The Loner Read online

  What would it be like to live with him? Their connection was already fiery. Where was this going? Could she handle him and still be alert for Welton and Hartley? The fact that they might be tracking her shook her as little else ever had. “I just never thought...”

  “That you’d become their target?” Dakota asked, holding her shaken gaze.

  “I don’t know if you remember his outburst because you weren’t there for the entire trial,” Cade said to Dakota. “After Shelby left the stand, Welton screamed at Shelby. He promised he’d get out and hunt her down. And he’d kill her just like he killed Ellie Carson.”

  Dakota felt an invisible KA-BAR knife slitting him from groin to neck, opening up everything between those two points. The serrated blade was used by SEALs precisely because it gutted and killed swiftly. Nothing was left alive after a slice or jab from this military knife blade. His heart contracted and he felt a new, different pain as he regarded Shelby. He’d forgotten that outburst in court, so mired in his own grieving at the time. His mind spun with anxiety—for her. Welton’s threat in court did nothing but confirmed his intuition.

  “I remember that...now...” His voice dropped to a rasp.

  She couldn’t hold on to the terror moving through her. “Y-yes. He said all those things.” Opening her eyes, she gave Dakota a helpless look. “It didn’t occur to me after Welton escaped that he was coming after me.”

  “Well, he’s going to have to come through me first,” Dakota said.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “ANOTHER CAR HAS BEEN stolen at Colby Bay,” Cade informed Shelby and Dakota. They had arrived at the sheriff’s department only minutes earlier, when a dispatcher gave him the news.

  Shelby stood, hands on hips, her mind churning over the situation. “Okay, that confirms it’s probably them. Is the car going to be checked for fingerprints?”

  Cade sat at his desk, moving paperwork around. “Yes, as soon as I can get a forensics tech up there.”

  Dakota moved restively around the small room. He hated enclosed spaces like this. “What about the other cars stolen? Who’s checked them for prints?”

  Cade grimaced. “Agent Woods had his other FBI agent out doing it.”

  “Great,” Shelby said, frowning, “we’ll get those results when hell freezes over.”

  “Now, now,” Cade murmured, grinning sourly, “we can’t speak ill of our FBI cohorts. Woods is just not the ideal agent for this case. I’m sure they’ll get their results to us. It’s just a question of when.”

  Snorting, Dakota stopped pacing and growled, “Things would be done a helluva lot differently if a SEAL team were put on this op.”

  “I’m sure,” Cade said. His gaze moved to Shelby. “We need to sit down and plan what’s happening with you until we can apprehend these two.”

  Shelby held up her hands. “Whoa. What does that mean, Cade? I’ve already agreed to stay up at Dakota’s cabin. Isn’t that enough?”

  “I’m inclined to take you off the duty roster, Shelby. I want you out of sight. Completely. Welton and Hartley know you work here. I wouldn’t put it past them to watch this place.”

  “Oh, hell, Cade, I’m not going to stop doing my job! I’m not scared of those bastards! I know how they operate. Leave me on the job, because I don’t think they’ll try to grab me.”

  “Like hell they won’t,” Dakota snapped. He saw the stubbornness on her face. His heart lurched with fear for her safety. “You need to disappear, Shel.” Dammit, she had to be protected! He knew those two criminals. His heart shrank in terror of them ever laying a hand on Shelby.

  Every time he whispered her name like an endearment, her skin tingled as if he’d stroked her with one of his callused hands. She met and held his hooded stare. There was no question Dakota was the biggest, baddest guard dog she’d ever run into. “Look,” she pleaded to him, “I will go stir-crazy up in that cabin of yours. I need to work! I have a very low tolerance for boredom.”

  Dakota shook his head, holding her glittering blue gaze. “I have to keep you safe, Shel. The only way to do it is stay at the cabin.” He wanted to shake some sense into that head of hers. He didn’t want to admit he was attracted to her, wanted her, but the end of the story was brutal. He was afraid he’d end up hurting her because the extent of his PTSD symptoms were severe.

  Cade nodded. “He’s right, Shelby. Until we can find out where these two are, you’re in danger. I’m not risking your life. I know you’ll hate being taken off the roster, but this is for your own good.”

  “Damn. This isn’t fair.”

  “It isn’t fair that those two gomers want to kill you, either.”

  Glaring over at Dakota, Shelby pushed her fingers through her hair in an irritated motion. “How long do I have to hide?” she demanded tightly of Cade.

  “I hope only a few days,” Cade said soothingly. “I’m sorry, Shelby, but you need to go with Dakota over to your house. Pack a few bags. He’ll guard you. He knows how to watch out for bad guys. I’ll breathe a lot easier once you get the hell out of Jackson Hole. A cabin off the grid and up in the Tetons is your best bet.”

  “Damn,” she muttered, turning and jerking open the door. She headed down the hall and pushed through the glass doors into the reception area. Outside, the day was sunny and bright. Anger moved through her as she went to the parking lot. Dakota was on her heels. She could feel him, not hear him. He walked like that wolf of his, undetected.

  At her cruiser, she retrieved her assigned rifle and tracking gear and removed them. After locking it back up, she saw Dakota looking around the area. The sheriff’s headquarters was opposite the courthouse, both on the same side of the street. She, too, was more alert than usual.

  “Okay,” she called to him, “come on.” The idea of staying with Dakota was making her go shaky inside. Shelby felt as if she were suspended above a fire. Either way, she could get burned by this situation.

  Dakota followed Shelby. He had memorized Welton’s and Hartley’s sick faces a long time ago. Seeing them older helped, too. Revenge flowed strong and palpable through him as he walked Shelby to her green Toyota Land Cruiser. She was angry and upset. She’d settle down once they got out of here. Right now she was a target. Were those bastards already here in town? Dakota wasn’t going to take any chances. He wore his SIG Sauer pistol in a drop holster low on his right thigh, and it felt good to have it handy. He wished he had an M-4, the rifle SEALs carried out on missions. A pistol was a secondary weapon in the SEAL arsenal. A last-ditch stand between him and the bad guys. The M-4 would blow those bastards away with one shot each. His rifle was up at his cabin, and from now on, he’d be carrying it with him. He savored that possibility because he wanted nothing more than to avenge his sister’s death at their sick, murderous hands.

  “Coming?” Shelby called, sliding into the driver’s seat. How different Dakota behaved. He was on guard and alert. The look in his eyes would have scared her if she hadn’t been kissed by this man earlier.

  Dakota climbed in. “They probably don’t know what kind of vehicle you’re driving yet. So let’s take a slow ride around the block where you live. See if you notice any strange cars you don’t recognize.”

  Shelby put the car in gear and drove it out of the parking lot. “That’s a good idea,” she admitted, the anger bleeding out of her voice. Glancing over at his set profile, she added, “You’d make a damn good cop, Dakota. You have the instincts of one.”

  His mouth barely twitched. “SEAL training, Shel. The training you get, the experience you accrue, always comes in handy.”

  She gripped the wheel a little tighter. The traffic was normal for this time of day as she headed in the direction of the hospital. “I don’t mean to be a petulant child about this.”

  “But you are.” He slid her an unwilling grin. She was frowning and he could see she was worried. “It’s okay. I wouldn’t like to be yanked off my job, either. But it’s for the best.”

  “Yeah,” she muttered, “I know.”r />
  “You made the right decision to come to the cabin.”

  “No, you and Cade made it for me.” Shelby said nothing else, shuttling between anger and desire. Her body responded to his gruff voice and she felt an acute ache. How the hell was she going to live in that cabin with him? He only had a twin bed in there. The rest of her mind was focused on the escaped convicts. Her skin crawled as she recalled those stomach-turning photos of Ellie. My God. If they were really going to seek her out, treat her the same way, Shelby was relieved that Dakota was with her. The man was truly the right person to help protect her.

  They drove slowly around the block. Shelby’s house was a one-story, two-bedroom home with a white picket fence and a small yard. “I don’t see anything out of place,” she told Dakota after they’d swung around the block.

  “Okay, let’s go pick up whatever you need. But first, I’ll check around the house before I give you the signal it’s all clear.”

  * * *

  RELIEF WAS SHORT-LIVED as Shelby drove her Land Cruiser up the steep, muddy road toward Dakota’s cabin. She still wore her sheriff’s uniform, and her radio on her shoulder came to life. Pressing the button, she heard Cade’s voice.

  “Shelby, all the stolen cars have been checked for prints. All that was found was the owner’s prints. Nothing else.”

  “Roger that. Keep us in the loop?”

  “Roger. Out.”

  “They’re using gloves,” she muttered to Dakota, paying attention to the curve that would take them up to eight thousand feet and his cabin.

  “That’s what I was thinking.” He heard the concern in her tone. “How are you doing?”

  Shrugging, Shelby said, “Scared. Angry. Wanting to find those two. Wanting my life back.”

  Dakota couldn’t help himself and stared at her profile. His gaze just naturally fell to her mouth. He’d kissed those lips, felt the heat of her mouth bloom beneath his, felt her return his hunger in equal measure. His lower body tightened, reminding him just how long he’d been without a woman. He fought his need to protect Shelby from himself. How he wished he could kill the tendrils of need growing daily inside him.

  “How’s your arm doing?” Shelby asked, gesturing to his bear bite.

  “Okay.”

  “No heat? Swelling?”

  “None.” And then he added drolly, “I’m being a good boy. I’m taking my antibiotics, Doc.”

  Giving a throaty chuckle, Shelby pulled into the driveway. “We need to pick up your truck.”

  “Tomorrow.” Dakota saw Storm come trotting around the cabin, her yellow gaze pinned on the Toyota.

  “She’s beautiful.” Shelby sighed, turning off the engine and opening the door.

  “Yeah, she’s all wolf,” he agreed, climbing out.

  Storm trotted up to Dakota and whined, rolled on her back, exposing her belly. The greeting was that of a subordinate wolf to the alpha male wolf. He leaned down and rubbed her belly, which she loved.

  Shelby stood and watched them, a soft feeling moving through her. Dakota might have PTSD, but he was gentle with her and with the wolf. Storm leaped to her feet, tongue hanging out, the expression on her gray face one of unfettered joy that Dakota had returned home.

  Looking around, Shelby studied where the cabin sat from the perspective of safety. The small clearing was surrounded by thick forest. The brook behind the cabin gurgled happily. She felt safe up here. Maybe it was the thick stands of fir. She glanced toward Dakota, who was rubbing Storm’s broad, flat head, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Maybe it was him.

  Dakota pushed the door of the cabin open with his foot. He made a mental note to fix the lock. Before, it hadn’t mattered. Now it did. He helped carry in one of Shelby’s two suitcases. Throwing it on the unmade bed, he said, “You get the rack.”

  “What about you? Where are you going to sleep?” She looked around the chilly cabin. It hadn’t been cleaned up since she’d arrived that early morning to get Dakota to the hospital. She picked up the chair and slid it beneath the table. The place was simple, the furniture spare.

  “On the floor,” he said. He noticed her concerned look. “The six months I was out with my SEAL platoon, we slept on the ground when out on missions. A wood floor is the Ritz.” He allowed a hint of a smile.

  “Not my idea of the Ritz,” Shelby muttered. Looking around, she saw his dresser. There was no electricity. No water. It hurt her to think he’d remained up here for a year, alone. This was no way for a human to live.

  He brought over a large steel bowl and set it on the dresser. He pulled out a towel and cloth and set them down. “Sorry, but the only bathing facilities are either climbing buck naked into that cold stream or washing up in here.”

  “I feel like I’ve regressed to pioneer days.”

  Dakota chuckled. “Believe me when I tell you, this is luxury compared to what I was used to having.”

  “It’s hard to picture.” She opened one suitcase and pulled out a set of jeans, a short-sleeved T-shirt and socks. It was time to get out of her sheriff’s uniform and go civilian. Turning, she saw him filling a rusted pot with water from a nearby jug. The kitchen, if it could be called that, was a counter with one aluminum sink. The plumbing beneath went through a hole drilled through a log, to dump the water outside the cabin. “You making coffee?”

  “Yes. Want some?”

  It was all one room. No bathroom, either. “Yes, please.” And then she smiled at him. “Hey, if I can have my coffee in the morning, I’m in heaven.”

  Dakota felt his heart expand in his chest over her husky laughter. He lit a magnesium tab on a metal hot plate and set the pot over it on a wire grate. This tab would create instant heat, enough to perk coffee. It also wouldn’t create smoke that might alert Welton and Hartley if they were in the area. He doubted they were, but he was taking no chances by firing up the woodstove. They’d follow the white smoke and find Shelby.

  “I’m going to change.”

  “Go ahead.”

  She sat down on the bed, unlacing her black boots. Dakota’s back was turned to her. The white-hot magnesium tab was hard to look at directly because it glowed like a sun. The smell was terrible and she was glad he’d opened the window above the sink to let the noxious odor waft out of the cabin. She stood and shimmied out of her trousers. Unbuttoning the shirt, Shelby placed them aside. Her skin goose-bumped in the coolness. She reached for her green T-shirt and pulled it over her head. Would Dakota turn around and stare? No, she could see him deliberately dawdling at the counter.

  “Are SEALs gentlemen?” she wondered, pulling on her Levi’s.

  “We’re warriors with an ethos,” he said, wiping down the counter with a damp rag. “We have a strict code of conduct.”

  “Sort of like the samurai warriors?”

  He forced himself to look out the window, not turn around and watch her dress. “Something like that.”

  Thoughtful, Shelby said, “I didn’t know that about the SEALs.”

  “We conduct ourselves to a higher bar of training.”

  “Unlike Welton and Hartley, who have no honor at all.”

  “They’re scum,” he muttered, steel lining his voice. He stopped wiping off the counter, his fist clenching the damp cloth.

  “I won’t disagree with you, Dakota. I’m dressed now. You can turn around.”

  He turned. Shelby looked damn good in those Levi’s that clearly revealed and celebrated her long legs. The green T-shirt outlined her breasts and flat stomach. He watched like a starved wolf as she released her ponytail, her golden hair cascading softly about her shoulders. He had to turn away or he was going to do something he’d regret. “I need to fix the bed. I fell on it when I went septic with high fever. I broke one of its legs.”

  “I can help.” Shelby held up her hands. “I’m good with tools, too.”

  “Why am I not surprised?”

  She heard the teasing in his tone and saw the respect in his eyes. His left arm had to be tender
and sore, even though he never complained about it. She had a hunch SEALs didn’t whine about much of anything. Dakota was a poster child for them. They just sucked it up and kept on going no matter how much pain they were in. Like he said, pain was inevitable, but suffering was optional.

  She pulled the bed out and noticed the bent leg. Feeling edgy because of herself, not him, Shelby tried to contain her feminine yearnings for Dakota. This was the wrong time and place to get caught making love, with Welton and Hartley looking for her.

  Dakota dropped the damp cloth on the counter and walked over to a corner where his toolbox was. There was anguish in his eyes. Was he remembering Ellie? Taking in a deep, ragged breath, Shelby wanted to help him in some way, to ease his grief from the past. But how? His kiss had been so damned healing for her. And yet, as Dakota walked toward her with the toolbox in hand, Shelby knew they needed to remain safe and undiscovered from the convicts who were at large. Personal needs had no place here.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “WHAT WAS ELLIE LIKE?” Shelby asked as they worked together to repair the broken leg on the bed.

  On his knees, Dakota glanced up toward her. Shelby was at his shoulder, holding up the bed so he could remove the broken leg. He could smell her, his nostrils inhaling her sweet scent.

  “She was an incredible person,” he began, his voice low with feeling. Taking a screwdriver, he began to methodically remove the screws that held the bent metal leg to the bed frame. “We were born and lived over in Cody, Wyoming. My dad was a farrier, a damned good one, always in high demand by ranchers outside the city. Ellie was two years older than I was.”

  Shelby watched him work. When she gently asked about his sister, his eyes grew light with fond memories. Good memories. His mouth relaxed as he worked. “Your dad shoed horses? What did your mom do?”

  Dakota wanted to tell her everything. The care burning in her blue eyes made him open up more than he ever had to anyone else. “She was a full-blood Cheyenne Indian. She met my father and they fell in love.”