Defensive Action. Jenna Kernan

idea.”

      “More than twelve?”

      “Yes, I think so.”

      “All right. We’ll start there. Resupply and then head out.”

      He counted the seconds during the long pause that followed. She was not planning to accompany him. Letting her slip away, thinking she’d escaped, would be best for one of them, but it wasn’t her.

      She spoke at last. “Out where?”

      “I have to collect some intel left by my contact.”

      “I think I’d prefer to try the zip line.”

      He dropped his hand to his lap and faced her. “They’re coming for us, Haley. And this time they will kill you.”

      Ryan drove to the entrance of the adventure camp.

      “Registration is tomorrow but if you were arriving after eight, they said they’d leave the key inside on the kitchen counter.”

      They followed the signage to Adirondacks Adventures and drove down a rutted dirt road, sighting the lake through the trees, glistening pale in the starlight.

      “What number is your cabin?”

      “They don’t have numbers. I’m in Muskrat.”

      His brows lifted but he said nothing to this.

      Two large poles flanked the road. Between them was a sign carved into a solid plank of varnished pine, each letter painted black. It read Welcome to Adirondacks Adventures!

      They cruised past a series of metal frames encircling a grouping of four trampolines, a low rock-climbing wall and an open pavilion.

      The lights were still on in the lodge, which sat at the top of the hill facing the glittering dark lake and the cabins that faced a large central grassy area. Ryan drove around the circular road that took him past four large log cabins with covered porches, identical except for the signage. They rolled past Moose, an accessible cabin complete with a wheelchair ramp in place of stairs. Then came Black Bear, Elk and Wolf. He continued on past the lake, dock and boat ramp. Beside the ramp, rows of overturned kayaks and canoes lay on the grass, awaiting the adventure campers.

      On the opposite side sat the smaller single cabins. First was Muskrat.

      “That’s it,” she said.

      But Ryan continued to roll by, passing Possum, Rabbit, Otter, Beaver, Ermine, Red Squirrel and finally Raccoon, which was also an accessible cabin.

      Ryan drove around a second time as Haley stared into the darkness beyond the porch of Cabin Muskrat. It was doubtful they had found her location this quickly. But they’d be along.

      “Detective Howard Insbrook?”

      He didn’t look at her as he spoke. “I’m no more a detective than you are. My name is Ryan Carr. I’m a government operative.”

      “Operative? You mean like in the Central Intelligence Agency?”

      “That’s the one.”

      “A spy?” she squeaked.

      He shrugged. “I’m advising you not to run and not to scream when we leave this vehicle. Do you understand?” He turned his head and she nodded solemnly.

      Ryan drew the stolen vehicle before the cabin designated Muskrat. When he left the auto his ribs were aching and the blanket he’d come away with was sticking to his skin. He got out and was on his way around to her, surprised that she hadn’t already started her run or screamed for help. When he got to her side of the vehicle, he saw why.

      Haley pointed a pistol at him.

       Chapter Five

      He had no time for Haley’s shenanigans.

      “Stop right there,” she ordered. Her gun hand was unnervingly steady.

      “You ever shot a gun?”

      “Yes.”

      “Pistol?”

      She shook her head.

      “Back away,” she ordered.

      “You ever shoot a man, Haley?”

      She pressed her lips together, looking determined. From somewhere across the way came the sound of conversation and then a woman’s laughter. The other adventure campers were settling in.

      “You have to flip the safety off or it won’t shoot. It’s right there.” He extended his hand to point, never taking his eyes off her. But she took her eyes off him.

      Haley’s gaze dropped to the gun, turning it slightly in search of the safety.

      Ryan did not even bother to strike her a blow. Instead, he captured her wrist and redirected the aim of the pistol skyward with one hand and removed it from her grip with the other.

      He kept a hold on her as she made a vain effort to regain custody of the pistol, now well out of reach. Had she been a man, he would have punched her in the stomach or throat to make his point but, as Haley was female, tiny and his savior, he simply dragged her forward until she collided with his chest.

      He meant the move as a way to get her attention and highlight that he was stronger, faster and more experienced. But when her soft body collided with his chest, stomach and hips, something unexpected happened.

      The warning died on his lips as he took in the feel of her pressed up against him. She smelled wonderful, clean and floral. He inclined his head to inhale the sweetness of her hair and felt the stirring of attraction rippling through him.

      Ryan’s body’s reaction caused him both dismay and irritation. He would never have sought out a little Good Samaritan with hair the color of a field mouse. Yet here he was, and his body definitely liked her well enough to become fully aroused. She must have felt it, his erection growing by the second, because she squeaked and tried to step back.

      Little mouse, he thought again.

      He wanted to press his opposite hand to her lower back and melt her closer to him, but the pistol in that hand and the clinking of wineglasses to his left drew him back to business.

      Ryan dipped his head until his jaw was pressed to her forehead. His voice was a low growl as his lips moved close to the shell of her ear.

      “We are leaving the vehicle and heading to the lodge. If you try to run, I’ll catch you. If you call for help, I’ll have to kill whoever you involve. Do you understand?”

      “Yes,” she whispered, trembling.

      He drew her under his arm, stooped to retrieve the blanket and wrapped it about them both. Her purse thumped against her hip as he guided her along the lakeshore, where he discovered that the canoes did not have paddles. He fixed his attention on the lodge, taking them past the dock and uphill behind the larger cabins. The area was neatly mown and each cabin had a large propane tank. There were lights from lanterns in both Wolf and Elk but the other residences appeared empty. A good place to sleep if not for the possible interruption by late arrivals and the fact that this was where Haley Nobel was expected to be. It was just a matter of time before his pursuers arrived to discover that car and set up perimeters accordingly.

      As they reached the top of the hill, the lights flicked off in the lodge. This structure at least had electricity. A moment later a young man emerged wearing baggy pants gathered at the ankle, sandals and a T-shirt with the Sanskrit for namaste on his chest. He was white with an athletic build and his hair was styled in sun-bleached dreadlocks.

      Ryan tugged Haley beside the Moose cabin. Just beyond, a group of people continued drinking and laughing. They were a poor choice for help, but if Haley planned to run or scream, now would be a great time.

      He