“Anything odd?”

“She likes to go slumming once in a while, but that’s al.”

“Slumming?”

“She’s got a boyfriend who lives in a crappy part of town. He’s much younger, and she only goes there long enough to get a quickie.”

“Anything else?”

Grant grimaced. “She slipped our tail last night.”

“How did that happen?”

“She got lucky with a freight train. Brent didn’t think it was intentional.”

“We’re stil watching her, right?”

“Yeah, but with the additional duties on Lana’s family, we’re getting spread a little thin.”

“Do what you can,” said Caleb. “Lana’s family takes first priority.”

“Got it. See you in the morning. Sleep wel. Or not.” Grant was grinning when he drove out of the lot, no doubt to find his own female companion. Or three.

Caleb was already planning on just how he was going to enjoy Lana first when he tried to open her door. His key had unlocked it easily enough, but it didn’t budge more than a couple of inches. The chair was wedged under the handle again.

Like that was going to stop him.

“Back away from the door,” he said, giving her a minute to comply. He used a burst of strength and a jerk of his shoulder to crumble the flimsy wooden chair. The door swung open, but Lana was nowhere in sight. Caleb closed and locked the door behind him, pushing the remains of the chair out of the way with his boot.

That’s when he heard the shower running.

A wide grin stretched his face, making the skin under his eye twinge where she’d hit him. He briefly wondered if she’d try to knock him on his ass when he stepped into the shower with her. And whether or not she’d succeed.

Of course, sitting in the bottom of the tub had as many possibilities as standing up, al of which were fine with him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Lana heard the bathroom door open, which should have startled her but didn’t. Part of her had expected him not to be stopped by the chair—that hopeful part of her that she kept scolding for its idiocy.

She’d just finished washing her hair, grateful that she didn’t have soap in her eyes when he stepped into the smal, steamy room and shut the door. The clear plastic shower curtain blurred his image, but didn’t protect her from his view. She saw his gaze fix on her naked body, and he started stripping out of his clothes. Her body heated as more and more of him was revealed. For the first time in her life, she realized what men saw in the whole striptease thing.

“You shouldn’t be in here,” she told him. Her arms were wrapped around her to shield her body, even though she knew he’d seen it al before.

“Of course I should. I know how much you like the shower. I figured I’d finish what I started the other night.”

The image of his body pressing hers against the wal flared in Lana’s mind. A lethal rush of desire nearly drove her to her knees.

He was naked when he puled the curtain back. Naked and hugely erect, already wearing a condom.

Lana’s mouth went dry, and she couldn’t stop staring at him, couldn’t move. Water sprayed out of the tub as it bounced off her.

Caleb stepped into the tub, forcing her to step back and give him room. He puled the plastic shut behind him, closing them in.

“This time I won’t stop until you come. I promise.” He bent down and took her mouth in a kiss.

His lips were gentle and hot. His hands pressed against the tile, caging her inside his arms. She could smel the sweat from their workout and the sweet fragrance of her shampoo. Every stream of water seemed to make her skin more sensitive.

He teased her mouth open until she could feel the stroke of his tongue against hers. She clung to his shoulders for support and went up on tiptoe to deepen the kiss. She no longer cared whether or not sex with Caleb was smart. It was necessary.

Caleb puled his mouth away and picked her up, sliding her up the slippery tile wal until her breasts were on level with his face. He made a low, rumbling sound of need and closed his mouth over one nipple.

Lana gasped and shoved her fingers through his wet hair to hold him in place. With every rhythmic tug on her breast, sweet fingers of fire stroked inside her bely, making her ache to get him inside her. She wrapped her dangling legs around Caleb’s torso to help hold on to her spinning world.

He shifted his attention to her other breast while his arm wrapped around under her bottom to support her weight. He let her slide slowly down the cool tile while his free hand guided his erection unerringly into her body, just a little. The first feelings of being stretched made her cry out, her voice echoing off the wals.

Her progress down stopped, and Caleb leaned his head so his forehead met hers. “You okay?” he asked in a strained voice.

She nodded and held his head while she kissed him, showing him without words how frantic she was for this. How much she needed it.

Caleb eased her weight down farther until she could think of nothing else but the length of him inside her, pressing against nerve endings she’d never known she had. He used his weight to hold her against the wal while his hips rocked away from her, then back.

Another slow thrust made her skin tingle both inside and out, and she leaned her head back on the wal, letting the feeling wash over her. She knew she was getting close, and by the steadily increasing pace of Caleb’s breathing, so was he.

Lana puled herself back up, letting her nipples rub against his chest. A quiver started deep inside her where Caleb slid in and out, and she heard him groan as her muscles clamped down on him. She tried to speed things up, wanting to find that shimmering completion she knew lay just ahead, but Caleb held her to a steady pace, not alowing her to rush things.

His lips brushed her ear, and she felt his tongue swirl on a sensitive patch of skin just below her earlobe. “You’re close,” he whispered to her. “I can feel it. Let go, Lana.

Give me what I want.”

Any part of her mind not directly responsible for pleasure was shut down. She sensed that he’d meant more than he’d said, but she couldn’t figure it out, nor did she bother trying. That shimmering heat that pooled inside her was building to a vibrating flame that leapt through her in a merciless wave. Her arms locked around Caleb, and she held on to him while her world exploded and colapsed down to pure sensation. Her orgasm tore through her, ripping a loud cry from her lungs and making her body contract around him.

He pushed her hips down, sealing them together as his own deep shout added to hers. She felt him jerk as he came in time with her own release.

Caleb eased her to the floor, where he sprawled in a boneless heap with her. Water sprayed over their heads, but every little drop was like a caress over her sensitized skin. She shivered and Caleb shifted her so that his erection puled from her body.

He cradled her while their breathing calmed, then reached for the soap. By the time he was done washing her, there wasn’t a bone left in her body.

When her nightmare started, Caleb woke her with his hands and mouth, gently easing her from the dark mist of her dreams into the solid, tangible pleasure of his touch. When he was sure she was fuly awake, he covered himself with a condom, curved his body behind hers, and pushed into her warmth. She arched against him, urging him on. He took her slowly, letting her set the languid pace. His hands were free to caress her, and he stroked her from her scalp to her knees and back again.

Lana sighed when he slid his hands down her arms and sucked in her breath when he rubbed her nipples against the palm of his hand. Her noises taught him what she liked best, and by the time he’d driven her to her first release, he knew her body better than he ever had any other woman’s. By the time he surged inside her, joining her in her third climax, he knew her body better than his own.

John waited until the men guarding the youth center changed shifts before he made his move. The sun was a blinding glare on the horizon when he crept up onto the roof, ensuring that he was less likely to be seen.

He watched the ladder leading up to the roof long enough to be sure he wasn’t going to have any visitors before he went to set up for the job.

A few minutes later, his rifle was ready, and he was barely visible behind the giant air handler. His view of the front parking lot wasn’t great, but he had a clear shot of the lawn where the carnival was going to be held—where al the action would be happening today.

Al he had to do now was wait for the women to arrive. He’d have only a few seconds to take them both out before he was spotted, so his best bet was to take them both out at once—line up the shot.

Neither one of them was big enough to stop a round—at least not the firepower he’d be sending their way. And if he couldn’t get both of them, he’d take whichever one he could get and leave the second one for later.

John stil had ten of those twenty-four hours Marcus had given him to eliminate both women. There would be plenty of time left to get the job done and earn his triple pay.

The youth center was crawling with volunteers by the time Caleb and Lana arrived. Grant was directing the troops as they assembled game booths and tents to shade tomorrow’s carnivalgoers from the worst of the hot sun.

Out of the corner of Caleb’s eye, he saw Lana’s reaction to the busy scene. She was staring in open-mouthed shock. “How did you manage al this?”

Caleb’s chest sweled with pride that he’d impressed her. “I puled in a few favors and got permission to borrow some gear. Grant and the guys did the same thing, and between al of us, we managed to get everything we needed to throw one heck of a party.”

Lana fumbled in her backpack and shoved on a battered pair of sunglasses, but not before Caleb could see the sheen of tears wavering in her eyes.

He leaned over and smoothed a swath of dark, glossy hair behind her ear. “Teamwork, Lana. No one of us could have puled this off alone, but together, we’re al but invincible. You should give it a try.”

He felt her freeze up, going rigid. “I appreciate what you’ve done here, Caleb, but not every problem is the kind of thing you share.”

He stroked a finger down her cheek and along her jaw, urging her to turn and look at him. He couldn’t see much behind those dark glasses, but he’d come to know that tense, fearful quality in her voice. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t have done to free her of that, if only she’d given him the chance. “Don’t know until you try,” he said. “If I can’t help you, I’l be the first to admit it. I swear.”

She hesitated for a moment before she puled away and reached for the door handle. “We’ve got a lot to do today. I need to get to it.”

Caleb grabbed her arm, forcing himself to be gentle when he realy just wanted to shake some sense into her. He had until tomorrow to pry out her secrets. It wasn’t nearly enough time. Then again, a lifetime with her wouldn’t have been enough to suit him. “Don’t run away from me. Let me help you.”

“You are helping me.” She waved a hand out at the men working. “You’ve helped me more than I ever thought possible. Let that be enough, Caleb. Please.”

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