to burn. It was a slow burn, a smoldering hunger he hadn’t experienced in a long, long time.
He hefted the pruning shears and pretended to cut some more leaves as he surreptitiously watched Sophie nearing the sign. She glanced around.
“No, no, Sophie. Just set the bag down and come on back,” he whispered.
She angled her head slightly, almost as if she’d heard him. Then she bent at the knees and set the bag carefully just under the sign.
As she rose, she looked sidelong up the road, then started back toward the Weddings Your Way building.
The faint sound of a car engine caused her steps to falter.
“Come on, Sophie. Get back inside. I don’t want you hurt!”
Sophie heard the car gun its engine. Don’t look back, Sean had warned her. But her CIA training and instincts told her to never leave her rear unguarded.
She retraced her steps back to Weddings Your Way, but the muscles of her back tensed as the car drew closer. Why hadn’t they stopped at the sign to pick up the bag?
Suddenly, the engine’s roar was too close. Sophie glanced over her shoulder, her hand reaching for the holster at the small of her back—the holster that wasn’t there. She was no longer a CIA agent.
The large black car was accelerating toward her. But just as soon as the realization hit her brain, the driver torqued the car sideways and skidded.
She heard a shout from the direction of the house and saw the glint of sunlight on metal.
She dove for the ground as a shot rang out. Her knees hit the pavement and she rolled, coming down hard on her shoulder as a second shot followed the first. Her elbow screamed with burning pain, but she kept rolling until she reached the edge of the pavement.
Sophie lifted her head just as something landed on her back. Something hard and hot.
Chapter Three
The car spun, spitting gravel, as two shots popped.
A harsh voice boomed in Sophie’s ear. “Stay down!”
She lay under the heavy weight of Sean’s body, the sharp gravel biting into her cheek and palms. His chin rested against her hair and his left arm shielded her head. She tucked her face into the crook of his elbow.
The car’s roar faded, its tires screeching as it rounded a corner. Sean’s weight lifted for an instant, then he rolled off her. She sat up in time to see him reach behind his back and slide his weapon into his paddle holster.
He rose from a squat, his long, muscular thighs straining the faded denim of his jeans. As Sophie rose, Sean gestured at Rafe, who had rounded the building and was headed their way, his cell phone to his ear. He nodded in Sean’s direction.
Apparently satisfied that Rafe’s team was tailing the car, Sean turned his attention to Sophie. “Are you hurt? Did you get hit?” His face was smeared with dust, emphasizing the lines between his nose and the corners of his mouth.
She shook her head and took his outstretched hand.
“Sure?” His gaze surveyed her swiftly and competently. He touched the torn sleeve of her blouse, gently lifting the ripped flap of silk to examine her shoulder. Instinctively her hand brushed his away. “I’m fine. I banged my shoulder when I rolled.”
He met her eyes. “Quick thinking, and an excellent move.”
Sophie pulled her gaze away from his and looked down, avoiding the question he hadn’t voiced. Who taught you to move like that?
Her silk gabardine skirt was ruined. Gravel had scraped the sheen off the fabric, and dirt and grass stains crisscrossed it like a finger painting.
She brushed at the material and winced. Turning her palms up, she saw the abraded skin. “Ow,” she muttered.
Sean placed one hot hand at the curve of her hip and turned her palm up with the other, examining it as he guided her back toward the Weddings Your Way building.
“You’re not totally okay, are you?”
Her knees and palms were scraped, her shoulder and elbow throbbed, and her heart was stuck at the back of her throat. She’d been hurt much worse; these were minor injuries. But no one knew that and after all this time, she doubted anyone ever would.
“Go inside and get someone to check you out. I’m going to talk to Montoya.”
She looked back at the bag, still sitting under the sign. “What was that all about? They didn’t stop.”
Sean shook his head, his mouth grim. “I don’t know. I’m not sure they ever intended to pick up the money.”
“Wait.” She reached for his arm. His skin was hot against her scraped palms. “What do you mean? Then why did they shoot at me?”
“I think this was a test. They agreed awfully easily to our choice of location.”
“A test? To see if we called in the police?”
Sean shrugged as gravel crunched behind them. It was Rafe.
“Soph, you okay?”
She nodded as Rafe touched her shoulder in a protective gesture. Confidential’s chief of security took his job seriously.
“I’m fine. What’s happening?”
Rafe’s black eyes appraised her quickly, then he faced Sean. “Go on inside, Sophie. Majors and I have a couple of things to straighten out.”
BACK INSIDE, Sophie sat at the kitchen table on the second floor. She arched her shoulder. “I hit the ground on my right shoulder, and my palms and knees are scraped.” She looked down and saw the shredded stockings. “Dammit.” She tried to tug her skirt down, but it was too short.
Isabelle hurried in with the first-aid kit just as Rafe and Sean stepped into the room.
Rafe eyed Sophie but spoke to Isabelle. “She’s okay?”
“I told you, Rafe, I’m fine,” Sophie said.
“What’d you see?”
“I never saw the car until it was right on me. I tried to follow Sean’s instructions not to look back. I don’t think the car had a license plate, but I can’t be sure.”
“There was no license plate,” Sean said.
Rafe scowled as he dialed a number and listened. “Okay, guys. Good job. Bring in the videos. Let’s see what we’ve got.”
He put away his two-way radio. “Right. No plate, glass too dark to see through. You didn’t get a look at the shooter, did you?”
Sophie shook her head. “Sorry. I saw the reflection of sunlight on metal and dove instinctively.”
Isabelle dampened a square of gauze in alcohol and dabbed at Sophie’s knee through her shredded stocking.
Sophie waved her away. “Don’t,” she said. “I’ll run home and change. That will be the easiest thing.”
She heard the muted desperation in her voice and hoped everyone would chalk it up to reaction to being shot at. She had to get out of these ruined clothes and stockings, and she didn’t want anyone watching her.
She looked at her pin-striped skirt in regret. It was frayed at her hip where she’d hit the ground and damp from Sean Majors’s sweat. As she brushed her hand over the back of her skirt she felt Sean’s eyes on her.
Sean was all gritty primal male, with his bare, sweat-streaked arms, and a smudge of dirt on his cheek. His eyes were stormy as he looked her over.
“That was a pretty good duck and cover you managed out there.”
Sophie stiffened. “Self-defense course,” she muttered.