Chapter Seven
It was well after midnight before Josie and Dillon made it home. "I don't know about you, but I could use a drink and I mean a stiff one." Dillon said and headed for the liquor cabinet.
"I wouldn't say no, if you have cinnamon whiskey."
"Oh, lady, now you're talking my language." Dillon poured them both a drink as Josie peeled off her boots and curled up on one end of the couch.
He brought the drinks, handed her one and then claimed a seat on the couch, propping his feet on the coffee table. "To not spending the night in jail." He held his glass out toward her.
"Amen to that." She clicked her glass to his and then sipped. "Ah, that's good."
Josie leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a moment. She could almost feel Dillon watching her. She opened her eyes and sure enough he was.
"Talk to me, Josie."
"About what?"
"What the hell happened tonight? How did you disarm and overpower a man twice your size and why did you need to do that? And why did Lula go all Lara Croft on that guy in the bar?"
Josie had another sip of her drink. "I saw those two men at the bar. They were watching you. And they noticed me watching them. So I went to the restroom and they waylaid me. One of them said I was going to go outside and the other was going to keep an eye on you.
"Since the objective is to keep danger away from you, I agreed. I passed Lula and when our gazes met, I looked at the partner, who was, by then, at the bar behind where you were sitting with the Booster Club. She knew what I wanted from her, so I went outside. I knew she and Lincoln would keep the partner contained."
Josie noticed that Dillon was making short order of his drink. She took another sip of hers before continuing. "The man who went out with me had a message."
"What?"
This was the part she hated repeating. "He said they could get to you anytime they wanted, so I needed to tell my boss that it's really not in his best interest to keep bucking the powers that be."
Dillon's mouth opened then closed then opened again. "They can't say that."
"Yeah, they can say it."
"I mean it's illegal to threaten our family because he stands up for what he believes is right."
"Yes, it is and I'd imagine they will be in federal custody quite soon."
He nodded, polished off the rest of his drink and set the glass on the side table. "How did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Disarm that guy?"
"It's what I'm trained for."
"You really were part of the Secret Service weren't you?"
"Yes."
"Always?"
"No, I was with the Department of Justice before that."
"So, you go all Lara Croft, too?"
Josie smiled. "You have a thing for Lara Croft?"
"Who doesn't? But seriously, why would you do that? Put yourself in danger?"
"Dillon, that's the whole reason I'm here."
He rubbed one hand over his mouth and chin, then up to his forehead and back through his hair. Finally, he shook his head, grabbed his glass and went to the bar. He refilled his glass and literally downed the entire thing.
"Wow, alcoholic much, Coach?" She set her unfinished drink aside.
"I—never mind." He marched over and took hold of her arm to pull her to her feet. "I don't quite know how I'm supposed to deal with all—all this."
"- know it's an intrusion into your life and highly inconvenient and I apolo—"
"Inconvenient?" He laughed. "Inconvenient is running out of cream and having to drink your coffee black. Inconvenient is forgetting to fill up your car with gas on your way home and having to do it on your way to work when you're already late. This?" He gestured around. "This here? This isn't inconvenient, it's crazy."
"It's to keep you safe."
"Then why couldn't they have assigned a man to protect me? I could have a male trainer, and no one would blink."
"But could you have a male roommate, and no one would blink?" She saw realization dawn and pressed the issue. "Right. You're not gay and I'm pretty sure you'd suck at trying to pretend you are, so they went with me. And if you're not satisfied that I can—"
Faster than she could blink, he had hold of her neck, reeling her in to plant his lips on hers. Josie refused to react and kept her lips sealed and her body tense. It eroded her control a bit when he put his free arm around her waist and yanked her in tight to him.
Even with evidence of his excitement pressing against her, she held her ground. At least until his fingers tightened in the hair on the back of her head, pulling her head back as he whispered against her lips. "Kiss me."
Oh holy hell, her knees felt weak. The tone of his voice, the tension in his body and the fire she saw in his eyes when she pulled back enough to look was the fuel her hunger demanded. She allowed her lips to part and after one more look that told her more than a book of words, he kissed her again.
Oh damn. She was toast. No doubt about it. This kiss. This was the one that threatened to strip away all thoughts of duty. She'd known she was attracted to him and had wondered too many times to count what it would be like, but never had she imagined this kind of gut deep hunger.
"Stop," she whispered against his mouth. "Dillon, stop."
"You don't really want me to, do you?"
Something in the tone of his voice made her hackles rise and it took a moment to figure out why. "Oh, I get it. You're playing me."
"Isn't that what you did tonight? With the sexy clothes and being attentive and flirtatious?"
Josie hated that he'd figured out she was up to something, but she had a handy excuse that just happened to be the truth even if it hadn't been her only motivation. "We need people here to think we can't keep our hands off one another."
"Then why did you say stop?"
"Because we're alone."
"Yes, we are."
"Right, so now we can stop pretending."
"Is that what we're doing? Really? Because I can't tell with you, Josie. One minute you're giving me the come and get it look and the next it's hands off buddy."
Josie pushed him away and sidestepped to get around him. "I'm going to bed."
"We're not done." He grabbed her arm and none too gently.
That tore it. She didn't care if he'd had too much to drink, was frustrated over the situation or was just plain being a jerk. Whatever the case, he'd just crossed a line. "I'd appreciate it if you'd let go."
"And if I don't? You gonna go all Lara Croft on me, Agent Harper?"
That's when she knew he was drunk. She'd learned enough about Dillon to know that even when he was angry he was still polite and there was nothing polite in his tone now. For him to behave this way, something had to really be eating at him. "Let go, Dillon. Don't make this ugly. Please."
"I don't like this game." He released her and held up both hands like a man with a gun to his back. "People aren't supposed to want to hurt or kill me. I'm just a football coach."
He felt for the arm of a wingchair and flopped down in it, putting his elbows on his knees and then lowering his head into his hands. "I'm a fucking high school football coach. Fuck."
Josie didn't know what to say, but she heard the pain in his voice. She took a knee in front of him. "A football coach who took a team to State his first season. That's something to be proud of."
He nodded and after a long pause looked at her. "I played, you know. Pro."
"I know."
"You do?"
"Yes. Your average season was a 11-8 record. Your first full season, you completed 67.4 percent of your passes for 4,763 yards, 36 touchdowns and 17 interceptions with a 95.7 quarterback rating. You set the single-season touchdown passes record your second year with 51 and owned the single-season passing yards record the same year. Had you not been injured, it was predicted you'd surpass Brady and Manning by a huge margin before your fourth year."
Josie smiled at the look of surprise on his face. "How did you know all that?"
"Are you kidding? I love the game and you were the quarterback. Hell, I used to joke that one day I was going to catch one of your passes, and not on the field."
"I'm not that man anymore." He looked down again and her heart ached for him. How difficult had it been, to go from the shining star of the NFL to high school football coach? How much of his ego had to be left in the operating room and on the floor of the rehab centers?
"No, you're more now." She put her hand on his knee and when he looked at her, continued. "It takes more guts and—and pluck, than most people can imagine, to go through what you did and rise above it. They said you'd never walk, but you did. And they said you'd never run, but you did that too. And you can still throw a freaking bomb and you know the game in a way few ever do.
"You're a hell of a good coach, Dillon and I happen to know something about that, because I grew up watching and learning from one of the best. So, don't think that life took everything from you. It kicked the fuck out of you, stomped you nearly to death and dared you to get up, but you did. You didn't let it beat you and so what that you're no longer on the gridiron? You were. You had it all. Now it's someone else's chance.
"And maybe that someone else will be one of those young men you coach. You're touching lives here, Dillon and that's no small thing, so be proud of what you've accomplished and overcome and don't think for a minute that you're less because that's just not true."
"You wanted to catch a pass?" He asked with a hint of his typical charm breaking through.
"Me and several million other women, so don't let it go to your head, Coach."
"I'll try."
"Good. I'm going to bed now. I have a feeling by morning I'll have your uncle and father blowing up my phone, wanting details on tonight."
She gave his knee a squeeze and started to stand. He caught her hand and stood to face her. "I should have thanked you."
"For what?"
"What you did tonight at the Honky Tonk. It's not lost on me that you put yourself in harm's way for me."
"It's my job, remember?"
"Is that all it is, Josie?"
With no time to consider the best response, she answered with simple honesty. "It's supposed to be. You don't make it easy, Dillon, but I'm trying."
"I guess I'll take that as flattery."
Josie smiled. "Just please, don't make it any harder. There's already been one threat. We can't discount the possibility there will be another and I have to be on my toes."
"So, you can't be on your toes if there's more than just a job between us?"
"I don't know to be honest. I've never been involved with someone I've been hired to protect."
"And you don't want to be?"
"I wouldn't say that."
"Okay, I can live with that. For now."
She nodded. "Good night, Dillon."
"Good night Josie." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Sleep well."
"You too." She hurried upstairs, closed her bedroom door and leaned back against it. Dillon was getting to her, and she didn't know how to stop that. Josie feared that if she allowed her feelings and her desire for him to take control, she'd compromise her ability to keep him safe.
She couldn't let that happen. So, she'd get a shower, change and once she was sure he was in his room, she'd take her pillow and her gun and make herself comfortable on the couch where she had a view of the front door, the hallway to his room and the kitchen. She'd be the man on the wall tonight, just like every night, until she was told to stand down.
And then? She had no clue.