Page 14 of Deadly Sins

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Page 14 of Deadly Sins

“Fine,” he grumbled, his shoulders slumping. “You’re right. Let’s head back to the hotel and make sure you’re okay. Maybe put some ice on that shoulder.”

She nodded, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Look at you, being all sensible and mature.”

Fenn grinned. “Don’t get used to it. I have a reputation to uphold.”

They pulled their face masks back up, readjusted their goggles and headed toward the metal and cinderblock version of Arctic accommodations.

As they trudged through the snow, something caught Fenn’s eye. He crouched down, brushing aside the powdery white with his gloved hand. There, glinting in the pale light from the light fixture above the doorway behind them, was a broken piece of plastic. Jagged edges, like a puzzle piece from the front of the snowmobile.

“What’d you find?” she asked.

“Nothing.” He pretended to flick the piece away. “Just trash.”

He slipped it into his pocket, his mind already racing with possibilities.

No way he’d show this to Kate. She’d only go off on her own. He’ll keep the piece of evidence to himself. For now. But he’d hold off on contacting the team. Running his own investigation was going to make her mad enough. Getting the band back together without her permission might just get him kicked out of her life.

Permanently.

9

Kate awoke with a groan,her muscles stiff and sore from the previous night’s unexpected encounter. She gingerly touched her bruised hip, wincing at the tenderness. It wasn’t the worst injury she’d ever sustained, but it certainly wasn’t the most pleasant way to start the day.

Outside the wind still shrieked, but the sound was more muffled, as if the sharp edges had been filed off the storm. The latest weather report had said the front would abate today. So it would be unremitting dark, well below negative thirty for a high, but the windchill would rise from negative sixty-five or so to a downright comfy negative fortyish.

Things were maybe, possibly, slightly looking up.

Rolling over, she squinted at the clock on the nightstand. The glowing red numbers mocked. She missed the warmth of the sun, the way it would filter through her curtains and gently coax her awake.

Her thoughts drifted to Redemption Creek, to the team she’d sent off. She could picture them now, decorating the office with twinkling lights and garlands, planning the annual Christmas feast. Bridger would be with his new wife, Jane, and their energetic 9-year-old, Kellen. Tai would be making googly eyes athis latest flame, Tenaya. And even the usually stoic Mason had a new spring in his step, thanks to his reunion with his brother, Paul, and his budding romance with Avery, a stunning and uber-competent FBI agent.

A pang of loneliness struck her, and she quickly pushed it aside. It was just the unrelenting darkness getting to her, the isolation and the cold. And, of course, the fact that her past had finally caught up with her, threatening to bring her world crashing down.

But at least she had Fenn. For now.

When he’d first insisted on staying with her in Endurance, she’d been furious, seeing it as an intrusion on her carefully laid plans. Now, she realized his presence was a blessing, a gift from the Lord. Not only had he saved her from serious harm the night before, but his constant jokes and easy banter kept her from sinking too deep into her own dark thoughts.

Still, the past couple of days had also served as a stark reminder of why she could never let herself fall for a man like him. Fenn was a man of deep faith, but he took life way too lightly for her. His playboy antics and smooth-talking ways were all too familiar, echoing the disastrous marriages her mother had endured. Not a road she’d go down. If she ever did decide to open her heart to someone, it would be a man who was stable, sincere, and steadfast. Not a charming rogue who treated life like one big joke.

Better to keep her distance, to focus on the task at hand and ignore the way her heart seemed to skip a beat every time he flashed that crooked grin in her direction.

Besides, if he ever found out the whole truth behind her past, any thought of something more between them would snap like a rotten rope.

With a sigh, she hauled herself out of bed, knowing there was no point in delaying the inevitable. The de Havilland repairswere at a standstill until the replacement part arrived, which left her with plenty of time to track down whoever was threatening her.

Was the hit-and-run the first blow in the note writer’s promised retribution, or an unrelated coincidence?

Either way, if she could keep Fenn focused on the tavern ruffians, it would give her a chance to do some digging of her own.

She made her way down to the lobby, the flickering fluorescent lights doing little to improve the drab, outdated decor. Fenn was already there, leaning against the front desk and chatting with the clerk, a scrawny man with a receding hairline and an overbite that would make a beaver jealous.

“Morning, Princess.” Fenn raised his coffee mug in greeting. “Jimbo here was just telling me about our friends from the bar last night.”

Kate rolled her eyes at the nickname, a flicker of annoyance sparking in her chest. She turned to the clerk, who was watching them with a gleam of excitement in his watery blue eyes.

“I believe you’re talking about Lester Crowley and the Barnacle brothers,” Jimbo said, his nasal voice grating on Kate’s nerves. “That’s not their real name. It’s just what we call Wade and Billy Barnsdale around here. Once those two grab a seat, there’s no moving them. So they’re, you know––”

“Like barnacles,” Fenn finished, his tone dry. “We follow. How about their friend?”




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