Page 80 of Ice Falls
“How do you feel about putting yourself on the wrong side of the FBI?”
Her gaze swung sharply toward him, and a slow, radiant smile spread across her face. “I’m listening.”
34
The fact that Sam was willing to go against Agent Bradley was the first wonderful surprise. Bradley was his boss, in a way, and when your boss worked for the FBI, well, that was pretty compelling.
The second surprise was that while Molly had been consumed with fury over Bradley’s actions regarding Elias, Sam had been busy coming up with another plan. Smart. No wonder she was so attracted to him. He wasn’t just a rugged, sexy pilot slash freelance investigator, he was highly intelligent.
“Bradley thinks he’s got this all figured out, but he’s being lazy. He just wants to retire and go fishing and take his RV to all the national parks in Alaska.”
“That does sound nice,” she murmured.
He shot her that quirky smile of his. “You know as well as I do that neither of us will be able to relax until we know what’s going on. We’re alike that way.”
Maybe he really did know her. Maybe her edges didn’t bother him. Maybe he even liked them.
She shook off that third surprising thought. “So what are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking the key here is the Ice Falls. It keeps coming up.”
“You want to go check it out?”
“Not yet. I want to know more about it first. Remember the scientists I mentioned, who come to Firelight Ridge in the summer? One of them specializes in glaciers. He works at the University of Fairbanks. I want to go see him.”
Molly clapped her hands together. “That’s a great idea! Now I don’t have to download scientific papers from the internet and pretend to understand them.”
“Right? We can pretend to understand him instead.” He grinned. “It’s still early. If we leave now, we can be there by noon.”
“I love a field trip. Let’s do it.”
As he steered his truck onto the highway, heading toward Fairbanks, she remembered the furious words she’d flung at him. Remorse flooded through her. Her hot tongue was one of her worst qualities, and got her into more trouble than anything else. “I’m sorry I called you a traitor. That was uncalled for and wrong.”
“I get it. You’re worried about Elias. I didn’t take it personally.”
But she thought that he had, at least for a moment. “No, it was wrong. I can get carried away. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you. You weren’t the one who went behind my back like that. Calling you a traitor, it sounds like I don’t trust you. But I do. That’s why it hurt when I thought you were abandoning Elias. I have bonded with him. You were right.“
He was quiet for long moment as the miles slid past. When he finally spoke, it felt like a splash of cold water in her face. “I need to clarify that I’m still trying to solve a case here.”
Molly’s stomach twisted. “You’re saying I shouldn’t trust you?”
“I’m saying I’m just an investigator. I’m not a traitor, but I’m also not a savior. I’m doing what I think is best for the job for which I was hired. I’m still part of it, even if Bradley thinks it’s done. He’s got it wrong, so it’s on me now to solve this thing.”
“You’re saying the job comes first. I agree. And last night?”
He glanced over at her, eyebrows raised. “What about it?”
“Was that part of the job?”
“How would that be part of the job? We had sex. It was great. I hope you thought so too. But I’m not making any decisions about the case based on last night, if that’s what you think. It’s completely separate.”
That made sense. Of course it did. She wouldn’t expect anything else. She’d gotten confused for a moment, attributing emotions to the situation that didn’t belong there.
Wasn’t that Sam’s reputation in Firelight Ridge? Lone wolf, disengaged, cynical, that sort of thing. She’d come to see him differently, but maybe she’d gotten carried away—as she did sometimes.
“Of course,” she said. “My mistake.”
One she wouldn’t make again.