Captivated (Partners in Crime Book 4)

Chapter 2

Cole's flight landed in Idaho at noon the next day. He met the private plane he had asked for thirty minutes later and was soon in the air again. An hour after that, he landed in a private airstrip in the middle of nowhere. Then, he joined Kaden in a rental Toyota Camry.

"Fancy meeting you here." Kaden grinned.

"I'm missing my niece's one month birthday party for this." Cole shot him a look.

"Sorry for telling you to do your job."

"Touche."

Kaden laughed, "Good to see you man."

"It's been what, a week?"

"Yes."

"Funny. So, she's a lawyer, was shot at in a public restaurant, came here, has been here for one day and we have no leads yet?"

"Correct."

Cole rubbed his eyes, "Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be a tough case?"

"Maybe because she's a lawyer and therefore has made a lot of enemies already?"

"Maybe."

One hour later, Kaden and Cole pulled up to a rather nice (and large) hunting cabin.

"As it seems like she is going to be here for a while, we gave her the best place we could."

"That was nice of you." Cole teased. Kaden was known for being serious and hostile towards most people, so being generous and kind was not one of his virtues. "I'm guessing you scared her into staying in the bedroom already?"

Kaden's lips twitched, "No, she's asking if there are any rural towns out here that she can go to."

"The woman's got some nerve." Cole raved.

"That's why I need you here. It's been one day and she's already got my fuse burning."

Cole chuckled and grabbed his bags from the back of the car. He entered the house and immediately smelled what seemed like chocolate chip cookies. "Mhm."

A pretty woman came out of the kitchen in skinny jeans and a Nike sweatshirt, "Hello?"

Cole set his bag down and smiled at her, "Hi."

Kaden appeared behind him, "Ma'am, this is my partner Cole Wagner. He's gonna be part of your security team as well."

Cole nodded to her, "Nice to meet you." He stuck out his hand for her to shake.

She took it and smiled, "I'm Hazel. Nice to meet you too. And, are there any women on this team?"

He nodded, "Yes, I believe there will be a few coming."

"Good. Because I don't like living with all men. Especially since I've been told I might be here a while." Hazel turned and went back to the kitchen. Cole understood why Kaden was frustrated with her. She asked questions and wasn't afraid to speak up.

"I'll get your bags." Kaden murmured and left quickly.

Cole had known her for all of two minutes and was very intrigued. She was classically beautiful, with her dirty blonde hair curled down her back and chocolate brown eyes. He followed her into the kitchen. "It looks like a war zone in here." Flour was everywhere and dishes were scattered all over the place.

Hazel smiled sheepishly, "I'm not a very good baker."

He peeked into the oven and raised his brows at the burning cookies, "Apparently not."

She laughed, "I thought I might try new things while I'm here. Step out of my comfort zone while I live out of my comfort zone."

"I like the way you think."

"Don't you have somewhere to be, um..." Hazel scrunched up her face as she tried to remember his name.

"Cole."

"Right. Don't you have somewhere to be Cole?"

He pulled the cookies out of the oven and set them out to cool, "No, actually I don't."

Hazel slowly nodded. "Okay." They were silent for a few minutes before Cole jumped when Hazel exclaimed, "Shoot!"

Cole looked at the counter and found a raw egg cracked and spilling over the counter. He tried to cover a laugh, "The egg is supposed to go in the bowl."

She glared at him, "Very funny."

He helped her clean up the mess and when he was finished throwing the wet paper towels away he turned to see her staring into the bowl of dough with a stressed expression. "Hazel?"

She didn't look up.

He set his hands on her shoulders. "Hazel." turning her, he directed her towards the living room. "Sit."

She did as he told her to.

He knew what was going on. The reality of what was going on hit her hard. But she was coping well. Other people he had worked with took their nerves out by throwing dishes around. He looked around and found a well-worn Bible sitting on a shelf. He took it and set it in her lap. "Read."

Hazel smiled gratefully as she settled back on the couch and opened the Bible. So she was a believer.

Cole left her to herself and joined Kaden in the office where they had set up "headquarters."

Kaden looked up at him. "Hey. You two got along well."

"She's got wit. Like me."

"Most definitely like you."

"Anything we should be concerned about for her? Diseases, illnesses, etcetera?"

Kaden flipped through a file, "Severe anxiety." He swore. Then smacked the table. "Sorry." Kaden was not a Christian and Cole had tried to change that. Kaden didn't listen but respected Cole's beliefs and tried not to swear around him.

"It's fine. But that's gonna be a tough one. Anxiety?" Cole let out a low whistle. "That's rough."

Kaden shrugged, "Just send some of your charm her way and she'll be fine in no time."

Cole scowled at him.