On Dangerous Ground Read online

  Terri laughed. “Jen, you are a nut.”

  “Yeah, well, I didn’t hear you complaining about that a couple of minutes ago.” Jen rolled over to rest on her back, smiling.

  “Oh, I’m certainly not complaining. I’m just thinking that…” Terri rolled onto her side and propped herself up on her elbow. “I could get used to it.”

  Jen rolled her head to meet Terri’s gaze. “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah,” Terri answered as she began tracing a line with her index finger, starting at Jen’s chin and down her throat.

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  “Cool. Me too.” Jen stopped the hand, grabbing it and pulling it to her mouth to kiss Terri’s finger. “Definitely could get used to this.” She held Terri’s hand in both of her own, pulling in close for a snuggle.

  “Jen?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Were you planning on staying here tonight?”

  “Well, I kind of, you know, was hoping. But, hey, presume much?”

  “You think maybe I could talk you into it?” Terri waggled her eyebrows.

  Jen rubbed her chin, pretending to think. “I don’t know…

  how exactly were you planning to do that?”

  “Well…” Terri rolled on top of Jen and kissed her throat.

  “I thought”… kiss… She moved lower. “That maybe” kiss…

  lower yet. “I might try” kiss…still moving. “Something like this.”As Terri reached her destination, she felt fingers weave into her hair, holding her head firmly, pulling her closer. Knowing that actions spoke louder than words, Terri used her mouth and tongue in new places to convince Jen to stay for the weekend. The only response she needed to hear was one very simple statement.

  “I have…oh, my God…I have class on Monday.”

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  On DangerOus grOunD

  Chapter thirteen

  Terri was the first one up. She pulled on a black tank top and flannel pajama bottoms before heading downstairs to finish making the pot of coffee that had been interrupted the night before. Halfway out the bedroom door, she remembered that Jen’s luggage was still in the car, and also noticed that last night’s pile of clothing had become a cat bed for Jojo, so she grabbed a pair of sweats and an oversized T-shirt just in case, leaving them on the foot of the bed. She also remembered to grab her cell phone off the nightstand for whenever Bobby decided to call. She did not want to wake Jen prematurely. Stealing one last glance at the decidedly cute college professor snoring lightly in her bed, Terri smiled, tucked the phone in her pocket, and went down to the kitchen.

  She had just started to make coffee when, exactly as she expected, her cell phone went off. “Good morning, Bobby. Couldn’t stand it for one more minute, could you?”

  “Good morning, sunshine. Of course I couldn’t stand it. I want dirt!”

  “Well, you’ll get none from me. Besides, I just got up and—”

  “Just got up?” Bobby sounded incredulous. “Terri, in all

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  the years that I’ve known you, you’ve never made it past eight a.m. It’s almost eleven now.”

  “Eleven?” Terri was a little embarrassed. “Really?” She checked the clock on the microwave to confirm. “I guess we were up kind of late.” Smiling at the memory of the previous night’s activities, she went to check the fridge to get some inspiration for breakfast. She came to the conclusion that it would be better to wait and just ask, and instead she got two mugs from the cabinet and waited for the coffee to finish as Bobby continued.

  “So, any plans for today? Want to maybe hit the club tonight and see if that defective groove thing of yours is back in working order?”

  Terri briefly entertained a thought about dancing with Jen.

  “I don’t know. We don’t have any official plans for the day. Maybe she’d like that.”

  “There you go. Why don’t you just ask her?”

  She thought again. “I could do that…actually she’s not up yet, so…”

  “Wow, she’s not up yet? Terri, you dog, did you wear her out or something?”

  “Bobby, again I remind you that you’re a pig.”

  “Yes, but since I get avoidance via insult to my question, I’ll take that as a yes.”

  “You would.”

  Bobby laughed. “Of course I would. I’m a pig, remember?”

  “How could I forget? Now, I have to go. Don’t want to neglect my guest. I’ll call you later.”

  She took coffee up to Jen. Entering the bedroom, she could see that Jen hadn’t moved an inch. “I really must have worn her out.” Terri smiled as certain vivid details of her extremely

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  late night resurfaced. She set the coffee down on the nightstand next to Jen’s side of the bed.

  As nice as the memories were, Terri wanted Jen awake since their time together was limited. She tried the gentle approach, smoothing Jen’s hair and tracing the length of her nose with one finger. Jen lazily swatted at the hand like it was an errant mosquito, demonstrating that the gentle approach was probably futile. There was always the direct approach.

  “Jen!”

  Her eyes flew open, momentarily panicked, then relaxed when she saw Terri’s smiling face.

  “Oh, hey, it’s you. Good morning.” She rolled onto her back and stretched languorously, like a cat. “What time is it?”

  “It’s after eleven.”

  “Wow, really? You must have worn me out. I haven’t slept that well in years.” Jen sat up, pulling the sheets up to cover her naked torso. “Do I smell coffee?”

  “Yep, two sugars, right?” Terri pointed to the mug on the nightstand.

  “Yeah, that’s right. How did you know that? Oh, wait. It’s the agenty thing, isn’t it? It’s all in the details, right?”

  “Well, yes, I do tend to notice people’s little quirks more often than the average guy. Occupational hazard, I guess.”

  “So, Agent McKinnon, do you have plans for today? Any hot bad-guy action that might tear you away from me?” Jen blew on the coffee and took a small test sip.

  Terri climbed back into bed, propping herself on the pillows to sit next to Jen. “Well, no, but good-guy action has been offered. Bobby called earlier. He wants to go dancing, and wanted us to—”

  “You’ve already talked to him?” She couldn’t help but laugh. “He just couldn’t stand it, could he?”

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  “No, I’m afraid not. He’s a little pushy that way. That doesn’t bother you, does it?”

  “No, of course not. I’ve already figured out that he’s part of the whole Terri McKinnon package. Besides, I like that he worries about you.” She took another sip of her coffee. “My buddy Joe is like that. He’ll expect a full report on Monday. I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

  “No, how could it? Our friends are our friends and I guess we’re just lucky to have people who care about us like that.”

  Jen took another sip of the steaming brew and set the mug on the nightstand next to her. “Terri, there is one thing that’s bothering me.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s just that I’m naked and in bed with a smokin’ hot, girl-type cop person and we’re talking about men.” She turned, swinging her right leg over to straddle Terri, and put her hands on Terri’s collarbones. “Seems to me there are better things to talk about.”

  Terri played along. “Like what?”

  “Like how amazing you look in that tank top comes screaming to mind.”

  Terri laughed. “Anything else?”

  Jen tilted Terri’s face up as if to kiss her, but stopped just short, looking Terri right in the eye. “Yes. It needs to come off.”

  Terri’s last coherent thought as the clothing was peeled from her body was that Bobby was going to be waiting a long time for that return
phone call.

  v

  Hours passed and the light faded from the bedroom window, replaced by the dark chill of the early February

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  evening. Terri sat stubbornly on the edge of the bed, watching as Jen begged, “C’mon, Terri, please.”

  Terri crossed her arms across her chest resolutely. “Why should I?”

  “Because I agreed to go out dancing with your best friend. I feel like I’m auditioning. And besides, I’m really not some kind of control freak nutcase that’s going to expect to do this all the time.”

  Terri still wasn’t convinced. “I know, Jen, but…”

  Jen offered a compromise. “Oh, hey, how about if I let you pick mine out? My luggage is right there.” She pointed to her suitcase for emphasis. “Anything you want.”

  “Okay.” Terri still wasn’t convinced, but she softened a little more to the idea of allowing Jen to dress her for Funky Retro Night at the bar.

  Jen just kept right on plugging away. “C’mon, it’ll be fun. It’s Eighties night. You won’t look freaky at all.” She paused, evidently considering her statement. “Well, maybe a little, but, hey, that’s the point, right? Besides, you can pull it off. You’ve definitely got the arms for it. Not to mention that spectacular butt.” Terri blushed. “You’ll knock ’em dead.”

  “Jen, stop it.” Knowing that she wasn’t winning this one, Terri finally gave in. “I’ll do it. But cargo pants and a tank top? Oh my God! I’m never going to hear the end of this from Bobby.” She snatched the offending items of clothing from Jen’s hands, shooting one last evil glance her way. Task completed, she modeled for Jen, stopping to check herself out in the full-length mirror on the back of the door. Jen spooned in behind her with hands on the hips of the black cargo pants.

  “See, you look great. I told you. And also, you can put your gun in one of those big pockets on the side. No one will ever know.”

  Terri was finally convinced. “I guess I do look all right.”

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  She continued to stare at her reflection. Something seemed familiar. “But, you know, something just struck me.” Jen looked quizzically at Terri in the mirror. “How many times have you seen Terminator 2?”

  It was Jen’s turn to blush and look away, pretending to be really interested in the paint job on the bedroom wall. “Not that many, I-I-I don’t know, maybe…”

  “Jen…” Terri’s tone was low and just slightly menacing. Jen gave in. “Okay, twenty-three. I’ve seen Terminator 2 twenty-three times. Happy now?”

  Terri turned around to give Jen a hug. “Yes, I am happy now. Except you haven’t even started getting dressed. Pick something out and hurry up, because Bobby will be here any second. I’ll take a rain check on the selection process, but you owe me one.”

  As if on cue, the doorbell rang downstairs, signaling Bobby’s arrival. “See, he’s here. Get dressed and I’ll feed him the rest of the pizza.” She started out the door, but stopped to collect a slightly sloppy kiss, and then headed down the stairs to admit Bobby.

  Terri hit the bottom of the steps and trotted to the front door, startling Jojo under the sofa in the process. She opened both doors to let Bobby in, and turned to show off her clothing before he had the chance to ask.

  “She picked that out for you, didn’t she?”

  As she looked down at her outfit, Terri became slightly afraid of what might come next. “Yeah…why?”

  “Oh, just because I know you’d never try that on your own. Sarah Connor, as I live and breathe.”

  “Oh, God. Not you too.”

  Bobby grinned and hugged her. “Terri, you look fabulous. Besides, you’re practically glowing. Things are good?”

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  She smiled. “Yeah, things are good. Actually, things are so good it scares me a little.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I know, God forbid you should be happy, right?”

  “No, Bobby, it’s not that. I wish I could shake it, but I keep thinking about Davis…”

  Bobby reached out to take Terri by her upper arms, attempting to assuage her fears. “Sweetie, it’s okay. He’s in Michigan, the picture of a reformed convict. We’ll figure out the rest of it. We usually do. And if it turns out that Jen really is in any kind of danger, we’ll figure that out too.”

  Terri thought about it for a second. “I know, I know…

  it’ll be fine.” She nodded, attempting to shake loose her fears.

  “Come on back to the kitchen and finish the pizza. Jen’s still getting ready.”

  Bobby followed Terri back to the kitchen and helped himself to a beer from the refrigerator. He was halfway through his second slice when Jen appeared, decked in black jeans and boots, with an almost-tight red T-shirt and short black denim jacket. She greeted Bobby with a nod. “Agent Kraft.”

  “Please, just Bobby,” he said through a partial mouthful of pizza. He wiped his hand on a kitchen towel and extended it to Jen. “Good to see you again. Better circumstances this time, though.”

  Jen shook his hand. “Yeah, definitely.”

  He hitched his thumb toward Terri, who was leaning against the stove, arms crossed over her chest, watching them interact. “I hear you’re responsible for Agent McKinnon’s daring new look here.”

  Jen laughed, and Terri was delighted to see them hitting it off so easily. “She was definitely not sure about it, but I think the results speak for themselves. Wouldn’t you agree?”

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  “Absolutely. Very urban commando.” He turned to wink at Terri and got up from his seat. “Now, you two, since I’m a slave to the beat, I think it’s time to hit the road. Agreed?”

  Jen and Terri nodded and murmured their agreement as they grabbed jackets to protect them from the chill of the February night. Once out on the sidewalk, Bobby said to Jen,

  “You know, she can do the one-handed shotgun pump thing just like in the movie.” He mimicked the action. “I saw her do it once on the range when she thought I wasn’t looking.”

  Jen looked up at him, her face turning red and her eyebrows practically crawling up to her scalp. “Really?” she squeaked. Terri pointed at Bobby. “You stop it. I knew full well that you were looking when I did that. And you,” she turned, pointing to Jen, “you need to calm down. We’re going out in public and I don’t need to deal with a catatonic college professor all night. C’mon, let’s go.”

  Bobby nudged Jen. “Ooh, when did she get all top?”

  “I never noticed that she wasn’t. You think this is new?”

  Bobby threw his head back and roared with laughter. Terri just kept walking, knowing they would follow, and thought to herself, Oh, this is just fucking great. Now I’ve got two of them.

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  Chapter FOurteen

  The pounding in his head never stopped. Sometimes it was worse than others. Mostly it was just there, like an uncomfortable itch, the kind that couldn’t be scratched. Still, he kept driving on through the night because there was work to be done. It was all so simple. A fifty-dollar bill slipped surreptitiously into the proper hand, a basic tweak to the call forwarding so that his home phone rang through to his cell phone, and an easy acquisition of a new state driver’s license. Bradley had it all figured out, which proved again that the idiots who had ruined his life were all completely clueless. The trip to the hardware store was easy as well. Just stick to the mom-and-pop establishments that never asked for stupid details like phone numbers or zip codes. Plus, the fact that these businesses always preferred a cash transaction to the use of credit cards kept things from ever becoming difficult. The hardest part was the rental car, but again, nothing was ever impossible.

  Bradley had left the apartment complex under the cover of darkness, which in Michigan usually occurred somewhere between five and five thirty p.m.
during the early weeks of February. The rental car, obtained with the use of false identification and stolen credit card numbers, allowed him to

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  drive to his destination in absolute anonymity. Arriving close to midnight, he was shrouded in the darkness that rendered him invisible to the prying eyes of the daytime. Simple work to be done, should take no more than five minutes. Well, maybe ten, but that didn’t matter.

  He had everything he needed with him in the car. Coffee in the cup holder, three packs of Marlboros, a satellite map provided by the good folks at Google, and a flashlight. Oh, and his 9mm Glock, of course, silencer included. It was all he would need to continue the plan that would buy him his freedom. Freedom from the pain and the ghosts that continued to torture and humiliate him in his sleep every night. After arriving at his destination in the city, he made two circles of the block to assess the working conditions. Quiet part of town, gaps in the lighting, loud animals kept indoors to protect them from the cold. Nothing he couldn’t work with. He parked around the corner, slipped the Glock into the pocket of the black army surplus jacket that he always wore, closed the car door as gently as he could, and slipped from shadow to shadow until he arrived at his goal. He pulled latex gloves from inside his coat and slipped them on in preparation for doing what he had just driven six hours to accomplish. The person he had come all that way to find was still up. A light in the window showed consultant number four hunched over his computer, just where Bradley figured he’d be. He crouched low to slip paper covers over his shoes before scuttling around the back fence, up past the shed, and onto the back porch. Once inside, he tiptoed, listening for sounds of activity in the office. Things were quiet save the tapping of keys on a computer. He leaned around the door and brought the Glock to bear. One squeeze of the trigger, and random consultant number four became victim number four. Bradley smiled. He rolled the body over to make his mark, and washed