

The Wild One

Adult Mystery Romance

This book contains sexual content that is suitable for mature audience only.

Published by Smashwords.com and Copyright 2013 by Kat Von Wild

Updated cover and content under the same original title copyright 2013. This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and strictly fictional. All persons, places or incidences are creative endeavors of the author. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this independent author. Please keep in mind when converting to various ebook formats some typographical errors might occur.

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The Wild One is an adult mystery romance written for mature audiences. With a mystery to solve, a client to protect and a past that is catching up with one very sexy female with the call sign Malcolm, there is bound to be erotic suspense in the air.

Down home bad boy, Chase Cooper, feels a storm brewing and when one hot and sexy contract for hire, a private security detail woman crosses his path; he feels the electricity in the air intensify. Protecting the locals is one thing he has always done. Protecting a woman who steals his heart is another. All bets are off, and the game of high intel and secret security are changing fast. There is mystery in the air and a job to be done, but is much going to happen while the sexual intensity sparks.

Malcolm is her call sign, and she is well equipped to kill a man in more ways than a secret agent knows how. She has been called out to protect the niece of a high-powered man from mysterious happenings. What she plans is a quick easy job to draw out the culprit, secure the job and dispose of anything or anyone who might leave a trace. What she gets instead is a jolt to her lifestyle and a desire to be normal, if that word even exists in one's life.

One look, an intense feeling that grows out of control after meeting Chase Cooper and then realizing that hot steamy sex is not all that exists between them, Malcolm realizes she has found her soul mate. She sets out to make a normal life for herself or can she with such an intense sexual desire between them and a hidden agenda from a man from her past.

Can Chase and Malcolm start a life together without the dangers of the world lurking around the corner?

Will her past as a hired client to kill catch up with her while she protects the innocent niece of a shady antique dealer?

Table Of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter One

Storm clouds had been brewing all day, building up for one heck of an evening thunderstorm. The steel blue clouds were up to something and the air was thick with humidity. Chase Cooper was no idiot to the weather. He knew when a good storm was brewing, but he could also sense when some other kind of trouble was about to rain down.

Chase rested his butt against the hood of his cruiser as he looked out at the rolling hill landscape. His dark brown eyes intent on looking for trouble. His dark brown hair, in need of a cut, blowing around in the wind that was picking up. He let the toothpick he had been chewing on switch to the other side of his mouth before he decided to spit it out onto the two-lane county road.

The storm was brewing all right; however, Chase had a feeling of something electric about to explode. He had never been wrong about his sixth sense and now that the hairs on the back of his neck tingled; his adrenaline was beginning to kick in. He wasn't looking for trouble, but somehow trouble was most likely looking for him.

The last few days he felt restless since the break-in at the Sanders Farm. Ten years as a cop in Titan County did not leave him without the typical local teen or misdemeanor trouble from wayward adults. This break-in was something different, although he would not admit it openly; he had a bad gut feeling about it. The entire police station all laughed it off as misdemeanor fun while the gal was out to church. That Sanders's gal must have gotten someone riled up because she's not only acting weird, strange things have been happening to her, or so she says.

A loud thunderous boom echoed throughout the valley. Chase took a look to the long two-lane county dirt road that came into town the back way and left him with nothing but a feeling of something coming. The lightning flash filled the darkened sky with a brilliant flash of light and then things settled right back to the way they were, the way Chase liked them, quiet and contempt in this sleepy little town.

Sever City has its share of modernization and attraction for retirees; it also has the bones of society that started this sleepy little town off the lake. A lake that once was several gravel pits that got connected together twenty years back. As soon as the highway connected to it and a new hospital landed here, the town took off but somehow kept its small-town size and stature as a hidden gem.

Another loud boom filled the air. Chase decided to get out of his police cruiser and take a long sniff of the fresh air that smelled of pending rain. He leaned against his hood, looking out to the two-lane county road that usually let him catch a racing teenage driver or two on this early summer evening. So far, all that had passed him in the last hour was a few trucks with retirees in them, and a few towing their fishing boats away from the lake for the evening, because of the storm.

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky once again, this time dancing in different directions. The dark clouds had now etched themselves across any available blue skyline and reached out to the horizon. It would be a short time, and the hard slick rain would be falling, making this dirt county road a muddy mess.

Chase took another long whiff of the pending rainstorm in the air and smiled to himself. He loved the smell of coming rain, along with loud rolling thunder and a lightning show to rival. It was what he loved about this area. Tonight might just be a quiet night after all in the Saturday night category.

The next sound Chase heard as he pushed off his cruiser was that of something other than thunder, yet it had a familiar sound of something brewing all together. Maybe his night was not going to be so quiet after all. Maybe one of those Macklin boys got their V-8 engine built a bit early and was out for a quick test drive before the rainstorm. He shielded his eyes against a sunray that peeked out of a storm cloud and blinded him for a second. He looked at the crest of the county road and held his breath for that Dodge Charger to make it over the hill. Oh he would warn them all right, but first he wanted to feel the rush of the engine roaring by him, before he jumped into his police cruiser and chased after those boys for a bit of fun.

The dust cloud billowed over the hill, and the roar got louder. Chase kept his hand shielded from the blinding sun that appeared to have brightened from behind the storm clouds and felt his heart beat faster and faster. He loved the sound of a powerful engine, and he loved the chase even more. Just as he could stand it no more, a black Shelby GT 500 Mustang charged over the hill and sped past him at well over the fifty-five mile an hour speed limit. If that unfamiliar Mustang did not slow down soon, it might miss the turn at Blind Mans Bend, just a mile out.

Chase jumped in his cruiser, hit the lights, and gassed his car out of there without a moment to spare. The taillights of the black Mustang were swallowed up by the dust storm it kicked up. Yet, that would not discourage Chase. He pressed his foot to the gas pedal and watched the mile per hours rush up at a racecar pace. He felt his heart beat faster and faster, and his fingers gripped the steering tighter with his knuckles turning white. The flashing of his cruiser lights bounced out ahead of him against the white lilac trees planted along the Miller property.

Blind Man's Bend was seconds ahead and all he saw was a continuing dust cloud. Upon approach, he slowed his own cruiser to turn at the warning signs along the road; he noticed the dust cloud was now gone, and he slammed his breaks in his cruiser. He could only hope that the sleek black Mustang did not go out over the rocky ridge of the road and down to the fishing ponds below by the river. He set the cruiser to park but left the engine running and left his sirens flashing. He got out of his car, walking each step reluctantly to the edge, trudging one brown cowboy tip in front of the other, watching the dust settle on his wrangler jeans and stopped two steps from the edge. If he thought someone could remotely survive that fall he would have rushed over. His hesitance ran along the lines of dealing with a mangled body was the last thing he wanted to do this Saturday. He took in a deep breath and took the final step to look over. Nothing.

"Well I'll be damned." He spoke aloud to himself. "Where the hell did the Mustang go?" He looked around to see if anything around there looked out of place, like a black Mustang might have driven through. Nothing looked out of place. Just then, the skies echoed with thunder and opened with rain. Chase took a running stride back to the cruiser and got inside. He scratched his head mentally, wondering if what he really saw, happened. Because if that Mustang had taken that curve at that speed, there was no way, and with the way he was sure that he was catching up, he should at least see dust heading in the direction of the turn.

He kept his lights on as he continued to drive the direction he was chasing. He kept his speed at a fast clip but did not worry about catching up with the stranger. Probably, some idiot passing through, or visiting his parents, he thought to himself. Either way, if he caught the bastard in town, he would write him a warning while he secretly admired his car. Chase had a thing for fast cars and a respect for those who drove them so handing out speeding tickets to a beauty like that one would go against his very nature, that is unless the damn fool decided to speed all over town.

As Chase climbed back in the cruiser and headed toward the direction the Mustang should be going, his heart raced. The thought of driving a Mustang like that one, put his foot down a little harder on the gas pedal, letting the feel of the cruiser race in his blood. He had his own racecar sitting out in the old barn of his place just waiting for enough cash to drop a new engine in it. It wasn't a brand-new Mustang like that one, no; he was more partial to the older ones that his dad used to drive him around in. Chase's 1969 Camaro SS was a faded blue with lots of rust and no engine. However, if time and perseverance served him right, along with next year's county bonus, providing no more homeowner mishaps like his roof falling in last year, he had great plans for his Camaro. He had saved enough to get the body and paint done so that he could start working on dropping in the engine he was slowly working on in off hours. If time and effort were on his side, next summer, he would be the one needing to be chased down by a cruiser. Not that any of his co-workers would but the thrill of it drove him on.

Three miles on down the quiet county road, the rain slowed to a mist, and something caught his eye as he drove past the Sanders place. All the lights were on and there was one familiar black Mustang parked in the front of the house. It took a second for Chase to slow to a stop and look towards the property. It was not normal to have all the lights on in the place, and everything in his gut told him something was up. He called it into the station and put the cruiser in reverse until he was just at the driveway. He flipped his siren lights off and turned into the driveway at a cautious crawl. Just as he stopped the cruiser, he watched a woman who looked dangerous walk with purpose and fast stride out of the Sanders house.

Chase put the cruiser in park and opened his door to get out. He was not even out of his seat and closing the door when she stood in front of him with a look that one could only understand as 'Don't Fuck With Me'. Every sensible man knew it, and this cop was no stranger to a dangerous woman.

Standing before Chase, stood a woman at least five foot seven in black jeans, tight black tank top with just enough cleavage to catch his interest. By the time his eyes wandered from her black boots with a silver tip, to her face, she had a look that he could only read as 'my face is up here asshole'. Her black hair pulled back tight into a ponytail. If she were to let it out, he was sure her hair would fall forward and cover her breasts. He liked a woman with long hair. He preferred blondes, but this woman had something about her that he could only describe as Wild.

As he looked into her piercing bright blue eyes, he almost hesitated in asking if they were contacts as they were so blue and intense. He watched her raise a single eyebrow in question as he listened to her ask one simple question of him, in a voice that he could only describe as serious yet mysterious.

"Are you responding to the call?"

He looked her squarely in the face with a questioning look on his. He was not called by dispatch for anything out this way. He had his radio on and handheld clipped on. He hit a button and dispatched came on over the speaker. "Dispatch."

"Chase here. You get a call for Sanders's place?"

"No sir." The dispatch echoed out into the air.

"Send another car this way; I think we've got an issue." Chase's voice resounded through the air towards the woman he could only think of doing wild things with. Her black attire and suggestive look that she was ready to either rob the place or pull out some ninja moves had his eyes traveling up and down her body, glancing occasionally at her Mustang.

"Yes Sir." The dispatcher could be heard putting a call out as Chase overheard the woman mumble something about that won't be necessary.

He watched her walk over to her Mustang, open the door, reach in and pull out a semi-automatic pistol. He watched her check it for ammo and then put it in the back of her pants covered by her tank top. He pulled his gun out of his holster and aimed it her direction as he was about to tell her to stop right there but instead, he watched her pull something out of her door, set her boot up on the door ledge, pull her black jeans up and then slide a small revolver into a holder. By this time, he did not know whether to arrest her or watch her as she loaded up with weapons. Just as he watched her pull a huge knife out of the side pocket of her seat in its holder and slide its strap and holder over her shoulder so that the large knife with spiked handle rested at her side for easy reach, he had his gun aimed squarely at her shoulder and his adrenaline racing.

"Now wait a minute missy. Who the hell are you?" He could feel his heart race, and his finger tense as she turned and looked at him with a look that could say only one thing. 'Someone you don't want to fuck with'.

"Malcolm." She said her name with such distinction he had no time to ask what the hell kind of name is Malcolm for a woman.

The sound of Katy Sanders scared voice caught both of their attention to turn and look at the short petite woman standing on her porch. Her simple short cut of brown hair and small round eyes that were dark with terror looked out at them. "Good, you're here." Chase wasn't even aware that he should be nor was he sure she meant him or this Malcolm woman. Just then, the sky decided to open up again from a light misting rain to a full onslaught of a downpour as the sky rumbled with discontent. They both made a run for the porch; Malcolm was there first, and Chase felt caught off guard a bit with her stealth like moves and lightning speed. He was going to hit the gym tomorrow and amp up his speed on the treadmill. No woman was going to outrun him.

Malcolm spoke up first. "Damn it, Katy. When I got here and saw all the lights on, but you didn't answer your phone, you had me concerned."

Interesting, Chase thought to himself. She was only concerned not scared. That must say something about her bravado and the way she carried herself.

Katy's scared voice and darting eyes pleaded to the both of them. "I called twice, over fifteen minutes ago and nobody came. Now my phone is cut off, and I keep hearing sounds out by the barn."

Just then, the second police cruiser pulled up and Chase alerted the officer to go check out the barn. He turned to Katy, put a hand on her shoulder, and spoke softly. "My dispatch doesn't show your call. Are you sure you called emergency?"

He watched her head shake yes up and down as she turned to this woman named Malcolm and pleaded with her. "Oh God, it's happening again. I can't take it."

Chase watched Malcolm wrap Katy up in her arms and calm her with soft soothing words and an air of protection about her. Then he saw the look in Malcolm's eyes as if she could take care of this herself. Not that Chase was one to take orders but when Malcolm spoke over Katy's head, he decided that the two would be safe as they started to walk inside. "Go check out the barn. I'll secure the perimeter inside."

Chase turned to his fellow officer who observed all that and gave each other raised eyebrows. As they turned to step off the porch and head around back to the barn, only one thought processed repeatedly in his brain, who is this woman?
Chapter Two

Malcolm immediately pulled her semiautomatic out from her back and tucked Katy in behind her as they walked the entire inside of her small brick ranch. As soon as the windows were all checked as locked and all the rooms were safe, she walked Katy back to the front room and had her sit down on her couch, then poured her a shot of whiskey. At first, Katy refused and Malcolm assured her that it would help calm her nerves. She would have taken her own shot or two of whiskey after facing off with that cop back there, but she did not drink when on staff.

She was hired to protect Katy Sanders by her Uncle, and she would do exactly that. She would catch the person or persons that had been harassing her, and breaking into her place while tearing it apart. Normally, she never took a job this small and worked with the same side of the law. It never paid as well as working contract with the other side of the law, but when Mr. Sanders called her in as a special favor, she was not about to turn him down. He was definitely on the wrong side of the law, but Katy did not know that about her uncle. For some reason, this time, he was paying her a premium price to secure the client.

Malcolm thought back to the moment, she first laid eyes on the cop and what sexual appetite he stirred in her as she took a long serious look at him. It takes a strong man to give Malcolm that sense of pure sexual lust in just a look. It almost took her off her focused game as she loaded up with weapons. The way his dark-brown eyes wandered over her body sent tingles to her core. The itch to reach out and run her hands through his dark-brown hair as it curled up just at the collar of his police button-down shirt. Although she liked the personal touch of cowboy jeans and rugged worn boots on his feet, not the same professional attire as the second officer who showed up. However, in these types of backwoods parts, you often found a rebel among the law, and that man gave Malcolm a sense of rebel and sexual desire in one look. Not many men could stir her blood the way he did with just a look.

The front door opened, and both officers came in laughing and talking like it was the boy's night out. Malcolm did not like them taking this situation lightly. However, for Katy's sake, she was not going to show the true nature of the danger her uncle instilled upon her.

The first responding officer spoke up first. "All's clear, Katy. Not a speck of dust out of place. Pouring awfully hard though, so if there was anybody messing around the barn, their foot prints are washed away. Everything seems to check out. However, the light inside the barn is burnt out. Might want to replace that."

"I just did, the other day. It keeps burning out." Katy sounded a bit troubled, but then again, Malcolm sensed the local law was not truly aware of everything that had been going on.

The second officer offered up common sense. "Maybe there's a drain on the wiring. You might call an electrician to check it all out." Malcolm watched the plain looking cop in full uniform turn and nod his head to the casual one that stirred her interest.

Then the second officer added. "I was just heading home for dinner. Give me a call if you need me. Rain ought to make it a quiet Saturday night. Can only hope it keeps on pouring down. I'll check the bridge over at Mill Creek after dinner, make sure it didn't wash out again. I've got a road block and flares if it did, but that last rebuild seems to be a mighty fine job."

Malcolm looked around the place as the officers talked. Something did not seem right, but she could not put her finger on it just yet. As soon as everyone was calm and Katy was asleep, she would run a sweep through the entire house for sound bugs or hidden cameras. Somebody was scaring Katy for something, and she was not sure what or why, neither Katy nor her uncle seemed to know, but then again, that is why he hired her at such a high price. He wanted his niece safe and secure and the bastards who were scaring her to be taken care of without the law, and that, was something Malcolm had been good at all her professional life, avoiding the law and taking care of business like this.

She turned to the sound of Katy's voice sounding a bit peppier after she poured her another shot and watched her drink it down. "Where are my manners? Officer Chase Cooper, this is my uncle's private assistant Malcolm."

Malcolm turned to the officer and offered her hand to shake. Chase seemed to not want to let go as he questioned just her name. "Malcolm? Is that a first name or last name?"

She looked him dead straight in the eyes and answered seriously. "My call name sir." She pulled her hand out of his grasp and felt the tingle sensation that remained from his touch. If he was going to be doing these things to her body, she might just need to get him worked out of her system fast and hard, sexually. However, that would have to wait until her job was done.

Chase was not done questioning her or Katy about what she was doing here, what was going on and why his dispatch never got the first two calls.

"Katy, you said you called in twice before your phone went out." He walked over to a wall phone in her kitchen and picked it up and listened for a dial tone, there was none. "Phone line might need to be checked. Rain might be affecting it. You got a cell?"

"Yes." Katy grabbed her cell phone out of her purse and checked it for battery and signal. "All charged and ready to go, sir." The last word came out giggly. Malcolm had poured her another shot and watched her down it fast. At this rate, between the alcohol and her something special to help her pass out, she would be out cold soon and that was part of Malcolm's plan.

Chase turned to Malcolm with a serious look about him. "And you? Malcolm? Do you have a cell phone?"

She did. It was actually a satellite phone that worked from anywhere, and she always had extra batteries and a solar charger with her when she traveled. She let her eyes pierce his with what she hoped was a seriousness, while her brain was thinking sexual thoughts. She kept her voice calm and even while she forced her heartbeat to reduce. "I do."

As soon as she answered him, she looked around the area again and had that feeling she was being watched, a feeling she never doubted to be inaccurate.

"May I have both your cell phone numbers please?" Chase asked nicely but it sounded more like a demand than an option.

Katy rattled hers off so fast that the numbers meshed together, so Malcolm walked over to Chase's phone and took it from his hands. She quickly inputted the numbers into his contacts and then handed the phone back. Chase gave her a look of disbelief because the woman seemed to have bold moves about her. Then he watched her walk towards the kitchen with that stealth like move again. This time he observed her backside and noticed the strength in her stride and the way her muscles were evident in her tank top, the way her black jeans filled out a very nice ass and the way her boots made a stepping sound across the hard wood floors. There was nothing normal or super feminine about Malcolm yet, for some reason, his every thought turned full of sexual carnal lust with every move she made. He quickly envisioned her naked body hot and sweaty from sex that was intense. He was sure she had a powerful sexual nature about her, he could tell these things. Then he heard her speak to them both in a neutral voice with her back turned. "I'm going to make a hot tea, would you like one?"

Chase felt shocked by the fact she was offering a hot tea. It seemed like a unusual move on her part. He wasn't really a tea person, but he did need to stay and gets some answers so if a tea got the ball rolling, so be it. He replied with a simple tone. "Sure."

He turned his attention to Katy while Malcolm had her back to them. He whispered out in confidence. "Explain to me again about her." He directed his head to Malcolm.

Katy lowered her voice to a whisper and began explaining as much as she could. "She's one of my uncle's personal assistants. I think she is Special Forces or some type of one man, excuse me woman, wrecking force. You know my uncle Pete, Chase. He's a very powerful businessman, and he needs a varied type of personal assistant from time to time. After I was knocked-out cold when I was last visiting my aunt Sheryl at her place at their break in, I had this feeling I've been watched and followed everywhere but can't prove it. Then when I came back from the visit, you know, my place was ransacked but nothing stolen. It was weird. Then little things have been happening, and I can't seem to shake the feeling that I'm being watched and followed. I haven't bothered you other than the break in; it felt foolish to report something that isn't really happening. I guess, when I called my uncle to tell him about these things, he insisted on sending Malcolm. He told me she would just give me a sense of security for a bit and check things out."

"I see." Although Chase was not sure about what Katy just explained, what he was sure of was that he would run the plates on her Mustang when he left and do a full search report on Mr. Pete Sanders and his operation. Some of it, he was quite aware of being just a shy left of the law, but for the most part, he never hurt anyone and had ties with party affiliates that he did not want to even mess with. Titan County was a small place and not one to go up against the likes of a man like Sanders from Texas, several states away.

"So Katy. Tell me. You called tonight?" Chase questioned as he held a data pen to his phone screen as he was taking digital notes.

She still kept her voice low as if she was hiding from someone. "Yes. The first time seemed odd. It was a strange man who didn't seem to speak English well, and then he disconnected me. When they didn't call back, I called again and got a woman this time. She too seemed confused but said they would send someone right out. Shortly after, Malcolm showed and then you. In the meantime, I was sure I saw someone big along the barn and then the outside light went out, and it's on all the time. Then the phone disconnected and I locked myself in the food pantry, behind the canned goods. I know it sounds stupid, but I think someone is after me."

Chase needed to calm Katy down. The alcohol seemed to have worked her up into a frenzy instead of calming her down. Just then, Malcolm handed Katy a hot tea and winked at Chase. If he did not know better there was something in that tea.

Listening to Chase and Katy discuss why she was there had Malcolm smiling, internally. She was not one to show any emotion on the outside. Years of foster care and fighting it out on the streets alone taught her that. However, much of her accomplished skill was in great thanks to one man, her mentor, Dale Smith aka Malcolm One, if that was even his real name. He caught her stealing from his car, which was unlocked and scolded her like a child, then practically kidnapped her until she confessed that she was a teenage runaway from the foster-care system. That was when he offered to teach her skills and a profession that she would never have dreamed of in exchange for remaining safe and secure under his watch. At first, Malcolm remembered thinking there was a catch to all this, so she never divulged her real name and Dale always teased in calling her Malcolm from day one. It was years before she ever found out that was his call signal. Along the way, there were times she wondered what she was doing getting into this profession and the danger it would bring, but as she got older, it seemed to be an everyday kind of job for her. One that she did not think she could ever escape.

Dale Smith taught her all the militant skills, computer savvy and everything she would need to be a 'Consultant' or otherwise known as a hired man. A person who did damage control to being the damage, a person who could counteract a subject's move or simply make sure the subject never made a move. At the age of twenty-nine, Malcolm was now going on ten years of hard-learned skill, and she had every skill accomplished thanks to Dale Smith. Maybe when this job was done, she would give him a surprise by showing up at his ranch for old time's sake.

As soon as Malcolm handed the tea off to Katy and then one to Chase, she watched him carefully set his off to the side table and proceed back to take notes on his smart phone. As soon as he directed the next question to her, she took a long sip of her hot tea, letting the peppermint soothe her tongue and then swallowed while mentally thinking about the way those broad shoulders of Chases must look under his uniform shirt. Wondering if he had spectacular pectoral muscles to match those broad shoulders, and how she wanted to set her hands on those shoulders while she sat naked in his lap, riding him. As if he could read her mind, he cleared his throat and reached for his tea after all.

With a seductive smile, she decided to answer. "Like Katy said, I am a personal assistant to her uncle. I have security knowledge, and he has paid for me to come down here and help Katy have some peace of mind."

However, he was not going to let it stop there. "Exactly what kind of 'personal assistant' are you? What kind of personal security duty do you do, and if you don't mind me asking this, do you have permits for all those weapons you strapped on out there?"

Malcolm laughed a soft sexual note. She walked over to the chair that Chase was sitting in and looked down at him with the thought of how she wanted to crawl into his naked lap. Instead of showing her mental seduction, she reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone. She pressed a few keys then showed a screen to Chase that showed the link to her security firm listing the details of what she was capable. She watched Chase hold her phone, enlarge the text with the swipe of his fingers, read a few lines, and then hand the phone back to her. She let the tone to her voice speak volumes. "I can assure you; I am legit." The last word being questionable to anyone who really knew her but as far as the government was concerned, she had all her bases covered.

"Well, it seems that Katy here, is in good hands for the time being. It doesn't really seem like foul play is going on other than the break-in last week, and it is summer break. So, it's hard to say if it was some hoodlums that just got caught in the action and took off before anyone saw who they were, or if they thought they stole something of value, and Katy here just hasn't noticed it missing."

They both turned and looked at Katy sleeping soundly on her couch. Malcolm grabbed an afghan off the back of the couch and covered her up. "She should be out for a good eight hours. Gives me time to run detail on the house and make plans for tomorrow's security. I have a crew coming out tomorrow to wire this place up. Mind having a deputy out here for a bit or swinging by?" Malcolm never needed the local law around. She knew her stuff and she had a competent crew flying in, compliments of Katy's uncle. This small little ranch would be loaded with enough security devices to make the White House look like a mini mart security. Mr. Sanders was well aware this was something, and he had not yet let Malcolm in on all of it, but for now; she would handle the basic details and give Katy a sense of security.

That is, if she could keep from mentally straying her mind to an erotic sexual nature of one simple-minded yet very sexy cop. A man whose looks were simple yet he created such a sexual need deep inside her that was not familiar to her. He too, had his own sexual chemistry that might rival hers as she noticed the way he looked at her like a starved mountain lion, yet he kept his emotions in check.

Chase stood to stretch his legs from sitting and noticed that he was maybe five inches taller than her with her boots on, but he was not a small man. He took a long gaze into her eyes, staring at the intense blue with the way her face held some secrecy to it, and her body held itself in a prepared stance. Without realizing it, he felt his hand reach out and touch the fine leather grain of the knife holder that was slung over her shoulder and to her side. "Would you like to see it?" Her voice caught him off guard, and he looked back into her eyes and watched a sensual smile creep across her face.

"Actually, I would. If you don't mind?" His husky voice held a distinguishable note of appreciation for her knife, or perhaps it was her body he was interested in as well.

As he looked at her, waiting for her reply, a flash of her naked body strapped with the knife entered his mind as he looked at her with desire.

"I don't mind at all. I suppose you are wondering why I geared up. I have to tell you, I wasn't sure what to expect when I got here, but when Katy didn't answer me at first, I wanted to make sure I had my favorites on me." Chase watched her pull the knife from its leather holder and then set the shiny silver knife in her hand gently. "Take it." She told him. "Feel its weight. Careful though, it could slice through several layers of skin in a second."

Chase took the knife from her hand and examined the exquisite knife. He had his own collection, but it was the magnificent detail on the handle that made him realize that this was no dime store knife. This woman knew her tools and that excited him more than he cared to admit. He was one to like the more feminine women, the women who wanted a hero, yet here he stood in front of a woman who was not only her own hero but a hero to others as well and did not need a man like him to save her. That was something new. Something challenging.

Chase handed the knife back to her and watched her slide it back into its holder with grace and dignity. Then he caught her eye leaving him, as he was sure that she had been checking him out, and she began to wander around the place.

"How much do you know about the break in?" She asked

"Not much. Like I said, no one was caught in the act, there were no fingerprints; nothing was missing, and the place was a mess like an amateur did it or some hoodlums. Hey, tell me. What is Katy's uncles take on this?"

"Well. Chase. I hope I can trust you to say, he is not telling me everything and that break-in was not hoodlums. If you did not find any fingerprints, that would direct me to think professional. If you didn't find anything missing, perhaps they didn't take anything, but they placed something here instead." Chase watched her walk over and flip a picture over. On the back was a small camera with a memory card, she ripped it off and put it in her pocket.

"Perhaps." Malcolm spoke softly.

Chase was surprised at what she found and watched her go silent as she stood up on the coffee table, reached up to the ceiling fan and pulled down a small device and then put it in her pocket.

"Somebody wants to hear what's going on and maybe hope to set a trap for someone." Her voice was a bit more serious now. He watched her walk over and open the front door, pull some kind of mechanism out of the door lock knob and then put it in her pocket. "Follow me." She directed him outside, and he followed. Now she had his interest piqued.

The rain had decided to slow down a bit, and Malcolm walked down the porch steps, out into the rain, held her hand up to her Mustang window and Chase watched something in her window read her palm print, and then the Mustang beeped and unlocked itself. She hit a button inside the door, and the trunk unlocked and popped open. She walked back to the back and grabbed out three silver hard suitcases and one large black duffle bag. There were a few more cases in there, but she did not grab them, and he watched her hit a button and the back trunk closed, and an audible sound of a lock was heard. She then walked over, closed the door and started to walk back in. She stopped and looked over her shoulder at him. "Follow me."

As soon as she kept walking, Chase walked over and tried her door. Nothing, it was locked. Then he put his palm print up and nothing. "It won't open for you." Her voice called out. "Grab that metal case by your feet." He did not even see her leave it there for him to carry in. He reached down, picked it up, and realized it was heavier than it looked. He wondered what was in it.

As soon as he walked inside, he saw her set up a station in the corner of the front room looking out the front window. She opened a case, pulled out a device, and began to scan the front room. Two more mini cameras with memory cards were found, along with one more bugging device. She then grabbed out a roll of window film and began to roll out sections of the front window in a film that allowed her to see out but no one to see in. Chase was beginning to wonder if this was all a bit of overkill. No one had really done anything threatening yet and as far as he could tell, it was possible that Katy's uncle had an enemy or two that just hoped Katy would expose some information about him.

As if she could read his mind, she spoke with an air of confidence. "It's not overkill. I'm securing the place. I am going to debug the entire perimeter inside tonight. It's getting dark out. You can leave if you like. I have already run intel on you while you were in here talking to Katy. You're clean. Your deputy, on the other hand, he's got a few things I would worry about. I'm going to be up all night. You can stay or you can leave so you can run on back to the station, run my plates try to find out who the hell I really am and what I am doing here, but I'm going to tell you now, there won't be much you will find on me."

Chase was not going for it. He had a few tricks up his own sleeve. "Is that so?"

"Yes. First, you will run my plates WILD ONE and see that it belongs to a corporation front named MLP. MLP stands for Malcolm Limited Protection. It's my corporation front. There is nothing else you will find on me." Chase watched her walk around the rest of the house, as he followed, and when they came back to the front room, he watched her proceed to open the rest of her silver cases and begin to plug in data.

"Everything seems very James Bondish, so tell me, what's in the black bag?" His eyes darted to where her bag was sitting.

Malcolm spoke so matter of fact. "My clothes. I don't plan on being here but a few days. I work fast." Then she stopped what she was doing and walked right up to him and stood within inches from his face. "And when I am done with this detail Chase, I have a little business with you that I'd like to take care of." In that moment, she decided that going against all her professional code and strong will, she could hold it in no longer. She wrapped her hands up in his thick lush hair and pulled his head down to hers and began to kiss him with such an intensity that when she pulled back, she knew she needed to finish this job quick.
Chapter Three

Chase was caught off guard. He had to wonder if the kiss was a distractive maneuver, or was she just as attracted to him as he was to her. He sat in his squad car watching one light after another turn off in the house. He sat there while plugging in her Mustang plates into his cruiser laptop and got exactly what she described. He also noticed that when he ran a check on her satellite cellphone number, MLP came up and nothing more. So, he was sure he had his work cut out for him. He grabbed a GPS tracker out of his cruiser glove box that he had for emergencies, got out, and put it under the Mustang. When he got back in his car, his cellphone rang.

"I saw that. My Mustang is programed with a scrambler. You will go several miles in the wrong direction if you try to follow me. Perhaps you might want me to call if I'm going anywhere important."

"How did you get my number?" He demanded an answer.

"When I put our numbers in." Her voice had a sexy amusing tone to it.

Chase knew at that moment he was dealing with a professional. A professional woman for hire and she was not playing around. He did not know if he could catch her at her game, but what he did know was that kiss she laid on him, still had him hard in his wranglers and a desire to find out more anyway he could, even if he had to get her naked and sated, he was on his own personal mission of desire.

As the silence between them built up, while they sat there on their cellphones, waiting for the first person to say something, Chase spoke up with an idea even he knew was not called for. "I suppose I could stay here tonight and help you."

He listened to a long pause. "After that kiss, do you really think things wouldn't go too far? I know I would finish what I started, what about you?"

That was all she had to say to Chase to convince him he was absolutely sure she would do exactly as she just stated. Then he heard his own voice offer up a suggestion that would drive him insane. "I could just sit out here in my car. You know, for safety sake."

"Hmm. I don't think so. Goodnight Chase."

Well, Chase was not a man to go after a woman. He knew when the time was right the two of them had some sexual energy they needed to work out. He turned his key in his cruiser and called into dispatch that he was heading back closer to town. The night was young and quiet with the rain, but he knew that could change any minute.

Somehow or another he was going to find out some information on this woman whose call sign is Malcolm. He figured going through the backdoor way could be best. He would start with Katy Sanders then switch to her uncle. Somewhere in the information age there had to be a tad bit of info on her, and he was determined to find out more about the woman that had him in a sexual mess. If he had one more visual of her body naked sliding over his, he was going to explode.

Malcolm had her work cut out for her. She felt the inside perimeter was secure and after tomorrow both inside and out would be wired and monitored by Sanders's expert security firm. In the meantime, listening to Katy lightly snore on her living room couch gave her a small feeling of success.

On the drive all the way from Texas to Sever City her mind had worked out the details she had been given, which was not much. Driving up here in her brand-new Mustang was not her best idea, but she had just received it detailed with security systems weeks ago and had a need to burn the midnight oil. Twelve hours later, she was here, but what if she had been a moment too late. A move like that can be a devastating one for a person in her career. One false move and the jobs stop coming in or at least at the pay she was accustomed to. This gig was well over fifty grand with another fifty if she actually caught who was causing the trouble and secured them from future access to his client. That client being Katy Sanders, but ultimately, Mr. Sanders, who paid her more than once to secure his future.

Not that killing thugs and criminals gave her pleasure. In fact, after each securement, she was back in her own place in large plot of open space, in the backwoods of the mountains, and usually puked for days. Call it a small self-conscious but Dale always told her that a job like this was not for the weak of heart and as Malcolm was getting just shy of turning thirty, she felt she was getting weaker faster with each securement. Taking tonight, for example, she would never have kissed a man like Chase just for the sake of satisfying her sexual urge. She was a woman who could control herself around a vibrant sexual man. She had encountered hundreds like him in her career, some of which were in the same field of expertise as her. However, she could not ignore the fact that Chase was the first man to stir the pot so quickly and leave her feeling so sexually frustrated she had actually gone against her personal code of protocol. She invited him back inside to her clients place.

She could hear Dale now, whispering in her ear as he did through all those years of training when she was about to make a mistake. 'Malcolm, darling, you might want to think this through'. Which she did and still found herself wanting him with her, on her, inside of her, fulfilling her... client be damned. And that, was not like her at all. Not at all.

Perhaps, it was her biological clock ticking. At a convenience station on the way, she caught herself smiling at an infant that was smiling back while her mother was holding her. That was the first time she had ever smiled at a child. Children were the last thing on her mind, wanting them, raising them, pft... that was for real women. Malcolm never considered herself a real woman nor did she feel like a man; she just felt alive when she was in the thick of a job, feeling the adrenaline pumping through her body.

Actually, just feeling any emotion was highly craved from Malcolm. Tonight, after meeting Chase, a sexual emotion other than desire rose up in her belly and made her realize that there was more than having sex with strange men and moving on about her job. It was about finding that right sexual partner that made her want to do wild things with him and then sit and have a conversation. Some would call it a relationship, and that was a word new to Malcolm's repertoire.

Even Dale kept his distance as soon as she was properly trained and experienced age. He would always tell her it was better this way. Especially just in case, they were on opposite ends of a job. Now how would the two of them handle that? That was a question neither of them ever answered physically or mentally yet there had always been some type of dangerous attraction between them. More of him as her rescuer and mentor and she was an evolution of his making.

Thinking about Dale had her realizing that what was happening between her and Chase was a far different attraction. One that she thought perhaps getting out of her system would be the answer. If she got the chance, she just might make her move on Chase to rid herself of these emotional feelings she had for the man.
Chapter Four

The early morning sun brought the residual smell of rain to the air as it heated the earth. Malcolm would normally be coming home from an early morning run when off duty, but today she stretched and moved herself restlessly around Katy's place, as she smelled bacon and eggs cooking in the kitchen.

Sometime around five a.m. Katy woke and took a moment to realize where she was at and who else was with her. However, as soon as she did, she was peppier than ever and ready to face the day. Malcolm knew that sometimes all a client needed was a boost in confidence in knowing that the bully hiding around the corner could easier have his or her ass kicked. And that, would be by her.

Earlier in the dark of the morning hours, around three in the morning, Malcolm had a full report pulled together on one Chase Cooper. He had ten years of service here after serving three years in the army. Before that, it looked like he attended a few years at a community college in criminal justice but barely passed his exams. He seemed street smart but lacked book smarts. He had numerous girlfriends over the years, all blondes, and several that still were pining for his interest intently on Facebook while others just flat out stated proposals to him. Malcolm wanted to gag. She had never been a woman to hunt a man to be interested in her. Although last night, that was a first for her. Approaching a man, evaluating him and then kissing him.

She discovered he had one brother and a sister along with both parents still married, all living in Arizona, a five or more hour drive away. She could tell he liked his distance from close relationships, his blondes, his cars and mostly his privacy. He did not post anything on Facebook, and he rarely commented on anybody. He had his own small property just five miles away from Katy and a Camaro, which he was in the middle of rebuilding. That piqued Malcolm's interest. She too had an older Camaro in storage, cherry red, V-8 and all leather custom interior. She was saving it for retirement to drive it around. For now, she paid a local mechanic back home to take it out once a month and tune her up. So far, he had done exactly as he was told, anything else and the tracking equipment on her computer would have told her otherwise.

Malcolm caught herself snapping a picture of Chase from her phone data gathering on him and stored him in her picture file. He was definitely a man of sexual attraction and now after spending a few short minutes with him and one damn hot kiss, she was more focused than ever to get this job done and move on to what really had her going. Chase Cooper.

Chase ended his shift at three am and hit the twenty-four-hour diner in town. The only one that was open and brave enough to deal with the teenage crowd. Tonight, there seem to be only a few tables and as soon as Chase entered, they all quieted down, ate their pancakes and were gone. He ordered a black coffee and four scrambled eggs, six slices of bacon and an order of toast.

After doing a research run on Malcolm on the Internet, he got some information, but it would require his home computer and a hacker friend of his to go any further. After breakfast, he would catch a few hours of shuteyes, take a five-mile run to burn off this sexual frustration that was building over Malcolm and then hopefully have some type of report from his buddy back in New York. He was an up all night kind of guy who took the challenge on with gusto just for free. Chase knew that there was never a single person his best friend could not find out who someone was and if this Malcolm chick was hiding something, he would find it.

What Chase did find out was that Uncle Sanders seemed to be getting his fingers into too many pies. Katy Sanders was clean as a whistle but since her Uncle had visited a few times over the past few years, some folks, not so nice either, might have thought that he was hiding money or information there.

He also discovered that the only man that is recorded in Malcolm's life is a Dale Smith, also known as Malcolm One in the contract world. He was reportedly missing on the grid since last month while last seen in Belize, and if it weren't for a few pictures there, he might not be known at all. One picture, in particular, caught Chase's attention quickly. It was copied and filed away into his cellphone pictures. It was Malcolm, in a black string bikini, rocking a hard body with a serious tan and a smile on her face as if she just had a full-on satisfaction. Chase wanted to put that smile on her face and not just one time. He also wanted to see that naked body of hers now more than ever since he found that picture.

He was certainly going by Katy Sanders place today as the security crew would be there, and he was hoping to find a way to get Malcolm to kiss him one more time. This in itself seemed silly, as he already had several offers on his plate for whatever he would like, with just a simple phone call.

Just then, his cellphone buzzed with a text. His buddy back in New York had some pertinent information that he thought Chase might want to see pronto. He sent him a large encrypted file that could only be opened on his computer. He polished off his midnight breakfast in record time, slapped a twenty on the counter and booked it out of there.

Pulling up to his house, Chase noticed for the first time how empty and dark it seemed. A thought of coming home to a naked Malcolm flashed in his mind and put a smile on his face.

The slam of his car keys against the hard wood kitchen table resounded through the small two-bedroom house. Chase lived simply and much like a bachelor of his stature might. Second hand furniture, simple decor, a huge big-screen TV and a barn that seconded as a garage for his rebuild on his Camaro. The way he saw it, he had all he needed besides a warm hot body like one Heather Albright. That's right, Malcolm's full name is Heather Linda Albright, and she is twenty nine, going on thirty in two months. She has not finished high school education, no college, no known employers ever and had never once filed a tax return. It was as if she stopped existing at sixteen. She did, however, have massive property over three million in wealth associated under the MLP corporation name, but her name was not on it.

Chase had his fingers against his temple thinking deep. This woman was hiding something or a lot of something's, and she was dangerous. So, would she be worth the one night of sex, he was sure he was in for as soon as this case was done. He thought back to the one long sensual kiss that packed such a punch that his legs did not want to walk properly. Damn straight it would, and it would be only one night. He would work her so hard sexually out of his system, that he could move on to more secure things that wouldn't frustrate him or bring in the bad side of the law, and that would be working on his Camaro.

Without much sleep in him and the hour approaching nine in the morning, Chase decided a cold shower to cool his thoughts and wake his body. Then after he would take a five-mile run before getting some shuteye. He had intentions of swinging by Katy Sanders place, but after this tidbit of information, he was damn sure that she was in good hands.

Malcolm watched Mr. Sanders's security crew get to work at record speed. She had cameras, lights, video, all going in and relaying wirelessly back to their monitoring station in Texas. They also were working to secure a new private phone line that was undetectable to a commoner and that in itself could keep the whoever that had played into her phone system from doing that again. Malcolm was sure they had rerouted her call, once to whomever it was that was messing with her, and the second time to a county dispatch another state away. This time they would not be able to be successful in their attempts.

The lead security guy was packing heat and had been on a mission with Malcolm before. She felt confident in leaving him to take a quick run to burn off all this energy that was building inside of her over Chase. She mentioned to Katy what she was doing. Katy was more than smitten with the five good-looking security guys running around her property. If Malcolm did not know better, Katy's uncle might have saved himself a lot of time, effort and money by just shipping Katy off to live at one of his remote properties with a paid male escort. The only problem with that idea was that Malcolm was sure that whoever was behind all this, was most likely not going to give up until they got whatever it was they wanted. She knew this because she had a gut feeling about who was behind all of this.

The first few minutes of her run had her taking in all of her surroundings, looking for anything out of the ordinary, researching the landscape in the light during the day instead of the dusk of the night as she sped in last night. It seemed to be a rolling hill district with nothing but quiet except for the constant breeze rustling the tree leaves. She had mapped out the area last night and saw how close they were to the lake and how lucky she was to slow her Mustang down before that nasty curve in the road last night. Driving as fast as she was, she was lucky her reaction time allowed her enough time to practically stop at the curve with only a slight fish tail motion.

She also was quite aware about the fact that the direction she was running was going to be fast approaching Chase's property as she ran faster. The thought of how masculine he tasted, how his thick brown hair felt beneath her fingers, and his piercing brown eyes softened after the kiss made her running pace pick up.

Malcolm never ran with music in her ears, allowing her the sounds of her surroundings to alert her to anything amiss. Just then, a flock of birds left a tree up ahead, and she stopped abruptly. She hid herself behind a tree. Several blocks up, there was a bend in the county road and that was where the birds flew from. She took a deep breath and opened her holster that was strapped to her waist and behind her back. She slid her long-sleeve shirt up on her arm and unlatched her switchblade knife, and she waited.

Just as her adrenaline began pumping into full alert mode, Chase appeared around the bend running in her direction, listening to music and jogging in the heat of the morning with only a pair of blue shorts and no shirt. Something was wrapped around his hand and that, Malcolm was sure, was his tee shirt. Now she had more fuel for the fire as his tanned muscular chest, broad shoulders and sweat dripping off him ran towards the tree she was behind at a clip. She planned her moment to come out of hiding so that he had enough time to stop before running past. First, she secured her weapons and did a mental check of her emotions, because watching Chase jog with no shirt on just shot her libido past last night's mental kiss.

Chase had his mind on one thing and one thing only, and that would be Heather aka Malcolm. He wasn't sure if he was going to let her know that he knew her name and some pertinent information. He did, however, want her to know that he had her back if she needed him. In addition, when the case was done, one of them would be on their back while the other was on top. He shook his head from side to side after envisioning her naked, riding his hard cock while looking down at him. It was a vision that had his adrenaline pumping.

Just up the road, something caught Chase's eyes off guard as out of place, and then it was as if it wasn't there. The next thing he felt was a soft hand on his shoulder and a jolt of surprise that took his adrenaline into overload. He spun around fast and prepared against an attack. Instead, there in tight black jogging shorts, a long sleeve white running shirt and one semi visible weapon on her arm, was Malcolm.

If her sexy smile did not work him into a frenzy, her sex laden voice and simple 'hey' had him hard and fast. It was impossible to believe that a woman could do this to him in such a quick evasive maneuver, then again, she did come out of nowhere and that begged the question, was she following him.

"Hey. Where'd you come from?"

She grabbed his hand and pulled him off the county road and down an embankment behind an old oak tree with no visibility from the road or the empty property behind them. It was then, once they were next to the big oak tree that she spoke. "I saw you coming before you came running from around the bend in the road."

Chase looked at her in question but did not speak. He was focused on the way her eyes softened just a bit as he felt her hands begin to wander up over his shoulders, and she started to move in extremely close to him. Too close, unless she planned on doing something about the predicament, she was putting him in.

"Chase." She paused as his name came out breathy and her hands were now running down his naked sweaty chest. "I've got some ideas."

With the sexual tone in her voice, he was not sure if they were ideas of them just doing it there behind the tree, off the road, which could really screw up his career if he was caught by someone. Indecent exposure from a cop is not something that can get you promoted up the ladder and next year's bonus.

Then he felt her lips close in on his as he felt the warmth of her body against his. The way she wrapped her fingers up in his hair and the way her tongue began to explore his mouth had him verbally groaning with pleasure. She did not need to go any further, as he was now sure that she would be the best damn lay he ever had and not just once in a night. He could sense her sexual prowess and energy in just this one kiss. If she did not have him hard enough already, he felt the snake of her hand down his chest and then rub just enough between his jogging shorts. He pulled back and tried to be the sensible man.

Malcolm lost it. She was feeling the loss of control around this man. She did not know if the secure client had to wait, and she would break protocol. She also could tell she had Chase so worked up it would not take much to get him to agree. She watched him run his hands through his hair and take a few steps away. When he turned to look at her, she could see the internal struggle waging a war against his carnal lust. "I suppose you're wondering." She stopped herself and took a step back. "I actually need to talk to you about some ideas. I guess if you didn't go running around half naked with a sexual attraction that makes a girl crazy, we wouldn't be in this predicament."

"And what predicament is that?" He knew but now he wanted to toy with her. She had him so worked up and with this last kiss, his expectations of what was going to happen preceded anything she attempted last night.

"A desire to fuck each other's brains out. However, that can't happen until my client is secure. I've got some things I need to discuss with you. Intel tells me you are trustworthy; question is, can you handle all this?"

Chase could not believe his ears. She was a bit rough around the edges, sexy as hell and could kiss like an orgasm but to put it out there like that took some masculinity away from him and then his cock twitched reminding him he was no fool. She would be an incredible lay. So he did what he thought he might not do, he said her real name. "Heather Linda Albright, you've got some explaining to do before you go and ask somebody like me if I am trustworthy. And as far as fucking each other's brains out, let's just do it right here, right now." He was bluffing; he knew he was, but she was getting him so hot under the collar he just didn't care. Lord help him if she took him up on the offer.

"Please. Honey, you know you are bluffing. You want that promotion and bonus next year so you can finish out that engine on your Camaro. Not to mention, you would need more than this oak tree to finish this task. I don't go lightly and I never finish at once."

Chase let out a huge growling roar, turned away from Malcolm, and headed back up the embankment. He started running back towards his place. He needed to run that woman out of his head and take another cold shower. However, what he got instead was her popping out from behind a tree up ahead. He stopped suddenly and took a long hard look. She was trouble all right, but was she worth it? Yes, that he was sure of. Hell, you only live once and this was an opportunity he did not want to miss out on.

"I need you. I need you in this investigation." She didn't. She could actually handle this herself. However, something in her gut told her that she needed him in other ways, and since he was the first one to find out about her, then maybe he was the right-hand man that she needed to finish this task fast so the two of them could take care of this combustible carnal lust building between the two of them. "Follow me back to Katy's. I've got something I need you to help me with."

"No." He wanted to play hardball.

"No?" Malcolm felt anger rise within her. She knew where she stood with this man, and she was not taking no for an answer.

"I get it, not many men tell you no. That taking no for an answer is like hell to pay with you. But no." His answer came out with the confidence he did not feel. He was sure he could run away now, but get the two of them alone together later and there might not be any stopping.

She glared at him and saw the game he was wagering. "Alright then. How about please? Would you please come help me?"

"No." He watched her expression that went from I'll play your game to what the hell.

"You know what, you're right. Nobody tells me no without regretting it."

Then he teased harder. "I don't think I will regret it." However, something told him if he let her out of his grasps, he would not only regret it; he would hate himself for it.

Then he heard her voice get nasty. "You know what Chase. You're right. I don't need you. Go home, take a cold shower, and think about it. Maybe get your hair cut while you're at it. Once you've adjusted that attitude you'll be by my side helping me solve this case." She did not want him to touch his hair; it was gorgeous and soft. So soft and those curls at the edge of his neck gave him a bad-boy look. She hated playing games, especially with men whom she was sure she would be a great sexual match.

"Alright." He teased, but a sensual smile crept across his face. "But I don't cut my hair for just anybody; you'd have to be real special for me to cut my hair. A cold shower, I take every day. As far as your case, well there doesn't seem to really be one, but if you want to make it a matter of the law, why don't you come on down and file a report. I'll be at work tomorrow. I've got a car to go work on. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to finish my run."

"You do that Chase Cooper." Then without another word, she ducked down the embankment, behind some trees and then nothing. She was gone. He tried spotting her from the roadside, and he knew the property was adjacent for about a mile within the Sanders place, but how she knew all that surprised even him. She was good. No she was better than good at this, and he was sure she was better than good at other things. Just thinking of that other thing and her naked body, a visual of her riding his cock with their two naked sweaty bodies, had him hard and growling out his aggression as he stood there on the road. It would be a bit before he could take off jogging, and a really long cold shower to work her out of his system.
Chapter Five

After Malcolm freshly showered and dressed for the part in black cargo pants, black street shoes, a black tank top and her black hair dried and styled up in a tight bun, super tight, because that was the way that she was feeling. Wound up tight and ready to rock Chase's world but that was not going to be happening right now. What was happening was a security team recon mission out in the rental van and them watching Katy flitter around her kitchen whistling, wearing an apron and baking chocolate-chip cookies for the men.

"Ugh!" Malcolm could not control herself any longer. The thought of putting on an apron, whistling around the kitchen and cooking, not much less cooking chocolate-chip cookies had her feeling retched.

One of the men laughed while the other spoke up. "I think it's sexy. Honestly, Malcolm, you should give it a try."

"What? Baking cookies. Not in this lifetime. If I want a man, I just get him. Simple as that."

"Simple as that?" One of the guys teased.

Another added. "Without a doubt you are not a normal woman."

With that comment, Malcolm felt a twinge of regret. A feeling that she was missing out on something. Who were they to say she was a normal woman versus what she does? All right, what she does is a bit unorthodox, but it was what she came to love and who she is. If Dale had never found her would she have become Malcolm, or would she be another Katy Sanders, whistling away in her kitchen baking cookies and hoping the hot security guy she was caught on videotape staring at all day would notice her? Nope, she would probably already have gotten the security guy naked and screwed his brains out on her granite countertop. However, that was the difference between her and the Katy's of the world. She just got right to it.

The sound guy interrupted her thought. "You can basically hear a pin drop. Security will be alerted to abnormal sounds. Like a window breaking, door opening in off hours or even heavy footsteps after she has gone asleep."

The lighting guy spoke up next. "Lights in the barn cant' be cut, and neither can the power; it's a bit difficult to explain, but you know how I work Malcolm. This place is well lit and will stay lit even if the city has a power outage. Any cuts to electrical and the security will be alerted. All backup systems a go."

The clock was reaching eight at night and there had been no sign of Chase, which was fine. The team was winding down, and with a few more checks on the system alerts for windows and doors, including the attic; they would be gone and driving towards the private jet, ready to fly them back to Texas, to Sanders Security Corporate office. However, she was sure they would be eating chocolate-chip cookies on the way.

Malcolm sat at her computer station, Katy's guestroom, watching Katy look like a long lost puppy dog. The men had all said good-bye and left her thinking that there were possibilities with some of them. However, Malcolm knew better. She knew that those men played the flirt but were all business when it came to a client. Katy would never see a one of them again, and a small part of Malcolm wondered what she was doing thinking about Chase the same way.

Katy was a client and was not secure yet. Not until she figured out who was behind all this. In the meantime, she felt her mind wander back to Chase and his naked body more than once. She could simply close her eyes and imagine the type of orgasm he would give her. And that, was not who Malcolm was.

Ten years of serving clients, doing things a 'normal' woman wouldn't do, must be finally taking its toll. Perhaps it started with the baby at the convenience store. Alternatively, it could have been the trip to Belize with Dale, a surprise one at that. He whisked her away between jobs on surprise, taking a private jet and then a large private luxury boat to a remote island. It was there, that the two of them discussed things they never have. Things like her career and where it was going; his career and how he was ready to step out after one last job. They talked about her real name and perhaps creating an identity that she could live out the rest of her life with.

Malcolm remembered distinctly when Dale asked her if she could have any name to live with, what would it be? She couldn't answer him at first. She just thought of how she once knew herself as the foster kid with an attitude, Heather Linda Albright. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go back to that name or find a name more suiting to her personality now. Something daring and risqué. Malcolm was not the name she had intended on keeping forever. However, in this game of cat and mouse, she had used a million names with fake identities and false credit cards, and only one name just now struck her as funny, Jenna Cooper, the same last name as Chase.

Her mind quickly wandered to what it would be like to have a big white wedding, a man like Chase to come home to and an identity she could be proud of. Then she shook her head thinking that the only wedding she had ever attended was one where she had to kill the groom and hide the body before the wedding ever started. She would never forget the look of sadness out of the bride's eyes as she thought he left her at the altar. She would never forget his last words as he thought she was there to kill the bride, 'take me, kill me' he said, which she simple replied. 'Ok'. Then, she drove a single silent bullet through the back of his skull and watched him land on the blue nylon tarp she had laid out in front of him. She rolled him up and into the ditch that was far from the hidden eye. Thankful she hired a disposal team to handle the body. Handling the disposal was something she rarely did after, due to the fact, there was so much guilt and frustration.

She had puked in the church's restroom and then when a bridesmaid came in, she slipped a wedding ring on her finger quickly and proclaimed morning sickness while hiding a blood spatter that had made it to her black floral dress. She remembered the kindness of the bridesmaid and then watched the commotion unfold in the women's church restroom as the rumors started to fly that the groom just ran away.

It was times like those, that Malcolm hated her job, but then again, the bastard had slept with her best friend. He had plans to embezzle from her father's billion-dollar company and the father himself had hired her. He wanted it to seem as if he ran away with another woman, in hopes that his daughter would learn her lesson. Malcolm made sure it appeared that he ran away with hundred thousand dollars of her father's money to Mexico with a much younger prettier woman. However, none of that was true; it was all fabricated and manipulated by computer. That was a wedding, Malcolm would never forget.

She found herself drumming her fingers, as the sound of Katy's whistling while doing the dishes, caught her attention. The night was quieter than last night and yet the air was thick with humidity and promise of rain in the middle of the night. Katy's voice caught her off guard as she spoke directly into the hidden camera, inches away. "Why don't we have an ice tea in the rocking chairs on the porch? Malcolm, you up there? I just made some sweet tea and there is way too many cookies down here. I think I over baked with all the excitement." Then she giggled this sweet laughter that made Malcolm realize she was in a far different league then Katy, but that didn't make her any less of a woman, just a different one.

Malcolm indulged in two chocolate-chip cookies and a huge sweet tea in a mason jar. It felt very backwoods country of her to be sitting in a rocking chair, drinking tea out of a mason jar and talking about the weather with someone. However, here she was, doing just that.

As the night whittled on and Malcolm began to think that this easy slow life wasn't so bad after all as she listened to Katy go on and on about the weather, it wasn't the weather that was on her mind, it was Chase. Wondering, was he on duty, would he stop by or better yet if he had calmed down a bit from this morning's sexual tension?

Malcolm knew one thing was for sure, since she arrived, there was not a single sign that someone was out to get Katy. It might be the five security guys roaming around all day, or the fact that she herself dressed in all black with a set of weapons visible to anyone who might look at the perimeter from a distance. Perhaps whoever it was, or whatever it is they wanted, could wait until they thought she might get too comfortable and make a mistake. Only problem was; she never made a mistake. Yet. However, she could see how Chase could easily cause her mind to operate elsewhere.

Tired of talking about the weather, Malcolm was ready to interject some serious questions without making it seem too serious. "Tell me, Katy? How much do you know about your uncle's business?"

"Mostly import and exports of antiques. Valuable antiques by what my Aunt always talks about."

"Hmm. So at your last visit to your aunts, somebody broke in and knocked you out with a chloroform rag? Did you hear or see anything unusual before that?"

"Not really. My aunt and I had been out shopping all day. She went off to take a nap, and I decided to watch a movie in the theatre room. My uncle has this huge room with ten reclining style chairs and a projection TV..."

Malcolm let her carry on for five minutes about the movie room and its decor. It was boring her to death and keeping her from the details. However, she did not want Katy to realize she was actually grilling her for information.

"Katy? How do you feel about all this added security?"

"Definitely safer. In fact, as soon as you got here I felt safer just to have someone with me."

True. Malcolm could attest to some jobs always felt safer with a sidekick or working partner. Bigger jobs always called for it, sometimes with the security team detail but never once did she work with Dale. It went against some inside set of rules he had. He joked that he would never forgive himself if something happened to her. Which made no sense, if he was the one behind this job and a few clues had led her to believe that, then what was he up to?

"So Katy, since you are feeling safer and tomorrow is Monday, how about, we just go about doing all the normal things it is you do during the week. Why don't you give me a breakdown of how your week plays out. I know you go to church on Sunday, but missed today with all the action." Malcolm let her voice tease with the word action, and she watched Katy blush as she giggled.

"Oh. Oh my. Yes. Let's see. Well, I work for an accountant's office in town. It's about a twenty five-minute drive, but it's quite lovely. You will enjoy it. With all the spring flowers and bushes in bloom and the winding road, it is a very tranquil drive into work. Some days, in the winter and bad weather, I work from home on my computer, but I really do enjoy the drive."

"Ok. Work? What? Like nine to five or eight to four?" Malcolm tried not to sound bored or trite.

"Definitely nine to five. Sometimes I stay late and sometimes I leave early."

"Got it." The tone slipped out. Malcolm felt like she was pulling teeth.

"Uhm. On Wednesday nights, I have book club. This time we are reading a sequel to..."

Malcolm wanted to hang herself as Katy went on to talk about the book she was reading and the book club group. This was the very type of client she always turned down. She liked the behind-the-scenes action, in and out, fast and maneuverable, and sometimes she had to sit with someone like this for a very short time. However, this porch time felt like snail time. It was moving so slow, and she still had very little answers.

"Katy!" She finally had to interrupt her. "What happened the day your place got broken into?"

"Oh. Uhm, I went to church at eight in the morning. I wore this adorable simple yellow dress tailored seems in the front and my hair up in curls."

Now Malcolm was irritated. "What happened here? While you were gone?"

"Uhm. Yes. I came home, and my front door was open; the place was a mess, and nothing seemed to be missing. I immediately called the cops, and they secured the place. They said it looked like some hoodlums had tagged the garage and were probably looking for alcohol and drugs. However, I don't have either of those here. I don't smoke." She looked into her lap and got quiet. "I might drink once in a while."

Somebody needed to help Katy let loose. This wound tighter than a yo-yo and holier-than-thou act was killing Malcolm.

"Did the police take a picture of the tag the hoodlums left?"

"Yes. Yes, I believe they did. Told me it was from kids a county over and not to worry. They told me that I should stay at a friends while they clean up a bit."

Now that was odd. "Katy, what officers were the ones that came out on the call?"

"Uhm. I don't remember their names, but the one that showed up the other night after Chase, he was one."

"So, how is it you seem to know Chase personally?"

"Well, he dated my sister for a bit. It was quite serious. Then she met up with this director guy from LA who was going to make her a star."

"And did she?" Malcolm asked with one eyebrow raised, and a sense that this conversation was taking entirely too long.

"Did she what?" Katy asked with such innocence that Malcolm was beginning to believe that ignorance is bliss.

Malcolm wanted to punch the white spindled banister in front of them, but she took a deep breath and smiled. "Did she make it big in LA?"

"If you consider nine months pregnant later and a secretarial job at the directing company big, well yeah. She wasn't much of an actress."

Malcolm raised her eyebrows in weariness. This game of dragging info out was crazy. She liked plugging in info from the computer, spying on clients or having intel people do all this dirty work.

"So Chase and you got close?"

"Nope. Just friendly. I like to take long walks, and I see him out jogging. We go to the same church when his schedule allows, and I see him there on Sundays. Other than that, it's just casual conversation at the grocery store or gas station."

"Hmm. So did your sister have brown hair like you?" Not intel info but just inquisitive.

"She did but she has died it blonde for the last five years. Chase likes blondes."

No fucking shit. So why did Malcolm think she had a chance in hell that he would be attracted to her. Oh yeah. The kiss. The sexual chemistry that existed between them with just a look, a glance or a touch. What was worse was the fact that Malcolm wasn't focused on this case, she was focused on what Chase looked like naked or would feel like inside her.

"Malcolm?" Katy's concerned voice caught her off guard. Katy had been talking, and she had been thinking of Chase.

"Yeah?" Malcolm answered as if she had been listening all along.

"I asked you if you thought the intruders would come back." Her concerned voice touched a place in Malcolm's heart she didn't know could hold for caring about another person. She actually wanted to reassure her and not in a fake acting way.

"Hard to say. What I do know is that you are safe with me." She turned to look at her in the face and gave a caring smile of assurance.

"That's all I need to hear." Katy's face lit up with a smile that told Malcolm she believed in her.

Malcolm watched Katy get up and head inside the house. The dead darkness of the night had fallen fast, and the thick clouds kept the stars or moon from shining down. She stopped the rocking chair and put her hands on her knees. She looked out into the darkness and stared at nothingness, because that was what she saw. If she was back home, she could tell by different sounds in the woods what was going on without even seeing it. However, here, this was new territory, and it was hers to guard not be off in fantasyland about one particular man.

She pushed off from her knees, stood tall, and stretched. A pop of a branch off to the left caught her attention, and her gun was out of its holster and ready to aim. Just then, the reflection of an animal's eyes blinked towards her like green beacons in the night. It was a deer. She let out a soft whistle, and the deer took off.

Malcolm turned toward the door to walk inside; just then, a set of headlights turned out from the corner up the road and started to turn into the driveway. She grabbed her small Maglite out of her side pocket and flashed it up the road. The familiar site of the police cruiser without its flashing lights made her heart pinch and her stomach flip flopped. She was being silly. It might not even be Chase. Then another thought flashed through her brain quickly. It could be the other cop, the one she was beginning to think might be paid intel for the bad guy.
Chapter Six

Malcolm had secured Katy inside in her room and took visual on her computer before the police car ever made it up the driveway and parked. As soon as Chase was visible from outside of the police car, she felt a sexual desire start to build inside her. He had on his worn denim jeans, his cowboy boots, his uniform shirt unbuttoned a bit and his sleeves rolled up. He also had a file folder in his hands and a big smile on his face. He rang the doorbell and waved to where the hidden camera was. Typical cop. He probably figured out where it was hidden and knew she was watching.

Malcolm popped her head into Katy's bedroom. She was sitting on her bed looking scared. "Hey. It's Chase. We have to talk over the case. You're safe. Why don't you watch some TV or take that bath you were talking about earlier?"

"I think I'm just going to read a book for a bit, and then try to go to bed. You'll check in on me before you go to sleep?" Malcolm saw a scared woman's eyes flash before her. She needed to reassure her client all was well.

"I'll do that, but Katy, don't forget how much security is in this place. Even if the bad guy made it past me, which, by the way, no one ever has, help won't be too far off. Your uncle's security team has guarded antiques worth millions, and nobody has ever been able to steal them. They won't steal you. In fact, after I talk to Chase, I think we might have some idea who it is that is doing this."

"So you don't think they are after me after all?" Her voice held interest.

"Nope. Not you. However, maybe something you have here. Something your uncle might have given you. When you go to sleep tonight, I want you to think about anything you might have brought into this house in the last few years that was from your uncle, or anything he might have given you. A valuable antique or painting."

"Nothing I can think of right away, but I'll sleep on it." She offered up with a smile.

Just then, the doorbell rang again and Malcolm was gone down the steps and at the front door in a flash. "Hold your horses. I was talking to Katy. She's a bit freaked just now."

Chase handed her the file folder and took a step inside ignoring her cranky disposition. A natural way for her to fend off the sexual energy between them seemed wise at the time, but as he passed her body, an electric pulse quickened in that she felt the desire to react to.

"Come in why don't you." Her tone sounded sarcastic, but she could tell Chase knew she was only teasing.

"I got to thinking this morning. After you left." He offered up with confidence and that sexual tone in his voice. One that she would like saddled up next to her ear as he told her what devious sexual thing he was going to do next.

She took a step too close, looked up into his beautiful brown eyes and that sexy smile, and felt herself melt. "You still thinking about that kiss?"

He took a step back and cleared his throat. "This case. Your case. That file is a copy of what's on record for the break-in. I guess it's something to start with." She watched him look around wearily.

"The place is wired for site and sound. So yes, we are being watched and recorded. If there is something, you need to tell me that you don't want heard, then call my cell. It's secure, and nobody's on that." She smiled at him seductively and then motioned for him to sit on the couch.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Normally, the real Malcolm would not have thought of being so gracious. However, this new Malcolm that was slowly emerging, did, and that was an odd feeling in itself.

"Sure."

Malcolm watched Chase lean forward and set his elbows on his knees and his hands to his head. He raked his hands through his hair and made a tired groan. She quickly poured him a tea in a mason jar and refilled her own. She came back into the front room and sat down next to him. He straightened back up and took the tea with a smile that showed interest.

"Long day?" She offered up in suggestion as she turned to look at the man who was going to make her very happy once this case is over, that is if she can wait that long.

"I suppose. Probably, a busier one for you though." He stated more as a statement rather than a question.

Malcolm patted his leg and teased. "I've got some killer stamina."

A low throaty groan escaped his mouth, and she watched him close his eyes while shaking his head back and forth.

"What?" Her voice teased.

"You. You flirt and say these things, your kiss. It's all driving me crazy. I know you are the last type of woman I need to get messed up with yet you are all I can think about."

"Hmm. Good." She said it with such confidence she could see the confusion transform on his face. "Listen, Chase. I'll take it down a notch. I won't lie about the fact that I am sexually attracted to you, and once this case is secure; I have every intention on following through on my desires."

"Secure? What exactly do you mean by that word?" He looked up at her with a questioning tone to his voice.

"Best for you not to know." She aired her reply with confidence and then took a long drink of her tea, set it off to the side and picked up the file to start reading through it.

"That's what I'm talking about. Sexual attraction aside, we are on opposite sides of the law, am I correct?" He offered up as a question, although she was sure, he got the gest of who she was from his own intel.

She set the file in her lap and looked over at him. "Sometimes." She paused with a frown and decided to reword that answer. "I work with the law all the time, but they just don't know who they are really dealing with. You are the only one that knows pertinent information on me, and since we are being recorded, I suggest you not say a word. Otherwise, I have gone by more names than I care to, but yes, I have been on the right side of the law, and I have been on the wrong side. It's what I do. Take it or leave it." She felt a chill enter her own voice as a sense of self-preservation started to take over her. She was attracted to him. She could even see something more in a future but at this moment, she needed him to not say her real name.

Chase watched her pick the file up off the table and began to read the notes. His gut told him that she was so much more than what she is. She had a mysterious side that intrigued him, not to mention the sexual attraction yet he knew that something about her had to give. His brain told him to stay away, or he might find himself, in a shallow dirt grave or without a job. Neither of which he wanted. He took a long drink of his sweat tea and then stood up.

"Restroom?"

Malcolm looked up from the notes she had been scrutinizing with much seriousness. "Down the hall, on the right. Only place without windows or security. So you can piss without being recorded." She joked as she returned her focus on the file in front of her.

"Thanks. I didn't want me taking a piss to become a Utube sensation." He joked and started walking down the hall.

Malcolm smiled to herself. She could see he had a nice sense of humor. Not to mention a really nice ass in the worn jeans he was wearing. She had let her eyes follow his behind, even though her face looked to be buried in the notes. She pretended to read through, but her instincts were already spot on. The other cop, Officer Mitchell, was definitely being paid to plant the bugs and cover the evidence. However, she would deal with that later.

Right now, she wanted to catch Chase off camera and ask a few questions. She locked the front door and went to the bathroom door to knock, just as she heard the water running for him to wash his hands. "Chase. I need to ask you something."

He opened the door and smiled as his sexy voice teased, while his eyes trailed up and down her body like he was licking her with his tongue. "Yes?"

She pushed him back inside and locked the door. She put the toilet seat down and sat on the lid. "You do understand that I can't have anyone know my real name. I don't know how you found out, which, by the way, impresses me, but even my employer and mentor doesn't know my real name. So please, don't tell anyone."

He leaned against the sink countertop and looked down at her with sincerity. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Good. Hey. About Officer Mitchell. I have a few ideas who's behind all this. How well do you know him and would you put it past him to take a bribe. You know, money to cover-up and do some dirty work?"

"Officer Mitchell. Good ol' boy John Mitchell. No. Not him. He's a good guy."

Malcolm let that soak in. "Ok. But if, for some reason, he turns up bad, do you have any issue with him."

"If you can prove without a doubt that he is dirty, I have no problem. So what are we talking about here? What is really going on?"

"What is going on?" She stood up and took a step in front of him. She was standing one leg on either side of his relaxed composure. She saw the way he leaned against the counter top with his ankles crossed, and his body relaxed. However, there was one member of his body that was not relaxed and those worn jeans were not doing a good job of hiding it. "What is going on is much greater than a small county hoodlum, and it really isn't much to do with Katy. It has to do with her uncle and his shady dealings. It might even have to do with a man who mentored me and taught me everything I know. However, what is really going on here is this undeniable sexual attraction between us and what we are going to do about it."

With one fair swoop, Chase had his hand entangled into her hair, working the tight black bun out. He had his body pressed against hers and the towel bar to her upper back. He had one of her legs being pressed around beside him and his groin pressing into her crotch. He had no more self-control, and this was going to go all the way this time. There was nothing to stop him, no camera or recorders, no open public display of indecency and no more self-control on his part. He was done for. He knew when he packed a condom in his back pocket heading out for work tonight, that he had one thought that he needed to take care of and that was Malcolm.

Malcolm felt his fingers combing through her long black hair as he whispered next to her ear. He pulled back from his last passionate kiss with hesitation. "If you want me to stop at any point, tell me. I'm a strong man; I can take it if you change your mind."

"I'm not changing my mind." Then she began to unbutton his uniform shirt until she could work the shirt over his shoulders and off of him. Underneath his shirt laid a muscular chest, just as she had remembered. She let her bare hands slowly roam up and over his chest, over his shoulders and then to his back where she pulled him in closer for a kiss. This time their tongues entangled in a rush. Their lips felt meshed together. Their breathing was heated and rushed.

Then she did something almost primal; a low throaty growl started deep within her, and she could hear her own basic desire building, intensifying. There was no way she could stop now, even if he asked. She was not that strong of a woman, particularly when it came to Chase. He was the first man to cause her such an intense sexual desire that all she could think about was to fill her need.

She had his jeans unbuttoned and started to work them down as he had her black shirt off and his hand full of her breasts through her sheer black bra. His other hand had slipped inside her pants and was trying to wrap itself under her ass. They pulled back from kissing, and a small laugh escaped her throat.

"Damn cameras. Not my first choice for sex." She teased as she undid her own pants and got her shoes off. She kicked them off to the side just as Chase did the same with his boots and jeans. She stood there feeling sensually naked in only her black bra and black underwear.

"Not my first choice either but I'm not exactly partial to being videotaped. You?" He asked it as if she did this sort of thing all the time. She didn't. Sure there were quick-fix releases with men she barely knew or didn't know at all and those men, didn't know who she was or what she did for a living at the time. An air of mystic was how she liked it, but not now. Now, she felt she wanted to share her entire self with a man she barely knew but made her feel so alive emotionally, that this was a risk that she was willing to take.

Chase took a quick look around at the small bathroom. The countertop was small but could work, and the toilet seat was down from Malcolm sitting on it, might make a better place. He smiled as he dropped a large guest towel over the seat, dropped his underwear and when he turned, she had her arms wrapped around him and her lips pressed hard.

She let her hand wander from his back over his chest and then down to feel the weight of his hardened cock. She fingered him firmly and stroked his cock a few times to get the feel of him, to help her anticipate the size of him. Knowing it had actually been a while for her, she felt the excitement rush through her body.

The soft groan from him as she stroked him told her he was enjoying himself. The way his hand reached inside her bra and cupped her breast then rolled her perky nipple caused her to simply want to enjoy this, every second of this. She was in no rush if he wasn't. In fact, she might want to go more than once. However, a small nagging thing kept popping up in her head, the client. The client was out there with possible danger lurking, and she was hidden away in here, thoroughly enjoying herself, wondering how his hot wet mouth would feel on her nipple.

Just then, she stood up, released her bra, slid her panties down, straddled his lap as she watched his mouth lash out at her nipple, while one hand cupped her breast. He sucked on her with a desire of intensity. He lightly tugged on her nipple with his teeth and then covered his hand over her breast and did the same to her other. They weren't taking their time fooling around. The passion between them needed to be unleashed.

She let her hand stroke over his back, while her other hand reached between them and stroked his cock. She let her head fall back, her hair draping down her backside, enjoying the feel of his hot wet mouth. The feel of the warm wetness accumulating between her thighs had her not wanting to wait a second longer. She had a client to protect, a bad guy to find and this Chase Cooper needed to give her the fulfillment she needed until she could do this again. That last word put a huge smile on her face as she looked down at her intention.

She felt his hand stroke her bare ass for a second, and then travel up her back, intertwining them into her hair. He was quick to replace his hand from the tug he gently pulled on her hair back down to her ass, stroking her skin as his mouth went back to her breast.

She wanted so badly to reach out and grab his cock, suck on it, make him cum in her mouth. She wanted to sit him back on the toilet and just ride up and down his cock until she shook with an orgasm.

She continued stroking his firm hard cock that felt like it pulsed now. She could tell he was close. Too close. Maybe she needed to pull away. She pulled backwards from him and then sat up from his lap and stood before him.

Chase feared she changed her mind as he quickly reached out for her hand and grasped firmly on her wrist. In the palm of his large strong hand, her wrist felt small and fragile. However, she was about to show him her strength.

He felt her arm quickly retreat as she looked at him with a devilish smile. She did not speak; she just lowered herself down to a crouching position in between his legs. She grabbed his cock with one hand and then slid his hardened cock in her mouth for a second, looking up deep into his eyes.

She heard and felt his primal growl, and then his hands pulled her up. He was more than ready and so was she.

Chase sat backwards on the toilet seat as she repositioned herself in his lap. He wanted so badly to finish her off, to stick his fingers in her slick wet pussy and press hard against her clitoris until she came. Then he wanted to have her tightened pussy slide over his hardened cock, knowing it had been too long for him. That he would cum so fast and hard, because kissing her had him so worked up into a frenzy that he had never felt this sexual excitement so intense before. The need to complete his own desires took over by his needs to fulfill hers first.

As he had watched her maneuver herself a second ago, he took a long look at the women whom he found himself so infatuated with from first sight. He watched her sexy naked body step forward; her legs straddle him and then her hands set upon his shoulders. He listened to her sexy low voice as she asked him if he was ready for this.

Now he watched the intensity in her eyes as her long black hair fell forward over her breasts, and her mouth dropped to his for a second. She tilted her head back, thrust her breasts in his face as she slowly lowered over his hardened cock.

That moment of intense sexual gratification, having their expectations fulfilled, caused them to both moan out in pleasure.

He could not take his eyes off her. She was so poetic in the way her body moved. He had brushed her hair gently behind her, exposing her pert nipples and enjoying the way they bounced as she rode up and down his cock. He grabbed her naked ass with both hands and guided her with a gentle encouragement. He felt his own strong desire to cum hard yet held it at bay as he watched her, wanting this to last forever. The way she moved was so incredibly sexy. The way she moaned soft moans filled him with pleasure.

Without notice, she lowered hard down on him and shuttered with an orgasm, causing his own to follow as he let out a low growl of contentment. He pulled her slick body against him, shoving his face into her neck as he finished out. He felt her arms reach around and hold him tightly as she kept her body pressed hard against his.

The only thing said between the two of them was in the form of extreme heavy breathing, as Chase began to kiss her neck up to under her ear as she moaned, he told her something he truly felt. "You are amazing. Truly beautiful. That was incredible."

A low soft inaudible sound left her lips while pressed against the side of his head. He felt her fingers wrap up in his hair and stroke it for a second. Then she said something that struck him as she was faltering with her own feelings. "I love your hair. I love the way it curls up on the ends, and it's so thick. I love the way the sun must have naturally highlighted your hair. Hmm. And..." Then she was quiet.

He could sense perhaps that she was not able to share her emotions as easily or as well as him. He could only imagine what created that tough outer shell she exists in. So he did what felt right. He put his hands on her face and pulled her in for a sensual slow kiss. She returned it with heat and fire burning, and that let him know that she felt so much more than liking his hair. She felt intrigued, taken, maybe even dare he say sexually satisfied and smitten with him. He could only assume with the way her orgasm shook her so violently.

When he pulled away from the kiss that she was intensifying; he rested his sweaty forehead against hers and began to breathe hard. His heart pinched. His chest tightened. He wondered if this was love or extreme lust on his part. Either way he had a need to want to protect her and be her hero.

As their foreheads pressed together in a sweaty mess, he breathed her real name into her ear. "Heather." She took a second to let that soak in and still hated the sound of her name. It held deep-rooted memories of a drunken mother, physical abuse and many foster-care homes after that. "Stop." Her voice held tears.

"What? What did I say? Do?" He held her face in his hands and began to gently kiss her lips. When he pulled away, he looked deep into her blue eyes.

"My name. Don't ever say my name again. It's too painful." She took a deep breath and held it in.

"Ok. Ok. I won't." His voice was soft and caring. "Tell me. Tell me the name you want me to call you. Tell me the one name you would name yourself if you could."

Could she tell him the one name she had used repeatedly long ago and now after meeting him held so much emotion and delight for her? "Jenna." She could not say the last name. That was too much too soon and something so weird even she would see it as cynical.

"Jenna it is then." He kissed her softly one more time on the lips and pulled back with a smile.

"But you need to still call me Malcolm in front of anyone else and never say my real name. Please." Her voice pleaded in a rush as her hard-shell exterior was returning. The fleeting moment of a sensual and gratified woman was passing. She could not afford to show this side of her that was constantly wanting to emerge around this man. With him, she felt safe and that was dangerous enough in itself.

"I won't. Scouts honor." He held up the symbol for scouts honor, and she lightly punched his naked chest.

"You were never a scout." Her soft laughter filled his ears.

"I wasn't. However, there were times I wanted to be. My parents worked hard and did not have the time or energy for me. That and I probably would have not made a good boy scout." He teased.

"My. My." She drawled out with a slow sensual tease. "What are you saying there Chase Cooper? That you have a bad streak in you as well." She laughed and watched a sincere look cross his face, so to protect herself; she stood up and took a step back. He sat up from the toilet, took a step forward, and began to pick up his clothes off the floor.

"Chase?" She seemed confused. Then she watched him look at her with serious intent.

"Leave. Leave all this. This crazy career. This business you do. Leave it all. Leave it behind and start a new life." He felt shocked at his own suggestion as he made it to her, yet he knew it held the true words he felt.

She looked at him confused and stripped naked. Not in the physical sense. Being naked with Chase felt more natural than anything. It was the emotional sense she felt naked when he was asking of her what she was sure he was asking. "Chase?"

"Leave it all behind. Give the job to someone else. Be with me. Stop all this craziness and be a normal woman. Leave it and love me."

She was not sure exactly what he was asking, but he was making some kind of romantic notion that her heart was not ready for, so she did what she had always had done in a situation like this and pushed anyone away hard and fast that tried to get close to her emotionally.

"I am normal!" She practically shouted at him, and then she grabbed her weapons, left her clothes and stormed out of the bathroom butt naked all the way up to the extra room she was staying in. She quickly dressed in clothes and strapped on her weapons. She could only hope he was gone by the time she made it out of there.
Chapter Seven

He was gone. The file still lay on the coffee table. Katy was fast asleep and security had buzzed her computer. "Nice ass! Everything ok?"

She looked into the camera in the front room. "Everything's fine. Just had a need to fill." She left it at that, because if she was a man, they would laugh it off and agree. If she was a 'normal' woman, then they would wonder. Since it was her, they will leave her alone, and she knew it would blow over in no time. If they knew her well enough, which they should, they would not be fucking with her on this one. She would make sure of it.

The couch and coffee table did not make a great bed. The second night of only a few hours of sleep did not make a great recovery for the pinch she felt in her heart. The entire bathroom scene replayed in her mind all night, not letting her sleep and only begging herself to reconsider. There was something there between her and Chase, but a romantic love notion was not in her plan after this. She had to rein her emotions in quickly, because around Chase, they were out of control.

Today was Monday and she was still dressed in her clothes she put on last night while Chase left in a hurry. She was wearing a black tank top, and black cargo shorts, which were loaded with weapons. She had on running shoes and her just in case supplies. If anyone messed with her or Katy today, she was ready.

She would follow Katy to work today, watch from the parking lot leaving a GPS transmitter on her with a piece of jewelry she was making her wear. She gathered up her laptop, notes and file from Chase. She poured a large black coffee and followed Katy out to her car.

Katy was super cheerful in the morning. Malcolm was not.

Not but half hour into the watch from the parking lot at Katy's work, Malcolm was having a hard time fighting the sleep. She decided to get out of her car and stretch and when she did, Chase drove by in a beat-up old red pickup truck. He stopped and rolled the window down. A big grin flashed across his face.

"I had a feeling you'd be here. Need a potty break? I brought you some breakfast and another file to look over." He was cheerful and if she was not mistaken, he was acting as if they never had an issue after they had sex. The best sex she had in long time, and if she had more time and a better place, she would have had terrific sex several times. All of that thinking brought a huge seductive smile to her face.

"Sure. I'll be back out of Katy's work in a bit." Malcolm went inside to pee, and as she walked out of the bathroom, Katy grabbed her by the hand to walk her around and meet everyone. Everyone was thankful she was watching Katy and had his or her own interpretation to put in about it all. Malcolm could not escape fast enough as all the frivolous intel everyone was offering was so far off base from what was really going on. As soon as she made it out to her car, Chase was leaning against it, looking like a slice of heaven and everything that ended harshly last night, slowly melted away with his sexy smile.

"Hey." His eyes traveled over her body as his smile spread on his face, and his eyes lit up.

"Hey back." She smiled as she took the sexual nature of his expression and warmed to the feeling of it. It was a new and exhilarating feeling to have a man make her body and mind react this way around him.

"That was a long pee." He teased.

"That was Katy introducing me to everyone at her work." She laughed at the memory. "Funny, not a single person thought it was weird that my name was Malcolm."

"People are basically very polite around these parts. We've had our fair share of bizarreness or people with strange names. Besides, you look like a force to be reckoned with. Even if they thought the name was weird, they wouldn't say it to your face." He let his hand reach out and brush a stray hair away from her face that was blowing in the wind. Just that touch of his hand to her face confirmed it for him. He was too far in deep with her to turn away now.

"Fair enough." She joked but her body stance went tense, and she took a step back. "Care to join me in the car?" She offered and hoped he accepted but also knew it would do things to her brain and not allow her to focus.

He handed her the file that was in his hand with a brown deli bag. "This you will find interesting." He walked around to the passenger side of her black Mustang and waited for her to unlock the door. He watched her quickly glance inside the folder and then lean over the top of her car.

"Sounds like you've been busy. You do all this investigation work yourself or do you have a 'somebody' that does it for you?" She wondered if he had his own mysterious network.

"Both." He looked at her as if she was a sweet piece of pie he wanted to pour on the cream and eat. That look made her realize that this sexual hunger thing between them was far over. The sooner the case was solved, the quicker she could have her seven-course meal that consisted of sexually devouring Chase.

The word slid out of her mouth with a sexual note to it as her mind was racing with mixed thoughts, sexual thoughts. "Hm..."

She opened her car door with the palm of her hand, hit a unlock button inside the door and sat down inside the car. Chase opened the passenger door, slid his large frame body in the seat next to her and held up his small paper deli style bag.

"Two breakfast sandwiches and vitamin waters. I'll let you pick first."

She had a protein bar and large water earlier but just knowing he was thinking of her, trying to take care of her; it was like some switch went on in her head and told her that it was nice. For a change, someone was taking care of her, thinking of her. This was something she was not used to even though Dale had done his fair share of making sure she was adequately prepared with necessities; it never felt quite like this. She mentally shook her head clear of thoughts of Dale for now.

The conversation was light. Chase sat quietly looking ahead at Katy's office building while they sat in the parking lot and Malcolm just took a bite from her breakfast sandwich then set it off to the side. She was now engrossed in the details that Chase's somebody had pulled together, because most of the information in the file could only be found by a hacker.

His thick timber voice caught her off guard as she raked through the details. "Weird huh?"

She stopped reading and looked up at him. "Not really. Not in my world. Say, it says here that an antique box was shipped to Katy back in January. It was shipped from Egypt, and the sender is untraceable. Furthermore, the cell phone calls between your Officer Mitchell and this familiar number have me wondering."

"What's that?" His interest piqued with her outward thinking.

"If the person I think is behind this, this isn't his style at all. He would have handled this with finesse. He would have found whatever it was he was looking for and not left a trace behind, so why is he hiring dimwit, no offense, to make the place look broken into, put up some bargain store monitoring devices and make it look like hoodlums?" Her speaking out her thoughts to Chase was a nice change to her internal conversations she would usually have during a case such as this. Have a partner was a nice feeling she could get used to.

"Maybe they don't know what they are looking for?" He offered up what would seem like a logical explanation.

"We always know what we are looking for." She practically scoffed at the idea, and then realized that her level of game playing in this arena most likely far surpassed what he was exposed to.

"Always?" Chase's voice held a note of question yet his voice had a sexual teasing note to it. If Malcolm did not know any better, he was mixing two very serious questions into one. Does she always know what she wants sexually and does she know what she is looking for in life? Either way, the question pinged a note in her head to think long and hard about what was really transpiring between them.

It was not until recently that she doubted her choice of careers and yearned for something more. Something not so dangerous or deceiving and yet at the same time she was craving for a man in her life, a strong one, to take care of her. That in itself was so unlike her, she had yet to get comfortable to the idea. However, here she was in her car, sitting next to a man who fulfilled her so completely, in a bathroom nonetheless. A man who made her laugh, cry and made gestures of tender kindness that she was so ready to do what he asked last night. Leave. Leave all of this behind to someone else and just find a quiet place and new name to settle down with Chase. However, would he want to leave all this behind? Because that was the only way, this could work for them. She had a past that could easily catch up with her.

"I can hear you thinking." His sexy voice teased her as he turned and gave her his full-on attention in her direction.

"You can, can you? And what am I thinking about?" She turned and looked towards him. If her steering wheel and console weren't in the way, she had thoughts of crawling into his lap and making out like a teenager. However, that isn't possible at the moment, because even though her windows were darkened with tint, there was a busy street out in front of them between the office building and her Mustang.

"I can only imagine. Your mind is working out all the information you just absorbed and yet a small part of me hopes you might be considering my offer last night." Then he did something to make her really think over his offer. He leaned into her and began kissing her passionately. It started with simple lips touching and mouths slowly opening, and then it quickly progressed to the two of them grabbing at each other and pulling in closer. Their mouths opened with anticipation, and their tongues began to slowly dance around. The soft moans from both of them filled the Mustang and then the text tone from Chase's phone caught them off guard and caused them to pull away to catch their breaths.

He held up his phone and apologized. "Sorry. Emergency text." He pulled his cellphone out of his tan cargo shorts and quickly glanced at it. He pressed his fingers to his forehead and frowned.

"Bad news?" Malcolm read a vibe off Chase that could only be read as concerned.

"No. Just some information I was hoping was incorrect." His voice held hesitation as if he did not want to tell her what was going on.

"Like what?" She questioned as she hoped he would not hold anything back.

"Like your finger prints on a very old cold case of a weapon from a crime scene, nine years ago." There it was. The bad news he did not want to share with her to ruin the moment, but he had to know what kind of person he was falling madly in love with. How she reacted could put a stop to all of this. She could decide she preferred her Chase Cooper ten feet under dirt instead of slick naked skin rubbing together as he had envisioned earlier.

Malcolm blinked and twitched her head, causing her neck to pop, trying to shake the cobwebs of what she just heard. Two seconds ago, they were kissing passionately and now; he was dredging up her past. She went stone silent. Her alter ego protectiveness wanted to kick into gear. She felt a pain as her mind thought of what she had to do to protect herself from Chase, and it did not look good for him.

Chase tried to take a read on her cold silent look that took over her body and chilled the previously passionate air in the car, then again; he did a bang-up job of making that happen. "Look. Nobody knows. Just me. I got a set of your fingerprints off the Mason jar last night and decided to run them. I needed to know. I needed to know if you were a cold-blooded killer, and I was getting myself into something so deep that only a backhoe or shovel could dig me out of the grave you might put me in." He knew as soon as he said it; all the progress they made a few moments ago was lost.

Malcolm punched her steering wheel and gritted her teeth. In a low mean voice, she demanded only one thing from Chase. "Get out!"

"No!" He turned and looked out to the busy street. His heart ached for the woman he so quickly fell in love with. He knew if she stopped now, he could forgive her. She was young and impressionable when Dale Smith got her involved. However, now, she was a grown woman who made him crazy with sexual desire and after last night, he wanted to save her from a life that would only leave her dead... eventually.

"No?" She turned to him with only a glare in her eye.

"No? God!" He shouted out the question and then cussed out his plea. "Don't you know this is killing me? Knowing this about you, after what we shared last night." His concerned voice tried to reach her soul which he was sure had retreated from his desire to save her.

"We shared great sex. Nothing more. Don't read into it." She turned back to face forward and crossed her arms over her chest. Her tone cold. Her motions hard. Her entire vibe told him that she wanted him away from her.

"God, Malcolm. Nobody knows. I'm trying to tell you that if I can find out, others will too. It's only a matter of time. What if you get into a situation where the FBI becomes involved? What then? They will inevitably find out what I have. Arrest you and what then?" He turned his ringer off and put his cellphone back into his cargo short's pocket. He raked his hands through his hair and took a long drink of his bottled vitamin water, finishing it off. He put the cap back on and shoved it into the brown deli bag. Then he turned to her with a tone in his voice and said something that resounded in Malcolm's ears.

"I think I've fallen in love with you. If you leave this client now, I can only promise you that I will take care of you and provide you with a different life. You can have a clean slate and nobody but you and I will know. I've got connections that can make this happen. Make it so you can be whoever you would want a second chance at life being. This kind of offer doesn't come along often, not with the type of connections I have. I can really make it an easy clean break for you." He spoke it as he felt it but knew the complications to all of this would take some working out. What he was promising would not come easy, and it might come at a price of his career, but for some reason, it felt like a chance worth taking.

She remained calm and quiet as she let that sink in, but she was not that stupid. "Who sent you that text? Who else knows who I am, my real name, where my actual house is? I assume you know that as well?" Her voice was stoic, but her heart was aching. What he offered was appealing and something she could easily do with a man like Chase. However, here she sat feeling vulnerable and unsafe because information about her had finally been found out. The one thing she dreaded, the one thing Dale warned her about. However, this might be her one chance out of this life she never really wanted in the first place, at least not when Dale found her. Then it quickly became the only life she knew how to live without letting someone in to hurt her, mentally.

"He's a buddy of mine from back home. We grew up together. We've had each other's backs more times than I could count. He's in hired intelligence such as you, but he doesn't go around killing people for money." His last comment came out snide.

"Well, if you knew what I knew about these people, you would agree. They deserve what they got. I don't kill innocent people; I offer to protect those. That's the few times I usually work on the right side of the law. Otherwise, these clients have people they are willing to pay really big money to take care of the sewer rats." She let out a huge puff of air. Not believing her own words as they echoed out into her car.

Chase was the first man to make her think about her choices in life and how they were all wrong that a small voice in her said that if she did not get out now, she would regret her life even more. However, how did she tell the man that made her feel things, possibly love, that her whole life was one big screw up, and she had no idea on how to get on the right path of life?

The next thing she felt were her own tears beginning to form in her eyes as she closed them and turned her head away from the direction in which Chase was sitting.

It was his voice. His deep thick rich caring voice that caused her tears to fall. "Look Jenna. Can I call you that? Because after what you said last night made me realize that I've fallen hard for a woman, a woman who wants to call herself Jenna. A woman who doesn't have to go by the name of Malcolm anymore. She has that choice, that right. I can see there is a tender side, far beneath that rough and tough yet extremely sexy interior." He laughed lightly to himself at his teasing. He could not see her face; therefore, he could not see the tears falling. She made sure she did not voice a whimper. She just listened to his voice.

"Jenna? I think you know that what use to be doesn't have to be any more. If you choose it, whether it's with me or on your own, the time has come to step away from all this. Please. I'll never forgive myself if something happened to you. All this is crazy. You risking your life for some pampered niece because her Uncle made a bad choice. If it's something at her house that somebody wants, we'll find it. We'll relocate Katy to a police safe house and leave the item on the porch. Watch the house from afar and then just let everyone go back to the way it was. Sever your ties with the Sanders Corporation and if you want, be with me."

She turned at the last sentence, as his voice seemed to hold so much emotion that she could not hold it in any more. Years of self-doubt and self-destruction came rolling back to her memory. Every kill and the dreaded sickness that followed. The drinking that left her unavailable for days. The drugs to help her sleep at night, when her conscience crept in. The men she used for casual sex to help her feel anything, something other than the horror at what she had done. Then when she could take it no more, she found a way to do something good for somebody to make her feel better, and it wasn't long before a dreaded contract for hire call would come in, and she felt ready to handle it.

She decided on one word. One word that would change her life and make her feel again. "Yes." Then she collapsed against him crying. This time not holding back the sounds of her tears. This time letting him stroke her hair and tell her that it was all going to be all right. That they could handle this together. That she could have a fresh start.

In the next moment, Chase said something so sweet she stopped crying and gave him a sensual kiss, tasting the salt from her tears on her lips. "Jenna. Jenna Miles. I think that is a perfect last name. Because you've come a long way baby, and you don't have to run anymore."

Jenna Miles had a sweet sentimental tone to it, yet Malcolm liked the sound of Jenna Cooper. She knew things didn't always go as smooth in transition as she would like. She let herself lean against Chase, let him stroke her hair and talk to her. He went on about how he took off the week from work to help her concentrate on closing this. How his friend could help with a new identity and create a past that no one could question. She felt herself mentally drift off while feeling safe and secure in the arms of Chase.
Chapter Eight

"Jenna? Jenna wake up." It took Malcolm a minute to realize that Chase was trying to wake her by calling her by her new name.

"What? What is it?" She leaned up straight and cracked her neck from the position she had fallen asleep in, over the console and against Chase's arm. She stretched her arms out straight and looked up just in time to see Katy coming out of the building with some coworkers. Just then, her client only cellphone rang; it was Katy.

"Hey Malcolm. We are all going to lunch. Care to join us?" Her peppy voice and happy-go-lucky demeanor made Malcolm smile.

"No. But I'll follow. I've got Chase here helping me."

"Ok. We are going over to Applebee's. You can order take out there and eat in the car, but you are more than welcome to come inside with us." Katy's happy demeanor told Malcolm that she felt safe with not only herself to watch over her but her coworkers as well.

Malcolm had already met the 'us' and would rather have her teeth drilled. She wasn't a social people person; she was an evaluate people or eliminate people person. However, if Chase had his way, she would eventually become a social people person, which in retrospect may not be that bad as all as long as it was mostly just him.

Malcolm decided to keep the fake sincerity in play as she replied to Katy. "Thanks. I've got some detail work to finish up on in my car. Say Katy. What's the chance you can take some vacation the rest of this week, maybe go visit a relative or someone you can stay with? I've got plans to draw out the bad guy, and I would rather you be somewhere else." Malcolm had a plan formulating in her head and the sooner she got this resolved the sooner she could live her life as Jenna Miles.

"I have some time off available. I'll talk with my boss after lunch. I've got a friend from college that I can go stay with for a while or a different aunt from my mother's side." She spoke cheerily through the phone while the conversation of coworkers bubbled around her.

Malcolm hung up with just a few more words between the two of them. She warned Katy not to tell anyone where she was going, perhaps make up a story about a distant relative who died, and she has a funeral to attend.

Chase looked at her with a sensual smile and said something he needed answered. "You've thought about it then. You're considering it?"

"Yes." Then she leaned over and kissed him quickly. "Now, Applebee's for lunch. Do you want to drive separate or leave you truck here?"

"Truck here." Then a big huge grin crossed his face as the sound of her Mustang starting up raced through his veins.

Malcolm started out of the parking lot, following Katy's work bunch and caught the grin on Chase's face. "Why such a big smile?"

"I like your car." His words almost sang out the sentence.

"That's an awfully big smile for just a nice car." She teased, knowing full well it did the same thing to her.

He laughed and rubbed his sweaty palms against his shorts. "Can I drive it? When, you know, this is all taken care of."

Her laughter escaped so easily around him. "I'll let you drive it on the way back from the restaurant."

"It will let me do that? It doesn't have some kind of fancy safety gadget that it only lets you drive it? You know, like knight rider style?" He teased in reference to an old TV show about a car that drove itself.

She laughed harder this time and shook her head. "It does, but I can override it. Hey Chase?"

"Yeah!" His excited boyish answer made her feel so alive.

"I've got a nice sixty eight Camaro, red, V-8 back home, in storage. I'll let you drive her too as well."

He let out a low whistle. Then she let the thought of him driving her cars sink in deep. This was the first person she had opened herself up to, other than Dale, and even with him, she was very reserved about what she said or did around him. With Chase, it came so easy, so natural, that she felt like it was a long time overdue to be with a man like him.

Malcolm kept her lunch with Chase inside her car light. They spent most of their time going over a plan to draw out whoever it was that wanted something at Katy's. The first thing they wanted was whatever was shipped to Katy's uncle, at Katy's address from Egypt. Then Chase would let Officer Mitchell know what they found, leave it in plain sight and then tell everyone they were all heading out of town for the week. This way, Officer Mitchell would inevitably come back to get what it was he was looking for it and take it to Dale. If that was who was really behind all this.

It still didn't make sense to Malcolm for Dale to work this way. She could be wrong about who was really behind this and keeping that information to herself was the safest thing she could do for Chase. She knew that cellphone number by heart, and it led to only one person. Officer Mitchell had been calling Dale Smith, aka Malcolm One and neither Chase nor Officer Mitchell had any idea of who was behind all this. Malcolm wanted to leave it that way. It was too dangerous otherwise.

With Katy and Chase back at her place looking in her basement for the antique box she received and stored away until her next visit to her uncle, Malcolm made a few calls. She called Uncle Sanders first and informed him of Katy's desire to go visit her other aunt at her beach house. That he needed to send a detail there to watch her. She mentioned an idea to draw out the covert and take care of him as planned. There was nothing more of details given, because that was not how Malcolm worked. If too many people knew her plan, there was room for failure and this time, she did not want to fail. The only thing she desired was a successful mission and Chase. That was totally clear now.

It was not long before Chase found the antique box. The two of them examined it thoroughly while Katy packed for her aunt's beach house. Chase did not see why the box was so special, but Malcolm did. There was a special inscription on the inside lid of the box with coordinates and instructions. It was something that she was now positive Dale was behind, as this was the way that he taught her to work when you need to relay information to someone. Someone as devious as Uncle Sanders, possibly, or perhaps, Dale knew she would be on this job. Perhaps this information was meant for her. She took notes when Chase was not looking and decided to keep this information to herself.

You would have thought by the way Katy was humming and singing; she was going on a real vacation and to her, it might as well be. She only knew that this box was what the hoodlums were looking for. Chase could get her to move along quickly and have her out to his truck faster than it took for Malcolm to take care of a few things here.

Once Katy was gone, Malcolm had the security feed rerouted with continuous feed of an empty house, antique box on the front porch in plain sight and a snitch in Officer Mitchell's ear of what was there. The plan was going well.

Malcolm and Chase drove her Mustang and hid it off property. They took a borrowed empty utilities van and parked it on an empty adjacent property that offered trees and less visibility, and they waited.

The first five hours they watched and nothing happened. They talked about Malcolm's place back home and how it might not be safe there after she severs her ties with the contract industry. As soon as she said it with such confidence and certainty, Chase let loose. He dropped his lips to hers, gathered her in her arms, had her undressed and naked, about to straddle his lap while he sat bare naked on a metal stool in the back of the utility van.

"Chase." Her breath was short and heavy.

"Yes?"

"When this is over, can we have sex in a bed like normal people?" Then she let her tight slickness envelope his throbbing cock, and he couldn't answer as emotions welled up in his throat. Only the sounds of their moans, and the rocking of the utility van, could be heard by the countryside natural surroundings.

Each slow ride up and down his cock had her feeling with an emotion of rightness, security and the desire for love she never knew she had. Each moan that filled her ears drove her on. The feel of his bare hands rubbing her naked back, the feel of his breath along her neck, over her nipples and then the way his hot warm mouth sucked her nipple had her so close, so very close she wanted to let it all loose. Let her orgasm take over and her mind go blank.

Just then, Chase came and held her tight against his body as her own orgasm shuttered through her and caused her to collapse against him, his face buried in her breasts, her head back and her face looking up, thankful for a new chance at life. One that she decided she actually wanted, one that Chase felt she deserved and one she was now emotionally ready for.

It was not long before they were dressed and holding each other. Chase was behind her with his arms wrapped around, and Malcolm was looking through her binoculars at the property as they were hidden by bushes outside. Nothing moved, and everything looked normal.

"I'll take the first watch. You get some rest." His offer was so enticing seeing as she really had not had much sleep lately. Just the nap earlier in her car and that was an emotional nap, not the deep sleep her body craved after an orgasm. Somehow, Chase made her feel safe enough that she took him up on that offer. She unrolled the sleeping bag out in the back of the van and fell fast asleep with her gun ready under her pillow.
Chapter Nine

"Mr. Sanders please." Malcolm waited for Mr. Sanders to be summoned to his phone.

"Malcolm. I presume you have good news." His voice had a serious tone to it.

"Yes sir. The client is secure. The situation has been taken care of, and all evidence is removed." Malcolm, on the other hand, was lying to her core but kept her professional voice and demeanor to assist Mr. Sanders in believing that her word was the truth. Even though, it was far from it, because at this point it was not about the money. Those details were handled off the phone. It was about moving forward and not having Sanders putting a contract on her for lying.

The truth was; Officer Mitchell was being held against his will at a safe house. The police were grilling him about his activities. He would break. He just said he knew that the valuable box was delivered there and wanted to sell it on Ebay, which Chase and Malcolm knew was far from the truth. There was one more man behind this, and she had to draw him out.

Chase did not like the idea of her leaving, but he knew he could not stop her. She made one demand. She asked if they could release Officer Mitchell on theft charges, but that it not be leaked to the media. Katy was due back in a few days, and Malcolm did not make her out to be someone to put two and two together. The security team was at Katy's place removing all detail as they sat in Chase's barn, leaning against his Camaro in the works, talking about what was to happen next.

Malcolm felt Chase's emotion. She knew he felt frustrated because if he let her leave; she might never come back. However, that was furthest from the truth. The truth was; she had fallen in love with him; she wanted this new life, and she just needed to tie up the few loose ends.

"Chase. I need you to listen to me. Trust me. Trust that I will come back as soon as I have this situation resolved. Trust me like I've begun trusting you."

She watched him push off his car and begin to pace back and forth in the old barn. She watched his boots kick up dust on the old barn floor as he paced. She wanted to reach out to him but watching him think, think of what to say to keep her there was almost too surreal. She never thought a man would fight to keep her, and a part of her wanted Chase to do just that. However, the sensible side of her knew that she had to deal with Dale before all of this could be over, before they could start their new life.

"Chase?" Her voice held question yet her body was turned on by just watching him pace. She watched him stop and turn. Then his voice cracked as he spoke up. It cracked with so much emotion that Malcolm felt the pull on her heartstrings.

"It kills me to say this. What if you don't come back? What if the person that is really after this box decides to kill you? What if you change your mind and decide that you can't live a life with me after all? What if..."

She had to stop him. He was making himself crazy with what ifs that could not be stopped if they did happen, yet she knew she would be back. She knew, deep down, in her heart that nothing was going to stop her from making this all happen.

She reached out and grabbed his hand. She pulled him towards her and forced his body to go up against her's. She had her butt to the hood of the car, and he stood with one leg on either side of her legs. She wrapped her hands up to the back of his neck and played with the curls of his hair, as she looked deep into his brown eyes and whispered. "I'll be back. Safe and sound. I want this Chase. I really do. I've never had a man make me feel the way you do. This is the right thing for me to do, and you feel right."

Then she pulled him in close for a soft sensual kiss that immediately turned primal. Chase had emotion that was buried. She could feel it. He had admitted his love for her long before any 'normal' man might, yet she was sure that he had felt urgency to the situation, and her's was right there along with him.

She felt the strength of his hands as he had one entangled in her long black hair and one holding her lower back, keeping her from falling backwards onto the hood of his old Camaro. The taste of his mouth felt warm and welcoming as his tongue entered her mouth, causing a sexual desire to build. She felt the warmth between her legs and heard her own soft moans of encouragement echo throughout the barn. It was a sound to her ears that was becoming familiar every time her and Chase made love. It was a sound of an open heart willing to let this man in emotionally.

Chase felt a strong urge to fulfill Jenna and convince her to come back quick. He already convinced himself she was no longer Malcolm, the contract killer or situation handler. She was Jenna. The woman who's sexy smile, and lost soul was now being given to him to take care of. The woman who's incredibly sexy body reacted to his in such a way he had never felt before.

Chase began to slip her black shirt off over her head and saw the way her nipples reacted through her black bra. He brushed a finger softly over her perky nipple and heard a light laughter exit her lips. He looked down into her eyes and saw the sexual heat build in them. He watched her lick her lips and then softly bite down on her bottom lip. He let his lips softly kiss that bitten lip then slowly let his mouth kiss over to her ear, beneath her ear to the soft sensitive skin than down her neck, and to her breast as he pushed aside her black satin bra to expose just one breast, one perky nipple.

Her sensual moans led him on. This time he was going to fulfill her before he even entered her. This time he wanted to make her cum just from his mouth and fingers. He wanted her moans to escalate into an orgasm that would shatter her soul, then, just then did he want to enter her tight wet pussy with a feeling of utter accomplishment.

She felt the warmth of his mouth over her nipple and reached to undo the clasp of her bra. She assisted her bra in coming off as the heat of his mouth left her breast. She wanted to slam his mouth right back there or even better, between her slick wet legs that were dripping for his attention. She watched him slip his tee shirt off over his head and the way his muscles were pumped and tight she could tell his body was reacting. He undid his jeans and kicked them off along with his boots, and stood there in only his briefs that held the visible signs of a hard cock pulsating to be in her. She reached out and gently touched the material and felt his cock twitch beneath the material. She felt her tongue lick her lips in anticipation and watched as his skillful hands undid her pants and began to strip them off of her, leaving her standing against the hood of his Camaro, physically naked yet emotionally ready for what was about to happen.

She felt his strong arms lift her back up onto the hood, laying her back against a mechanic's blanket that had been there all along. She felt the feel of his hands as they wandered over her body. She looked into his eyes and caught them roaming all over as well. As if he was taking in every sexual detail of her body to keep as a memory until they would be together again. This made her heart swell, knowing that he was going to miss her and knowing that he wanted to visually eat her alive.

His hands slowly wandered between her bent knees, and he slowly slid them down between, opening her slowly. Chase could smell the sexual arousal he had started in her, and he felt the desire to fulfill her even more. His lips lowered to the inside of her knee and kissed her there. Then he moved up an inch and kissed the soft skin inside her thigh. He heard a moan and looked up to see a totally relaxed woman, breathing deep in and out, watching her chest rise and fall, and then he watched her own hands wander up to her breasts and cusp them as she looked upwards and slowly closed her eyes with a moan.

His lips continued down to her bald wet pussy. He kissed the bare-naked skin of her lips and then a quick lash out of his tongue to her pussy as his fingers parted her lips. He licked at the moisture that she had accumulated already. He felt the heat of her with intensity. He let his fingers stroke her for a second and then parted her lips again to lick at her wetness. Every moan, every little squirm told him she was enjoying herself.

He let a hand slide under her ass and held her close to his mouth, as if to draw her in closer to him as he set his full mouth on her slick wet pussy, sucking and then licking. He lashed his tongue out at her sensitive clitoris, feeling the engorgement of it then sucking on it. He put his whole mouth on it and sucked hard as two of his fingers slide into her slick wet pussy. He gently pushed his fingers in and out slowly, holding her up to his mouth, licking at her clitoris and looking up at her for quick seconds. He watched her play with her own breasts, rolling her nipples between her fingers, cupping her breasts and rubbing them, letting her head relax to the side with a very content smile across her face. He felt her raise her own hips up to his mouth as he lowered down to suck on her once again.

The sounds of her moans grew louder in the barn. The smell of her sex drove Chase on. He could tell she was fighting it, so close to an orgasm. He heard her soft pleas of him to enter her, and he only replied with 'not yet'. Then he turned his fingers so that the palm of his hand now applied pressure to her clitoris, his fingers brushed her g-spot as they vibrated in and out, and he let his mouth drop over her nipple, rubbing her hard and fast with the intent of just this.

"Fuck!" She screamed out inside his barn as her body shook with a trembling shockwave through her body. He felt her legs close tight around his hand, and her hands pulled at him to keep him close. Her body rolled towards him, and her mouth left open in amazement after screaming out her orgasm. Her breathing was heavy and labored as her hands still held him close, and then he pulled back enough to see the glorious expression on her face. He felt successful, so he brought his lips down to hers and softly kissed hers.

When she pulled away, his name escaped her lips. "Chase." Her breath spoke softly as she was still trying to regain her composure. Then she said next what he could only hope for. "Fuck me. Fuck me on the hood of your car. God, I want your cock in me."

She felt her own legs slowly reopen and watched him as he took off the last piece of clothing keeping him from entering her. She watched him pull her close as he wrapped her legs around behind him, and she felt her ass on the edge of the car hood. She looked up at him and could see the contentment he already felt just from making her cum so damn hard she shook that she wanted that same feeling as he came inside of her. She felt his hands under her ass as he lifted her a bit and then guided his cock inside her with her recent slickness making it easy to slide slowly in. Her tightness made him growl with pleasure as he pushed all the way in.

The first few times he slid his cock in and out held a tremendous expression on his face of enjoyment. The strength of his muscles being put to work was evident in the way the sweat was glistening off his muscular chest, the way his muscles seemed pumped and the way his breathing was labored with excitement.

He felt the first sweet victory when he entered her tight slick pussy. He felt the way her body twitched at his size, and as he slowly pumped in and out, covering his cock in her slickness, he watched her content smile creep across her face again. He watched her hands cover her breasts and toy with her own nipples, and her mouth softly speak words of encouragement. "Fuck me Chase. Fuck me hard. I want you to cum in me."

He felt his motions get faster, and his hips push harder. He felt his own desire rise quickly in him as he heard her voice echo out. "Fuck me Chase." He took one last look down at her before the surge took over, and his body tensed; he arched his back pushing hard into her, and his own head looked up to the ceiling of the barn as his mouth growled out a noise that was so primal and basic he shuttered, then his sweaty body dropped to hers. He felt her arms wrap around him and her whisper into his ears. "I love you Chase." He felt her hips rise up and her legs behind him; she rotated a bit with her hips, and then a second orgasm surrounded his cock with a shudder.

The sound of heavy breathing filled their ears for minutes. It was hard for Chase to pull away from physically touching her. He knew this could be the last time. The last time he ever saw her if things went bad and that had him worried. Things go wrong all the time. Things like this just can't last. He had to wonder if she felt the doubt too.

"Jenna..." He said her new name softly and watched the smile grow larger on her face.

"I like my new name. Especially when it's off your lips. I also like your lips between my legs. That was fucking amazing." She felt his body pull up, and he looked into her eyes. She saw the doubt and concern, and she wanted to reassure him that everything would be ok. She had to feel that certainty because hope was all she had going right now. When she watched him take a step back, she jumped off the hood and patted the car. "They don't make em like they use to." Then she turned her naked body to his and wrapped her arms up around his body. She laid her head in on his chest and whispered up to him. "It's all going to be alright." Then she turned her mouth up to him, looked deep into his eyes filled with emotion. She kissed him, but she didn't stop there.

She had him backed up against an old oak desk chair with no arms. She sat him down and told him to watch. She slowly snaked her body around, touching herself, dancing, bringing her ass towards him and then stepping forward. She had done an undercover gig as a stripper, and it was a job well learned to perform the part. Now it was paying off. Now, she could see the sexual amusement in his eyes instead of the doubt and worry. Now she could see his hardened cock flinch and grow until it stood straight up inviting her wet slick pussy to slide right on down over it. As she did, she let the emotional doubt go and concentrated on the strength and feel of his cock inside her as his strength of his soul filled hers.

Tonight was a night of passion and forgetting about what ifs. Tonight was about two people in love, committed to each other and bonding an image into their brains until they are together again. Because tomorrow, Jenna had a plan to move forward, to draw out the man who started all this, and to put some finality to this chapter on her life. She was ready to be Jenna Miles.
Chapter Ten

"What do you mean your barn got blown up? I don't understand a mumbling word. You're pissed Chase; I get that. Two days has turned into too many, and I still haven't abstracted the real culprit." Things were getting ugly. Chase began begging her to come back.

"Two more days tops, Chase. That's all I need." Jenna let her voice try to calm him, but something told her that Dale did not like what has transpired between Chase and herself. That he must have saw them together and blowing up Chase's barn was a way to get back at the man she fell in love with. There had to be a reason Dale was doing on this and Jenna was beginning to wonder if Dale wanted her out alive of this in the end.

His voice went soft and low. "I've got your new identity here: birth certificate, driver's license and the works. My transfer to work out at Boxwood County came in. I'm leaving immediately to set things up there. If I don't see you by tonight, I'll text you my new address. I've got a moving truck taking myself out there right now, in the meantime; I miss you. Stay safe." He could tell that begging her to come back now was not going to work, and for some reason, she had to finish this and for that he could only assume the worse.

"I will." She replied calmly and with a note of hope. Hoping that when it was all over, and she successfully extracted Dale and made sure he was permanently silent, that her new life as Jenna could start and everything else would be put in the past.

With a few days passed and no more information than she had before, Malcolm knew what needed to happen next. She had only texted Chase yesterday that she would be there in a few days. She did not want to call because hearing his voice might make her change her mind about what she was about to do. Then he called about his barn and his beloved Camaro exploding and both burning to the ground.

She needed a few more days before the date and time inscription on the box. The date and time, she would face her maker. She decided to pack taking with her the only things she really needed. Allowing herself just one bag. To travel light and inconspicuously was her best plan. She had to have her mental game on and her body ready for action. She went into town and got a deep tissue massage, came home and took a sleeping pill and slept a good solid twelve hours. When she woke, she had a clear plan and an uncontrollable desire for Chase. Which he would have to wait just a bit longer until her plan was successful. It was how it needed to be.

Her plan was to go to the coordinates on the date time and location that the inscription held inside the box. She was sure that was where she would find Dale and put an end to this so-called mystery, she was sure he was behind.

To him, it might all be a game, but to her, it was a dire need to end all of this, everything. Her ties with Dale, her connections with the industry, her identity as a contract for hire. She had her bank accounts and corporation ready to liquidate with one call to a broker that was going to handle it all for her. She had a new bank account set up and just for good measure; she had cash hidden in places she knew no one would find. Well except one place. She had her Camaro shipped to the address that Chase had texted her. In that glove box, was enough money that he might decide that being a cop was not what he wanted to continue doing anyways. She did this, just in case; she did not make it back.

After finding out that his barn and Camaro were burned to the ground, supposedly due to faulty wiring, Malcolm knew that Dale must have found out about them and wanted to hurt Chase somehow. She remembered Dale saying to her the last time he saw her that he felt no one was good enough for her, but that she deserved a good man. She had dismissed it as one too many bourbons talking and decided to go to sleep for the night. It was the last night she saw him. The next morning he was gone and the boat was instructed to get her to the mainland to catch the private jet home.

It was that trip, which made Malcolm wonder about Dale's motives all along. Or perhaps, over the years he turned his attention from her as an apprentice, fulfilling his need to pass along what he knew in the industry to more of a crossing the line idea. An idea that involved her and Dale sexually and that in itself was something Malcolm never felt. However, looking back, she could now see the gestures he made, the gifts, the sensual touch of his hand to her arm and the way he would look at her. Had he fallen in love with her, and this was just a game to him; a way to get her to fall for Chase then take him away from her? Was the barn just the beginning and Chase could be next? Was it a warning sign to her? Would she be waiting at the extraction point while Dale was taking care of Chase, permanently?

It was all so very confusing to think about. Malcolm looked around her place, the place she had found refuge time and again after a contract, the place she dared to call home, and she knew what she had to do. She picked up the one small black duffel bag that she allowed herself and set the timer to give her fifteen minutes down the road and then her place would explode with a gas leak. A maneuver that she learned well from Dale and had used many a times to cover up a dead body.

The inscription on the box had tomorrows date, and the coordinates would take a few hours to drive there. It was a location where Dale once taught her how to shoot a gun and if memory served her correctly, it was no longer in business, just a big huge property with weeds growing between the concrete cracks in the middle of nowhere. If she got there a half day ahead, accessed the area again, she would be able to find the best place to observe what was taking place.

With Dale, it could be a lure to bring her in, a game, or it could be an arms deal. However, with the box now safely in the hands of its intended, someone no will know who, because the sloppy cops that let Officer Mitchell deposit the antique box to a crowded ball game, lost track of who took the box. The only thing known was a tall man, dark hair, glasses and baseball cap. That could be Dale or that could be anyone.

However, the question nagged in her brain. If it was Dale, why all the cloak and dagger stuff? Why the liaison, who was not needed? Why ship the box or have the box shipped to Katy? Again, Malcolm could come up with only one answer and that was that Dale was finally playing around in her league, drawing her into him with the game and then what? Kill her? Whisk her away? Why Chase? How did he know Chase and her would fall in love? Alternatively, was it just that. That they fell in love, and Dale knew. Dale probably was observing from a distance and watched them make love countless times. The last being on the hood of the Camaro and that is why Dale blew it up.

Something clicked for Malcolm at that very moment. Maybe the coordinates were for her in the beginning, knowing that Sanders would use her for this detail. Maybe he used Officer Mitchell as a decoy and just enjoyed the thrill of watching her work. It would not be the first time he had done that. Hacked into the security feed and later told her how fascinated he was with the way she worked a job. Always congratulating himself on a job well done in teaching her.

Malcolm's stomach twisted into a gut-wrenching knot. If the plan was originally to draw her to the location, it was possible the new plan was to keep her as far away as possible. If she turned south now, she could be to Boxwood in four hours if she drove well over the speed limit and did not stop unless it was gas.

She slammed the breaks on her Mustang, hit the wireless connection button for her cellphone on the steering wheel and told her phone to dial Chase. As his phone rang without answer, her foot applied more to the gas. She needed to get there quick, because if her instincts were correct, Dale was already there.
Chapter Eleven

Malcolm pulled up to the address Chase had texted her, and the place was dark. She had called him repeatedly on the way over and there was no answer. She texted him as well and yet there was still no answer. She knew he was not mad because the last time they talked, he told her he loved her, and she remembered the warm feeling in her heart.

If that was the last time, he was able to tell her, she would kill Dale and then probably kill herself for allowing him to even get involved in her mess of a life.

She took a deep breath and suited up with weapons to protect herself. If Dale was inside, he would not be surprised, but she would not go down without a fight. She locked the Mustang and walked around back. Under a grey car cover was her sixty eight red Camaro. She felt some relief and wondered if he checked the special compartment containing the cash yet.

She heard a dog bark off in the distance, which seemed to set off an onslaught of dogs barking throughout the entire neighborhood. Chase's house was set back from the street and hidden by unruly bushes and trees. She knew he might have selected the rental thinking he might not be there long, or perhaps it was the best he could do for the money he made.

When this was all resolved, she had plans for them to get a place far from here and with wide-open spaces. Allowing her to really feel the freedom, she so desperately craved now.

A snap of a branch caused Malcolm's blood to stir; she whisked around to find a very sleepy looking Chase, in his boxer shorts and no shirt rubbing his eyes and had his gun drawn. "Damn it Jenna. Is that you? Why didn't you call? Or come to the front door like a normal person?"

That last insinuation hurt. She knew she was not normal, nor would she ever be, but she was making improvements. She also did not know if telling Chase about Dale would be a good idea. At this point, she was just so relieved to see him; she ran up, jumped on him and wrapped her legs around him. She dropped her lips to his and kissed his mouth with passion. When she pulled away from the kiss and dropped herself to the ground with her feet firmly planted she laughed. "I'm no normal and hey; I called."

"Oh shit, that's right. I had a rescue today at the pond. Phone got soaked. I did not have time to get a replacement. It was a long day at work, and this new division is a hot bed of bad activity. No wonder they took my transfer in a heartbeat." He looked deep into her blue eyes as his hands held her face, trying to convince himself it was real, that she was here, and that he just kissed her.

"Then you haven't checked out the Camaro?" She quickly kissed him on the lips again and then took a step back to examine the man she had missed entirely too much since she saw him last in his old barn.

"No, but I've been busy. I found a car cover for it as this place has no garage and parked it the backyard away from the street. In this area, it might get stolen."

She figured she would tell him later about the hidden cash in the glove box. Right now, she just wanted to drag him inside and make love. However, if Dale came around anytime soon, she would be ready for him. She had already sent a message through his relay that she did not want to hear or see from him again, and that she was out of the business.

Problem was, Dale was not one to take instructions from anybody. If he wanted something bad enough, he always found a way to get it. If he could not have it, nobody could and that was what had her thinking about how far she would have to take this while driving the whole way here. Now that she was back with Chase, she needed to let Malcolm go for a bit and bring Jenna into the room. She knew Malcolm might have to make a few last appearances before being officially retired, but she also knew it would be worth it in the end. She felt her old self slip away as Chase led her inside his place.

The inside of Chases' place was awful. Nothing was unpacked; furniture was covered with staff, and the only safe place was his bed. He turned to her and frowned. "Sorry. I've just been too busy. I know you wanted to do it like normal people on a bed, and this was not the plan I had, but it's the best I can do.

She looked him square in the face and gave him a sultry smile. "This bed will do just fine." Then she began a slow tempting strip tease, letting him sit back on his bed and watch her slowly undress.

She took steps towards him and watched his cock hardened and pulse as he slid his boxers to the floor and lay back onto his king-sized bed in a relaxed position. She knelt before him on the floor and put her hands on his thick muscular thighs. "It's good to be back with you Chase."

"It's good to be back together." His voice was low and serious, keeping any doubt he might have had at bay. His worries were trying to slip away, but he was smart enough to know that she never confirmed that things were taken care of. Since she did not, he had to wonder if it would all be over soon or if they would have to always wonder what was in the shadows.

She let her hands wander over his legs for a second then slowly snaked her hands up to the base of his cock and gave it a gentle tug. "Relax and enjoy yourself."

She let her hot moist mouth cover the tip of his throbbing cock as her hand gently grasped firmly around the base, letting her hand stroke his hardened cock that pulsed with excitement. Low pleasurable groans led her on as she let her tongue slip through the slit of the tip of his cock and then suck down hard surrounding his cock with her mouth. She felt his hand gently rest on her head, stroke her hair and gently lead her to continue. When she sensed he could almost take it no more, she leaned back and pushed up with her hands on his muscular thighs.

"Chase?" Her whisper got his eyes to open, and a smile stretched across his face.

He spoke her new name softly, and her heart pinched. "Jenna?" Then he spoke out to her as if to ease his pain of missing her. "Jenna, it's really you. You're here. I've missed you Jenna."

She watched his hand reach out to her. She put her hand in his, and he slowly pulled her in towards him. She crawled up onto his bed; put a leg on either side of him. He looked so incredibly sexy laying there, calling her name, with his naked muscular chest and his cock fully throbbing with excitement.

The feel of his eyes roaming her body with the touch of his hand gently reaching up and stroking her naked breast with the back of his hand, sent shivers up her spine. A light laughter left her lips. The way his eyes wandered over her body approvingly was so intoxicating. He said her name again, but this time it sounded as if he was begging her, pleading with her to lower down on top of his cock.

She placed a hand on either side of his head and lifted her hips just enough so that he could guide the tip of his penis into her hot wet pussy that ached for him. She felt the stretch of his size, the strength of him; he pushed up, just as she lowered down. It was as if neither of them could wait for the other.

She moved her hands to his muscular chest, soaking in the feel and bulk of his muscles. She pushed her breasts together a bit with her arms and felt his hand brush up over her perky nipple. She heard him call out her name one last time before she became so focused on the feel of his cock inside her. She began moving her hips harder and faster against him. She leaned her head forward, watching the pleasure on his face. Then she leaned her head back, arched her back a bit, stroked her hands down his chest and then lifted them to her own breasts, pinching her own nipples. She decided to let herself go and moan and curse with excitement. "Fuck. Yes. Oh yes."

She felt the lingering touch of his fingers inside her thigh and then between the wet folds of her bald pussy. He separated her lips and rubbed the tip of his fingertips rapidly over her clitoris. She moaned louder and tilted her head back farther, verbally encouraging him on. Her hand reached and covered his fingers as her body pulsed. This time it trembled longer than ever before and when she finally fell forward against his body, she began to move her hips back and forth a few times, breathing hard into his ears. It was only a matter of seconds before she felt his orgasm take place, and his whole body tensed. She felt a smile creep across her face as she whispered into his ear. "You are fucking fantastic Chase. Fucking fantastic. God I love you."

His arms wrapped her up tight, holding her against his body. "I love you, Jenna. I loved you as Malcolm, but I couldn't wait to have you home with me to never worry about you again."

She decided now was not the time to inform Chase of Dale and his potential threat or what he might be planning. Now was a time for them to reconnect after being separated only a short time, which felt like forever. Now was a time for her to make Chase feel relaxed and know that she needed to keep the Malcolm attitude in the back of her head until things were complete. Killing Dale was not her top option, but it was one of the options that might need to happen in order for her and Chase to always feel safe and secure. She knew she could do this one last time before becoming the person Chase wanted her to be and the person she so strongly desired to be, more and more every day.

When their breathing returned to normal, Jenna rolled off and headed into the shower. She could hear the sounds of Chase slowly fading off into deep sleep. He had mentioned a crazy shift that day and her waking him from a dead sleep probably did not help, although the sex certainly helped. He was drifting off with a smile on his face.

When she dried off from the shower and crawled naked into bed, next to Chase, she felt the need to whisper one last time into his ear. "I love you Chase."

He stirred and rolled towards her, wrapping her up tightly in his arms. He kissed her neck and murmured while half asleep. "I love you too."

The night ended without a thought to Dale and what he might be planning at the moment, just how great Chase felt with his arms wrapped around her and the need to feel safe and secure was finally met.
Chapter Twelve

She felt his arms wrap tight around her with a gentle squeeze as the sun slowly peeked in through the window. "I've got to get ready for work. You'll be here when I get back?"

"I'm not going anywhere, but Chase, call in sick. I've got so much to tell you and there's some information you need to know. I've got plenty of money coming my way, and I just don't want to be left in this lonely bed all by myself." She gave him a sensual tease of a kiss and let her breasts expose themselves out from under the bed sheet.

"Tempting as that may be. I was lucky to get this transfer so that you and I could start fresh. I don't want to live off of your money; I want to provide for you. Besides, I get the next four days off. We'll have plenty of time to make up for lost time."

"Hmm." She sounded miffed.

"You could put a woman's touch on this place." He teased, but it stirred a bit of anger in her. Instead of getting mad at him, she threw the bed pillow hard at the back of him, got out of bed naked, and strolled by him.

As she let her naked body brush by his, she spoke with an air of confidence. "The only touch I'm going to put on this place is locking the door, after I get the movers to move all your stuff to a more appropriate place for us. Besides, your Camaro deserves a much nicer garage and to be parked next to my Mustang. I for one am not going to let my car be parked out on some hoodlum street. Face it Chase. You got yourself a rich one, and I don't mind you going to work. I'm sure I'll be working soon doing something myself. I just can't see living here with our cars out in the open. Let me do this one thing for you."

"And what is that?" He teased as his eyes roamed over her naked body, and he stood leaning over the bathroom sink starting to brush his teeth.

"I put a million dollars in the hidden compartment in my old Camaro I gave you. I had hoped you would see the note I left you in the car and figure out the clues."

His eyes enlarged and he gagged on the toothpaste. "Excuse me."

"Look. I feel bad about your car being blown up. So I gave you mine. Besides, I feel like it's my fault. And as far as the house thing goes, I'm not knocking on what you can afford, it's just I can afford so much more, and I want to do this for you."

She reached in, turned the shower on, closed the glass shower door, turned, and looked at him. She turned her voice into a persuasive tone and stepped forward to let her hands rub over his naked back while he looked back at her using the reflection of the mirror. "Look. I know you're the big strong hero type, but I got rich doing what I did. Good or bad. You rescued me, and I feel like this is the least I can do. Besides, you can't change the fact that I have a couple million set aside and when you asked me to be with you, you kind of asked for my money too."

He spit into the sink and rinsed his mouth out. He let out a soft laughter and joked. "I did. Did I? Are you expecting me to not work?"

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him from behind hard. "I'm not expecting anything more from you than what you want. You want to work as a cop, I'm fine with that. You want to do something else; I am fine with that too. I just know I worked hard for that money, and never really spent much of it due to the guilt I usually kept inside of me. Let me do something nice for us, to help me relieve all that guilt and to let us live in a secure house, with open space. I have to feel like I can't see my neighbors. It's important to me."

He turned and held her in his arms and lowered his lips to hers. He kissed her softly and then pulled back and whispered into the top of her head. "Jenna?" Sounding as if he needed to convince himself or just adjust to the facts that he had not put a lot of thought into. She was rich, and she got there doing things he could never agree with. He was the law, and he wanted a woman in his life that at any time could not get arrested by the law. He needed to think long and hard about whether staying in law enforcement was the thing for him to do. He enjoyed rebuilding classic cars like his dad did when he was growing up. However, his parents were always poor. Jenna's money she made as Malcolm just changed all of that. "Ok."

"Ok, what?" She looked up into his eyes.

"Ok. I'll think about it. I have a few things I would not mind taking some time off from law to pursue. I guess if it leaves us together to spend our days like this without worry about money for a while than what more could a guy ask for."

"This." She let her hand slide down between his legs and slowly stroked his semi firm cock. She let her lips kiss his neck from one side over to the other.

He leaned back a bit and looked deep into her eyes. He gave her a long look of sincerity than he picked her up and slammed her against the wall and proceeded to devour her naked body with kisses. Being late to work was the last thing on his mind. He would go in and put in a leave of absence. It might burn his bridge for future work, but at this moment, he did not give a damn.

The steam from the shower filled the room. He pulled away and stepped into the shower, pulling her in behind him. She closed the shower glass door behind her, and they were quickly enveloped in the steam of the hot shower. She reached for body wash and laid a gentle amount in his hand, which he sensually began to rub until suds appeared on her breasts. Within seconds, they were both covered in soapsuds, and then their hands wandered into every crease of each other's bodies.

With his back to the spray of the shower, he turned her so her back was to him. She pressed her hands against the wall, stood up on her tiptoes, and looked back over her shoulder at him with a heated sultry look of desire. His body conformed to hers from behind, and then his cock slowly entered her. His slow thrust in and out caused her to moan out his name. "Chase."

His hand came around the front, firmly grasping one of her nipples in his fingers. He massaged and held her breast, while his other hand glided across her belly, down to her clitoris and gently rubbed up and down with his fingers.

With each stroke of his skilled fingers, dipping and grinding, he matched it thrust for thrust. As her body felt each incredible pump of his cock into her pussy, she needed to cum. She arched her back, leaned into him, and set a hand around the back of his neck as she came. Each roll of the orgasm grasped his cock, and he thrust deep inside and came. Within moments of their sated desires fulfilled, he relaxed his body against hers while laying kisses on her back.

Their heavy deep breathing echoed inside the glass shower walls. A small amount of laughter started to roll between the two of them. Then he kissed her shoulder. He pulled back and finished washing off his body. He stepped out of the shower, and as he closed the shower glass door, he whispered in. "I love you."

She blew him a kiss. "Right back at cha." She proceeded to wash her body and hair. When she finally stepped out he was suited up in his official police uniform, and he looked sexy hot.

He spoke up with a serious tone. "I have all the paperwork you need on the nightstand. I can officially call you Jenna now. You are legal in every sense of the word. Your fingerprints are no longer associated with that cold case. My friend took care of that, and you have a simple past to remember and a new future to look forward to."

She smiled at him seductively. She knew it would mean so much to him to call her that and to take the identity was a commitment to him that she was leaving her old world far behind. "Yes. Jenna Miles. And you are?" She teased as she put her hand out for a handshake in front of her wet naked body.

"Chase Cooper, at your service mam." Then he wrapped her up in his arms, letting their bodies tease and kissed the side of her neck while whispering into her ear. "Thank you Jenna. This means so much to me."

She leaned back and looked him straight into his eyes. "And you mean the world to me. I'm doing all this for you, so we can be together."

"Forever?" His voice held an insecure question to it.

"If you don't get tired of me. I don't cook or clean. In fact, I might have a hard time finding a new line of work." She teased.

"I doubt it." He smiled with reassurance. "Look. I have to go into work today. I might have to give them some time but do what you want as far as housing. I'm not picky, obviously. Do me one favor, be safe and sever all ties with your old world."

"I already have. I can't do anything about Dale until he shows up. I think he will just let all of this go for now. It was just a game to him to toy with me. The box was a decoy, and the Sanders was just another job to abstract money from the rich. Dale was good at that. Making up false jobs just to get the clients to pay me or him big bucks. That's all over with. MLP corporation has been liquidated, and my money is sitting over seas in a Swiss bank account for now. Well except the million I left you. I don't suppose you want me to deposit that for you do you?" She laughed out of nervousness because, deep down, she knew Dale wasn't done. She knew he would pop up when she least expected, and he was probably watching them now. However, not going about her new life was something she was going to lose out on. She knew when the time came, she would handle it. If Dale got the jump on her, then she would handle it, until then, she would do nothing about it except for enjoy the time she had as Jenna.

The first call Jenna made was to her broker. He was instructed to dissolve all accounts and transfer funds to her Swiss bank account. Then she called a relator in the area. She scheduled a meeting for the day after next. She found a secure indoor garage for the Camaro, dropped a small amount of cash in a bank account under the name of Jenna Miles, tucked plenty of cash in hundreds into her purse and left the rest in the hidden compartment. She had a tax meet her on the corner of a small restaurant down the street from the storage lot. On the way back to Chase's place, she passed a used-car lot. She asked the male taxi driver to stop and paid him cash. As the taxi drove off, she walked up casually to a car that caught her interest as two salesmen approached her hungrily.

She walked around, having them follow her like a hungry puppy. Then she kicked the tires of an old rusty mustang and had them start it up. It ran ok. It could be something to help Chases keep his mind off things. She remembered researching his parents and the articles about his dad's classic car rebuilding business. She sensed that might be something he was considering. She figured it would be worth the investment.

She paid them a large amount of cash for the classic rebuild but knew it was worth far more once it was fixed up. She drove it home, parked it tucked away to the backyard, covered it up with the Camaro car cover as best she could and then went inside to assess what needed to be done.

She unpacked only essentials, and repacked things that would be going on the moving truck as soon as she found a place. The day went fast, and she decided to order Chinese dinner for Chase when he got home soon.

The sound of the front door opening caught her attention, and she called out his name. "Chase?"

"Where are you?" He called out. "Hey, I thought you were going to put the Camaro in storage."

She came out from behind a stack of boxes lined up against a wall. "Come with me." She took his hand and led him out to where she had the old rusty, nineteen sixty nine Mustang. She took the cover off and unveiled a rusty, yet doable, powder blue, needs some love, Mustang. "I bought this today." She let her excited voice carry a happy note. "I remembered what I read about your parents, and I thought maybe you might want to have something to work on since the old Camaro got blown up." She looked at him with a questionable note to her tone.

"I love it." He wrapped her up in his arms and kissed her. When he pulled back, she saw the beaming smile on his face. "I was actually thinking about something like this today when I put in my notice. My boss was pissed. I told him I needed some time off from the police force. I don't think I will get a sparkling recommendation from this job." He slowly walked around, opened the car, and then got inside and started it up. He did a thumbs up motion and then honked the horn and pointed to the front of the house.

Jenna turned just as the Chinese delivery car turned into the driveway. Tonight they were going to be a normal couple in love. They would eat their take out, talk about the prospective properties she is considering and somewhere in there; she was aching to make love to him again. This new life held so much potential that any thoughts of Dale slowly seeped away.
Chapter Thirteen

The clicking of her heels on the tiled entryway into the house echoed out among the tall entryway walls. The hardwood floors and log stairway gave it a hand-built feel to it that went with the overall appeal of the house. It had a masculine feel, part farmhouse, part log house, yet that was very appealing to Jenna.

She had been mentally calling herself that name, Jenna, since she saw her name on the driver's license and birth certificate. It had a finality to it that just felt right. If things went the way they should, then she would be Jenna Cooper one day. She knew that if Chase could overlook her shady past and love her for who she was now and who she wanted to become, mixed with their electrical sexual energy and ability to just be together, she knew he was the one.

The realtor who was to meet her at this listing was late. She texted her and told her to go on in and gave her the combination to the lock box. Very unorthodox, yet perhaps since the location of this listing was so far out of town, she had not planned her time right. Mixed with the fact that Jenna told her she was paying cash with a rich family inheritance she had just received, that no banks or lending companies would be involved; the realtor seemed to be willing to step over the rules a bit.

This listing was still occupied, but the owners were out of the country. They were due back in a week and if all went well, Jenna and Chase could be occupying this house as their own by months end. She told the agent she had a rush on it as she was in temporary housing. Chase's place with barking dogs, leaky plumbing and a jungle of a yard was definitely temporary housing for her.

A few steps past the entryway and Jenna could see the incredible log deck that shown in the listing. It had a wide-open space view out to the country while the front of the house left it secluded in trees. She could see Chase and herself spending mornings out here having breakfast, talking about their future and relaxing. The place had a feel to it, and it just felt right.

She decided to text Chase the address and told him to meet her there as soon as his shift ended, which should be in about two hours. He had loose ends to tie up paperwork wise at the station and within a few days, he would no longer be working there. She wanted to make sure he got a clear understanding of how well off she was and that even after buying this house, there was plenty for them to just exist for several years without a worry. However, she knew that neither of them were idle types.

The realtor was now over fifteen minutes late. Normally, that would have bothered her but after this morning's highlight with Chase; she had been feeling rather content. Maybe it was the fact that things were falling into place nicely. The Camaro was locked up in secure storage; she had her bank account confirmed; her identity was the biggest, and the fact that she was officially making the move to a new and confident lifestyle. One that did not involve contract for hire but walking among people with a true identity.

The master suite was huge. It had two walk-in closets, large tub for two and a similar view to that of the deck downstairs. It had a magical feel to it and at that moment, she knew she was sold.

The sound of a car pulling up and then the front door closing caught her attention. She took a minute to let all of the master bedroom she observed soak in and then started to head down the large sweeping staircase to the main level. As she walked down, only one thing seemed out of place. The realtor never called out to her like she would have expected. She reached the bottom of the landing and saw a briefcase and purse on the floor that looked a bit out of place, as if they were dropped there.

It was then, that it dawned on her. Dale was probably here, and he was not done toying with her. He wanted her alone, and he got her. He must have subdued the realtor. She hoped he did not kill her. She would hate for him to ruin her perfect place. However, she become comfortable in her surroundings to not suit up with a weapon. She had wanted to leave that lifestyle behind, but something told her that it had been too easy of a transition so far. Too easy, that perhaps, she really did know better but was living the dream.

Her voice echoed out amongst the main floor. "Dale! I suppose you should come out."

Out from around the corner where the kitchen was, stood the man she realized might have brought her more grief in life than an advantage.

"My. My. Malcolm. You're looking rather... how shall I put this? Normal? Although you might think you can just leave your old life behind." His voice was low, yet his tone spoke volumes. His eyes trailed over her body, from her black heels, dark jeans and black cotton tee shirt.

"Where's my realtor? How did you find me?" She felt the old Malcolm slowly emerge as her heart began to beat faster, her palms began to sweat, and her mind darted quickly about the place she wanted to call home for a weapon.

"I haven't harmed her. She's passed out. When she comes to, just tell her that she fainted. As far as finding you, my sweet Malcolm, Malcolm Junior." He laughed with an evil note of absurdity to his voice. "How well do you know me? I've tracked your every move from day one. The first day we met when you were a young woman. However, this Chase guy has thrown me for a loop, but I've recovered." His voice sounded hurt for a moment and that made Jenna believe that Dale was thinking of something more than just a partnership.

"So you're going to let me go?" She questioned with hope, as if it could only be that easy.

"Why on earth would I do anything other?" He took a few strides toward her and stopped when he noticed her body language went tense and ready to strike.

"I don't want to hurt you. I do want to try to talk some sense into you. This thing you have with this Cooper man will pass. You will miss the life you led and crave the adrenaline it fed you. Besides, after Belize, I sensed you might be interested in me as something other than your mentor."

"Dale. I think I was you sending out the message of interest, and I was only trying to be polite. I don't think of you that way. There isn't that kind of connection that I have with you like I do with Chase." She took the final step off the entryway stairs and kept her body facing him but took a few steps back towards a tall vase on the table she saw. In a pinch, it could be a weapon.

"Please. Malcolm. Or should I call you Jenna now? Although your real name was one you might not have ever wanted to return to, I want you to know, I knew it all along... Heather Linda Albright." He said her old name with a long pause between each name and then turned and looked out to the scenic view that stretched out from the custom log deck. "I think it would also serve you well to know that I know your new name, Jenna Miles. Funny how you selected the first name when I asked you if you could be anyone. It's even funnier that you think you have fallen in love with a man with the last name of Cooper. Jenna Cooper. You will be finally getting what you wanted. But is it really, Jenna? Ask yourself if this is just a passing, because I am a patient man." He sounded so confident in his airing of information that it made Jenna ill to think he knew her name and saw her every move all along.

"How did you know?" She had her hand behind her back, and her fingers wrapped around the slender tall vase.

"Honestly. Do you not remember who taught you? Let go of the vase darling. You know I am packing, and I can shoot the vase just as quickly as I can shoot you dead."

She let her fingers unfold from the vase and took a step forward.

"I don't suppose you won't let Chase and I just go on being happy here. I really felt this could be the perfect place for us. I do love him Dale. I do. You might have had other ideas of there being an us but really, you are much older than I am, and if you think about it, your game is getting rusty. I knew it was you from the beginning. There was a lot that didn't make sense, but I knew."

"Then did you know that Chase was in on this from the beginning as well?" His laughter echoed throughout as concern crossed over Jenna's face.

"Excuse me? I don't think so. You're just telling me this to confuse me, get me to think that Chase is the kind of man who would take a bribe and do something so evil. He wouldn't. I know he wouldn't."

"Then how is it that he was able to find out so easily about you. Your original identity, your fingerprints, your new identity and his plan to lure you away from your contract. You know that contract has not been fulfilled yet. You still have to abstract the culprit and do away with him. Besides, do you really think that with everything that he found out about you, he didn't know how rich you are. That blowing up his own old rusty Camaro might get him your customized one well over ten times what his was worth. It will be so easy for him. Maybe he hasn't decided how he wants to do away with you, but you are so trusting of him; he can just take his pick of ways. My, my darling sweet Malcolm. I am only looking out for you."

Jenna began to pace back and forth. Thinking hard about what Dale had just said. He had never lied to her, not once. Could he be lying now or could he just be playing her again? This whole thing was causing her head to feel like it was in a vice. Half an hour ago, she had dreams and wishes, and now? Now, she just had doubt and concern. What if Chase was in on this? What if there was a contract out on her head, and once he got away from his old job and in a place where no one had seen them together, he could kill her and collect. What if he was the one to set his old Camaro on fire, knowing full well she had one that she would be willing to give him, because she loved him.

"Oh stop pacing. It's not like you to fret. You've always been too much of a thinker. I can tell you one thing. If you kill Chase first, then Sanders will pay you the hundred thousand and feel secure that you can handle yourself. I set this game in play just to have a little fun with you, knowing Sanders will hire you. I had hoped you would figure out it was me, and we could have a good laugh while taking Sanders money. Really, if you think about it, we could do this to several of our contracts. Create a false situation and then knowing we would get hired on to complete the task, take care of the client and collect. It all has such a twist of an appeal. I am getting a bit older and would like to do less, how shall I say it... the hard work?"

He laughed to himself and turned his full attention towards her. Looking at her with such care and affection as he always had, yet Jenna could see the evil now, clearer than ever. He continued on talking while her brain kept processing. "I knew Mitchell would be an easy kill for you. Sure, you would have your typical after remorse, but you have always found a way to work through that. However, somebody else wants you killed, and they have hired Chase to do it as soon as you were on location. Don't think these cops don't have a price. They do. You have a million-dollar bounty on your head there, dear sweet Jenna, and I think perhaps you need to decide quickly. Chase will be here any moment."

Jenna couldn't believe what Dale was saying. It couldn't be, but yet there were times that Chase was too well informed, too quick to learn information and quick to just take time off to work. He convinced her to run the job in a way so that she would never have run the job. There were still questions running through her brain, but Dale was not going to give her time to think. Like she knew Officer Mitchell wasn't dead, so why did he think he was. She knew Sanders thought the job was complete, and the money was transferred. She also knew she just gave a cool million to Chase to do what he pleased with, so why would he want to kill her? To collect another million? She knew Dale knew how to put self-doubt in her head, and he was succeeding with the confusion. Perhaps he only knew bits and pieces somehow and was trying to connect it all in a spider's web of confusion.

"I suppose when he blew up his own garage, you would never have thought that he was the person to be abstracted. Now that you have Katy Sanders secure and Officer Mitchell back out in the public eye, don't you think that Pete Sanders will wonder who it was that you were after in the first place. Perhaps he might start to think that you set all this up yourself for a little extra cash. However, if you kill Chase first and procure the evidence, showing it to him, then there will be no doubt, and you will find that you still have future employment."

"I did not set up this job; you did. You did this Dale. You set this up as some sick game, and now you're going to get me killed." Her mind was reeling, but she was quick to pick up on his facts were not consistent. He was acting like a crazed man.

He raised his eyebrows and clicked his tongue. "Now, Jenna. Nobody is going to kill you, because you are going to kill them first."

Thoughts and ideas started to swirl through her head like a cyclone. What if Chase was on his way to kill her? What better place than this. Out of the way. Owner was across seas. The realtor could be easily disposed of and no one would ever get to know her, the real her that she could feel emerging. The her, she secretly desired and was now realizing that this life she had been dreaming of, that was starting to take shape, was really the life she wanted. She wanted a man like Chase to love her and take care of her, just as she felt this need arise to take care of him. It was a different feeling yet it felt right. Deep down, it felt right, and Dale was just playing another game. One that was dangerous because it involved her killing the man she loved.

She took a few steps towards him with so much anger and disgust. She could now hear him contradicting his own words, messing up with information and feeling frustrated with her not trusting him so easily. He was a desperate man. Desperate for her and she could see it now. He had put so much effort and energy into making her what he wanted and now that she was finding out whom she wanted to be, a woman of her own means but with Chase, discovering a new life together. She could see his desperation so well now, as his voice carried on talking, trying to convince her. Trying to convince her as he screwed up one bit of information after another. She could tell he was at his wits end.

She softened her tone and hid her emotions, this she was good at. She took steps to Dale and reached out to hug him. "God. You're right. How could I have been so blind? How could I have ever thought that Chase was the man for me? It's so clear now. How he got me away. How it would be so easy for him to dispose of me now. I mean I have liquidated my corporation and assets. I blew up my place making it seem like I was inside." She took a step back and let out a mild laughter. "Who would have thought that stealing a body from the morgue was the best way to cover something like this up? That was all you teaching me Dale." She lightly punched his arm then turned to a familiar voice, one that held her heart in his hands.

"Jenna? What the hell? I can't believe my ears." Jenna turned quickly, standing next to Dale, to see the hurt in Chase's eyes. She would never in a million years want him to hear all that she had just said or see Dale for that fact.

"Chase?" She started to take a step towards him when she felt Dale's arm go around her shoulders, over her neck and felt the butt end of a pistol take aim at her brain.

Dale's voice went ragged. "Chase? How convenient of you to join us. You weren't due for another two hours. I had hoped to kill you then."

"Jenna? I got your text and was able to get off early, but I guess you can figure I heard everything. Is it true? That you plan to kill me? That you are still going to collect money from Sanders using me as the bait?"

Jenna could see the hurt in his eyes. It was the same hurt that she felt deep in her soul. Her head pounded, her gut wrenched, and she could barely breathe. She got out one word before she heard the gunshot blast. "Chase!" She felt the jolt of Dale's body, and his arm took her down as he fell to the ground. She watched Chase turn in full uniform and aim at the realtor who was standing there looking dazed. "Drop it! I told you to stay in the kitchen." He yelled to her.

As soon as Jenna watched the gun fall, she realized that Dale was only wounded. She rolled over to her belly and jumped to her feet, just as she watched Dale take aim at the side of Chase's head. He would not have seen it coming since he was focused on the realtor. Jenna had just enough time to jump up and out, catching the bullet that was meant for Chase. That was the last thing she remembered.
Chapter Fourteen

"Turn it up." Jenna's groggy voice asked of the nurse who was taking her vitals. She woke up to the sound of the news and Chase's voice. He was being interviewed by the local news along with the real estate agent.

"Well, Jenna Miles is a friend of mine that was looking to move into the area and asked me to come up and check out this place she was considering. When I got there, I noticed that the front door was wide open along with the kitchen door. I came in through the kitchen, noticed the unconscious woman on the floor. I woke her and asked her if she was all right. She was confused. Then I heard shouting from the front room and saw the intruder with his pistol to Jenna's head. I asked him to drop his weapon. Instead, he turned on me to shoot. I didn't have a clear aim without hurting Jenna, but the realtor did and took it upon herself to protect us all. She's our hero."

The woman jumped in front of Chase and introduced herself to the camera. "That's Carol Briggs. Two G's. I'm Boxwood County's number one agent for selling homes this year. I always make sure I am protecting when meeting clients out in the backwoods. I must have been knocked unconscious by the intruder with his intention to bring harm to Ms. Miles. I only aimed to hurt, not kill." She smiled contently with herself and then turned to other reporters asking questions.

But the next question to Chase was one that Jenna wanted to know. "How did this Jenna Miles woman end up shot?"

Chase cleared his throat, and she thought she saw his eyes tear up. "She saved my life. She saw the intruder was only hurt and when he took aim to my head to kill me, she jumped up from the floor where he had dragged her, and took the bullet for me. Luckily, it just went through her in the shoulder. It's a good thing she did that. Otherwise, I would be dead."

That was all Jenna needed to hear. He knew she loved him. She took a bullet for him. When she got a chance, she would let him know everything else. The fact he said friend, instead of girlfriend, had her a bit concerned, but she would let that all go for now. She felt sleepy again and let her head roll off to the side. It wasn't long, and she was fast asleep.

The feel of someone touching her head and kissing her forehead brought her around.

"You waking up?" It was Chase. He was standing over her in a worn tee shirt and denim jeans with a sexy smile on his face.

"God. It's so good to see you." Her voice sounded horse to herself, but then the oxygen in her nose probably had her throat dry. Chase handed her a cup of water with a straw, and she took a long sip. "Thanks."

She watched him pull a chair up next to her bed and sit beside her. "Jesus, woman. You had me scared. Taking a bullet for me is not how I want to start out this new life."

"I had no choice. I would do it again. Chase?" Her voice held question in his name. "I love you. Don't ever doubt it. What you heard back there, it was all for show. For Dale. I think he had plans to kill you and frame it on me or at least, try to get me to kill you. He was trying awfully hard."

"Sh. Don't worry. I heard pretty much everything. I was in the kitchen when I heard Dale convincing you. It was only that I heard you sounding convinced that I could not stop myself from coming out. I don't think Dale would have killed you. I do know he would have killed me and maybe the realtor. Good think she packs." He laughed.

A soft disappointed laugh came out of Jenna. "I wasn't packing. For the first time in my life, I felt like Jenna Miles, and I just didn't think to pack some heat. I should have known better. I should have known that Dale was not happy with the way I was ending things. I worried he might kill you. That's why I showed up so late that night. Then we got carried away, and I guess I wasn't thinking clearly."

He stood up, kissed her gently on the lips, and then sat back down. "That's all over with. I took care of everything."

She looked at him confused and let him explain.

"Remember my friend, the one that helped us get your identity? Well, he did some of his own work and figured out Dale Smith, aka Malcolm One, was a hit man for hire. He was your mentor, and he was the one behind the job at Sanders's place. He put two and two together, and called me, just as I got your text. I told work I had an emergency, and I drove up there as fast as I could."

"But what about Dale? Is he? Won't he talk?" Her mind was not focusing all that well, but she worried that she could be found out and exposed or worse; Dale would recover and somehow find a way to still kill them both.

"Well, Dale isn't Dale. And no he won't talk. I shot him dead when you took that bullet. In fact, the realtor lady shot at him as well. We won't know until the coroner tells us who actually killed him."

"Oh." Her voice went soft, and she felt tears in her eyes. Even though Dale was going to do what she thought he would do, she still felt a bit of sadness. He was the only man in her life for a very long time that she felt she could turn to, and now he was dead. She had mixed and confused feelings about all of it.

"You ok?" Chase's concerned voice brought her back to what was really important.

"Yeah. A bit sad but it all came to a conclusion so quickly. I was still trying to work out what was real and what was planted in my head. I knew, deep down, you would never kill me, and I knew that Dale was the one that planned all this. I guess he hadn't planned on us meeting and falling in love, so he was working a new angle."

"Well, now Mark Jones will be working an angle in hell, six feet under."

"Mark Jones?"

"Well here's the interesting part. Dale Smith aka Malcolm One is an extremely rich man. However, Mark Jones is a nobody transient who has only a mental history. If the investigation into this discovered it was Dale Smith, a contract for hire, then the FBI would get involved. However, since it's not, then it won't even be on the morning news, and if it is, well it will be a two-second blurb."

"Your friend?" She questioned with a groggy tone.

"Yup. He has a way of altering the existence of someone." Chase spoke up with confidence.

He sounded so confident in his friend, that Jenna would let that confidence ease her thinking for a while. Once she was well, she wanted to set her own plans into motion to make sure that he could never hold anything over the two of them. "Yikes. Don't ever want to piss him off." She joked.

"Don't worry. We've been best friends since three. I've saved his life four times now, but I want to save all that until you meet him. When you're released, I'd like to take you to meet him and my family. I don't think Boxwood is the place for us to start off our new life. We'll take some time then to figure out where we want to live." His caring voice let her relax.

Jenna smiled and squeezed his hand. "I thought that place would have been perfect for us, but I think anywhere with you is perfect." With what he had just said and with the way things stood, she decided that Malcolm really did need to officially retire. If Chase's best friend knew about her past, then she would let that go. She needed to stop living her life on the edge and always looking behind her. She squeezed Chase's hand and then continued her thoughts. "I want you to know I'm committed to making this work."

He stood up and kissed her one more time on the lips. "Get some more sleep. If we're lucky, they will release you in the morning. Nurse said she'll be in to give you a little something to sleep better. I need to go get all my stuff packed back up for the moving company to pick up tomorrow. They're putting it in storage for now."

"So what does everyone think you are doing? Won't they question about you quitting your job, your family?" Jenna questioned wondering how the logistics in all of this would figure in to their stories that they would have to keep straight. Her newly created past for Jenna Miles was a simple straightforward, only child, lost her parents in a car accident, no college, no real-world experience other than living in a very crowded city off her parent's inheritance. An easy one to remember and a blended past she didn't have to be accountable for anything.

"Funny thing. I got this inheritance from a long lost uncle, and I'm sitting pretty good." Chase spoke up with a laughing note to his voice.

"Your friend?" She looked at him with a questioning look as if she just realized that Chase was as devious as she was in this spy strategy stakes game.

"No. Dale. My friend just handled all the paperwork and details. Apparently, my long lost uncle wanted to give me a little inheritance while he was still alive. That is the money that Dale transferred to a secure account in a false name right before he went missing. Since I did have a long lost uncle who recently passed that is on my mother's side of the family and they didn't even realize still existed, it was a simple connection to use. As far as anyone else is concerned, Dale Smith was last seen in Cancun after leaving Belize. Since Dale isn't alive to collect on the false identity account he created, no one can question the name of my said long lost uncle giving me the money Dale had set aside."

Jenna heard her laughter start up within her. If Dale were alive, he would actually appreciate what Chase and his friend had accomplished. He was odd that way. "Hey. You know I'm pretty well off. I was planning on buying that place with cash."

"I know. But I like taking care of you. It makes me feel good." He looked at her with a lovingness she was never going to get tired of.

"You know what Chase; I think I am going to like taking care of you too as soon as I'm better." She let her mind think of the two of them tinkering on cars and eating lots of take out or delivery, then fooling around in a bed to have as normal of sex as they could, considering her appetite for the man, normal sex was the farthest thing from her mind. She let a question hang out in the air hoping he would be receptive. "Will you let me do that? Take care of you in ways that I want?" Her insinuation was well understood as she watched the look of desire rise in his eyes and a devilish smile creep across his face.

"I'm all right with that. Now get some sleep. I need you rested for the three-hour drive to my folks place. My mom is excited to meet you. Well, my dad too but you are gonna love my mom. You too are more alike than you can imagine." He spoke cheerfully of a future he had been thinking about.

"I hope so. I mean I hope she likes me. Hey Chase? What about working?"

"They know you're loaded by inheritance and as far as me, my mom will be informed by legal means about the inheritance. That long lost uncle is sending her a little something as well. Maybe for a while we should leave within normal means as to not bring too much attention to ourselves."

Jenna smiled and took a deep breath. "That's funny. I have been living below normal means, well except my cars, just to not draw attention to myself. Anything above that would seem extreme. I guess thinking about it now, that house would have been extreme for us. I do like privacy and open space though."

He stood up and bent over to kiss her lightly on the lips. When he stood back up tall, he winked. "I love you Jenna. Whatever we decide together; I know will work it out."

"I love you too." Then she felt content enough to close her eyes for a second. When she opened them, she saw the nurse administer something into her IV and Chase told the nurse he was leaving in just a minute.

As soon as the nurse was out of the room, Jenna spoke up in worry. "Our cars? I just remembered. How are we going to get them to where we are going?"

"I hired a private car carrier service. They will be transported in an enclosed trailer, and as soon as you are up and walking, we can meet them at the storage garage to do that hand print thing you have to do to open and start the car."

She started to laugh and watched the confusion cross over Chase's face. "I disabled that when I put it in storage. You know, just in case something happened to me, I would at least leave you with two great cars."

He shook his head and laughed lightly. "That's not funny Jenna. I'd want you over those cars any day. But Jenna, that was sweet of you to think of me. Did you really think Dale might? You know?"

"I'm not sure. I know he was trying awfully hard to convince me that you were behind some of this. I know he told me he was interested, but I had no feelings for him in that way. Do you know what I am sure of? That I made the right move becoming Jenna Miles. I want as far away from the Malcolm lifestyle as possible."

"You don't know how happy that makes me. Do you think you might want to be Jenna Cooper one day?"

She smiled at the thought and realized that one day she would tell Chase the story about wanting any name what it would it be, and she said the last name of Cooper. Who would have thought? She grabbed Chase's hand with her hand and smiled up at him as she felt the grogginess come over her. "All you have to do is ask me, and I'll say yes." Then she felt her eyelids go heavy and close. She heard her own breathing go deep, and then she fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of fast cars and wild sex with Chase. The End

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Caught

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Wanting Him

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This is a fictional story with no reference to real people or places. Any similar names are strictly coincidental and have been created in the authors mind for purely fun or reference. Every character created is from the author's imagination; every place created or name of a place it to give the reader a mental image of where the story takes place. If the story lists an actual city or state, all information in the story is purely reference or to give the reader a mental idea of the location but does not in any way dictate the true nature of that area. Any reference in a story by this author that could be seen as prejudice is not a true semblance of the author's ideals, it is strictly to create a character in the story and allows the reader an idea of how that character might think or feel.

