"It's when you catch a catfish with your bare hands. You find their hole and stick your hand into it, wiggle your finger so the fish bites it, and then you pull the catfish out." If he had been a teenager, he would have added, 'like duh'.

Annie didn't know how to respond, so she didn't. She just found herself looking back and forth between the two of them. They reminded her of golden retriever puppies, and she had the odd sense to pet and cuddle them.

"Do you think that's why I have trouble dating, d.i.n.k? Maybe I just need to let them chase me."

"It's worth a shot."

"Thanks, Miss Hill. I'll give it a try. If it worked on Cade, it's good enough for us to try, huh d.i.n.ky?"

"Sure 'nuf."

"Have a good night, ma'am. Shoot, Miss Hill, don't forget, March is the perfect month for a wedding. Just make sure it's after the NCAA tournament. I think we'll go far this year. Go Big Blue!"

Annie waved good-bye as they got into their cruiser and took the Three Stooges off to jail. She needed a drink. What was Big Blue? She had been afraid to ask after stupidly asking what noodling was. All she knew was she wanted to get inside, get warm, and put an ice pack on her swollen cheek.

Chapter Fifteen.

Cade ran the film again for the players. They had been there for two hours and it was close to midnight. Coach Parks had gone outside and told all the parents that the team wanted to stay and work on preparing for the playoffs. Between uppercla.s.smen and the coaches, all the kids without cars would be driven home.

"Coach? Your phone is buzzing again."

"Thank you, Hall. Just ignore it."

"But, Coach, it's the third time it's gone off in under a minute. It's probably important."

Cade s.n.a.t.c.hed up the phone and looked at the caller ID. He didn't know who was calling, but it was a local number. "Yes," he snapped as he pressed the answer b.u.t.ton.

"Cade? Noodle."

"Kinda busy here. Can I call you back tomorrow?"

"Oh, sure, sure. I didn't really need to talk to you. I just thought I should let you know I just came from haulin' three big fellers off Miss Hill's property. She was fine, but there was one heck of a bruise forming on her face. Looks like something real nasty went down there although she's only claiming trespa.s.sing. I figured it was best not to push."

Cade froze. Bruise, three men, this was serious. "Is she okay? Are you sure?"

"No. That's why I'm calling you. Miss Hill is real nice, but I take it that she is a real independent type. She tried to feed us a line that three guys were just pa.s.sed out drunk as she sat there with a swollen cheek, and the way she moved showed a tender midsection also. For all she wants to appear innocent, she beat the c.r.a.p out of these guys and I'm beyond impressed. However, she is choosing to keep us in the dark. Since she's your girlfriend, I'll respect that. Just call us if you need us. But, if I were you, I would be heading over there right quick to check on her."

Cade's heart had stopped beating as soon as Noodle had told him about Annie being injured. "Thanks, Noodle. I'll go over there now." Cade ended the call and turned to his team. "I'm sorry I have kept you guys so late. It's about time for you all to head home. Uppercla.s.smen please give at least one of the lowercla.s.smen a ride home. I'll see you for practice on Monday. Expect to stay late. We have a champions.h.i.+p to win!"

The boys cheered and headed out to the parking lot as Cade grabbed his things and sprinted to his car. If only he had been there. He should have been there. This was all his fault. He was nauseous at the thought of the fear she must have gone through with three men attacking her.

He knew she was trained, but still, three men! How did she take down three men? It didn't matter that she had. He should have been there. His phone rang, and he opened it immediately as he tore out of the high school parking lot.

"Annie?"

"No, it's Daisy Mae. Where in all of Jupiter are you? Why aren't you with Annie? How is she?"

"I don't know. I just got the call from Noodle. On my way there now. Call waiting, it may be her."

"Give her a hug for me."

"Annie?" He was desperate to hear her voice.

"No, but speaking of Annie, why weren't you there to help her. Three men, Cade! Three! Is she okay?" his sister's chiding voice asked.

"I don't know, Paige. I'm speeding there now. Well, give her a hug for me."

"How is every one finding out about this anyway?" It wasn't like Noodle to spread gossip...much.

"Father James saw the lights and went to check it out. He called John Wolfe, who called all the Rose sisters. Miss Lily called Kenna, who called Dani who called me. You know, the norm." He should have known. That was the normal grapevine chain. "Cade. Don't smother. She won't appreciate it if you do."

"I never smother." He heard his sister give a little snort and hang up. Okay, maybe sometimes he smothered.

His tires skidded as he took the turn into the church parking lot too quickly. The little cottage was lit up, but nothing appeared out of sorts. He tried to pay attention to Paige's advice and slowly walked up the steps.

"Oh! It's you. Post-game breakdown run late?"

Cade almost jumped at the sound of Annie's voice coming from somewhere nearby. "Annie?" He looked around on the porch but didn't see her.

"Down here." He leaned over the railing and saw the bushes move.

"What are you doing down there? You should be in the house, with the doors locked, and a medic looking after you!" Whoops. Well, he had tried to take Paige's advice at any rate. From the way her hands went to her hips, he guessed she didn't care that he had made an effort to remain calm.

"I'm looking for something." She turned her back to him and disappeared back into the bushes.

"Shoot, Annie, I'm sorry. I was just so upset when I heard that you had a visit from Gaylen's people. I should have been here to protect you."

"Ah-ha!" She popped back up, holding up a gnome that looked suspiciously like a priest. "Hate to burst your bubble, but I didn't need you. I had him. He took out Larry and Curly."

Cade watched as she came up the stairs and turned to him. His fists clenched in anger as he saw the ma.s.sive, swollen bruise on the side of her face. "I could have protected you from that."

Annie felt her temper rising as she put the little gnome back in place. Her face throbbed, her side ached, and he was spouting macho bull when all she really wanted was a hug. She didn't know which made her more upset: that he was pulling his protection act or that she needed him to hug her.

Tonight had taught her one thing. She was tired of being alone. She was tired of working so hard and then coming home to an empty house with no one to share her day with. It frustrated her. She had never felt these desires before, and she wasn't quite prepared to handle them She loved the s.e.x with Cade, but she found herself wanting more of the moments they snuggled on the couch watching a game, laughing and talking. She turned around from where she had place Lil' Jim, her new name for the priest gnome, and looked at Cade.

"I'm sorry, Sparky." Cade's shoulders slumped as he took a seat in the chair by the door. "I just can't seem to stop myself from being an overprotective a.s.s."

"What?" Did she hear him right? An apology and an endearment. She was pretty sure she had never received either of those before. It felt nice. Comfortable.

"d.a.m.n, I'm out of my element here. I care for you. You have to know that. When I heard you were hurt, I just blamed myself for not protecting you." He held up his hand to stop her from speaking. "I know. Trust me, I know you are more than capable of taking care of yourself. I have seen you in action and I have read your file. None of it matters to me. I trust you to have my back in a fight, but it still doesn't mean that I want to see you in a fight. It goes against every instinct I have to think of you being hurt and not wanting to prevent it. Please tell me you understand."

Annie looked at him. His speech had been firm, unyielding, but his eyes seemed to implore her to understand. Surprisingly, she did. The trouble was she had those same feelings for him. She wanted to protect him. The meaning of that protective feeling and the warm feeling that came over her when he said he cared about her was just too much for her to contemplate. What she did know is that she understood and couldn't be angry at him for acting the way he did.

"Yes, I understand. You're a good man, Cade, even if you do call me Sparky." She winked at him and opened the front door. "Want to come in?"

"Sure. But, it's pretty late and you need your sleep."

"Would you stay the night?" Annie bit down on the right corner of her lower lip. She knew it was a big step, but it was a step she was ready to take. Cade would chase away any nightmares she might have.

"I would love to. Come on, let's go insideall. Let me take care of you tonight." Annie walked inside, her cheek throbbing, her side aching, but she had never felt better.

Chapter Sixteen.

Annie tried to roll out of bed, but the sharp pain froze her in mid movement. The pain was from the bruised rib. When she moved a certain way, it felt as if someone was. .h.i.tting her rib with a chisel.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to force her muscles to relax. She swung her feet off the side of the bed and quickly stood, a hiss of breath escaping from between her teeth.

Cade had made her see a doctor on Sat.u.r.day after they woke up. The doc said that by Wednesday the pain would decrease and in a couple of weeks would be gone altogether. It couldn't happen soon enough-- she hated not being one hundred percent.

All weekend Cade had stayed with her. She had fallen asleep in his arms every night, and he had chased away all the bad memories that used to visit her in her sleep. But, it was time for her to do her own job. She had a meeting with Austin Colby that she didn't want to be late for.

Cade walked down the hall and couldn't stop the grin from appearing on his face. He'd never been so excited to get to school before, but this weekend had been nothing short of amazing.

"Hey, Coach."

"Hi, Austin. You're here early. Don't you normally run in while the bell is sounding?"

"I had a meeting with Miss Hill."

"You did? How did it go?" Annie had failed to mention this meeting when he had left her after dinner last night.

"Good. We went over my cla.s.ses and talked about football. I'm really excited for Senior Night. I'm ready to show them what we can do."

"The team needs a leader, Austin. Trey can only do so much. If you help him, you all could go really far."

"We already thought of that. I talked to Trey on Sat.u.r.day, and we're having lunch together today to come up with a game plan to keep everyone motivated." Who was this kid? Cade wasn't going to complain though. "I better get to homeroom. See ya' at practice, Coach."

Cade nodded and headed to Annie's office. Maybe she'd have found something out. Her door was open and he rapped his knuckles lightly on the window in the center of the door. Annie was at the filing cabinet with her back to him, and he watched as she slowly straightened. She was still be in a lot of pain.

"Hey, Sparky. How are you feeling this morning?"

"Still hurts, but the more I move around the better it gets."

"Make sure you take it easy. I'll bring over some stuff the trainer uses on the players tonight and maybe that will help some." He hated seeing her slowed down in any way. She was always so sure of herself and her movements that it seemed strange to see her hesitate in any way.

"Thanks. I'm willing to try anything." She slowly made her way to the door and stopped next to him to watch the kids hanging out by their lockers talking before the bell rang.

"How did your meeting go this morning?"

"Good. I tried to get some info out of him but got nothing. He's clean though. I could tell. He wasn't sweating, his pulse wasn't jumping, his eyes were clear. It will take another week or so to get it all out of his system, but at least he's stopped taking it. I'm hoping that when he's fully clean he'll change his mind and talk to you or me about it."

Cade heard the bell ring and watched as the kids started to slam their lockers and head for homeroom. He glanced down at Annie and knew if she looked up she'd see the wicked glint in his eye.

"Well, I better get to cla.s.s." He leaned down and kissed her lips. For a moment he forgot where he was as he deepened the kiss. It would be impossible for him not to. Her lips were made for him to kiss.

Whistles brought him back to reality, and he reluctantly broke off the kiss. He heard Annie groan and turn back into her office. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the students who had been so frantically getting to homeroom all staring at him instead.

"Have a good day, Sparky." He gave Annie a wink and then turned to his audience, "Aren't you all late?" With the spell broken, the kids scattered and he was left in silence as he made his way to his cla.s.sroom.

Gaylen wiped the sweat from his face. It was a good thing they were on the phone and Boss couldn't see Gaylen reacting to the threats. He was rather partial to his b.a.l.l.s and would like to keep them if at all possible.

"You're failing, Gaylen. You know what happens to people who fail me, don't you?

"Yes, Boss. They disappear."

"But not before they beg for death," the voice whispered over the phone. Gaylen felt his Adam's apple lodge in his throat. From the orders he'd carried out on behalf of his boss, he knew that was the truth. "I want to know why Austin has stopped coming to the gym, and I want that reason taken care of. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Boss." Gaylen sighed in relief when he heard the phone disconnect. He took out the handkerchief in his black suit's front pocket and dabbed at his forehead.

He needed to appear under control before he paged Devon. A man didn't rise to his position by showing weakness or fear no matter how well deserved. He moved away from his desk and over to the bank of windows looking out over his empire.

It was the middle of the day, yet his gym was full. He had millions of dollars of product arriving tomorrow and a team of soldiers to do his bidding for him. His suits each cost over a thousand dollars. Not too bad for a kid who grew up on the streets of Glasgow, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. He had fought for every penny he stole and every trinket he had gotten by mugging tourists.

He was never scared those dark, cold nights spent trying to keep warm, not like he was now. Now he knew what wealth and reputation were, and he didn't want to lose them. He was betting with his life that he wouldn't. He turned back to his desk and hit the intercom.

"Hen, be a dearie and send Devon up when he gets done with his client." Gaylen released the intercom and sat back down in his leather chair. He needed to move some money around and develop an exit strategy, just in case he couldn't pull this one off. He didn't want to stick around to see what the boss had in store for him.

Cade listened to the band play the fight song and took one last look around the jammed packed parking lot before heading into the locker room. He had been in his office studying the playbook until he had made his way through the whole thing. They had a chance to do the impossible tonight. If they won, they would come in second in the division and make the playoffs. They had an inexperienced team, a leader who for most of the season was on drugs and so out of control the team almost imploded, and a brand new coach. It seemed impossible to him, especially with only three starting seniors.

However, here they were on the cusp of the playoffs. It was the last game of the season, and the team's seven seniors were being honored. He hung out by the door, taking one last look around as the cheerleaders got in place with the paper banner for the boys to run through, and then headed inside.

"Our season doesn't end tonight. It starts tonight!" Cheers erupted from the group of players surrounding Trey and Austin as they stood on the wooden bench in between the lockers.

"We may be the underdog, but we've been the underdog all year," Trey continued. "And you know the thing about underdogs? No one sees 'em coming!"

"We're going to be firing on all cylinders tonight, boys. We're a clean, new engine, and we're going to work as a team tonight. I know it was my fault that we weren't a team before, but we will be tonight and we will be when we win State!" Austin yelled as the team broke out in chants of 'State'. They turned to each other, hitting their shoulder pads before jumping up and down in a circle around Trey and Austin.

"I guess I don't need to do a pre-game speech," Cade said to Coach Parks. He turned to his boys and raised his voice, "Your time is now, gentlemen. Go out onto that field and take it!" Sometimes less was more, he thought, as the boys ran past him onto the field.