In Bed with the Enemy Read Free

transport them into Mezcaya.”
    â€œGood luck,” he said, leaning back in the chair.
    She smiled. “Now it’s your turn.”
    â€œMy turn?”
    â€œYes, your turn.” She narrowed her eyes. “You’re going to tell me how you intend to prove the Mercados are behind this.”
    â€œSorry, Campbell,” he said, rising to his feet. “I don’t reveal my moves before I make them. And I for damn sure don’t work with women.”
    â€œOh, so that’s the way it’s going to be, huh?” Elise rose from the bed to stand toe-to-toe with him. Unfortunately, she was a good six inches shorter than he was and had to tilt her head back to look him squarely in the eye. “We’re going to keep our discoveries about the investigation separate?”
    â€œThat’s right, sweetheart.” His cocky grin made her want to punch him. “I work alone during this phase of a case.”
    â€œFair enough, Caveman,” she said, smiling.“You’ve heard the last of the way I plan to conduct my investigation.” She walked over to the door connecting their two rooms. “And just so you’re warned. My name is Elise or Campbell, not ‘sweetheart.’ If you ever call me that again, I might not be so cautious about firing my gun the next time you come barging into my room.”
    Shrugging, he started through the door, but turned back to cup her cheek with his palm. “I’ll stop calling you sweetheart when you stop calling me Caveman.”
    The heat from his hand spread down her neck to her torso and beyond. She took a deep breath. It wasn’t a good feeling. It wasn’t. Maybe if she keep repeating it, she’d start to believe that it was true.
    â€œI want to thank you, Caveman. ”
    â€œFor what, sweetheart? ”
    â€œI thought my day couldn’t possibly get any worse than it was this afternoon.” She gave him a smile that she hoped set his teeth on edge. “But in the past hour and a half, you’ve proven how wrong I was, and just how bad it could get.”
    Laughing, he had the audacity to wink at her before he dropped his hand and walked into his room.
    Her anger close to the boiling point, Elise slammed the door on her side and barely resisted the urge to stomp her foot.
    Â 
    Cole walked over to turn on the television in the corner. Campbell’s name was Elise. Surely he’d heard it when they worked the El Paso case two years ago. Why hadn’t he remembered it?
    Sitting on the end of the bed, he pulled off his boots, then stared off into space.
    Elise. It was a soft, sweet-sounding name, and suited her perfectly. Her smooth skin beneath his palms had felt like fine satin when he’d caught her to keep her from falling, and when he’d cupped her cheek he’d been tempted to press his lips to hers to see if they tasted as sweet as they looked.
    He cursed and shook his head. He must be losing it. This was Campbell, the FBI’s “go-to” girl. The woman with a pain-in-the-ass attitude and a razor-sharp tongue.
    But that was no excuse for the way he’d reacted to her. The way he’d always reacted to her.
    He’d never been in the habit of baiting a woman the way he did whenever he was around her. On the contrary. He had the utmost respect for women. They were soft, gentle and deserved a man’s consideration, as well as his protection. And it was a damn good thing his old man wasn’t alive to hear about the exchange. Gunnery Sergeant Albert Yardley would kick Cole’s butt from here to yonder for talking to a woman the way he had spoken to Campbell.
    Thinking about his father, Cole smiled. Gunny had been a walking contradiction when it came to his views on the fairer sex.
    From the time Cole had been old enough to listen, the man had lectured him about where a woman’s place should be in the world. “Keep ’em barefoot and pregnant, boy, and