by Lisa Harris
Her eyes shot wide. “We can’t land on the island?”
“The only landing pad is at the airport, but to keep people from knowing you are on the island, we will go straight to The Cabin.”
She glanced at the deputy. “What about him?”
The sheriff’s words resonated with truth when he said, “I’d trust him with my life.”
She pondered on that. So for her own protection she was going to have to risk her life by jumping out of a flying helicopter? “Won’t people notice the helicopter hovering over your property?”
He shrugged. “Not likely. I own twenty acres, and Jay owns the acreage just to my north. My other neighbor works on the mainland and doesn’t get back home till evening. Besides, we’ll only need to hover for a few seconds. A minute tops.”
Her mouth went dry. He really and truly expected her to jump. “I think I’d rather we landed at the airport. I’ll take the risk.”
He shook his head. “Everything will be fine. I’ll have you the whole way down, but we need to get geared up.” He reached into a compartment below his seat, then handed her a contraption that looked like an oversized dog harness.
She held it up, stretched it out, twisted it around, trying to figure out what went where.
“Like this.” He unstrapped his seat harness and stood, motioning for her to follow him into the space behind their seats in the back of the helo.
With a glance toward the pilot, she followed the sheriff’s example. If the pilot made any sudden course changes, she was going to end up crashing into the side walls of this thing.
By putting his own harness on, the sheriff demonstrated the correct method for donning hers. “Leg’s through here. These straps go over your shoulders.”
She followed his instructions to the letter and fastened the last buckle with a feeling of accomplishment, but he didn’t seem satisfied. He stepped right into her personal space and tugged and adjusted the straps of the harness. He was all business, but nonetheless, she felt her face heat and looked away as his hands circled behind her, still tugging and fine-tuning.
He was so close she caught a whiff of an alluring cologne that made her want to lean close for a deeper inhale. Heavens, she needed to keep in mind what was going on here. The man had been assigned to keep her alive. This wasn’t some crazy date in a gorgeous island location. The very fact that she was about to jump out of a perfectly good helicopter ought to drive that realization home.
Finally, he seemed satisfied that she was properly harnessed. “Ready?”
She spread her hands. “Do I have a choice?”
One corner of his mouth tipped up. “We’re five minutes out. When the time comes, we’ll go out that door.” He pointed to the one on his side of the chopper. All you have to do is lean into me and relax, I’ll do all the work, got it?”
She twisted her fingers together. “You’re sure we can’t just land at the airport? I’ll even let you put me in the trunk so no one will see me in the car.”
He reached out and squeezed her arm. “To do that I’d need someone to bring over a car. In a small community like this, word of your presence would spread like wildfire.”
Drat, but she felt her fear climbing up to take over and she wasn’t even near the door of the chopper yet. “Couldn’t I pretend to be the rookie officer you dressed me up as?”
He shook his head. “Too dangerous.” His throat worked and there was a flash of pain in his eyes. “You don’t have the training you need. I’m trying to protect you, not put you in dangerous situations.”
“Except for making me jump out of a helicopter.”
He smiled, drawing her attention to two stubbled dimples on either side of his lips. “You’ll be perfectly safe, I promise.”
She pulled her gaze from his face. Maybe she’d be perfectly safe in body, but what about in heart after this stint on the islands? And what had that flash of pain in his gaze been all about?
“We’re here.” The pilot’s voice crackled over their headsets.
The sheriff pressed the lever on the side door and slid the door open with a clang. Treetops along the island’s shore whipped by, and then they stopped above a small flat clearing.
The chopper lowered until it hovered right above the treetops. But these were towering hundred foot tall trees, not your average backyard variety. And the clearing they were apparently aiming for didn’t look much larger than a postage stamp—okay, maybe an envelope. But what if the wind caught them and swept them into the trees? Or worse yet, the water? If Sheriff Parker was irritated at her fear of jumping from the craft, she couldn’t imagine what he’d feel if he understood her sheer terror of water.
Memory flashed. The beautiful blue of the neighborhood pool. The cool tiles beneath her toes as water sloshed all around her. The warmth of the sun beating down on her head and shoulders as she played and splashed with her best friend. The shadow that had blocked out the sun for a split second before the hand settled on the top of her head. With a shudder, she shook the memory away.
Nausea roiled and the floor of the helicopter seemed to tilt, though the helicopter hadn’t changed angles. She groped to steady herself on the sheriff’s seat.
“Hey.” He once more stepped into her space. This time he touched her chin. He searched her face. “Stay with me here. This will all be over in thirty seconds, all right? Just close your eyes and trust me.”
“And pray like mad?”
He chuckled as he tugged on a pair of leather gloves. “Yeah, you can do that too.”
Just great. Her last hope was prayer? She wasn’t sure why she’d even mentioned it.
He kicked a large pile of rope from the door, and for the first time she noted the huge crimp of metal that held one end of the rope firmly in the ceiling of the chopper. “Ready?”
She swallowed. Forced herself to nod. “We aren’t going near the water, are we?” She couldn’t stop a tremor.
By his sweeping gaze, he must have noticed her trembling, but he only offered, “Nowhere near the water. Here we go.” He stepped close behind her and did something with her harness. She heard the snap of metal and felt tension against her shoulder straps as he clicked something that linked them together. “Back with me toward the door.”
She complied, heart in her throat. Think happy thoughts. Feet walking on a street. Backside pressed firmly to a soft bench. Curled up comfortably in her recliner, safely on the ground. All very happy tho—
“Here we go.” The sheriff launched himself backward out of the helicopter, dragging her with him.
She jolted. Her eyes shot open. She was dangling in front of the sheriff like a kid in a baby carrier. She scrabbled to grab the rope. But it was behind her, between her and the sheriff.
“Steady.” His voice soothed through her headset. “I’ve got you. Almost over.”
Despite his reassuring words they were part grunt, like a man doing hard labor and speaking at the same time. And she realized that her flailing was likely making things harder for him. She caught a brief glimpse of blue ocean dotted with green islands, and then they slid into the canopy of the treetops.
It was only moments later that their feet touched down. The tension on her harness released as the sheriff unclasped her from him.
She stepped to one side and sank into a crouch. Good old terra-firma. The ground was frozen and a few dustings of snow lay against the base of tree trunks where today’s sun apparently hadn’t touched.
“See?” The sheriff grinned. “God answered your prayers.”
She rolled her eyes. “Actually, I’m not really much of a prayer anymore.”
The sheriff didn’t seem fazed by her reply. He gave the rope a snap to distance it from them and then gave the pilot a thumbs up.
Through the window of the chopper, the deputy returned a two-fingered salute and flew off with the rope still dangling from the side-door.
Camryn frowned and willed herself to breathe and cease trembling. “Won’t people who see it w
onder why the rope is out?”
The sheriff was already at work removing his harness. “Maybe. But curiosity and questions we can handle. It’s the eyewitness rumors that I’d like to avoid. Besides, you’d be surprised at the number of people around here who don’t even bother looking up at the sound of a plane or helicopter going over. They come and go all the time.” He thumbed a gesture over his shoulder. “The Cabin is this way.” He strode off up the hill. “So you used to pray?”
“What?” Camryn rose from her squat and followed him.
“You said anymore. ‘I’m not really much of a prayer, anymore.’”
“Right. Yes. I used to pray. Often.” Her legs still felt as weak as a newborn’s, but at least she’d survived the jump from the chopper.
“I see.”
She held her breath, waiting for him to probe and pondering how she could skirt the looming questions. But they never came. He simply led the way quietly on a narrow trail.
Huh. Maybe the man was not only good-looking but knew when to mind his own business too. At least if she had to be here hiding out, that was something to be thankful for. If only she didn’t have so many looming bills, she could almost enjoy spending a couple weeks in this beautiful location. Especially with a man like that.
She rolled her eyes at herself. She needed to remember this was temporary and that he was only performing a duty. Repeating the thought to herself until it was firmly embedded in her conscience, she gave a nod of satisfaction.
But her gaze betrayed her and wandered to the man lithely leading her through the towering evergreens. My... She let herself take in the angular line from his broad shoulders to his trim waist. If she had to be confined, at least it was with someone easy on the eyes.
She forced her focus to the path at her feet.
Temporary. Only duty. Temporary. Only duty. Temporary. Only duty.
Chapter Nine
Holden led the woman from the shore level up the hill behind his house, taking the natural-cut stone steps that were framed with borders of moss. The back patio was made in the same style—a broad swath of natural flagstones, interspersed with green moss.
“This is your ‘cabin’?” The awe in her voice made him pause to take in the grandeur of the river-rock that accented the wall of windows overlooking the channel.
“Used to be my grandparent’s place. Grandma was all about architecture that blended with the nature around it. Grandpa always called it The Cabin. I suppose that’s why I generally do too. And grandma finally had a sign made.”
“It’s amazing. Are those hand-hewn stones framing the windows?”
“Yeah. Actually, those were chiseled from a huge rock that was right here on the property. They had to blast it to make room for the house. Gran was so pleased to frame the arches of the windows and doorways with stone cut right out of this land.”
“Amazing.” She turned to face the water and gave a gasp of delight.
He followed her gaze past the trunks of the evergreens to the vibrant blues of the Salish Sea and greens of Orcas and Shaw Islands floating in the distance. The Victoria BC ferry was headed north at the moment, and majestic Mount Baker, newly dressed in a cloak of glistening snow, capped the distance like a benevolent queen overlooking her realm.
He really needed to pause more often to take it all in. He lived in one of the most beautiful places on earth, but it had become the norm.
He let his gaze wander to her once more. Tendrils of dark hair had come loose from the tight police bun that Kyra Lexington had pinned up only an hour ago. The wind set them to dancing around her face. She reached up to tuck one behind her ear, her gaze still transfixed on the scenery.
Beautiful, and younger than he’d thought when he first saw her. Despite her original reluctance to go into hiding, once she caved to their admonitions, she hadn’t resisted anything he asked her to do… Well, except maybe when he dragged her from the chopper. He rubbed away a smirk. She’d showed real courage in a difficult situation.
He swallowed and looked away. He couldn’t forget that he was on the job. He couldn’t let this turn into another Traci.
His stomach recoiled at the thought.
“You’re afraid of water?” Even if the blurted question was more about getting his thoughts moving in another direction, he regretted it the moment it left his lips.
She seemed to curl in on herself. Arms folded. Shoulders hunched. Focus no longer on the scenery, but on prodding gently with one boot at a swatch of moss in the seam between two flagstones. “It’s a bit chilly out here. Do you mind if we go inside?”
“Of course.” He was an idiot. “I’ll show you to your room and get you a change of clothes.” What was he going to give her to wear? He didn’t have any women’s clothes, but he couldn’t expect her to keep wearing that uniform.
He showed her to the guest room on the east side of the second floor with the best view of the water. “There’s an attached bathroom there, and if you need extra pillows or blankets, you’ll find them on the top shelf in the closet. Give me five minutes and I’ll bring you a change of clothes. Then you can rest or shower or whatever you’d like to do, while I cook us some lunch.”
She glanced at her watch. “Is it really only lunch time? I feel like I could sleep for weeks.”
He assessed the weariness in her posture. “You’ve had a hard couple of days.”
She pulled a face. “Not as hard as some.”
“Yeah. There’s that.” He massaged the muscles of his shoulders, for a moment lost in thought about the two officers who’d been killed.
She shuffled her feet.
He jolted back to the present. “Be right back. You can wait on the balcony if you want.”
In his room down the hall, he rummaged through his drawers until he came up with the smallest pair of sweatpants he owned. They would be too big, but at least they had a drawstring. He yanked a Seahawks jersey out of his closet and returned down the hall.
He found her leaning on the rail on the balcony. “These are the best I can do for right now. I’ll get you some clothes in town tomorrow.”
She accepted the sweatpants and shirt. “How are you going to pass off buying women’s clothes? Won’t that raise questions on the island?”
“Yeah, it will. I’m honestly still working on that.”
“Does Amazon deliver out here?”
Holden snapped his fingers. “That’s perfect.”
She shrugged. “With their Prime delivery, that might be the best solution.”
“Out here we get most of our packages via drones. The landing pad is out front.”
“Wow. A lot has changed from when we were kids, hasn’t it?”
“Sure has.” He saw a look of worry flash into her eyes. “What is it?”
She clutched the clothes to her chest with one arm and swept a lock of hair behind her ear with the other hand. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure it out.”
Realization dawned. She was tight on funds. “Hey, this is on the department dime.”
“It is?” Her brows rose.
Thrusting his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching out to give her arm a reassuring squeeze, he nodded. “It is. They wouldn’t let you go home to collect your things, so they’ll cover reasonable expenses.”
A quirk tugged at her lips. “You mean a Ferrari is out?”
He chuckled. “Yeah. That’s probably a no go. Not sure Amazon delivers those, anyhow. At least not by drone.”
An exaggerated snap of her fingers accompanied her chuckle. “Drat.”
“Meet me in the kitchen in forty-five minutes?”
She tilted her head. “Is it hard to find?”
“Not at all. Downstairs. North end of the house.”
Confusion crinkled her brow.
“That end.” He pointed.
“Right. Yes. See you then.”
As he left her in her room and headed downstairs, he couldn’t help but think once more how much this w
hole situation reminded him of the one with Traci. And the realization that they were similar was enough to raise his pulse in terror.
Dear God, please don’t let me fail twice.
Just the thought was enough to armor his heart.
No matter how attractive and personable she was, he couldn’t let feelings get in the way of duty.
The pier of the Everett marina swayed lazily with the undulation of the water as Soren Bane strode toward a small yacht with his two bodyguards trailing. The air was chilly today. The wind cut through his silk suit like a blade.
It irritated him to be here.
If people would simply do what they were paid to do, this meeting wouldn’t be necessary. But of course, conservatives were all products of a broken, Stone Age system that needed to be torn down from the inside out, and they just couldn’t see it. Restructuring was the only way real money could be made.
Yes, they were all mindless idiots, but if he had to work with one in order to get to the end goal of destroying them all, so be it.
He just didn’t like meeting in broad daylight like this.
The boat creaked as he left his bodyguards on the pier and stepped onto the deck. The aft stairs led down to the cabin.
Republican State Senator Carter Cranston was already there, lounging on the leather bench seat with a glass in one hand.
That gave Soren pause. He hadn’t seen the man’s bodyguards outside. Had he come on his own?
Carter took one look at him and started laughing that irritating nasal guffaw of his. “Please tell me you don’t have your guards posted outside like a beacon.”
Soren sniffed. “You don’t expect me to go places without them, do you?”
Cranston rolled his eyes. “Afraid one of the conservative gun-toters is going to express their displeasure with you?”
Soren thinned his lips. The look on Carter’s face said he hoped one would. “Why did you call me here, Cranston?”
The corpulent politician swirled his ice through his whiskey. “Can I pour you a drink?”
