She turned to face him in the passenger seat. He glanced at her, saw the worry in her blue eyes.
He faced forward and re-gripped the steering wheel. “I don’t regret it.”
“But you should,” she said softly. “We both agreed we aren’t looking for romance. We don’t want to muck up our partnership with unwanted emotions.”
Unwanted. He was being rejected before he’d even had a chance to tell her that he did want to explore what was going on between them. He should have known better. His judgment was way off when it came to women. Maybe even to all other aspects of his life.
The reflection of the sun off a windshield caught his attention. He watched what was happening behind them for a moment and his chest tightened for a different reason.
“We have a tail,” he said, his gaze still on the rearview mirror. “A nondescript silver sedan four cars back. It’s been with us since we left Denver.”
Maren sat forward again and leaned to her right to look at the passenger side-view mirror. “I see it. But are you sure? The traffic’s so heavy.”
He wasn’t sure. He wasn’t sure of anything at the moment. Wasn’t sure he could trust his judgment. With the way she’d kissed him back yesterday, he’d thought she was feeling the same attraction and affection that was crowding his own chest. But apparently not. “Let’s just keep an eye on the car.”
For the rest of the drive to Boulder they remained silent. The silver sedan dropped back another few cars. But it kept pace with them. When he took the exit for Boulder city center, the sedan passed the exit.
He breathed out a relieved sigh.
“Can you fire up your GPS on that burner phone and get us to Boulder Memorial Hospital?”
Maren took out the phone Colt had given her and found the directions. When they arrived at the hospital, he parked in a spot designated for law enforcement.
After releasing the dogs and letting them have a few minutes on the lawn outside the entrance, the four of them walked into the hospital. For some reason the hairs at the nape of Colt’s neck quivered. He paused to glance back and saw a silver sedan slide into a parking place four rows from the exit. A dark-haired woman in a bright pink top and jeans emerged from the car, but she kept her face turned away from the entrance. She appeared harmless as she hitched her purse on her shoulder.
He gave his head a shake. He couldn’t be sure if it was the same make or model as the one he’d thought was following them. There were a lot of silver sedans out there. But with Shadow seeming to always be hovering close, he couldn’t dislodge the thought they had been followed.
Inside the hospital, he touched Maren’s lower back, the gesture oddly natural.
She glanced at him with curiosity. “Something wrong?”
“Keep your head on a swivel,” he said. “I don’t know why, but I just have a bad feeling.”
She nodded and tugged Haven closer to her side. “Always alert, always prepared.”
He gave a wry chuckle. She was a feisty woman, and he really liked her. More than liked her. But he needed to hold his feelings for her in check. Because, obviously, she didn’t feel the same.
Aware of the curious and interested stares aimed at the two dogs, Colt made sure his badge was visible. Maren did as well. At the information desk, they asked for Agent Spares’s room number.
They were directed to the sixth floor, east wing, room 659.
When they arrived on the sixth floor, they stopped at the nurses’ station to alert the staff they were there.
“Has he regained consciousness?” Maren asked the duty nurse.
“He has been in and out of consciousness,” the nurse replied. “But he’s very weak from blood loss.”
“We’ll only be a minute,” Colt assured the woman.
They walked down the hall past rooms with beeping monitors and the low murmur of conversations and televisions, to find Agent Spares’s room. The door was closed.
Colt frowned. “I would’ve thought there would be an agent on duty outside.”
“Do you really think he’s in danger?” Maren glanced up and down the hallway as if searching for any threats.
“I think Steve was the target. I’m sure that’s what my boss thought, too,” Colt said, assuring himself as much as her.
Still, if he’d been in charge, he would’ve posted somebody outside the door. Spares was a DEA agent after all. He deserved respect and protection.
