Page 43 of Steers and Stowaways
She gave a laughing sob. “Now Chip knows how much you mean to me.”
So do I.Tucker was never going to get enough of her touch, her sass, and her sweetness. If she didn’t hurry and press her mouth to his again, he was going to expire.
With a shaky chuckle, she did. “I never want to stop doing this.”
He was pretty sure his brain exploded. The most wonderfully bothersome woman he’d ever met was assuring him she was no longer playing a role. She was feeling the same thing he was feeling, which changed everything.
“Then don’t stop.” He didn’t care that Chip, the Lonestar Security team, the Feds, a bunch of total strangers, and maybe a few of the narco rustlers were staring at them. Since he hadn’t bothered putting on his gloves before leaving the truck, his callused fingers against her neck were drenched with her warmth. It was an incredible feeling.
“I meant…” She gave another damp chuckle. “I don’t want to go back to being what we were before we kissed.”
“Me neither.” Her words were music to his soul.
She leaned back in his arms. “I think we just bought you some insurance. With Chip on our side?—”
“Enough talking.” He swooped his mouth to hers. “More kissing.”
He hoped that the way he was devouring her lips wouldn’t scare her away. It had to be obvious he hadn’t kissed in a while. He was trying to be gentle, holding her tight without being too tight. Hopefully, just the right amount of tight.
“Get a room,” Chip grumbled from somewhere nearby.
Tucker heard a truck door slam. He raised his head to gaze down at Mallory’s dreamy eyes and well-kissed lips. “Wanna go grab a coffee or something?” He wasn’t ready to get back on the road just yet. He needed some recovery time.
“Absolutely!” She nodded shyly. “Everyone is going to think we’re together now.”
“Because we are.” He reached for her hand. It was the most satisfying feeling in the world to lace their fingers together and walk hand-in-hand with her toward the building.
She swung their joined hands between them. “Does this mean we’re dating?”
“Yep.” There was no denying or undoing what had happened between them. It was good, and it was real.
It also wouldn’t fit his current career trajectory. If he continued to work undercover as an FBI agent, they would send him wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted, right after he closed Mallory’s case. Unless…
Another idea formed in his head, one in which heturned in his resignation to the FBI and continued working at Lonestar Security. Gil, Dave, Gage, and Rock would never need to know that Tucker had started off in their ranks as a double agent.
A shot sounded, and the glass door in front of him and Mallory splintered into flying shards.
He dove onto the pavement, blanketing her with his larger frame. A woman screamed, a motor revved, and a squeal of tires told him that the perpetrator was getting away, but he was too busy protecting Mallory to get a good look at the vehicle. All he glimpsed was a dark SUV with tinted windows. Navy, maybe? He didn’t catch a single digit on the license plate.
Police sirens blared, and the ensuing police report cost them another few hours’ delay.
When they finally returned to the truck, Chip was pretending to sleep again, but Tucker could see what Mallory meant. His eyes were moving like jitterballs beneath his eyelids, and his hands twitched spasmodically around his gaming device. He wasn’t asleep.
“I’m okay.” Tucker spoke quietly as he buckled his seatbelt. “Mallory’s okay, too. How are you holding up, Chip?”
He’d been conspicuously absent during the police report, though he’d surely heard the gunshot.
“I’m okay,” the teen rasped.
“Was it a hit?” Tucker doubted Chip would answer the question, but he was wrong.
The teen opened his eyes and nodded. His pallor was ashen. His expression was one of pure misery. He knew something, and it wasn’t good.
“But you said the rustlers aren’t after Mallory, right?” Tucker was eager to confirm that bit of information.
Chip nodded again.
Then it’s me.Despite how little sense it made, Mallory’s suspicions were correct. He’d been sent to Heart Lake to investigate a gang of cattle rustlers. And somewhere along the way, he had become the target. It was going to take more time to figure out why.
