Page 43 of Chilled
Then another thought occurred to Brenna. “And I slept with a married man,” she said. “I guess that makes me as bad as her.”
Nick shook his head and turned to look at her. “No, Brenna. You were duped. I don’t see it the same at all.”
“Whew!” She slid a hand over her forehead. “I’m glad of that. Can’t imagine you having a lower opinion of me than you already do.”
His emerald-green eyes flashed in the little light shining through the window. “I don’t think badly of you at all. On the contrary, I think?—"
Brenna wouldn’t find out what he thought because a car backed out of Victor Greeley’s driveway. “He’s on the move.”
Nick shoved the gear into drive and followed at a distance with his headlights off for several blocks until Victor pulled onto Lincoln Street heading south. Out in traffic, Nick switched his lights on and blended with the surrounding vehicles, keeping a car between them and Victor at all times.
They followed him through town and across the interstate, where Victor pulled into a trailer park.
“We’re on foot from here.” Nick parked the car across from the trailer park in an auto body repair lot.
The cold night air had a bite, but not enough to freeze the adrenaline coursing through Brenna’s veins. She followed Nick across the street and ducked between the mobile homes with their picket fences half-buried in dirty snow. The going was wet and sloppy and, at times, treacherous.
Victor’s car was parked near the rear of a dull gray mobile home with an old barbeque grill listing to the side on the tiny wooden porch. Lights shone through the bent slats of window blinds that had seen better days.
“Have the station run a scan on who lives at this address,” Nick said.
Brenna slid back the way she’d come until she stood several trailer houses away and out of hearing distance. Then she pulled out her cell phone, hit the number for the Riverton Police Department and relayed her request.
As quickly as she’d gone, she hurried back. Nick stood on a concrete block, peering through the blinds into the little room beyond.
“What are they doing?” she whispered.
“He’s doing a lot of fooling around and she’s giggling,” Nick said in a low tone.
“Think he’ll hurt her?” She danced around in the slush, wishing Nick would climb down from the block so she could get a look.
“I don’t think so. If this girl is one of the women on the hit list, I say we go in.”
“Let me have a look to see if I know her.”
“It’s all yours.” But when he stepped off the block, it tilted to the side, and he crashed into Brenna, bumping her into a half-melted bank of snow and ice. Nick struggled to keep his feet beneath him, but the slick ice proved his undoing.
Brenna braced herself for his landing. On her.
Nick’s chest hit hers, knocking the wind out of her lungs and keeping it out as he lay on top of her from shoulder to toe. When he finally moved, Brenna lay in stunned silence, as much stunned by the blow to her body as by the sensation of having Nick Tarver lying on top of her.
He leaned up on his arms. “Are you all right?”
No, she wasn’t. The gorgeously perfect Agent Tarver was lying all over her, and she couldn’t breathe, even with his weight off her. She didn’t want him to move. Hell no, she wasn’t all right. “Yes...yes, I’m fine,” she managed.
As Nick rolled to his side, his butt hit the cold, wet slush for only a second before he sprang to his feet. “Give me your hand.”
Without hesitation, Brenna responded to his command and stuck her hand out.
When her palm hit his, he jerked her to her feet and into his arms. “I’m sorry. You must be freezing.”
Liking the feeling of his arms around her too much, she couldn’t think straight.
A loud bang sounded from inside the trailer, and the girl inside screamed.
Brenna ducked into a crouching position. “Gunfire?”
A giggle sounded from within, followed by a male voice.
