As predicted, the shipment Henry mentioned landed in Norfolk Friday morning. Nikki got out of her car on the road that ran along the back of Keegan's property. It was still a couple of hours before sunset so the rest of the team wasn't there yet. She was just going to do a little recon on her own first. From the trunk of her car she dug out a can of bug spray and doused herself in it. The mosquitos and gnats were ridiculous in the overgrown weeds of the old homestead. She was damn near eaten alive the other day.

The other day. The first time she had set eyes on the man that had been haunting her days and her nights since she fell on top of him at the beach.

You have got to focus on work tonight. Finish this case and then you get your chance with Keegan.

Chance. Ha. That was a funny concept. Once he discovered she's been traipsing around his home, suspecting him of dope dealing, and dreaming about him he would probably never speak to her again. If he wasn't involved in the dope dealing, of course.

She picked her way through the tall grasses and trees until she reached the abandoned building that was once used as a barn. Pulling a small flashlight out of her pocket, Nikki slipped inside. The air was thick with dust and oppressively warm. This was the place where the deals went down. Dust sat thick and heavy on every flat surface except the floor. Tire tracks and footprints marred the surface to the point that it almost looked clean in some places. Nikki crossed the open space, taking stock of possible hiding places.

In a few hours the sun would set and she would break the biggest case of her career. There was a stall at the back of the structure, right near another door that would be the perfect place for her to sit watch. The door behind her made for an easy escape as well as a second point of entry for the team.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and checked the screen. It was Henry.

The team's all set. Heading your way in an hour.

Sounds good. I'm in the barn. She typed back before setting the phone on silent and putting it back in her pocket.

Nikki started walking toward the stall, her mind wandering to all the things she could do with Keegan James up in the loft when the barn suddenly filled with blinding, late evening sunlight.

Shielding her eyes with one hand, Nikki grabbed for her gun with the other. "Stop right there or I'll shoot!"

"Nikki? What are you doing here?" The disbelief in the voice matched her own.

It couldn't be, could it? She stepped sideways out of the sun's glare without lowering her weapon.

"Mr. James?"

"I thought I asked you to call me Keegan." He softened the words with a smile. Her insides heated instantly.

"What are you doing here?"

"I think I just asked you the same thing since I am the one that lives here. Or, at least I will in a couple of weeks."

"You really shouldn't go sneaking up on people like that, you know."

"Sneaking up on people? I'm out walking around on my own property and happen upon, well, a trespasser, and you accuse me of sneaking up on you?"

Nikki holstered her weapon. It was time to confess who she really was, sort of. "You're right. I'm sorry. Someone called in and said they saw someone out here. The caller thought the property was abandoned. Actually, so did I. That house is about to topple to the ground."

"You're a cop." It was a statement, not a question. Also, not exactly the truth but she seemed to be operating on half-truths at the moment so she went with it.

"Yeah."

"Well, that certainly explains quite a bit."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Why the hell was she getting so defensive?

"Absolutely nothing." Keegan grinned. "Now, why don't you tell me why you are really here? I've already introduced myself to all my neighbors, and they know this place isn't abandoned."

What the hell did she say now?

Keegan watched her steadily. His eyes said he knew all her secrets. The tension grew between them, thicker than the dusty air in the old barn. She had to lay all her cards out on the table and hope for the best.

"Are you a drug dealer?" The words just fell out of her mouth before she could stop them. Nikki half expected Keegan to pull out a gun and shoot her or something but instead he dissolved in a fit of laughter.

"A what?"

"A drug lord. Dealer of drugs. Cocaine, heroin. Marijuana."

"You're kidding, right?" He wiped actual tears from his eyes. Nikki resisted the urge to hit him.

"Why are you laughing? It's not funny."

Instead of answering, Keegan reached into his pocket. Instinctively Nikki's had moved to her gun.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to shoot you. I’m just getting this." He pulled something from his pocket and opened it up, holding it out to her. Nikki stepped forward and looked at the ID he held out.

"You're Border Patrol?"

"Just got the badge today, start next week. I spent the last ten years in the FBI. Dealing coke isn't on my resume. Heroin either. I've also never dabbled in human trafficking, prostitution, or armed robbery."

Nikki held her hands up in mock surrender. "Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. I had to ask."

"Why? Why did you have to ask?"

"Um, because."

"Because you are working a case and I am your suspect? Was that thing on the beach the other day a set up?" He lost his smile and all the humor left his eyes.

"Yes. I mean, no."

"Yes or no, to what?"

"I had no idea you would be at the beach. I didn't even know who you were until we met that morning."

"But I was still a suspect in your case."

"Sort of." Nikki kicked at an invisible rock on the floor, refusing eye contact with Keegan.

"How?"

"I'm not a cop. I'm with the DEA. I've been staking out your place here for a couple of weeks. Apparently, the property has been empty so long it has become a stop on a drug train."

"So, you've been spying on me?" Oh boy, he didn't look happy.

"Not intentionally."

"Stop being coy, Nikki."

"I was here the other day when you were with your mother."

"You spied on me and my mother?"

"I told you, it wasn't on purpose. I was scoping out the place, looking for this barn when the two of you were out walking around. I hid in an old shed behind the house."

"So, when did I become a suspect?" He sounded less annoyed and more amused. Good. Maybe she hadn't ruined everything.

Everything?

Good lord, was she going to be planning a wedding next?

"I was just doing my job. You bought property that for all intents and purposes had been abandoned for a dozen years. Suddenly you show up here the same time a drug cartel moves in. What was I supposed to think?"

"And my mom? She plays a part in this ring as well?"

She shrugged. "The only thing I figured your mother did wrong was think you need to join a dating website."

"You heard that?"

Nikki nodded. "Sorry. For what it's worth, I think you will find a wife just fine without a computer."

"I'm not looking for a wife."

"Of course not. That's not what I meant." A low rumble sounded from outside the barn. "Do you hear that?"

"Yes. It sounds like a diesel engine."

"It's them! Quick! We need to get out of here! My team hasn't arrived yet." Nikki ran toward the back door and peeked out. Waving to Keegan to follow, she slipped outside. The tree line was close enough for them duck into without being spotted. Once they were beyond the wood line, Keegan took the lead.

"Over here." Nikki followed Keegan through the trees until he pulled to a stop. They peered through the branches at the side of a small moving truck. Two men were carrying boxes from the back of the truck into the barn.

"That's an odd way to transport drugs," Keegan whispered against her ear. Hopefully the involuntary shiver that ran down her spine wasn't as visible as she thought.

"I think they are shipping them inside dollhouses or something like that. Henry said it was from a Chinese toy company."

"Chinese cocaine? I didn't think that was a thing."

"It's not. The grow countries ship to China first and then smuggle them in to the U.S. like this." Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and checked the screen. "My boss says the team is stuck at a bridge lift. There's a barge moving through with a tug. Could be thirty minutes or more before they get here."

"Damn bridges. That is the one thing I can't get used to living around here. Every single time I have somewhere to be a draw bridge is up."

"Impeccable timing, that's for sure. I'm going to sneak closer and see if I can get some pictures of the guys unloading." Nikki switched her phone to camera and started inching her way toward the truck.

"I'll be right behind you." Keegan drew his gun and followed after her, taking a path a bit off to her left. She was used to working on her own. It was kind of nice having someone watch her back for a change.

The back of the truck stood open to the big double barn doors. Two men she definitely didn't recognize had just finished off loading their cargo and were leaning against the cartons smoking cigarettes. They were saying something but she couldn't make out what it was. Using the zoom feature on her camera she snapped a few pictures and sent them to Henry to run through the system before slipping back into the woods to find Keegan.

"See anything useful?"

"Got a couple of pictures of the guys but they haven't opened anything. They just stacked the boxes in the middle of the room."

"Let me see the pics. Maybe I will recognize someone."

Nikki handed him his phone and Keegan scrolled through them. "Nope. Don't know the guys."

They were picking their way through the brush when Nikki caught the shoelace of her running shoe on a tree root propelling her forward into Keegan's back. As she grabbed for a low hanging branch, her fingers slipped though the leaves, scraping chunks of skin right off. For the second time in two days Nikki knocked Keegan the ground, landing square on top of him.

She was spread-eagle across Keegan's back. His face was buried in dead leaves and dirt. "Oh my—I'm so sorry." Nikki tried to climb up off of him but her shoe lace was still tangled in the root, her foot turned at an uncomfortable angle.

Keegan rolled to the side under her. "You know, you don't have to keep tackling me this way if you want to be in my arms. I'd happily oblige without bodily injury to either of us."

"I—I—" Nikki felt the heat in her face as every drop of blood in her body rushed to her cheeks. "My shoe is stuck and I think I twisted my ankle."

Keegan reached up with both hands and pushed the hair out of her face. "There's no need to be embarrassed. I was just kidding. I don't mind this a bit."

"I'm not usually so clumsy, I swear."

"I wish I could say that women throw themselves at me all the time but that would only be if they thought I was my twin brother. He's the one that usually gets all the action. At least he was. Now he is an old married man." Keegan grinned as he pulled a stick out of her hair. "I'm going to slide out from under you and see if I can detach your shoe. Don't go anywhere."

"Don't worry, I won't. Do you think they heard us?"

Keegan carefully worked his way out from under her. "Nah. If they did they'd be shooting at us by now." He crawled over her and worked her shoelace free. Rising, he offered her a hand and pulled Nikki to her feet. At least he tried to. As soon as she put pressure on her left foot, a sharp pain shot straight up her leg. Nikki leaned against a tree.

"Damn it!"

Keegan dropped to one knee and felt around her ankle. "The bones feel intact. You probably just twisted it up a little. A little pain reliever and some ice and you should be fine."

"This is just wonderful. Son of a—"

"Whoa! Virgin ears over here!" Keegan covered his ears with his hands.

Nikki dissolved into a fit of laughter. "Yeah, right. You really expect me to believe that?"

Keegan pressed a finger to his lips. "Shhh—do you hear that?"

The sound of an engine roaring to life filled the air. "The men are leaving."

He nodded. "I think so."

A minute later the truck was gone and everything fell silent. Nikki tried her ankle again but it screamed at her.

"We should go check out what they left in the barn." Keegan nodded in that direction.

"We shouldn't do anything. This is a DEA case. You're already involved enough and you shouldn't be."

"Are you serious? I'm a government agent, same as you. Actually, we could be talking about interagency cooperation here. How did you say those drugs got here?"

"By ship."

"Crossing the United States border you mean?"

Nikki didn't say anything. Keegan was sort of right and there was no way she was admitting that. This was her case, not his, and she had worked really hard on it. She wasn't going to let anyone steal her glory—no matter how good his ass looked in those jeans of his.

"You think my ass looks good in my jeans?"

"What?" Nikki asked, the flush returning to her face. "Did I say that out loud?"

Keegan nodded. "Yup. You sure did."

"Damn it all to hell!"

Keegan turned a little to look behind him. "So, it looks good, huh?"

She slugged him on the arm. "Don't let it go to your head. A good pair of jeans can make any ass look half way decent."

"You didn't say 'half way decent.' You said 'good'. I heard you."

"For crying out loud! No wonder you aren't married."

"Hey, that was a low blow." He scowled at her.

Nikki crossed her arms over her chest and scowled back. "Well, you are infuriating."

Keegan held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, fine. I'm out. It was nice knowing you, Nikki." He turned and started walking away. Good. He was too damned distracting anyway.

Nikki started toward the barn. At least, she intended to. One step on her injured ankle had her on the ground. "Son of a bitch!" She fell backward and shook her fists at the sky. She was going to have to crawl out of there.

A shadow fell across her face. "Having a little trouble?"

"Go away." Nikki covered her eyes with her arm. If she didn't look at him, maybe he would just leave. Not that she had that kind of luck.