was plastered against her body. He wanted to draw her against him for warmth, but he couldn’t risk her decking him and signaling their location to the men below.
“Maybe Saunders was wrong and no one heard us.”
“You want to be the one to tell him that?” That high voice went even higher.
The other guy snorted. “Not if I want to live.”
“That’s what I figured. C’mon. We’ll keep going. If we don’t find someone in thirty minutes we’ll quit.”
Cole would give the men time to move out of hearing distance and then he’d ask her for details to see how he could be of assistance.
She started moving as if she intended to climb over him and down to the beach.
“Not yet.” Cole laid a restraining hand on her back. “We’ll wait until they’ve put some distance between us.”
“We?” Her forehead furrowed and her whole body shook from the cold.
“You need help, and I can provide it.”
“I don’t even know you.” It took a strong woman to be this chilled and tired and refuse help. Or a foolish one.
“Then let’s remedy that.” He turned on his side and offered his hand. “Cole Justice. Former U.S. Marshal and Oregon National Guard,” he said, hoping she’d realize he was one of the good guys.
She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.
“Usually this is when you shake hands and give me your name.” He smiled to try to ease her obvious concern, but it didn’t work. She kept peering at him. “Okay. So you don’t want me to know who you are. Can you at least give me a first name?”
“Alyssa,” she said between tremors.
A perfectly elegant name for a woman who he figured would live up to it, if she was dry and not lying on a slimy rock with the winds and rain from the Pacific Ocean pummeling her body.
“Do you have somewhere safe to go?” he asked.
“No.”
“We can go to my house until you figure out what to do.”
“Not hardly.”
“Look, I’m the last guy who’d tell a woman to go home with a strange man, but I really am one of the good guys. Plus my sister is staying with me so we won’t be alone.” He could see she was starting to consider it. “You can dry off and warm up then leave as soon as you have a plan.”
“I’m all for getting off the beach until these guys take off, but I’m not stepping inside the door until I see this sister.” He loved the timbre of her voice, strong and determined as if nothing could best her.
“Deal,” he said. “Let me make sure they’ve moved far enough up the beach, then we can leave.” He slid on his belly across the rock and, before glancing over the edge, he put his hand on his gun in case he needed to draw. The men were mere shadows moving away from them. He looked back at Alyssa and pushed up to his knees. “Are you good to get down on your own?”
She sat up and nodded, but she was shivering violently now. He slipped out of his slicker and parka and handed them to her. “These should help.”
“No, they’re yours.”
“Take them,” he insisted and dropped them into her hands.
She reluctantly slipped into jackets twice her size and clutched the excess fabric around her waist.
“I’ll go first to be sure we’re still alone.” He didn’t wait for her agreement but lowered his body over the edge and descended as quickly as he could without endangering his life.
She was on her way down before he hit the ground. Hand on his weapon, he quickly checked the other side of the rock to be sure they were alone. He wanted to draw his gun, but he figured Alyssa would run from him if she knew he was armed. Most people didn’t understand that it was normal for law enforcement officers, even former or retired officers, to carry all the time.
He cleared the side of the rock and a gust of wind hit him full on, soaking him anew. The storm was picking up. They had to get a move on. He ran back to the rocks and waited for Alyssa. About five feet above him, she missed a foothold and fell backward. No scream, no flailing, just a soft free-fall into his arms that strained with his catch.
Her eyes were wide open with the same fear in the depths but still in control. She was the coolest woman he’d ever met. As if nothing fazed her.
“Thank you,” she said and pushed out of his hold. “We should go.”
The wind howled around the rock, spitting seawater and sand. When they stepped into the open she’d have a hard time without support, but he’d wait for her to ask for his help.
“This way.” He started up the beach, the wet sand packing nicely under his feet and making the going easier. He kept looking back to check on her. She was falling behind. He slowed to let her catch up. “We’d make better time if you’d hold on to me to keep the wind from carrying you off course.”
She studied him a moment then gave a clipped nod and cautiously approached him. He lifted his arm and she slipped under it. A perfect fit, he couldn’t help but think.
She was still shivering so he pulled her tighter against his body. She wrapped an arm around his waist and they trudged up the beach.
As the wind blew harder, he could feel her faltering. He looked down at her, and she seemed fragile and small. It touched him in a place he thought long dead from the ravages of war. He bent and scooped her into his arms. Her mouth formed an O of surprise, but she didn’t protest so he set off again, her head against chest, his head bent against the wind. He climbed the wooden stairs to his deck overlooking the beach and crossed to the door.
“Your sister,” she said pointedly, strength still in her voice even if it had left her body.
He smiled at her tenacity and pounded on the door.
“You can put me down now,” she said.
“You’ll stay warmer this way.” Surprisingly she didn’t struggle but rested her head on his chest again. He figured she really had to be wiped out to do so.
The door opened and, though his sister Dani’s mouth dropped open in surprise at the sight of them, she didn’t ask any questions. Not that Cole routinely brought home women in distress, but their family did run a private investigation agency dedicated to helping people who had nowhere else to turn. She was used to seeing people in need.
“Alyssa, meet Dani.” He turned his attention back to Alyssa. “Can we go in now?”
When her lips tipped in a charming smile, he had to draw in a breath at the stunning beauty.
“Get some blankets, Dani.” He crossed the threshold and headed for the sofa. “And lock the door.”
Dani turned the dead bolt then ran down the hallway. She returned with blankets
