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the holster at his side. I m going to go check it out, he said softly. Stay here.
She caught his arm. By myself? she asked fearfully.
He gave her a hard look. Just do as I tell you, and you ll be fine.
Riley opened her mouth to protest, but before she could get the words out, the
door burst open and a man stepped in, a gun already thundering in his hand.
55
Chapter Five
Cade moved faster than Riley could ever have thought possible. Grabbing her
around the waist, he threw her to the floor behind the couch and covered her body with
his. Above them, the couch exploded in a flurry of stuffing as bullets tore through it with
alarming speed. Huddled there behind it, she knew the piece of furniture was providing
very little protection, and that the only thing between her and certain death at that
moment was Cade.
Riley barely had time to think about his unselfish act before Cade was up and
returning fire with his own weapon. She didn t know if he hit the assailant or not, but
regardless, the would-be assassin stopped shooting. A moment later, she heard the sound
of retreating footsteps.
From where she lay on the floor, Riley looked up at Cade. He still had his
weapon pointed toward the door. Is he gone? she asked softly.
Cade looked down at her. Stay here, he ordered. And stay down.
Realizing that Cade meant to go after the gunman, Riley opened her mouth to
protest, but the Marshal had already gotten to his feet and was racing toward the front
door.
Her heart pounding, Riley knelt behind the couch, trembling. What if the gunman
came back? she thought. Or what if there was a second man, and the first one had just
been meant to lure Cade away? Without Cade, she knew she wouldn t stand a chance
against a hit man.
Cade s order to stay where she was echoed in Riley s mind, and she chewed on
her lower lip, debating whether to disobey it or not. To heck with this, she thought.
Ignoring the Marshal s command, she scrambled to her feet and ran out into the night
after him.
It was raining when Cade ran outside, and in the dim light of the streetlamp, he
could make out the figure of a man beside a dark SUV halfway down the block on the
other side of the street. So much for Riley being paranoid, he thought bitterly.
Tightening his grip on the weapon in his hand, Cade raced down the street toward
the man, only to slow his steps as he drew nearer. He watched in amazement as the man,
who was clearly oblivious to Cade s presence, fumbled with his car keys. He had locked
the doors? Cade thought in disbelief. What kind of idiot hit man was this guy?
Lifting his gun, Cade leveled it at the man. Federal Marshal! he yelled.
Freeze!
Startled, the man jerked his head around to stare at Cade in surprise. The rain was
really starting to come down now, and in the near darkness, Cade could make out a broad
face with a long nose, and a pair of close-set eyes.
Turn around and put your hands where I can see them! Cade ordered.
The man didn t move. Probably weighing his options, Cade thought. His finger
firmly on the trigger, Cade took a step closer to the man.
Put your hands where I can see them! he repeated. Now!
Letting out a heavy sigh, the man lifted his hands in the air and started to turn to
face him. Then, without warning, he turned and bolted.
56
Shit! Cade muttered.
Deciding that it would be too dangerous to take a shot at the man with all the
houses in the vicinity, Cade gave chase instead. Though the man took Cade down
sidewalks and in between houses, it was obvious he wasn t in good shape because within
minutes, he was already starting to slow down.
Cade was just about to pick up speed when he heard the sound of running
footsteps behind him. Did the hit man have a partner? he wondered. Stopping in his
tracks, he spun around, weapon at the ready, only to stare in disbelief when he saw Riley
coming up behind him. Like him, she was soaked to the skin, her long hair wet, her T-
shirt molding to the curves of her breasts. Damn, she looked good, he thought. Then he
ground his jaw as he realized that she had deliberately disobeyed his order and followed
him.
Throwing a quick look over his shoulder, Cade saw the fleeing assailant disappear
around a corner in the distance. Swearing under his breath, he lowered his weapon to
glower at Riley. What are you hell are you doing? he demanded angrily. I told you to
stay at the safe house!
I was afraid that the hit man might come back, she explained, and then looked
around. Did you get him?
Cade clenched his jaw. No! he growled. But I was just about to catch him.
That was until you showed up. Now, I can t go after him.
She hugged herself with her arms and blinked up at him through the rain. Why
not?
Because I won t have you following behind me, and I won t leave you here in
the middle of street, that s why! he snapped, shoving his gun back into the holster on his
belt. I can t believe you came after me!
And I can t believe you let the guy get away! she shot back. I thought
Marshals were supposed to be trained for this sort of thing. Why couldn t you catch up to
him? It didn t seem like he was running that fast to me.
Cade clenched his jaw at her insult. This was the thanks he got for risking his life
to save hers? Could she possibly be any more irritating? God, he couldn t wait to hand
her over to another Marshal.
If I didn t have to get you out of here, I d put you over my knee and spank your
ass right now for that, you ungrateful little brat! he ground out.
Riley didn t even bother to look the least bit contrite as she glared up at him. In
case you haven t noticed, those spankings of yours don t have the effect you seem to
think, she told him.
That s just because I haven t spanked you hard enough yet! he snapped.
Riley opened her mouth to retort, only to shut it again when he firmly took her
arm and steered her back the way they had come. Staying at the safe house now was out
of the question, he told himself, but they had to go back there long enough to grab his
Jeep. Cade s first instinct was to take Riley to the District Office in Seattle, but then he
realized that there probably wouldn t be anyone there at this time of night. So, he needed
to come up with another plan until he could talk to his boss. He could only imagine what
Conner was going to have to say when he heard about what had happened.
57
To Cade s relief, the local police hadn t shown up at the safe house yet, which
saved him a lot of hassle and explanation. But they would be there soon enough and he
wanted to be gone before they did.
As he led Riley up the street, he noticed that the black SUV that had been parked
by the curb was gone. Damn. He had hoped to get the plate number.
Where are we going? Riley asked after they had gotten their stuff from the
house and were safely in the Jeep.
Cade gave her a sidelong glance. Neither of them had changed out of their wet
clothes, and she was shivering. A hotel, he told her, reaching over to turn on the heat.
Why aren t we going to another safe house? she demanded.
His gaze flicked to the rearview mirror to see if they were being followed. That
has to be arranged. It s not like we have a dozen empty houses in every town, you
know, he said dryly. And for all I know, they might just want to get you completely
out of the area. But I ll leave that up to someone else. Until then, we ll just stay in a
hotel.
Riley supposed that made sense. Hugging her arms around herself, she turned her
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