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very small and very feminine.
 Let me give you the nickel tour. He pointed down the hall, showing her the master
bath, the closed door to his study. Upstairs, there appeared to be six bedrooms, with a
couple more bathrooms. He showed her to a room close to the stairs decorated in a North
Woods theme.  Don t get too comfy. We ll head out early tomorrow morning. I ll be back in
a couple of hours to take you downstairs for dinner. I ve got some work to do. From
downstairs, male voices rumbled, and he listened to them for a charged moment before
hurrying downstairs.
No sooner had he left than her cell phone rang. Sarah answered it.
 I trust you made it all right, Ken s voice crackled across the connection.
 Just got here. Everything okay? She d been given her instructions. She hadn t
expected her boss to call so soon.
 Yeah, fine. Ken s voice shook. Sarah knew he lied. Something was going on. First
this mission, her employer s insistence that she not sway her report one way or other, when
Ken knew the kind of work she did. In fact, he d told her repeatedly that was why she was
picked for this project.  Let me know as soon as you start on the report, all right?
 I will. Don t worry, Ken. You can count on me.
 Good. Muffled sounds of a hushed conversation filtered through the phone line.  I
got to go. The line went dead.
Sarah stared at her silent phone for a moment. It rang again.
 Don t worry, Ken, she said as she lifted the phone to her ear.  I have it covered.
 Well I m glad to hear that, Walt s voice sounded.  You made it all right?
 Just got here. She sat down on the bed, the comforter soft beneath her.
 So how soon can you wrap up your work and come back? I have an important
function in two weeks. I d like you to be there.
Sarah rolled her eyes. They d discussed this.  I have an open ended assignment,
Walt. I ll be here as long as it takes to get the job done.
He guffawed.  Go out, take a look around and write your report. You ll be home in a
week.
Sarah shook her head, feeling displeasure pull the corners of her mouth down. He
didn t understand.  I take my work seriously, Walt. I ll be here as long as it takes. From
downstairs, she heard rustling. She needed to find out more about her host. Interviewing
him would be the perfect place to start gathering information.  Good bye. She
disconnected the call. Later, she d deal with Walt and decide just what she was going to do
about him.
~* * *~
125
Liam sank into the leather executive chair behind his desk and pinched the bridge of
his nose. When he agreed to show Sarah around the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, it
mostly was at the behest of people he couldn t refuse. His father had just left to meet with
them, no doubt to tell them that his son would be more than happy to follow their urging.
Sanctimonious bastards. They stay in their hiding, giving out orders. They didn t know how
it really was. A memory of being trapped in a four-by-four Russian cell filled his mind, and
for a moment, his breath stuck in his lungs. He was there, body trembling, weak from
hunger and exhaustion, waiting for his tormentors to come and beat him again. He shook
his head, and as quickly as it had come, the horrible memories receded.
His brother s heavy footsteps sounded outside the room. Liam reminded himself he
was back home in Alaska, not trapped in a Russian holding facility. Cameron had been
there too, presumably in the cell next to his, and yet, his younger twin showed no signs of
the haunted dreams. He simply did what he had to do. And they had both escaped.
 Hey bro, looks like you got yourself a live one, Cameron said. Without asking he
sank into one of the two chairs sitting in front of the desk and scanned the walls filled with
pictures of their adventures across the globe. Some for fun. Some at the urging of the
organization to which his father answered.
Liam sighed. His younger brother acted the playboy, and lived it, too, from his sun-
streaked brown hair the same shade as his own, to the board shorts he wore in spite of the
highs that wouldn t quite reach sixty degrees.  I want you to lay low for a while. There s no
need in you getting caught up in this craziness. I ll take her out, show her what she wants to
see. Hopefully she ll be back in DC before long. He reached for a topographical map and
unfolded it on the nearly bare desk. One end leaned against his computer. He used a Ducks
Unlimited mug to hold the other end down.
Cameron leaned over the map.  Any idea where you ll take her? He wagged his
eyebrows at his own double entendre.
Used to his brother, Liam tried to ignore Cameron.  I thought we d head towards
the Brooks Range. He traced a route leading well away from the oil fields.  Spend a few
days out there. Let her see how wild and untamed it really is out here. Then hopefully she ll
do the right thing.
 Write the report telling them not to drill. Cameron barked mocking laughter.
 She s from DC. She works for politicians. Even if she does the right thing, do you think that
they ll follow her recommendation?
 They better. It s what the Quintursa wants done.
 They re nothing but a bunch of old men out of touch with reality. For a moment,
Cameron s façade faded to show the determined man beneath. Then he smiled, and once
more his happy-go-lucky glamour was in place.  And right now, bro, reality looks pretty
damn hot. He clapped Liam on the shoulder.
 Stay away from her, Cameron. Liam folded the map, not wanting to think about
his brother making moves on Sarah. It was none of his business, though he d looked for
rings. Didn t want a jealous boyfriend yelling about Sarah being alone with he and his
brother in the middle of nowhere. The entire drive, he d smelled the lavender scent of her
shampoo, the light floral fragrance that surrounded her. One he hoped she didn t take into
126
their tent. She smelled like springtime, and to bears and other animals with a keen sense of
smell, that meant food. Around her, his body thought of something else all together.
 Well, don t we sound like a bear with a thorn in its paw. Cameron straightened.
He studied Liam for a moment.  All right. I ll stay away like a good little boy. There s
something about this woman that you re not telling me. Could be her long wavy hair, or the
body that s curved in all the right places. Or maybe, just maybe, my big brother has finally
found a woman who s going to get under his skin. Laughing, Cameron turned on his heel
and left the study. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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