Chapter Four
She must have dozed off for a while because later, she jerked awake.
Something had startled her.
Sitting up quickly, her eyes wide and her heart pounding in her ears, she glanced around the living room.
The TV was still on and the glow from it gave her enough light to see that nothing was amiss.
She blew out a relieved breath and was about to stand to head to her bedroom when she heard another noise.
It seemed to be coming from outside.
She froze, too terrified to even blink.
She slowly rose from the couch and took a deep breath before she quickly dashed into the kitchen to pick up the cordless phone.
When she reached the hallway, she ran to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She dialed Micah’s number.
“Turner,” he answered in a sleep filled voice.
“I think someone is outside,” she whispered.
“Hold on.” He hung up.
Patsy stared at the phone in her hand. What the hell? She about jumped out of her skin when it rang in her hand. She looked down to see his number.
“Why did you hang up on me?”
“I called the agents outside, and they’re checking out the area. They’ll call me back in a few minutes. Where are you?”
“Locked in my bedroom. I’m scared, Micah.”
“I know, sweetheart. Just stay calm and take a deep breath. Hold on, they’re calling back.” He disappeared off the line again but came right back. “It was just a dog.”
“A dog?” It was a dog, and now she felt like an idiot.
“Don’t feel bad about being upset. I’m glad you called. It means you’re paying attention and you need to, Patsy. Anything you hear, call me. It’s never a problem.”
She blinked the tears from her eyes. “I feel so silly—”
“No. Don’t. It’s great you called me. I was able to call the men and they checked it out. It’s why they’re out there. Never hesitate to call me.”
“All right. I’m sorry I woke you up.”
“Patsy, stop apologizing. Isn’t this why you came to me? For my protection?”
“Yes.”
“Then let me do my job. Do you think you can sleep now?”
“I think so.”
“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, Agent Turner. ”
He chuckled in her ear. “Goodnight, pixie.”
Patsy hung up with a smile on her face.
****
The next day, Micah checked out of the hotel and returned the car to the rental agency before entering the airline terminal. He went through the same procedure as when he’d flown out yesterday. He took a seat in the lounge and started reading the book he’d purchased as he waited for his flight. He’d just gotten comfortable when he heard a feminine voice from beside him. He glanced over to his right and saw the redhead he’d talked to yesterday.
“It has to be fate, don’t you think?” she said smiling.
“I don’t believe in fate.” Micah smiled back.
“Oh please…yesterday, I thought I’d never see you again and yet here you are.”
“Yep, here I am.”
She placed her hand on his arm. “What flight are you on?”
“I’m heading back to Cheyenne.” Micah didn’t want to encourage this woman. She held no appeal for him.
“I am too. What airline?”
Micah told her and watched as she pouted. He hated when a woman used that ploy. It never worked with him and it wasn’t working now. He shrugged.
“Sorry.” He wasn’t but he also wasn’t going to be a jerk about it .
“I could see if I could switch…”
“Look, I don’t want to offend you, but I’m not interested.”
“I see. Do you have someone in your life?”
He hesitated then shook his head. “Not really, but my job doesn’t allow me much time for anything else.”
“I see. Well, maybe one day we’ll see each other again and it won’t matter if we both have someone. Have a nice flight.” She stood and walked away from him.
Both have someone? Did that mean she had someone? Damn. She was definitely off limits. He didn’t mess around with a woman who was involved with someone else. Shit! Some people just didn’t care.
It seemed he was going to get home later than planned since his flight had just been announced as delayed. Stretching his long legs out in front of him, he continued to read.
It was dark when Micah entered his house through the front door and turned the alarm off then reset it. The TV was on, but he didn’t see Patsy anywhere. Setting his suitcase down, he looked down the hall.
“Patsy?” he called out.
When there was no answer, he headed down the hall toward her bedroom.
“Patsy?” Still no answer.
Her bedroom door was closed. He knocked but there was no answer, so he turned the knob and looked in. He didn’t see her anywhere and then he heard it—the jets in the Jacuzzi. He smiled as he entered his bedroom. He knocked on the bathroom door, but she probably couldn’t hear him over the jets. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door, stuck his head in, and immediately regretted it. She was in the tub with her head back and her eyes closed. Her blonde hair was piled on top of her head. Damn, she was beautiful. His dick certainly noticed. He was horny enough without seeing this.
“Patsy.”
She squealed and turned her head to glare at him. “Get out of here.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? You’re in my Jacuzzi.”
“You told me I could use it.”
“You’re right, I did. How long do you plan on being in there? I’d like to use it. My muscles are killing me from being cramped in the seat on the plane.”
“I’m finished. If you’ll leave, I can get out of here.”
He grinned. “Do I have to?”
Patsy pointed to the door. “Go.”
He laughed. “Spoilsport. I’m going.”
He walked out and closed the door behind him.
It was a damn good thing he kept his eyes on her face because he was sure if he’d glanced down, he would have seen every inch of her. It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to lower his eyes. He was sure if he’d seen what was under the water, he’d want to climb into that tub with her. Hell, he’d been tempted to as it was.
He sat on the bed and toed his boots off then pulled his T-shirt off over his head, dropped it to the floor, and stood when the door opened. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop the groan from emerging. She stood in the doorway wrapped in a towel and he could smell her soap.
“All yours, Agent Turner.” She smiled at him and walked from his bedroom with the towel just barely covering her ass.
Hell! Now he was having trouble getting his zipper down because his dick was hard and all because she’d walked by with a towel around her. Damn, he wanted her. He couldn’t think of any woman he’d ever wanted more. Not even Vanessa. Micah had thought the sex was so hot with her, but he had a feeling it would be so much hotter with the damn pixie.
****
Oh. My. God. The man was going to be the death of her. When she’d walked out of the bathroom and he was standing there in nothing but his jeans, she’d almost attacked him. He looked so good in those low-slung jeans and his hard pecs were so sexy. She desperately wanted to rake her fingernails down that six-pack stomach and follow that happy trail with her tongue from his belly button to the treasure it led to. Oh, and that sexy V had her biting her lip to keep from groaning .
Damn! Damn! Damn!
She’d never been shy around men. Until him. It was never a problem for her to let a man know she wanted him but the thought that he’d probably laugh in her face kept her from going after what she so desperately wanted. She closed her bedroom door then opening the towel, she let it fall to the floor. She pulled on her lounge pants and T-shirt. The night stretched out in front of her. Shaking her head, she figured she might as well watch some TV until she was sure she could sleep.
After putting her hair in a ponytail, she opened her door and groaned when she heard the jets going in the tub. She could have massaged his muscles for him. There was one in particular she wouldn’t mind massaging. She snorted.
You seriously need to stop this. You’ll be so horny by the time you go to bed that you won’t be able to sleep.
She walked around the sofa and flopped down onto it then picked up the remote. Would he come out here after his time in the Jacuzzi? She hoped so, even though he scared her. Well, not so much him, as her feelings for him. No man had ever captured her attention like Micah Turner had. Most men were just someone to go out with and have a good time with but with Micah, she could see wanting a longer relationship with him and the idea of it totally scared her to death. She wasn’t the settling down kind of gal. She couldn’t see having a life like Isabella had with Mont. Although, she had to admit, she was a little envious of the love they shared. Mont adored Bella and showed her how much every day. Patsy had seen what Bella had gone through when she thought Mont was dead and she couldn’t imagine being involved with a man in such a dangerous job. No matter how attracted she was to him, Micah had a very dangerous job. The thought of him being hurt or worse terrified her.
“What are you watching?”
His voice from above the sofa over her shoulder startled her.
“Uh…I really have no idea. I just know I’m not tired yet.”
“I am, but I need to work on some things before I head to bed.”
She watched him walk around the sofa and forced her eyes to look away from the gray sweatpants he was wearing. Why couldn’t he wear something else? She noticed he had a laptop in his hand. He sat in the recliner and lifted the footrest. Then he opened the computer and before long he was absorbed in whatever he was working on. It was as if she’d disappeared. She huffed and then blushed when he looked over to her lifting an eyebrow in question.
“I hate this, Micah. I hate this hiding shit.”
“You don’t have a choice right now. Just let me do my job. I’m looking into White’s men and I’ll figure out who it is. Thing is, it could be anyone. I’ll check every possible lead. I’ve taken a few days off to concentrate on this. I’ll find him.”
“I hope so,” she muttered.
She watched him close the laptop and let the footrest down. He set the computer on the end table then stood and walked to her. He pushed her feet off the sofa and sat down beside her.
“I’ll protect you with my life, Patsy.”
“That could be the problem. Do you think I want you to die because of me?”
Micah shrugged. “It’s my job. Every day I leave here, I know it might be my last day.”
She punched his upper arm then hid a grimace when his hard bicep stung her fist. “Don’t say shit like that. I don’t want you to die and especially because of me.”
“Really? I would think you wouldn’t care one way or the other.”
Patsy laughed. “Like you would care if it were me who died?”
Micah grinned and glanced away from her then back. “I don’t hate you, Patsy.”
“I don’t hate you either, Micah.”
“That’s good to know,” he said as his eyes dropped to her lips then he cleared his throat, stood, and returned to the recliner where he picked up the laptop.
Patsy nibbled on her bottom lip. She was sure he’d been thinking of kissing her and she wanted it more than her next breath .
“Uh, Bella told me you were seeing someone,” she said as she watched him settle into his chair and open the laptop.
Micah glanced at her then back to the computer screen. “Not anymore.”
“Why not?”
Shrugging, he closed the laptop again. “Does it matter?”
“I just didn’t want her coming here and jumping all over me.”
Grinning, Micah stared at her. “I don’t see you as the type who would back down from anyone.”
She laughed. “I usually don’t but women can be deadly when they’re jealous.”
“True. So what about you? Seeing anyone?”
“Not right now.” Suddenly, silence filled the room then Patsy cleared her throat. “Do you ever want to get married?”
“I don’t really know. My job is hard on a family. I’ve seen a lot of divorces in my line of work. My parents are divorced because my dad was an agent.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but don’t you want children one day? I want children and a bunch of dogs and horses.”
****
“What is it you want in a man, Patsy?” Micah asked her and realized he was very interested in her answer.
Patsy grinned at him. “Surrender.”
He laughed. “Surrender? You want a man who will surrender to you—where? In bed? ”
“I don’t just mean sex, Micah. I’m talking about surrendering his love to me. Willing to give in to all that love between two people—freely.”
“You think that’s what love is about?” He tilted his head as he looked at her.
“I do but a lot of men feel that if they surrender to love, it makes them less of a man.”
“I can understand that,” he murmured.
“It’s not like having your balls cut off, ya know.”
“Really? I disagree.”
“Why? Don’t you want a woman to surrender her love to you and only you?”
He shrugged. This conversation had taken a curve he wasn’t sure he wanted to follow. Then he grinned at her.
“I like a woman who’s willing to surrender.” His eyes met hers.
“Oh, I’m sure you do, Agent Turner, but I’m talking about more than just in bed.”
“So, when did we go back to Agent Turner? You call me Micah any other time.”
Patsy stood, and her eyes narrowed as she looked at him.
“A moment of weakness, I guess.” She started to leave the room.
“Is this surrender conversation over then?”
Spinning around, she looked at him. “I suppose so. You’re never going to agree with me on it. Don’t you think Mont has surrendered his love to Bella? ”
Micah thought about his friend for a moment. “I suppose he has. They love each other enough.”
“Enough?”
“Enough to know they can surrender to each other. I’m not sure I’d ever get to that point.”
“You really don’t want to get married one day?”
“I’m married to my job. I guess you could say I surrender to it every day.”
“I would, but one day a woman might make you drop to your knees for her.”
He burst out laughing. “I doubt that.”
“We’ll see, Agent Turner. We shall see.”
She stood behind the couch and stared at him.
Patsy Murphy was going to drive him insane. He’d never wanted a woman more, but he had a feeling if he had her once, it would never be enough. Then he would end up on his knees and doing what she wanted, surrendering. Something he never wanted to do. Couldn’t do. One woman had already left him when he wouldn’t give up his job for her and he didn’t know of any woman who could make him ever leave the FBI. No, he’d never leave his job for a woman.
His cell phone vibrated and he removed it from the pocket of his sweatpants.
“Turner.” He glanced up at Patsy.
“Can you make him out?” Micah said into the phone .
He heard Patsy gasp. He held his hand up to make sure she remained quiet as he listened to the agent on the other end of the phone.
“All right. Thanks. All phones on vibrate only.” Micah disconnected the call, pushed his laptop aside, and stood.
He looked into wide eyes filled with anticipation.
“What was that all about? Is he out there?”
“We’re not sure who it is.” He put his cell phone back into the pocket of his sweatpants.
Patsy gasped. “Micah?”
She moved backwards until she bumped into the wall behind her.
“Go to your bedroom and lock the door.” He glanced over to her. “Now, Patsy.”
She nodded, ran from the room and down the hallway to her bedroom. He heard the door close and the lock click. He strode down the hall to the door and knocked on it to get her attention.
“Do not open this door for anyone but me, Patsy. Do you hear me?”
“Yes…Micah?”
“Yes?”
“Please be careful.”
“Always.”
He entered his bedroom then quickly pulled jeans and a T-shirt from the hamper in the bathroom and dressed. He laced up his sneakers, picked up his Glock 19 then walked to the garage to go out the side door. If that son of a bitch was here, he wanted him.
He turned the alarm off then slowly opened the door and peered outside. Swearing under his breath, he walked to the fuse box and flipped the switch for the security lights to off. He didn’t want to walk out there, and have the lights come on. He wasn’t thrilled with not being able to see anyone but he sure as hell didn’t need to be in the spotlight either.
After resetting the alarm, he opened the door then pressed the lock, took the spare key from the shelf by the door, stepped out, and pulled the door closed. He couldn’t imagine what Patsy was going through sitting in her room alone. She was a tough woman but even the strongest person had to be scared at a time like this. She was terrified of this man finding her and who could blame her.
Micah needed to find this man and any others that White had out there looking for her. He knew that White would get in touch with his men to let the man following Patsy know where to look in Cheyenne. White couldn’t be sure Patsy was with Micah but the man following her had probably told White he’d followed her to Cheyenne and since Micah had made a visit to White, it wouldn’t be hard to put two and two together .
He muttered under his breath. Shit! He’d do his best to protect her and try not to get himself killed in the process. If White was giving his men information, Micah needed to find out how. All mail going in or coming out of the prison was read. His cell phone vibrated and he pulled it from his pocket to see Agent Weber’s name.
“Weber, where are you?” Micah whispered.
“Out front…across the street. Jewell is walking toward your house by way of the house to the left of yours.”
“Thanks, I’m just outside of my garage. I’ll head around back. Have you seen anything?”
“No, and it’s too fucking quiet. Not even a dog barking and there’s a dog down the street that never seems to shut up.”
Micah couldn’t help but chuckle. He knew the dog Weber was talking about. He was a pain in the ass to everyone in the neighborhood. He sobered. If the dog wasn’t barking, something could very well be up.
“Call Jewell and tell him to check it out.”
“Will do.” Weber disconnected.
Micah moved toward the back of the house and stopped when he saw a shadowy figure by his back deck, inside the privacy fence. He held his weapon out in front of him and approached the person. He knew the lay of his property well enough that he could walk it blindfolded and not make a sound. He crept up behind the figure, noting it was a man and pressed the gun to the back of his head making the man freeze.
“Drop your weapon,” Micah growled.
“I–I don’t have a weapon,” the man stuttered as he put his hands up.
“Who the hell are you?”
“I live across the street. I saw two guys staking out your house and I was going to tell you about them.”
“Son of a bitch,” Micah muttered as he pulled his gun away from the man’s head.
He watched as the man sighed and then slid down to sit on the steps to the deck.
“Christ, you could have killed me.”
“No shit. You’re damn lucky I didn’t.”
“I just wanted you to know about those men—”
“I know about them. Go home and don’t sneak around here again or anyone’s property.”
The man stood. “Why are they staking you out? Are you some kind of criminal?”
“I’m FBI Special Agent Micah Turner,” he told him.
“You’re FBI?”
“Yes, now go home.”
The man stuck his hand out. “I’m Willie Doyle.”
Micah sighed and shook his hand.
“Nice to meet you. Now, go the hell home and don’t mention this to anyone.”
Willie nodded and ran down the back alley. Micah knew it would be all over the neighborhood tomorrow that there was an FBI agent living here, even though he told Doyle not to say anything. It wasn’t that he tried to hide what he did he just didn’t feel the need to tell everyone his business. He kept to himself. He’d wave to a neighbor but he never really talked with any of them. He just didn’t need to advertise what he did for a living. People would be asking him all kinds of questions about it. He’d found that out when he’d lived in Denver. Damn it!
Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he called Weber to let him know there was no problem. Weber told him he’d call Jewell in. Micah told them the neighbor had spotted them, so they needed to move to another place. If Doyle saw them, then any of White’s men could. After thanking him, he hung up and entered the garage and then the house. He pushed the code for the alarm system then strode down the hallway to her bedroom and knocked on the door.
“Patsy?”
“Yes?”
“You can open the door now.”
“How do I know a man doesn’t have a gun to your head telling you to say that?”
Micah grinned. “You don’t, but there isn’t. Open the door.”
“No.” Her muffled voice came through the door.
“I’m alone. Come on, pixie, open the door.”
He heard the door lock turn and then the door opened. She stood there with tearstained cheeks. His heart ached for her. He pulled her into his arms and her arms wrapped around his waist as she took a shuddering breath.
“I was so scared.”
“I knew you had to be. It was just a neighbor being nosey. No one else is out there. You’re fine.” He rubbed his hands up and down her back. “You’re so tense. Go get in the Jacuzzi and relax.”
“Are you sure? I already used it earlier.”
“It will help you. Go.”
He pushed her toward his bedroom. He had to get her away from him. Feeling her hard little body against his had his dick wanting to rise.
“All right. I will.”
She walked away from him and entered his bedroom. The door closed behind her .