frowned. Why hadn't Cadotte called? I needed to get that totem back before Clyde blew another brain cell.
I glanced at my message machine, but the light wasn't blinking. I checked the phone on my belt.
Sometimes cell service cuts out in the deep woods, and sometimes it doesn't. Why or why not is a mystery. But my battery was fine and there were no messages there, either.
I caught a whiff of myself and headed for the bedroom. Missing bodies and rabid wolves made for a lot of nervous sweat. I stripped to the waist, then took a quick sponge bath and yanked a fresh khaki short-sleeved shirt from my closet.
Buttoning the front, I returned to the kitchen and snagged one of the two colas I had left. I needed to go grocery shopping - my least favorite thing. When you lived alone and cooked rarely, the amount of choices in a grocery store was confusing. I usually came out with stuff I didn't need and more that I didn't know what to do with.
Something clinked against the floor-length sliding doors leading to my patio. I glanced in that direction.
Nothing but black night filled the glass. All I could see was myself.
"Probably a really big bug," I murmured. "Or a low-flying dumb bird."
I headed across the small living area, flicked the lock, picked up the metal rod that braced the door, and slid it open. Crickets chirped; the trees rustled; a chilly wind swirled into the room. I'd never noticed how dark this side of the building was.
I cast a quick, longing glance toward my gun, then shook my head. I was not going to sit on my balcony armed. I was supposed to be relaxing. Besides, what was going to get me up here? Even a rabid wolf couldn't jump fifty feet in the air. Could it?
Since I hated being afraid, I made myself step onto the porch. I leaned my forearms along the railing, cradling my soda in my palms.
The only reason I had a chill down my back was the icy remnants of winter on the breeze. As I stared at the forest, something slunk along the edge of the woods. Something low to the ground, something furry with a tail.
"Coyote," I said, and my voice sounded loud in the stillness of the night.
I thought about what I'd said and frowned. Wolves wouldn't tolerate coyotes in their territory. So had I really seen what I thought I had?
I straightened and scanned the tree line again. But the night was too dark. Where was the moon?
Lifting my gaze to the sky, I caught a muted silver glow hanging halfway between the earth and the apex.
When had the clouds moved in?
The scuffle of a foot against rocks and dirt pulled my attention from the sky to the ground. A man stood below my balcony.
The soda slipped from my hand. I gasped. He glanced up and snatched the can from the air seconds before it would have smashed into his head.
Soda sloshed across his shirt. His gaze met mine.
"You throw things at everyone, or am I just lucky?" Cadotte asked.
Chapter 10
"Where the hell did you come from?" I snapped.
My heart thundered and my hands shook. He'd scared me, not only by appearing out of nowhere, but by almost getting himself knocked out in my yard.
"Right now, or in general?"
"What?"
"I come from Minnesota originally. I just came out of those woods right now."
"The woods?"
"You know those trees all bunched together?" He jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
A comedian, exactly what I didn't need.
"You shouldn't be out alone at night."
"I think I can handle myself." He lifted the can of soda to his mouth and drained the rest in one long gulp.
I found myself overly fascinated with the muscles flexing and releasing in his throat. The way he'd snatched that soda can out of thin air had been amazing.
"How'd you do that?" I asked.
He crushed the can in one hand. My heart went pitter-pat.
"Do what?"
I flicked a finger at the can. "Your reflexes seem downright superhuman."
"There's a lot about me that's superhuman." He .smirked. "Wanna see?"
The man flirted as easily as he breathed. But why was he flirting with me?
"No thanks. What are you doing here?"
"I got your message." He reached into the pocket of his jeans and held up something between his thumb and forefinger. The moon had come out from behind the clouds, and I could see his face but not much else. Still. from the space between his fingers, I