Coyote's Kiss (16 page)

“We could have easily split up all the teams so it wouldn’t have looked weird for us to be separated,” he repeated for what was about the hundredth time.

“I’m not leaving your side,” she said. “Jamie will be with us so we’ll have another shifter but I’m not taking my eyes off you.”

“You could watch from the van,” he pointed out.

She’d known that the argument wasn’t over when they’d reconvened. It didn’t matter, though—she wasn’t going to let anything happen to her partner.

“We’ve been through this,” she reminded him. “I’m not going to change my mind.”

“I thought maybe Luca would try to talk you out of it,” Cole said.

She was a little surprised that Luca hadn’t. The only thing he’d said when they’d been on break was that she had better be careful.

“He understands that I have to do this.”

“I guess I do, too.” He dropped down to sit on the bumper.

She turned and took her place beside him.

“It’s just that you are the one person that I can count on. Six months ago I didn’t even know you and now I can’t imagine not seeing you every day,” Cole stated.

“I kind of grow on you, huh?” she teased and bumped his shoulder.

“Sadly yes,” he said but grinned at her. “I’ll be really pissed off if you get hurt.”

“Same goes for you,” she replied.

“You both ready?” Jamie asked as he came around from the front. “What’s up?” He looked from Cole to her.

“Nothing.” She waved her hand. “You just interrupted a really good moment between partners.”

Jamie laughed. “Oh, well, no moment is complete without comic relief so it’s a good thing I showed up.”

Cole shook his head. “How did I end up with you?”

“Just lucky, I guess,” Jamie responded.

Both Cole and Jade groaned.

“Calvin’s grabbing the keys. I put him in charge of driving so we can go over the map. Jade can ride up front with him and help with directions,” Jamie said.

“Patrick’s all set on his task?” Jade asked. She still wanted to punch the little weasel but neither Luca nor Cole would let her within five feet of him.

“He’s already called in and told them about the scavenger hunt. His boss ordered him to email everyone instructions so they’d know where the teams were going and when,” Jamie confirmed. “Since we think they’ll hit us before we get to one of the check-ins the van will follow us while each unit will be close to the mark in case we need extra backup. We’ll catch them trying to take us out and this will be over,” Jamie explained.

“This had better work,” she groused.

“Sal and Flynn will be right behind us,” Jamie assured her.

“Fine.” She glanced at her watch. “We have ten minutes before we’re supposed to start.”

“Let’s load up. You have your weapons?” Jamie asked.

Jade patted the Glock at her side. “Locked and loaded.”

Jamie grinned. “I never understood that expression.”

She couldn’t help but laugh along with him. She had to agree. It didn’t matter, though. They were ready to go. She stood and patted Cole’s shoulder. “Watch your back.”

He nodded. “You too.”

She walked to the front of the vehicle and climbed into the passenger seat. Calvin was already behind the wheel pulling on his seatbelt.

“The instructions will be texted to everyone so we all start the game at the same time. Patrick received them early since he’s playing the judge and setting up all the boxes we need to retrieve,” he explained.

“I’m ready,” she said. Jamie and Cole joined them and slammed their doors closed.

“Let’s get out of here,” Jamie ordered.

“Which way?” Calvin asked.

“Head north for now. At least we’ll be on the road when we get the first clue.”

Calvin nodded before he started the SUV. He backed out of the parking spot in the Coalition garage. When he reached the exit, Jade glanced around to see if she could spot the van that Sal and Flynn were supposed to be following in. She didn’t see them.

“They’re watching,” Jamie told her.

She sighed and leaned back into her seat. She needed to relax.

* * * *

“We’re almost at the third location,” Calvin mumbled. “Where the hell are these guys?”

Jade wouldn’t normally be impatient for something to happen, but her nerves were frayed and she was going to lose her mind if she had to wait any longer.

“Just keep your eyes open. Maybe whoever is after Cole has backed off now that we’re involved,” Jamie said from the back seat. He didn’t sound convinced and Jade wasn’t either. The joint task force had given them an opportunity that should have been too good to pass up.

“When we get to the train yard we’ll split up,” Cole directed.

“No,” she snapped. “I’m not leaving you.”

“Not far, but look at this.” Cole shook out the blueprint of the location. “There are three rows of old metal containers no longer in use. We can go up these and still be close enough to hear if anything happens. But this will also give the illusion that I’m alone.”

“We have to do something,” Calvin chimed in. “After this we only have one more box to get so that will be their last opening.”

Jade turned in her seat to look at Cole. “They might not go for you in the middle of a training exercise at all. Especially with us three here. What if they wait until you really are alone? Shit, they could be waiting at your house now.” Crap, why hadn’t she thought about that? Just because the other agents had been taken out during operations didn’t mean that they would go after Cole the same way.

“We’ve got it covered,” Jamie told her. “Aubrey and her partner are watching his house.”

“Really?” Relief flooded her.

“Yeah, we don’t know what script these assholes are playing to. We’re taking every precaution we can. I keep telling you we won’t let anything happen to Cole,” Jamie said sternly.

She held up her hands. “I know, I know. I can’t help but worry.”

“And I appreciate it.” Cole patted her shoulder. “But I do know what’s after me and I am a big bad wolf.”

She snorted. “You’ve forgotten that you’ve shifted in front of me.”

“What’s that mean?”

She reached back and grabbed his ear. She was too quick for him to dodge her. She’d learned quite a bit in the six months they’d been partnered. “I know where to rub to get you docile.”

Calvin started to laugh while Jamie slapped his knee. Cole growled but she knew he wasn’t really upset. The first time Cole had shifted in front of her during an assignment she hadn’t been able to believe her eyes. She’d seen others transform before, but Cole was a huge gray and white wolf. His teeth were long and sharp and if he hadn’t been after a suspect who had been shooting at them she wasn’t sure she’d have had the nerve to follow him.

There had been a moment when she’d frozen, though.

Once they’d returned to the office he’d informed her that they would spend some time together with him in his wolf form so that she could get used to him. It was during the first month they’d been partnered, and she’d always believed that Cole had been testing her. She’d wanted to gain his trust so she’d agreed.

The next weekend he’d driven out to the mountains and a small clearing that he liked to use. Since shifters didn’t need the moon, he was able to transform whenever he wanted.

He’d sat her down on a blanket and told her not to move. She wasn’t to approach him when he was in his wolf form. And to only wait for his cues. She could still remember how badly she’d been shaking as she’d watched Cole stroll several yards away. By the time he’d started to strip she had been mesmerized by him getting ready to shift in front of her. And really Cole was an attractive man. It was no hardship to watch him get naked.

His change had appeared smooth. He’d crouched down on his hands and legs. A whirl of wind, a cracking sound that had to have been his bones reshaping, and his skin had seemed to grow. There had been no bright light or a flash, and he was an animal. It was slower than that but quicker than she’d imagined. In just a few short minutes a full-grown male wolf had been in the middle of the grass staring at her. Every movie she’d ever seen had the transformation wrong. Somehow she’d come up with the image of Cole looking half human and half wolf. The thought was ridiculous but she had still been surprised to be looking at an animal that had really just seemed to appear where Cole had once been.

What had shocked her the most had been the fear that wanted to overtake her. She’d shaken even though she’d known she needed to remain calm.

She hated to admit it but every ounce of research had gone out of her head when he’d started to stalk toward her. Yes, she knew not to look him in the eye. To keep her head lower than his. None of that had mattered as he’d gotten closer.

Without a conscious thought, she’d started to edge backward still on her butt. He’d growled and she’d felt the rumble through her entire body. She had been seconds from running—which she knew not to do but she had been truly scared. Instead of attacking her, Cole had dropped to the ground. Remarkably she had been able to see his eyes and the same look in them as when he was human. A little bit annoyed but calm.

Jade had taken a deep breath and settled back down. With slow, careful movements Cole had crept closer until he’d been at the edge of her space. He’d lifted his massive head, and before she’d known what was happening she’d had a lap full of wolf. She was pretty sure she yelped but Cole was too damn heavy to move so she’d sat there until she’d had the courage to pet him. That was the day she’d learned that he really liked to be rubbed right under his ears.

Realizing that she’d been lost in memories she glanced back at her partner. Cole smirked at her and she wondered if he’d remembered the same thing. If it hadn’t been for that bonding experience would they be such great partners now? She didn’t know and was glad that she didn’t have to worry about it.

She turned back around in her seat to peer out of the windshield. The old train yard’s gate was just up ahead.

“Calvin, back up to the fence and stay there. We’ll hop over and search for this damn treasure chest. There had better be something good in these heavy ass boxes if I don’t get to pound someone into the ground,” Jamie bitched.

“I think Luca packed them,” Calvin told him.

“Fuck!” Jamie shook his head. “They’ll all probably blow up when we hit our final destination.”

“I think we’re safe,” Cole said. “He wouldn’t risk Jade.”

The three men laughed so Jade flipped her partner off. She actually knew what was inside since she’d been with him when he’d picked up the contents. She wasn’t going to ruin the surprise for the others, though.

Calvin moved the SUV in a U-turn before he backed up all the way to the fence and blocked the sign that said ‘No Trespassing’.

“Be ready to either take off if we come running or slam through if we call for backup,” Jamie ordered.

“Got it,” Calvin replied.

“You ready, kids?” Jamie asked, grabbing his gear from the floor.

Jade nodded.

“Let’s go!” Jamie ordered.

Jade jumped out of the door to run around to the back of the vehicle. Cole was already jumping over the six foot fence. She sighed, knowing what was coming next.

“Here,” Jamie called quietly. He crouched down so that she could climb up his back. Like a monkey, she quickly used him as a tree and got as high as she could before she leaped for the chain metal. She hauled herself over the top and looked down. Cole stood there ready to catch her.

“You’d better not drop me!” she threatened.

He grinned in response. She really wanted to close her eyes but she resisted. Instead she launched herself at her partner. By the time he had her steady on her feet Jamie had landed next to her. Sometimes it sucked to be the only human member of the team.

“Jade, you take the first row. Cole, stay in the middle, and I’ll be to your left,” Jamie whispered. They nodded acknowledgment before they took off running.

This should work like the first two missions. Somewhere in the middle of all the large trains and mess was a box that they were supposed to capture before any of the other teams. That was the easy part since no one else was searching for their target. The Coalition and ATF units were somewhere close so that they could reach them quickly if needs be.

Jade pulled out her flashlight and weapon as she reached the front of the aisle she’d been assigned. With the Glock in her right hand just in case, she swung the light around with the left. This location was a good idea for the hunt with all the train cars lined up with plenty of hiding areas.

Lines and rows of old train containers were side by side going farther than she could see with her human eyes. She wasn’t even sure if one of the shifters would be able to see to the front of the line. Her shoulders reached the bottom of the train cars, forcing her to swing her torch below and onto the platform that the containers sat on.

She searched one container thoroughly before moving to the next. The moon was almost full so she had a good amount of light with her flashlight as well. Too bad the station didn’t have any overhead, though. The shifters wouldn’t have a problem with seeing, but she hoped she didn’t miss anything.

As she moved to the next container she saw the door halfway open. Well, shit, she really didn’t want to go in there. But that would be a good hiding place. She had to set both her weapon and flashlight down to crawl up the side to stand on the platform. The cold metal hurt her hand as she pulled herself up. She was so going to need a shower after this. Maybe she could talk Luca into taking care of her again, since the first time—wow, that had been awesome. She bent to grab her stuff and picked up a soft sound behind her. Staying low, she panned her gaze to the side and farther around her as she turned slowly. She swept her light over the area she’d been in just a minute ago. She couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. No shadows that weren’t supposed to be there. Still, she felt freaked out, as though she was being watched. Was someone waiting for her in the container or had she just heard Cole or Jamie making a sound?

She took a deep breath before spinning around in a circle.
No, nothing there.
Carefully, she stepped toward the open door. It was barely wide enough for her to be able to fit through. She holstered her gun and tried to jerk it wider but the rusted metal didn’t move.