
part-time jobs at the university so she could pursue her studies regardless of her
parents' ire.
No. She'd spent too long letting others dictate her happiness. Her thoughts
scattered, and Emma knew the best thing for her would be to check into the hotel and
try for a good night's sleep.
The lot behind the hotel had almost filled and when she found a spot, she took a
breath of relief. She didn't relish searching for another place to park down the block.
Aware of her vulnerability, she surveyed the area for suspicious individuals. Not a soul
lurked anywhere that she could see, and that factor by itself unnerved her. Which was
worse? Suspecting everyone she saw or realizing she was utterly alone?
The sun fell below the mountains and the dying light gave everything around it an
unearthly shadow. Not quite night. Not quite day. She shivered. Dim streetlights
illuminated the parking area enough to create pockets of shadows. Shade filled with the
unknown.
Ridiculous. No need to get a case of the heebie-jeebies, Emma.
Still, part of her felt like a small girl searching her room for the monster that hid in
the closet or maybe under the bed.
Or under her car.
Apprehension spiked up her back, and she shivered. She had to step from the car.
No way she'd sleep in her vehicle tonight because her imagination had flipped into
overdrive.
She stepped out of the car, unlatched the back of the SUV and retrieved her one
piece of luggage. A skittering sound, furtive and faint, echoed somewhere behind her.
She started, every prickling nerve telling her to look around now. Immediately she
pivoted and scanned the parking area. Nothing. At least nothing she could see.
Resolutely she turned back to the vehicle and slammed the hatch.
A clanging rattle made her whirl about, a gasp escaping her throat.
A black mutt rummaged among tipped-over trashcans. When the dog saw her, it
fled. Relieved, she hurried to the hotel and her room. She opened the door and flipped
on the light. She closed the door and secured the lock.
"Emma."
Her heart jumped, lodged her throat and threatened to halt her breath as tightly as
a hangman's noose.
* * *
Chapter Sixteen
Emma turned swiftly, her heart pounding "Shane."
"In the flesh." His voice came out huskier than usual, as if he hadn't used it in a
long time. Sitting in a chair almost too small for his big frame, he gazed at her with a
guarded expression.
She dropped her bag on the floor. "What are you doing here? I've had about all the
surprises I can stand for one evening, thank you."
"It's good to see you too." Relinquishing his lazy posture, he stood.
"Sorry. A stray dog in the parking lot about scared me straight out of my skin." She
put her hands on her hips. "I'm not going to even ask how you knew I was at the
Stafford. How did you get in here?"
He moved closer until he came within arms' length. "I have my ways."
His words sounded weary, without cocky self-assurance. She took another good
look at him, drinking in his handsome face with a hunger that dismayed her. Something
had changed in him in the few hours between their uninhibited lovemaking and now.
Dark circles marred his extraordinary eyes, and his features strained with worry. She
drew in a deep breath and his intoxicating male scent filled her senses. In the low light
afforded by the stained glass Victorian lamp, Shane seemed old world, a male figure
from a time gone by. His blue and red flannel shirt molded to his torso, and he wore
beat-up jeans. He'd forgone the hat this time, his hair pulled back in a tie. Tonight his
almost harshly cut features looked stark and intimidating.
She shallowed hard. "Why are you here?"
"You need protection."
Wary, she narrowed her eyes, fearful of the direction he might head. "I thought we
cleared that up. I'm going back to Denver."
"After you left the ranch today, I realized something. My gut tells me you still need
protection while this case is open. Whoever or whatever is out there doesn't just want
Sadie's so-called treasure. They want to maim, and they may want you."
He walked to the window and shifted aside the lace curtains to gaze outside into
the night.
"I'm your protection," he said. "I asked for backup to help, but they can't send
anyone. I'm all you've got."
Shane turned away from the window and advanced on her. She watched him
approach with an excitement she couldn't deny.
She held her ground, speechless. Emma knew even if she wanted to, she could
never run far enough to escape the deep-seated feelings this man stirred inside her.
Shane warmed her from tip to toe, and in the deepest regions of her being.
"Whether you want it or not, you'd better get used to the
idea of me sticking
around." When he invaded her personal space, his gaze captured hers. She saw
something she'd never expected to see in his eyes again. Hunger.
"You really think I'm in danger if I leave here?" she asked, her voice catching.
"Yes. Whatever or whoever has probably already done away with Grant. I'm not
sure why or how, but as far as I'm concerned he's history."
A niggling pressure rose in her diaphragm. "I filled out a missing person's report
on him today. They might find him alive and well."
"Maybe. Maybe not."
Her apprehension steadied then leveled off. "If I leave for Denver tonight maybe
they won't be able to find me."
"Right." His lips curled sarcastically. "Think about it. I'm a rusty old agent and I
found you."
She tucked her hair behind her ears and shoved aside the long tendrils that lay over
her shoulders. "Denver is a bigger place than Gambit Creek."
He sighed. "Emma, these perps are not amateurs. They know how and when to get
to you. If they can get on my land undetected and wreak havoc on your site anytime
they want, they sure as hell can get to you whenever it pleases them. They almost killed
my uncle. We don't know exactly when they'll attack."
"If they're so damn good, what makes you think you can stop them? And who are
they? Why would they bother to follow me if what they need is at my site? Wouldn't
they want to drive me away?"
He nodded. "Yeah, maybe. But I'm not taking a chance."
He put his hands on her shoulders, and as his fingers caressed her, she melted like
butter under his soothing touch. God, he felt so good. So damned good.
"I've worked against these creatures—" He caught himself off.
She frowned, not certain she'd heard him right. Yet his words sent apprehension
deep into her mind. "Creatures?"
"I have some idea what I'm up against. You don't."
"But you could be hurt," she blurted without thinking.
He stayed quiet for a long time, but finally he said, "It's my job, Emma."
She turned away and crossed her arms. The action didn't do her any good. He put
his hands on her shoulders and drew her back into his stalwart body.
Emma trembled with sensual delight as his hard chest pressed against her and
reminded her of his power, his incredible body and the way he made her feel in the
secret regions of her heart. "Please don't…"
She didn't know what she wanted to say.
"Please don't what? Tell you the truth? Make you face the reality you're trying to
deny?"
Running.
Her father's voice rang again in her ears. "You always run away from your
responsibilities, Emma. You were responsible for Doug."
She licked her lips, her mouth dry. Whirling sensations of fire and ice, affection and
fear moved inside her fiercely and frightened Emma more than anything. He removed
his hands, but he didn't back away. Shane leaned down until his breath brushed her
ear.
She closed her eyes as the sweet sensation of his breath against her stirred heat in
her belly. Emma took a chance in that moment. "I'm afraid, Shane."
"Of what?" His voice whispered over her senses like a fine draught of smooth
whiskey. "Nothing is going to happen to you, Emma. Don't you know I'd die to protect
you?" His voice turned husky, a thickness to it that spoke of desperate, sensual hunger
smoldering just beneath the surface. "You're not afraid of the forces out there who
might hurt you as much as you're afraid of this. Of what you feel when we touch."
Oh, yes. God, yes. He was right.
Shane slid his long arms around her waist so that he could draw her tightly against
him. Longing made her heart pound, her face flush. All along her back, his powerful
chest pressed near, each hard contour generating a deeper awareness within her of
Shane as a virile man. Warmth swirled inside her stomach, an erotic counterpoint to
what she forced herself to say next.
His hands flattened against her midriff and stomach, and she almost gave in to the
erotic dance pirouetting in her stomach like a ballet dancer. She wanted so badly to kiss
him…feel his cock sliding in and out of her until she writhed under him in soul-stealing
climax. She wanted to experience that rapture one more time before she let him go.
"I think you're terrified of the way you feel about me," he said softly into her ear.
Pure desire rippled and coiled low in her belly. Her nipples tightened. "What do I
feel for you?"
"You tell me, Emma."
She almost couldn't get the words past her lips. She'd fought with the feelings, but
she didn't have the strength to pretend they didn't exist. "You're strong. Passionate
about your life and what you want it to be and I admire that so much. You make me
crazy at the same time you fill my soul with things I thought I'd never feel. I want you
more than anything, and it scares me because it's so intense. It's happening fast. It's
wonderful and scary all at the same time."
He released her, and she turned to face him, half afraid of what she'd see after her
full confession. Desire flickered in the depths of his eyes, and so did a warmth and
understanding that soothed most of the fear inside. "I have a deal for you. If you don't
like it, you can tell me to take a hike, all right?"
She grinned. "I have a difficult time believing anything I say would make you take
He smiled. "Probably not even then."
"All right. What's the deal?"
"Come back to the ranch and finish the dig."
To finish the dig. With him close, she'd be forever within his range and capable of
falling into his arms. Returning to the dig, though, would provide an opportunity to
discover the who, what and why of this little game playing out around her. She needed
the satisfaction that would happen once she learned Sadie Cutley's secrets.
"You said it was dangerous," she said.
"It would be, if I wasn't with you. I'll be there every step of the way. We'll keep the
relationship strictly professional if that's what you want. But you'll have to come to me
if you want something more. I don't want you to feel pressured. You can take your time
and think about what you want from me."
She hesitated. Did she want that?
When she didn't respond he started to pace, taking the room with slow, steady
strides. "Emma, whatever you think of me, there's one thing you must know. I don't
want anything to happen to you." He stopped pacing. "I'll have the satisfaction of
knowing you're safe."
Other than Shane, she couldn't recall a man ever saying he wanted her safe. They
traded grins, and she started to feel better about the situation with every moment that
passed.
"You still think Grant is dead? Maybe he did run off with some of Sadie's treasure,"
she said.
He nodded. "There's that possibility."
"Okay. I'll do it. I'll go home with you and continue the excavation."
He crossed his arms. Relief covered his expression. "Good."
"All right. Let me get my things."
As she gathered her things, she wondered if she wanted to keep their relationship
strictly hands off.
* * * * *
Emma sifted t
hrough the soil ruthlessly, looking for anything discounted by the
looters who had plundered her site. Maybe there was no treasure. Maybe there was no
reason for her to remain here, except for an archaeologist's timeless curiosity.
She dropped her trowel next to the pit and sighed. All the digging and sifting had
yielded nothing significant. Had Grant run away with noteworthy artifacts and that's
why he disappeared? Had he come back, plundered the site and discovered something
so valuable that he'd leave his RV and disappear off the face of the earth? She almost
believed it.
Dry heat pressed down on her and she longed for a cool breeze. Retrieving a bottle
of water from her backpack, she looked toward Buzzard Ridge, knowing with a sense of
contentment that Shane was nearby. She felt completely safe. He'd left her a few
minutes ago and said he'd be back after checking on a piece of fence a few hundred
yards away. He'd gone around the corner of a rock outcropping, and she hadn't seen
him since.
At least they'd received good news. Clement could leave the hospital in three more
days. She wouldn't be surprised to learn Shane arranged the extra hospital stay as a
form of protection for his uncle. She didn't blame him. If it had been one of her family…
She took a deep breath. What would she know about a caring family life?
As she drank more water, she looked around the area. Her gaze rested on the
crumbling fireplace that was all that remained of Sadie's cabin.
Last night Shane had started a fire in his fireplace and the room had glowed soft
with romantic light. Shane had stayed true to his word and kept his distance. They
hadn't even talked much. Long after Shane had retired for the evening, she'd gazed into
the flames. Immediately, memories of his embrace radiated through her with painful
force.
Visions of the way he'd touched her body, with a reverence that made her feel like a
queen, haunted her. She'd lain in bed last night, alone, wishing desperately that he
would walk into the room. She'd managed to refrain from walking into his room and
waking him with kisses and pleas for his touch.
She stared at the old, cold fireplace until she heard a bark and saw Charlie trotting