Page 120 of Call Back

“Not one hundred?”

“Nothing’s a sure bet, Mags. Especially not me.”

I turned to study his face. “Believe it or not, I’m not stupid.”

His body stiffened in defensiveness. “I never said—”

“Relax,” I said reaching for the door handle. “I’m a big girl. Let’s go find the gold.”

Taking the lead, I walked up to the porch, bold as I pleased, leaving Colt to trail behind me. When we got to the front door, I noticed Colt had slipped on a pair of leather gloves. He handed me the small package he’d brought with him from his truck and then quickly opened it, revealing several small, slender tools.

“I have to pick the lock,” he said. “This should be quick.”

He was right. He had the doorknob and deadbolt unlatched in twenty seconds. Taking the tools from my hands, he pushed open the door with his hip. “Don’t touch anything when we get inside.”

Crap.How had I not considered that? Leaving fingerprints was a very bad idea. “How will I help if I can’t touch anything?”

He didn’t answer, just gestured for me to go in, then closed the door behind us.

When I turned to ask him what he wanted me to do, he grabbed my arm and tugged me to his chest. I gasped as his mouth lowered to mine, and his tongue took advantage of my parted lips.

My body melted into his as I wrapped my hands around his neck.

His arm wrapped around my back, holding me in place, while his still-gloved hand tilted my head back to deepen our kiss.

He lifted his head and grinned, an infectious smile that warmed my heart to match the rest of my body. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to kiss you like that.”

“You kissed me just this morning. And out in the car.”

“Not like this. I want more, but it will have to wait. Right now we need to find that gold.”

He kissed me again, softer this time, his teeth and tongue teasing my bottom lip, but he left me breathless all the same. He placed both hands on my hips and stepped back, watching me with a grin.

“I still don’t know what I can do,” I said. “I don’t have a pair of gloves.”

“You can still leave, Maggie. Come back when I’m done.”

“No way.” I looked around the living room, filled with streamlined contemporary furniture, and spotted a small closet. “Open that door.”

He laughed. “Just because I kissed you doesn’t mean you get to boss me around.”

“Shut up and open the closet door.”

Grinning, he opened the closet door and rummaged around in a basket on the top shelf. When he turned around, he had a pair of knit gloves in his hand. “Try these. They look like they’ll be too large for you.”

I grabbed them from him and tugged them on. Sure enough, there was a half-inch at the end of each finger, but it would be better than doing nothing.

“Okay,” Colt said. “The goal is to find the gold but leave no signs that we’ve been here. We’ll start in the kitchen and work our way through the house.”

By the time we’d made it through the entire house, I could see why Lopez had ripped my apartment apart during his search.

Colt glanced at the clock in the master bedroom and grimaced. “We’re running out of time. We need to check the basement next.”

Fear skated along my skin, but I told myself there was always a chance it could be a finished basement with bright overhead lights.

No such luck.

Colt opened the basement door in the hallway, and my breath caught at the sight of the dark, gaping hole.

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