Tabitha’s father had pinned her against a wall for beatings too many times for her to feel comfortable in any but the briefest, most superficial of embraces.

Jake’s arms didn’t cause panic, however. In fact, getting away was the furthest thing from her mind. Mostly because she was incapable of thought. Jake’s arms around her were a warm cocoon, far from threatening. One strong hand rested at her waist, the other splayed across her back, pressing her even closer to his hard, warm, male body.

The pressure of his lips on hers—insistent but not forceful—burned away any notion more rational than where to put her arms for optimum holding power. She didn’t want to end the kiss. She wanted to prolong it.

At the same time her arms wrapped themselves around Jake’s neck, he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue around the edges of her lips.

A spike of heat surged through Tabitha, causing a desperate need for air. She sucked in a quick breath, which caused her mouth to open.

Jake seized the opportunity, slipping his tongue between her teeth.

Warm and wet and strong, his tongue delved into her mouth, touching hers, then slipping around the inside of her teeth.

Tabitha slid her tongue along the underside of his and felt his moan from her lips to her stomach…and lower. She smiled against his mouth.

Jake drew back.

“No!” Surprised and highly displeased, Tabitha locked her arms into place, holding him a few inches away, barely enough for her eyes to focus on his.

She’d never seen green burn until now. Verdant flames leaped into her, making her blood boil and surge through her overworked heart to pool below, in the only other part in her body she was aware of. Not that her whole body wasn’t singingly aware of his touch, of his smell, of his need. But only two places commanded the limited attention she possessed—lips that throbbed with hypersensitivity, and the mound that pressed into hard, swollen flesh.

“No, what?” he asked in a husky, rough voice.

Aroused beyond anything she’d ever known, she whispered, “Why did you stop?”

His eyes narrowed. “You smiled.”

“I did?” She tried to think, but quickly gave up the effort. If she had smiled, that was too long ago to remember. “Sorry. It won’t happen again.”

His eyes crinkled around the edges but didn’t lose their intensity. “Is that an invitation?”

“Yes, damn it.” Driving the fingers of one hand into thick, soft hair, she pulled his lips back to hers. At first contact, she moaned.

Growling, he slid the hand at her waist down to cup her bottom and slanted his mouth across hers.

This time, however, Tabitha took the lead, edging her tongue into his mouth. He groaned, twining his tongue with hers in a dance so sensuous, so erotic, Tabitha lost track of which one was hers. Neither did she care.

She had one thing on her mind. She wanted to melt inside this man so the pleasure could go on and on and—

A thump from the next room jabbed into her consciousness. Into his, too, because they broke apart at the same time.

They stared at each other, both of them taking in huge gulps of air, both amazed at the sheer power of the experience.

Tabitha wiped the back of her hand slowly across her mouth. “Why did you do that?”

His gaze followed the movement of her hand. “Oh, as if you weren’t having a good time.”

“Why?”

He straightened and made a visible effort to collect himself. “To prove a point.”

“Which was…?”

He drove both hands through his hair, erasing the trails her fingers had left behind. She could still feel it—soft and thick and silky.

“Hell if I know.” His twisted grin came slowly.

Muttering under her breath, Tabitha yanked down her jacket and retreated to the far corner of the room. It didn’t help her dignity that she walked on obviously wobbly legs. But at least she felt relatively safe at this distance.

With her back to Jake, she stared into the tiny waterfall in the knowledge corner and mentally repeated the mantra she used when she wanted to calm herself.

Jake let her go, though it wasn’t easy. All he wanted to do was lock the office door and pull her down onto the red couch against the wall.

But he couldn’t. Kissing her the first time had been all kinds of stupid. If he touched her again, he was pretty damn sure he wouldn’t be able to stop.

Dragging his eyes away from the firm, round bottom he could still feel in his hands, he shoved a hand through his hair again, this time yanking on it in frustration.

What the hell was wrong with him? He’d never done anything like this before. Never even been tempted. One of the most important rules in hostage situations was to not get emotionally attached to anyone involved—perpetrators, victims…or hospital administrators.

He needed to maintain distance, for that and several other very pertinent points, as well.

He’d read the file on Tabitha Monroe. She was not the kind of woman who formed casual relationships. She was too visible in the community. Not only was she chief administrator of the hospital, she was also its chief fund-raiser. She mixed with the cream of Mission Creek society, had a membership at the Lone Star Country Club, attended parties at the finest houses in and around town. She had a certain reputation to maintain, which did not include hot affairs with cops.

The problem was, the two of them were going to be working very closely in the next few days or weeks. Hell, he was going to be there every time she breathed. With the kinds of feelings he was having—and her, as well, if that kiss was any kind of indication—they could easily drift into a relationship that was personal rather than professional.

And Jake didn’t do personal relationships. Not the kind this high-profile lady required. He simply wasn’t good at any but the most superficial relationships. The two years he’d spent married to Cynthia had taught him that lesson well. His job would always come first, and most women objected to coming in a distant second.

But beyond that, even if he decided he did want something permanent, the chances of it lasting were practically nil. Case after case had proved that most relationships formed in crisis situations were doomed because they were built on adrenaline highs, rather than honest-to-God emotions.

There was no way he could get into any kind of relationship with this beautiful, smart, sexy woman, no matter where her mole was.

Tabitha’s deep breathing penetrated Jake’s thoughts, and he lifted his gaze to her silk-covered back. She stood in front of the tiny temple waterfall in the far corner, probably doing some kind of meditation.

He wondered if it helped.

Before he could stop himself, Jake moved around her desk and stood directly behind her. When he saw his hand lifting to her shoulder, he curled it into a fist instead.

Why did he feel this overwhelming need to touch her? Was it because he felt bad to have caused her to need comfort? Or was it his sudden, irrational jealousy of the waterfall?

He wanted to be the one to comfort her. But she wouldn’t be reassured by his touch.

Then he remembered the kiss.

Or would she?

He shook his head. It didn’t matter All he could use were words. “Look, I’m sorry if I—”

“Can’t you tell that I’m trying to meditate?”

“I was just going to—”

“Why don’t you check on your men or something?” She moved away from him, taking up a position right behind her desk. “Surely you have something you need to do. Go do it.”

Jake smiled wryly. “Unfortunately, you’re what I need to do. Since we don’t have any information on the hostages’ whereabouts, you’re the focal point of the case.”

She frowned at a jade dragon on the corner of her desk. “Because you think I’m the one he’ll call.”

“Right.” Jake stared at the dragon, too. Was she doing something else to take her mind away from him?

Forcing himself not to react, he let a tense moment go by.

They couldn’t work like this. It was going to be hard enough just dealing with the hostage situation. They couldn’t cope with this, too.

Maybe he should take himself off the case.

He entertained the notion for all of two seconds.

He couldn’t. If he backed out now, he’d be stuck in the south end of nowhere forever. Since he was the only man on the Mission Creek force qualified to head the team, Burl would have to let the FBI take over, and the Mission Creek police chief would rather walk naked across the desert than let the FBI take over.

And what reason could Jake give? That he’d fallen in lust with the main contact? Oh yeah, that kind of self-control would look good on his record. No, he had to keep his head together and his arms—and lips—to himself.

“Look, Miss Monroe, we can’t—”

She pounded her desk with a fist, making him flinch.

She turned narrowed eyes on him. “You can’t shut up, can you?”

“I just wanted to point out that what we did was—”

“Stupid? Adolescent? Grossly unprofessional?”

He lifted his chin. How about mind-numbingly erotic? “Right. We can’t let it happen again.”

“Oh, it won’t, Chief White. You can bet your last bullet on that.” She turned to fully face him, her arms crossed over her stomach. “I’m not interested in doing anything with you, other than my job. Got that?”

He heard what her lips were saying, but her eyes told a different story.

“Not the slightest, tiniest bit interested. Nothing. Zip. Nada.”

“I see.”

“You’d better ‘see.’ You’re a cop, and I will never, ever—not in a hundred million years—become involved with anyone who wears a badge. If you try anything again like what you just did, I’ll—”

“You’ll what?”

She straightened her shoulders. “I’ll take drastic measures.”

Her vague threat amused him and brought sudden, welcome relief. Not only was he a fully trained member of the SWAT team, not only had he achieved the highest level of expertise in several martial arts, he outweighed her by about sixty pounds. “What are you going to do? Make like the Karate Kid and crane me?”

She went as rigid as an iceberg, and her voice just was as cold. “If you’ll please excuse me, Chief White, I have paperwork to take care of.”

She sat down at her desk, drew a manila folder from her in box, opened it and began reading.

He watched for a long, silent moment, wondering if she’d cut him out of her awareness as effectively as she seemed to. Every cell in his body was aware of her.

He considered yanking the folder from her hands and demanding her attention. He had several good excuses. He needed to tell her about the recording devices attached to her phones. He needed to coach her on what to say to Hines, how to act, how to keep him talking so they could get a good trace.

But he didn’t. He let her win…this time. He was eighty-percent certain Hines wouldn’t call that day, and probably not the next. If Hines wasn’t already out of the area, he’d hunker down and let the search die off. So what Jake needed to tell Tabitha could wait an hour or so. Maybe she’d have cooled off by then.

Oh, she looked cool enough, sitting there in her serene surroundings. But there were telltale signs—shallow breathing, high color on her cheeks—that let him know she was still seething inside.

He spun around and headed for the door. He needed to do a bit of cooling off himself.

As he turned to close the door behind him, Jake couldn’t resist one last look.

She seemed so aloof, so in control. But he knew better.

So she hated cops. Why? The only reason he could come up with from what he knew about her was that her father had made sergeant in the Dallas Police Department.

But women who had cop fathers usually were rather fond of policemen. Many officers he knew were married to daughters of cops. Having grown up in the life, they understood how things were done.

So what had Tabitha’s father done to make her hate them?

Determined to find out, Jake focused again on her sexy face. He wanted to walk over and wipe the frown of concentration off her face. He wanted to make her concentrate on him.

Instead, he closed the door. Very softly.

 

Nearly an hour later, Tabitha sat in her desk chair, listening to Jake’s monologue on handling kidnappers. There were five other officers in the room, all in various stages of attention. A couple of them took notes. One added comments now and then.

Tabitha did neither. Her hands gripped the leather-bound arms of her executive chair. Her feet, cold as ice, were frozen to the floor.

She’d known, of course, that she was in charge of the situation, the one everyone was looking to, the one responsible for the outcome.

But she hadn’t known.

She’d actually thought about how great handling this was going to look on her résumé. Oh, she’d been genuinely horrified. After all, she knew the people who’d been kidnapped. She was as good a friend to Caitlyn as anyone, and had a passing acquaintance with Dr. Sam Walters.

But not until Jake explained exactly how much danger Sam and Caitlyn were in, all the things that could go wrong, what they were likely experiencing, did Tabitha know the overwhelming enormity of her responsibility.

Where was Caitlyn now? Was she tied up in some dark basement, lying on a cold, wet floor, crying, not knowing what was going to happen? Was Dr. Walters with her, or were they kept separately? Was he comforting her?

Or was it worse? Was Caitlyn wrapped in a dirty sheet, lying cold and lifeless in a shallow grave just a few feet from—

Tabitha’s nails dug into the leather. No. She couldn’t go there. Jake said the probability was high that they weren’t dead…yet.

She had to keep a positive mind-set. If she didn’t, she would never get through this without cracking up. She needed to remember everything they’d taught in the seminar she’d attended in Dallas two years ago.

“You okay?”

Tabitha drew her mind back to the room and focused on Jake’s concerned face. He stood on the other side of the desk, so calm, so in charge. Didn’t he feel anything?

“You’re white as a sheet,” he said.

She tried to suppress a shudder. Bad choice of words.

Jake came around the desk and pried her hand off the arm of her chair. “And cold as ice.”

“Sam and Caitlyn could die,” she whispered.

“Yes, they could.” His face hardened. “I’m not going to lie to you.”

Tabitha’s heart lurched, and she looked away. “All it will take is one little slip on my part. Something I forget to say, something I say that I shouldn’t.”

“You can’t think of it that way. Look at me, Tabitha.” He pulled her chin up with his other hand. “You cannot think of it that way. You will do the very best that you can. And we’re here. We’re trained for this. We’ll help you.”

She tried to swallow but couldn’t.

Jake’s incredibly green eyes were intent. “You can’t blame yourself if something goes wrong. We’re dealing with a man who doesn’t think like normal people. Hell, let’s call a spade a spade. The guy’s crazy. He could get any kind of notion into his head. If he does, you can’t blame yourself.” He squeezed her hand. “I won’t let you.”

The last words, more than any others, heartened her.

His voice lowered and softened. “If I could do this for you, I would. But the last person he wants to talk to is a cop.”

“I understand.” Only then did she realize that he still held her hand. Though she wanted to keep it right where it was and put her other hand in Jake’s, too, Tabitha drew it away. “I’m okay.”

“You sure?”

She nodded, hoping she looked convincing. Again she felt compelled to tell him, “I’m certified in crisis management, you know. I took a weekend seminar at Dallas General a couple of years ago.”

“Them weekend seminars ain’t worth sh—”

“That’s great.” Jake threw a nasty look at the middle-aged officer who’d spoken, then leaned against the edge of her desk, returning his attention to her. “You’ll do just fine. We’re going to get them back. I have a very good feeling about this case.”

“You do?”

He nodded. “We’re going to be proactive, though, which means you’ve got to put yourself in the spotlight. Can you handle it?”

She took a deep breath, and gathered her inner strength. “Of course. I have to, don’t I?”

“If you really think you—”

“What do I need to do?”

He smiled. “If you’re up to it, then I’ll schedule a press conference for seven o’clock. That’ll give us time to prepare and the news agencies plenty of time to get it on the air for the ten-o’clock news.”

“What do I say?” Tabitha asked.

“You’re going to make it absolutely clear that you’re willing to negotiate. You’re not going to promise Hines a baby. You’re going to be vague on exactly what you’ll give him, but you want to make him believe that the options are open. He doesn’t have to do anything stupid. You’ve got to sound like his only friend in the world. Can you do that?”

“I think so.” She placed her shoulders back against the chair. “Yes. I can. Definitely.”

His smile was warm and proud. “Good girl. And don’t worry. We’ll have a carefully worded statement for you before then.”

He straightened and turned to bark orders to the officers there.

Tabitha couldn’t help but be impressed with Jake’s confidence, the depth of his knowledge and his ability to handle people.

He knew exactly what needed to be done and believed he could do it right. She hoped he could instill some of that confidence in her.

 

Left alone for a blessed minute, Tabitha rested her head against the high back of her chair and closed her eyes. She tried to concentrate on her mantra so she could find serenity, but serenity was elusive. Heck, concentration was elusive.

Too much had happened in too short a period of time. Her emotions were on overload, and her brain was in danger of shorting out.

“You asleep?”

Tabitha opened her eyes to see her secretary’s gray head poking in the doorway. “I wonder if I’ll ever sleep again. Every time I close my eyes, I see Caitlyn’s face.”

With a sympathetic expression, Marie pushed the door open and walked in. “It’s awful. I still can’t believe something like this happened in Mission Creek, of all places.”

Tabitha sighed. “Crazy people are everywhere.”

“That’s for sure.” She laid a piece of paper on the desk in front of Tabitha. “I brought the statement for you to look over. Chief White and his men finished it a few minutes ago.”

Tabitha picked it up. “It’s great of you to come in on a Saturday, Marie. Especially since this is Labor Day weekend.”

“Oh, pooh. The only plans I had were sitting in Harry’s bass boat and watching him fish. I’m just glad I could do something to help, even in a small way.”

“You just being here helps a lot. Thanks.” Tabitha began reading the statement she was to give in a few hours, but sensed Marie watching her. “Is there something else?”

“Can I run out and get you something to eat? Knowing you, you haven’t eaten all day.”

“No, I couldn’t possibly eat anything. But thanks.”

Marie nodded. “Maybe that nice Chief White will take you out after the press conference.”

Tabitha shook her head. “I’ll probably be here at the hospital until we get Caitlyn and Dr. Walters back.”

“I don’t think so. They’re setting up taps on the phones at your house. Why would they do that unless you’ll be going home?”

Why, indeed? “When are they going to do that?”

“Oh, they’re doing it now. When you were in here earlier having that conference with Chief White and the others, Daniel Hammel—you know, Bessie’s boy? He joined the police force a couple of years ago. He’s into all that technical stuff. Anyhoo, he asked if I knew where you kept your keys. They wanted to get started and didn’t know how long you’d be, so I gave them the spares you keep in my desk. I hope that’s all right.”

“You know the officer who asked you for them. You’re sure he’s all right?”

“Bless me, yes! Daniel goes deer hunting with my youngest son, Cody. Don’t worry. He’s not going to rifle through your underwear drawer or anything.”

“I wasn’t worried about that.”

“Now that Chief White…” Marie wiggled her eyebrows. “The way he looks at you, I’d say he wants to do more than rifle through your drawers.”

“Wha—?” Tabitha cleared her throat. “What makes you say something like that?”

“I know the look a man gives a woman when he’s hot for her.”

“Marie! You’re expecting your first grandchild.”

“So? I wouldn’t be if I hadn’t been given that look once or twice.”

Tabitha felt heat stinging her cheeks and lowered her gaze to the paper in her hands to hide her fierce blush. She tried to make her voice cool. “I’m sure you’re mistaken about Chief White. Thanks for typing this. I need to read over it so I—”

“If I’m mistaken, then pigs don’t wallow in mud. You never believe me when I tell you certain men would like to get to know you better, even though there have been several in here who have. Jake White is one of them. I’d stake my great-grandmama’s tea biscuit recipe on it.”

Tabitha rolled her eyes. “Marie, this is not the time or place for romance. Two employees of the hospital have been kidnapped. They’re in a great deal of danger. I can’t be thinking about who has or does not have the hots for me. And Chief White is much too professional a police officer—” her voice almost cracked at the lie “—to make a move even if he were interested.”

“I know what’s going on with poor Cait and Sam,” Marie said without shame. “But sometimes love springs on you when you least expect it. I met my Harry at my granddaddy’s funeral.”

“Jake is not in love with me, Marie.”

“Oh, it’s Jake already, is it?”

“Marie, please. I need to read over this statement.”

“All right, I’m going.” But she muttered as she left. “How am I ever going to get her married off when she won’t see what God sets down right in front of her?”

Tabitha stared at the laser-printed words Jake had no doubt written, but she didn’t see them. If Marie had picked up on the tension between her and Jake, then others would, too, eventually. Marie seemed to have a homing instinct for men who were attracted to Tabitha, and wasn’t shy about pointing them out. Tabitha could sense their interest, but it made her deal with them even more impersonally than she would normally have.

This was a recurring theme in Tabitha’s life. Men would show an interest, and she would run the other way. Or more like it, push them away.

It wasn’t hard to figure out why. What her father hadn’t accomplished, Scott had. Scott was the only halfway serious boyfriend she’d ever had. But he’d turned out to be just like her father.

Both of them had been abusive—mentally and physically. Neither of them had loved her. Neither of them had wanted her love.

So now she pushed men away before they got close enough to push her. She recognized the habit, and had tried more than once to stop doing it so she could have a normal, meaningful relationship.

But she couldn’t stop. Self-preservation was too deeply ingrained in her psyche. She simply didn’t know how.

Tabitha straightened her spine.

This, however, was neither the time nor the place—nor the man—to worry about any of that. Not only were there much more important things to worry about, Jake was a cop.

Sewer rats were higher on the list of desirable males than cops.

Satisfied with her decision and the strength of her resolve, Tabitha forced her eyes to focus on the words she had to say to the world.