Survive the Hunt

by Diana Duncan

  “Yes, ma’am.” Strangled humor bubbled in his reply, but luckily for him, he didn’t laugh. “Do you have a request?”

  “For the love of God, Aidan, just pick something! Anything.”

  After a short pause, he began to sing softly, his deep voice smooth and rich as embossed velvet.

  Done, and much relieved, she followed him back to the patch of moonlight. She feared he might tease her, but he studiously resumed lock duty.

  She studied his handsome face bent intently to his work. “Your idea of an appropriate song for the occasion is ‘You Really Got a Hold On Me?’”

  He shrugged. “I’m no Smokey Robinson, but it’s the first song that sprang to mind.”

  Was there a subliminal message in those lyrics about not liking someone but loving them, and being unable to stop thinking about them? Oh, the possibilities. “Your mind is bent, SWAT.”

  He laughed, the husky vibrations dancing through her. He should laugh more often. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  “You have a beautiful singing voice.”

  He made a low growl in his throat that melted her like chocolate fondue. “All the better to accompany you on ‘business’ trips into the bushes, my dear.”

  “Thanks, but I prefer traveling solo on those jaunts.”

  She held perfectly still while he worked the lock. He slipped several times, making the wire pop out. Slow minutes ticked past. If he didn’t succeed, their chances of survival decreased exponentially. His effectiveness fighting the bad guys would be zilch. And it grew harder and harder to navigate the gloomy, obstacle-strewn forest while shackled together. Aidan seemed to possess endless patient persistence, but for Zoe, not fidgeting became a major victory.

  Finally, the handcuffs dropped to the ground. She sighed and rubbed her sore wrist. “At last! What now?”

  He slid the cuffs into his trouser pocket and indicated the mountain hulking in front of them. “We scale the hill and establish an SOS signal.”

  “I think we’d have a better chance of rescue if we hike down to the shoreline. Maybe we can flag down an outgoing boat.”

  He frowned. “Where did you take wilderness survival training?”

  “Hey, I watched every season of Survivor.”

  “Great. When we need to vote someone off the island, you’re in charge. Until then, we do things my way.”

  Instantly demoted from equal to lackey. After the past hours of easy camaraderie, his brusque dismissal stung. As hurt nailed her, she resorted to smart-ass mode. Stacking her arms, she bobbed like the blonde on “I Dream of Jeannie.” “Yes, Master.”

  His frown morphed into a scowl. “The grand prize on this island isn’t money. Our lives are at stake.”

  “I know.” Her cop had gone above and beyond the call of duty to keep her alive tonight. “But dammit, your authoritarian mode tweaks my inner imp.”

  Those full, sensual lips twitched, then he grinned. “I believe there’s a twelve-step program for that.”

  “Oh, yes. SAA. Smart-Asses Anonymous. I have their number.”

  He snickered. “I bet you do.”

  She held his gaze, her own earnest. “Aidan, you need to realize that I can contribute to our survival. Because I’m a terrified civilian doesn’t make me incompetent, or my ideas less valid.” She pressed her wobbly lips firmly together. “I thought we were a team. After all, the contents of my bag got us out of that locked trunk and opened the cuffs.”

  He sighed. “I don’t have an objection to teamwork. However, you need to understand that on this operation, I am team leader. I’m trained to handle life-threatening scenarios. My sole objective is to keep you safe. Keep you alive.”

  “Our objective is to keep each other alive.”

  “Don’t worry about me, I can take care of myself.” He rolled his shoulders, tension evident in every hard line of his body as he glanced around. She’d noticed their banter during the trek hadn’t distracted him from constantly scanning their surroundings. “If I have to stop and explain every decision, the delay could be fatal.”

  “I wholeheartedly appreciate your devout protection.” However, the lone-wolf attitude had to go. Hopefully she could show him the advantages of having her as an ally. “And I see where you’re coming from. We can’t be fighting over every little thing if we’re going to survive. But I’ve done a decent job of looking out for my own welfare for a long time now.” She paused to let that sink in. “Underestimating me and protecting me are two entirely different animals. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t bark orders at me like I’m a brainless twit.”

  He nodded. “I apologize.” His full lips quirked in a wry smile. “Which I seem to do a lot around you. You’re an intelligent, capable woman, and I didn’t mean to insult you.” He cupped her face in a large, warm hand. “My single-minded focus comes across, as my brothers so aptly stated at the reception, as ‘officious, obstinate, and overbearing.’” His callused thumb brushed her cheek, sending delightful shivers down her spine. “The shoreline is downstream. The UNSUBS went that way. What would happen if we flagged down one of them by mistake?”

  His tender glance dissolved the hard knot in her chest. “I didn’t know the shoreline was downstream. I thought navigating to there would be easier, and boating off the island would be faster than tromping through the woods. But ... the bad guys are combing the island, so we might run into them no matter which way we go.”

  “A chance we have to take. I have a plan.” He grinned at her eager expression. “Which I’ll explain when we reach the top of the bluff.”

  “All righty then.” Forced to talk out their differences in operating styles, they finally understood each other. She squared her shoulders and marshaled her rapidly dwindling resources. “What are we waiting for?” She determinedly marched up the hill.

  His long stride easily kept pace with her. Another grin gleamed. “You’re game for anything, Zagretti, and one helluva good sport.”

  “Glad to be of some use.” She chuckled. “Master.”

  He reached out and tweaked a curl. “Impertinence alert.”

  “You haven’t seen anything, yet, SWAT.”

  He laughed softly. “Is that a promise or a threat?”

  She slanted an arched look in his direction. “Depends on how easily you spook.”

  “Ask my brothers, it’s tough to scare me.”

  “No worries, then.”

  The hill soon turned into a nearly vertical track, and Zoe lost the ability to talk as she toiled up the steep incline. Merely breathing became an impressive feat. Even gripping Aidan’s hand, she struggled to reach the top.

  His wary eyes continually canvassed the area, and each rustle, every flutter from the underbrush made him tense up. Neither needed to remind the other that both animal and human predators lurked in the woods..

  Finally, the slope evened out and they reached the top. Good thing she wasn’t afraid of heights, because they were a looonng way up. A brisk sea breeze tugged at her hair, making her shiver as Aidan stopped beneath an old-growth pine and propped his bear-intimidation branch against the broad trunk. Far below to her left, the Pacific Ocean’s roar echoed through the forest.

  He studied the huge, ancient pine tree. The lower branches were thicker than his waist. “Perfect spot. Take off your dress.”

  She blinked at him. “Hardly the place or time. SWAT ... Seriously Without Any Tact.”

  His wicked grin flashed in the moonlight. “Now whose mind is bent?” He chuckled. “When my abandoned car is discovered in the parking lot and my brothers can’t reach me, they’ll call out a ground and air search. The seagoing SOS flag is red with a black circle and square. After sunrise, your dress will be visible for miles from the treetop, and the beads will reflect light like a beacon. Once we find a place to hole up, we’ll lay out a directional signal on the ground that’ll be visible from Grady’s helo to pinpoint our location.”

  Torn, she shifted from aching foot to aching foot. “Look, I’m no
t opposed to giving my all for the cause, especially our survival. But the only thing I’m wearing under this dress is a pair of skimpy red satin panties and a navel ring.”

  She watched her words ignite his imagination. His nostrils flared and lightning flashed in his eyes. Voltage hotter than the Taser hit arced between them. He swallowed hard, visibly reining in control. “I’ll give you my shirt and jacket.”

  Whoo! After that scorching look, she wasn’t chilly anymore. And his shirt and jacket was actually a lot more than she had on right now. “Turn around.”

  “I’ve seen a woman’s body before.” His deep voice was husky as he complied.

  “Not this woman’s body.” Though in a more appropriate place, in a more secure environment, she wouldn’t mind.

  Facing away from each other, he shrugged off his jacket and shirt while she wriggled out of her dress. With the gown clutched to her breasts, she turned. And froze. No woman with a pulse could help but admire Aidan’s wide, bronzed back, rippling with hard muscles. Her turn to swallow hard and rein in rioting desire.

  “Props to you.” A nervous giggle slipped out. She didn’t doubt he’d behave honorably, but still ... awkward. “You’re the first guy who’s ever talked me out of my clothes on a first date.”

  She dangled the gown over his bare shoulder. Standing so close with both of them naked to the waist, his scent teased her senses, his body heat caressed her skin, and every nerve ending tingled. One scant inch ... and her breasts would brush his back. As her nipples tightened, she hastily took a step away from temptation.

  “Credit the silver-tongued Irish blarney.” Without turning around, he took the dress from her hand and held up his shirt and jacket to her. His low chuckle torched her simmering hormones into a conflagration. “Because it couldn’t possibly just be the lesser of two evils at the moment.”

  She buttoned on the soft cotton shirt, warm and redolent with his alluring essence. Wearing his still-warm shirt seemed shockingly intimate. An affectionate, familiar act shared between lovers. She rolled up the sleeves with unsteady hands, then donned the jacket and rolled its sleeves, leaving the jacket front open. “I’m decent.”

  He pivoted, hands on lean hips, muscled thighs braced wide in his familiar imposing stance. The breeze trailed playful fingers through his thick, shiny hair. Honeyed moonlight defined his broad chest and ridged abs, and highlighted the strong, chiseled beauty of his face. The deep, glowing brown pools of his eyes drew her in, compelled her, kicking her pulse into triple-time.

  Her Dark Champion.

  Aidan’s scorching gaze stroked from her tousled hair, down her torso, to the expanse of thigh left bare under the shirttail ... then trailed all the way down to the toes of her red heels. Then just as slowly, just as thoroughly, his intent focus repeated the journey. Okay, maybe an avenging archangel ... conquering his domain.

  “You mean you’re dressed.” Hunger glinted in those smoky irises and dangerous desire thrummed in every hoarse word. “Decent is an entirely different game.”

  She’d play games with him any day. Or night. Her stomach tumbled and the lack of oxygen made it hard to breathe. “Sign me up for What Not To Wear.”

  “Honey, that shirt looks better on you than it did on me. You can have my clothes anytime.”

  She indicated her dress clutched in his strong hands. “And you, mine.”

  He stared down at it. “A one-way ticket to the apocalypse,” he muttered so low she barely heard. He shook his head as if to clear the sensual haze, then abruptly ripped the dress all the way down the side seam. The fabric parted with a rending tear and she winced. The thrift-store gown was the most lovely, expensive garment she’d owned in a decade. He grimaced. “Sorry. I’ll replace it.”

  “Don’t worry, it’s not your concern.”

  “Everything about you concerns me.” The flare of intensity in his eyes made her stomach flip-flop again. “You mentioned before that you carry water bottles?”

  “Yes, in the garbage truck. Which would, I guess, technically be our first date. Good memory.” She dug the bottle out of her bag.

  He crouched to pour a meager amount into the dirt at his feet. He mixed a thick mud paste, then finger-painted a black circle and square on the red gown.

  “You’re a talented guy.”

  A dark cocky brow arched. “So I’ve been told.”

  “Don’t get braggarly, Saint Aidan.”

  He gave her an innocent blink. “Merely agreeing with you. And if these ‘adventures’ are your idea of dates, Zagretti, you’ve been seeing some weird-ass guys.” He cleaned his hands with the wet wipe she passed him. “This might take a while.” With the makeshift flag draped over a brawny bare shoulder, he hoisted himself into the tree and began to climb.

  She returned the water bottle to her bag and apprehensively watched his upward progress. Scaling a hundred-foot tree in formal slacks and slick dress shoes in the dark couldn’t be easy. “Won’t the bad guys spot the flag and track us?”

  He was no longer in sight as his quiet reply floated down from surprisingly far above. “I’m hanging it on the ocean side. Anyone on the island won’t easily see it because of the trees. Besides, we’ll bunker in a separate location.”

  She balled nervous hands into fists and shoved them into the jacket pockets. Her right knuckles brushed soft silk. So that’s where he’d stashed his cummerbund and bow tie. She quit talking, for fear she’d distract him and make him fall. Instead, she watched silently for long, heart-shaking minutes, but could see nothing. Hear nothing. It was a long way to the top. Only thing to do now was wait.

  Finally, she lowered her eyes.

  Her blood froze as a husky blond man slinked out of the shadowed forest. He raised his arm and pointed a pistol at her. “My hunch paid off. Look what I found, a babe in the woods.” He bared his teeth in a parody of a smile. She preferred the bear’s toothy snarl. He looked up, and she held her breath. “What’re you eyeballing in the tree?”

  What indeed? “A-a-hawk.”

  “A bird watching a bird.” He laughed heartily at his own terrible joke. “Where’s the dude?”

  All the moisture evaporated from her mouth. The blond was several inches shorter than Aidan, but had more than twenty pounds on him. Not fat ... bulk. Premeditated solid muscles, like he spent all his time sculpting his bod at the gym. Plus he had a gun. Screaming inside, she feigned nonchalance. “What dude?”

  “The one who obviously scored big in the last hour.” Gym Rat’s leer oozed down her body, making her long for an entire case of antibacterial wipes. “I liked the red fuck-me dress better, but this outfit has possibilities.”

  “He—he’s in there somewhere,” she lied, gesturing vaguely at the forest. “Gathering wood for a fire. He told me to wait.”

  “And no wonder.” He moved closer, and she took a step back. “Bet he wants another taste. You’re a juicy little trick.”

  She strained to hear Aidan. Sensed no movement, no sound. “Yeah? Bite me, asswipe. I’ll give you heartburn.”

  The man waved the pistol at her. “Boss said you were brainy. He admires that.”

  “Really? What does he see in you, then?”

  He stepped forward and she again stepped back. Unlike the bear, he wasn’t retreating.

  “Boss does his own thinking. He hired me for my muscles, not my mind.” He moved closer, continuing the obscene dance.

  “Obvious, much?” Her hands brushed bark and closed over the branch Aidan had carried up the hill. Uh-oh. She’d backed into the pine tree where Aidan was trapped, making him a vulnerable target. If Gym Rat spotted him and started shooting, Aidan had nowhere to go. Her heart galloped. No. Aidan would not get hurt or ... worse.

  She gulped. Not if she had anything to say about it.

  Gripping the branch, she surreptitiously edged around the immense trunk. “So, where are your pals?”

  Muscles-for-Brains jerked his head toward the forest. “Maybe rappin’ with your man in the woods right no
w. Boss wants to meet him, too, but not for the same reasons, haha. We’re all real friendly-like, once you get to know us.”

  She was so not getting friendly with him. Or sticking around long enough to get to know him. Or his boss. Her fingers tensed on the branch as she prepped mentally and physically for what she had to do.

  Gym Rat would follow her without a doubt. Would he shoot her in the back? Million dollar question.

  Can’t worry about it now. She’d either survive the next few minutes ... or not.

  Either way, she’d give Aidan a fighting chance. She couldn’t run very fast in these damned heels, but she only had to lead the bad guy far enough away for Aidan to reach the ground.

  She sucked in a deep breath. “Been a thrill-a-minute chatting with you ...” She swung the branch out from behind her, arcing it at his head. “But gotta run.”

  He instinctively flung up his hands to ward off the flying limb, and she sprinted toward the forest.

  Chapter 10

  July 27, 1:00 a.m.

  Zoe tore into the underbrush and zigzagged as quickly as possible through the treacherous woods.

  Gym Rat was faster than he looked. A lot faster. She’d barely gotten started before he tackled her to the ground.

  He rolled, flipped her onto her back in the ferns and pinned her down. His body pressed full-length on hers, and the air punched out of her lungs. Oh, God, that better be a gun in his waistband and not ...

  She tried to suck in enough oxygen to fight. Kicking, clawing, she struggled beneath him and infused every ounce of toughness she could muster into her order. “Get off me, asswipe!”

  His coarse laughter scraped away her thin veneer of bravado. “Don’t get your thong in a twist. The boss don’t like used merchandise.” He snagged the front of her jacket and jerked her upright, painfully manacling both her wrists in one huge hand.

  He dragged her back to the clearing like a Rottweiler with a rag doll. Easily restraining her despite her struggles, he tugged out his pistol with his free hand. “We have orders to haul you in undamaged. The dude, on the other hand, isn’t supposed to be dead. But we can put holes in him, make him hurt.”