Dead Heat (22 page)

Paige and Dani leaned closer when they didn’t hear anything for a second.

“I am sorry, I cannot agree to that.” Mo was really in royal mode. The definitive tone left nothing to question. Mo was calling the shots now. “He tried to kill Danielle, and for that he’ll die in Rahmi. I am not going to allow him to live out his days in some comfortable American prison when he almost killed my fiancé, a future Princess of Rahmi.”

“You think I like this?” Cole ground out between clenched teeth. “Don’t you think I want to kill the son of a bitch for what he’s done to Paige?”

Dani and Paige shared a glance at each other that clearly filled Dani in on the relationship advancement she and Cole had gone through this afternoon.

“Then how can you possibly offer this man a deal?” Mo’s voice was hard as Paige imagined the two of them standing face to face, glaring at each other.

“Offer him your deal after Ahmed talks to him. He should gladly leap at a chance to a plea deal. Offer him a really nice deal. Make sure you have him in solitary until his testimony though. I don’t want anything to happen to him.”

“Mo, this doesn’t make sense. I thought you wanted harsher punishment.”

“And I will get it. You make a deal on behalf of the FBI and local authorities. After his testimony, walk him out of court and hand him over to Ahmed.”

“I can’t do that. The United States can’t just hand over a criminal to Rahmi, no matter how good our relations are with you.”

“I am not talking about him disappearing. I am talking about a legal and already approved order of extradition.” Paige could hear the triumph in Mo’s voice.

“You have no grounds to extradition. He hasn’t committed any crimes in Rahmi.”

“According to the Rahmi-U.S. Treaty signed for oil imports, the United States agreed that any crimes against ambassadors, royalty, or any other dignitaries from Rahmi can be prosecuted in Rahmi Court as long as a request for extradition has been submitted.”

“Danielle is a United States citizen, she doesn’t qualify.” Poor Cole, he sounded so confused.

“There you are wrong. She qualifies as royalty and as a dignitary. The formal papers for our marriage have been accepted by my parents, the announcement has been made in Rahmi. As soon as those papers were signed and the announcement was made, she became one of the highest ranking women in my country, and according to our laws, a citizen of Rahmi.” Mo stopped and she could hear the smile on his lips. “As such, for the attempted assassination of the future Princess of Rahmi, he is subject to extradition.”

She heard Cole walk away and make a call, she guessed to be to Phillip Salmond. She looked at Dani who silently shrugged her shoulders. They didn’t know what to make of this situation. Frankly, Paige didn’t know if she cared what happened to the assassin. But, she was pretty sure she would feel better the further away from her he was.

“Salmond agreed to it. We are having the lawyers work up the papers now. They will be faxed to the ICU within the hour. Let’s go see if our man has woken up.”

Dani held out her good arm for Paige to grip as she tentatively took the couple of steps back to her wheelchair. She hated to admit it, but she was glad she had the wheelchair now. Her feet throbbed just sitting there. When she was standing, it felt like fire ripping her feet apart. Dani wheeled her back over to the gym equipment and went back to her physical therapy.

“Doesn’t Mo have a gym at home?”

“Yes, but if I didn’t get out of the house some, I would go crazy. I talked him into letting me do it here since there is an emergency button and doctors right down the hall,” she said as she pointed to the multiple red emergency buttons stationed around the room.

Paige looked around the sterile room filled with a rainbow of flexi-bands, silver free weights, and a couple of machines that resembled torture racks. Dani eagerly pulled some handle on the torture rack and weights slid up and then down as she strained and grunted. She shook her head and was glad she didn’t have to have therapy for her feet. She had always been a country girl. No gym needed. Why would a woman make those noises and faces in front of other people?

She had been lucky enough to stay in shape with riding, running around the farm, wrestling with her brothers, and shooting. As she got older, she walked five miles to town each day during the summer to see friends. She ran through the creek and helped harvest the crops. Then, as a young woman, she got Chuck. He was all the excuse she needed to go running through fields again.

“Are you, ugh, getting, ugh, ready for the, ugh, trial?” Dani grunted out during one of her reps.

“I guess. I honestly haven’t thought about it. I know I will be called to testify, but I don’t know much more than that. The prosecutor told me she’d give me a call on Monday to go over my testimony and the procedure of the trial. What about you?”

“Mo’s attorney is helping me get ready. He’s talked with the prosecutor and she’s told him what she wants from me and what to expect from the defense. I must say, I can’t wait for this to be over with. I refused to start wedding plans until this is over.”

“I am sure your mom isn’t thrilled with that!”

“My mom understands. It’s my dad who is going nuts. He has more parties lined up than I can count.” Dani would have laughed if she had any breath left in her.

“How is the injury?” Paige asked, turning serious.

“Better. It still aches and the whole area feels tight, but I am told it’s just part of the healing process. The more I work it out and stretch the area, the sooner I will get back to feeling normal.”

“Have you talked to Kenna? I wonder how she’s doing.” Paige grabbed a pretty blue stretch band from the wall and tried to stretch it to no avail.

“She’s doing great. Working on physical therapy, same as me, and trying to get Will to stop hovering. He’s already brought back paint samples from the store to paint the nursery. Kenna just told him to put it all in the room. In three months, when they find out if it’s a girl or a boy, she’ll let him play painter.” Paige laughed and thought of Will and Kenna. They were going to make such great parents. “Now that we have made the required small talk, I want to know about you and Cole.”

“Huh?” Paige almost blushed. That was real smooth. She just wasn’t prepared for that kind of question. Dani just raised an eyebrow and went back to the torture rack. “Well, I am not quite sure what will happen. He told me he loved me, but I have no idea how it will all work out once we get back to the real world.”

“Real world? I didn’t know you had left it.”

“You know, when he goes back to Lexington and is no longer living with me.” She fidgeted with the blue band again and threw it down after it snapped back and hit her in the face much to Dani’s amusement.

“Just don’t over-think things. You all are perfect for each other and you’ll both realize that if you just get out of your own way.”

Paige rolled her chair back and forth and thought about what Dani said as she grunted out another set of exercises that were supposedly helping her. Maybe Dani was right. Maybe she should just go with the flow and see what happens next. 'Enjoy the now' as her mother always told her when she started to worry about the future too much. With a new determination towards her future, Paige tried to relax and not think about Cole as Dani told her about their upcoming trip to Rahmi to prepare for the first wedding ceremony and then the subsequent wedding in Keeneston two days later.

Chapter Seventeen

Paige said goodbye to Dani and was wheeled away from the physical therapy room as soon as Cole got back. He didn’t say anything and didn’t fill them in on the interrogation. He just gave Dani a quick peck on the cheek, grabbed the handles to the wheelchair, and started wheeling her to the car as if the checker flag was waving at Bristol Speedway.

“Cole, what’s going on?” Paige asked, gripping the arm rests of the wheelchair as he took a corner on two wheels.

“Nothing. Why?” He asked, never taking his eyes off the finish line in the form of sliding doors.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you’re not telling me what happened and you’re practically running for the door.” Paige closed her eyes as he narrowly avoided hitting an old man making his way down the hall.

“It went fine. The son of a bitch is going to pay, but first I have to act like his buddy. He started talking the second I put a little piece of paper in front of him. Said we wouldn’t go after him for the attempted murders of you, Kenna, and Dani. That really hurt, by the way, but he started talking so fast I was happy to just sit back and record it.” He paused in his story as he weaved between a couple of gurneys being pushed by orderlies. “Seems Judge Voggel was the sitting judge on his brother’s case and promised to find a way to dismiss the charges if he cleaned up their little mess. But no worries, he’ll be turned over to Rahmi as soon as he gives his testimony at trial.”

Cole hurried through the double doors and ceremoniously dumped her into the passenger seat of Ahmed’s Mercedes. Paige watched as he pushed the wheelchair back towards the ER doors and ran to the driver’s door.

“Well, I am sure you are dying to get home.” Cole peeled out of the hospital parking lot and made it back to Keeneston in record time.

Paige had to pry her hand from the 'oh shit' bar above the window as Cole reached in and pulled her into his arms. He used his hip to close the door and practically ran to the shop door.

“I bet you’re glad to be home. You can rest all night without any worries about men trying to kill you. With the medicine the doctor ordered, you won’t even want to get out of bed until tomorrow afternoon.”

Paige just stared at him, not knowing what to make of this sudden shift of character. Cole couldn’t wait to get her inside. Oh, couldn’t wait to get her in bed! Paige smiled and batted her eyelashes just slightly at Cole as he hurried Chuck outside and then back inside as soon as possible. How romantic! He couldn’t wait to be with her! He carried her up the stairs to her apartment and reached her bedroom. He gently lowered her into the bed and pulled down the covers.

He stepped back and reached into his pocket for the condom. Wait. That wasn’t a condom. That was a pill bottle. He shook out two pills and handed them to her before hurrying to the bathroom for a small cup of water.

“Here. Take these. They should help you get right to sleep.” He shoved the cup into her hand, stood back, and waited for her to take them. She felt her mouth hanging open and shut it.

“Take these and you can sleep until the morning. By then, the worst of the swelling will be gone from your feet and then they’ll just hurt as opposed to the pain you’re feeling now.”

“No. Yes. Just have to get some things done and I am sure you want to get to bed after such a long day.” Cole was practically hopping from one foot to the other.

“Fine. Have a good night.” She swallowed the two pills, got a quick kiss on the forehead, and watched Cole rush out of her apartment and possibly out of her life.

Paige dreamt of running through the woods as fast as she could. She felt the pain of the thorns as they dug into her feet. If she could just make it to the creek, the fire in her feet would be extinguished. The cold water hit at her face, but she couldn’t stop the fire licking at her feet.

She jolted awake at the second slobbery kiss and stared up at Chuck’s face hanging over hers. His chocolate brown eyes dancing as his jowls billowed out.

“Hey boy.” Paige closed her eyes as Chuck gave her another slurp. She stretched her body and felt the tightness in her feet.

They were much tighter today, and they ached. But the fire was gone, just like Cole said it would be. She raised her hand and absently scratched Chuck’s head as she thought about her life. Would Cole even call to check on her today?

She scratched behind Chuck’s ears and heard the muted thumping of his tail against the down comforter. She ran her hand down his neck and stopped. She ran her hand around his neck and opened her eyes at the foreign object. A big red satin bow was tied to Chuck’s neck. She followed the red ribbon around his neck and gasped.

A simple gold band with a solitaire diamond hung from the ribbon. Paige stared at its simple elegance and sighed. Damn dreams. That was not cool to mess with her like that. She closed her eyes and figured the meds were giving her strange dreams. She shook her head and told herself to wake up.

She slowly opened her eyes again and closed them quickly as Chuck gave her face another bath. Now she was definitely awake. She opened her eyes and felt her mouth fall open. The ribbon was still around Chuck’s neck and the beautiful diamond ring was still dangling from his neck.

Her hand went to it and she felt the hardness of the diamond and the smoothness of the gold band. Yup, definitely real. She raised her eyes and scanned her room. They stopped at the man casually leaning against the door with a dozen red roses and a smile on his face.

Paige watched as Cole pushed away from the door and walked towards her. Could this be real? It felt real, but she thought he had walked out on her last night.

She wanted to say something, but nothing came out when she opened her mouth. So she just watched as Cole stopped beside the bed and went down to one knee.

“Paige, sweetheart, I love you with all my heart. Maybe it wasn’t love at first sight, but then again, maybe it was. Maybe we made each other so mad because we knew, deep down, that we belong together. It just took our heads a little while to catch up with our hearts. I have loved our fights, I have loved our passion, and I have loved every moment I have had with you. There is nothing I want more than to have those moments with you for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?”