Ill Take Forever

didn't believe there was drug activity in Palmer, and she constantly wondered led Kyle to believe there was, or that anyone she knew would be involved. What was that clue they were following up on?
    'Yes, both for the cover, and the background you've given. Ready?'
    'Yes. Thank you, Mr. Brownley. I enjoyed the tour,' she said.
    'My pleasure, Mrs. Warwick. Come again. Kyle, I'll be talking to you.'
    'Right.'
    Jenny's head was buzzing as she drove back to Palmer. She was trying to assimilate all she had just seen. The maps of the state where large acres of marijuana cultivation were known or suspected, the many different methods people used to transport the drugs, the resale value of the different kinds.
    She knew drug abuse and illegal use were prevalent, but she had never realized to what extent.
    Kyle was silent on the ride, watching the passing scenery from the window. Jenny didn't try to talk, caught up in her own thoughts. Once or twice she glanced over, but his look was remote and she didn't say anything.
    Kyle's taciturn manner continued for the rest of the day. He went to the den and sat at her desk when they returned, working on the maps, checking notes he had made of the people and locals she had described to him.
    At dinner, he continued to be silent. Twice Jenny looked up to find his eyes on her. Silently watching her, speculatively.
    'Do I have something on my face?' she asked nervously.
    'No. I'm thinking of moving on, Jenny.'
    Her heart plummeted. Slowly, carefully, she lowered her fork so her fingers didn't rattle it against her plate. She had difficulty getting her breath.
    'Why?'
    'Something Stuart said today hit home. Drug dealers are ruthless. I don't want anything to happen to you as a result of this. We'll set up headquarters somewhere else around here, operate from there. I shouldn't have come here, it was a mistake.'
    'But your cover... I thought you needed an unobtrusive way to get to know people, to gather your evidence. I thought you needed me to provide you with that cover. It seems to be working.'
    'Fine, so far. But it'll be safer if I move on.'
    'Nobody suspects.'
    'Jenny, I've not been doing all I will be doing from now on. That shooting set me back. Now I'm better I'll be investigating for all I'm worth, to get this area cleared again. To find and arrest any perpetrators. It could get messy.'
    Jenny searched his face, feeling she was sitting across from a stranger. The same stranger who had invaded her home last winter. Gone was the gentle look on Kyle's face, the tired, ill look he’d had when he had first returned. Now he looked like the hardened professional he was. There was no room for emotion or sentimentality in the man opposite her. The angles of his face seemed harder, his eyes narrowed as he watched her, the leashed energy— evident last winter—was back.
    'You chose me,' she said quietly, but firmly. She was trembling a little, wondering briefly where the words were coming from. 'You and Brownley and all the government men involved in this. Chose me to be your cover, to provide you with all the information I could about this area. I didn't ask to get into this, you chose me. Now, it's too late, you can't leave.'
    'Why not?' he challenged.
    'Because I'd blow your cover sky high! I'd tell the world what you're doing, and how do you think that would help your chances of finding the guys?' she threw out recklessly.
    'That's childish. It would slow me down, but it wouldn't change anything in the long run.' He pushed back from the table, throwing his napkin down. As he started down the hall, Jenny scrambled after him.
    I’ll call the Sheriff and tell him you're the man who broke in last winter.'
    Her voice stopped him. Slowly Kyle turned and looked at her. Jenny paused and backed up until she was against the wall. She didn't like the look in his face. Had she pushed him too far? Nervously she licked her lips.
    'Did you report the break-in?'
    'Yes,' she whispered.
    He loomed over her, backing her further against the wall, coming so close that his body imprisoned her, pressing her back further. His right arm came up near her face as he leaned his weight on it.
    'Liar,' he said pleasantly. 'Just how do you plan to explain my staying here over the last few weeks, meeting your parents, your friends? Lover's quarrel gotten out of hand?'
    He leaned down and took her lips, his hard and demanding as his body pressed against her. Jenny's palms pushed against the wall in a desperate