Stars Over Alaska (Wild River #4) - Jennifer Snow Page 0,12
now just a large pile of smoldering debris. Luckily, no one had been inside.
Chad radioed as the team toured the area to make sure the flames were out. “I see a car...looks stuck on the inroad about a mile from the cabin. Vehicle is running. Can’t confirm passengers inside.”
Levi led the team to where the car sat idling and approached with caution.
The passenger door opened and a young woman dressed in jeans and winter boots with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders came hurrying toward them. “Oh thank God...” She nearly collapsed into his arms and Levi struggled to steady her.
“Hey...it’s okay. What are you doing out here? Were you in the cabin?” The singed edges of the blanket and the smell of smoke on her hair suggested she was, but who the hell was she?
“Yes...it was so terrifying,” she said, her lips trembling.
The driver’s side door opened and another woman got out...wearing only a towel and rubber boots that looked miles too big. She turned and his heart stopped beating.
“Leslie?” She was back? She’d somehow burned down her family’s cabin?
She was in a towel.
His mouth was a desert and he swallowed several times. Hard.
“Hi, Levi,” she said tightly, shifting uncomfortably in big oversized boots and the towel.
Hi, Levi. That was it?
He continued to stare at her, until Miller, one of his crewmates, nudged his arm. “Your friend’s probably cold,” he muttered, guiding the other young woman out of Levi’s arms.
Shit. Right. Levi quickly removed his jacket and wrapped it around Leslie’s shoulders.
“Thanks,” she said, sliding her arms into the coat sleeves and pulling it around her body. It was far too big for her, but gave her some warmth and coverage at least.
“What happened?” he asked.
“My...uh...friend isn’t familiar with flammable substances.”
Was it his imagination or did she look murderous when she glanced toward her “friend,” who was getting checked on—and checked out—by the other rescue members. She was a stunning woman with long dark hair and big blue eyes. If he were to guess, she must be someone famous. “What were you doing out here? I thought you were in LA?”
“I was.” She looked hesitant, her dark blue eyes sliding toward the others as she lowered her voice and moved closer to him. His pulse soared to an unhealthy rate. Having her this close, after so long... “Okay, look Levi, you have to take in what I’m about to say with strict confidence and zero judgment.”
As if she’d ever need to ask him for either. He’d only been in love with her since the fifth grade but he admired and respected the hell out of her enough never to tell her. Whatever she was about to say couldn’t possibly compare to that. “You got it,” he said.
“She’s not exactly a friend. She’s a client. And I brought her here for protection.” Her expression said she clearly saw the irony in their current situation, so he didn’t make a comment. “The problem is, no one authorized my actions or knows where she is...where we are.”
His eyes widened. “So, you essentially kidnapped her?”
She shook her wet hair, the blond strands nearly hitting him in the face. “No. I had to get her out of LA.”
“Surely, there were other—safer—following-protocol ways to have done that.”
“Hey, maybe I didn’t specify, but I wasn’t looking for advice either. I just...trust you and someone should know...in case the stalker does happen to find us.”
She trusted him. Sure, she’d stumbled over the word, which annoyed him because she should know that she could trust him with anything and everything, but at least she was choosing to tell him, out of anyone she could have confided in, including her law enforcement family...or a confidant (maybe boyfriend?) back in LA. “What do you need?”
Leslie glanced down at the towel under his jacket. “Right now? Clothes and a ride into Wild River.” She looked ruefully at the car stuck deep into the snowbank. “And we’ll have to get the car towed somehow.”
“Keep my jacket as long as you need and I’ll call this in once we reach town. We’ll get you two a ride from the station.”
She nodded and started toward the trail, to hike out through the deep snow to where the plane was waiting. Then she turned back abruptly, nearly colliding with him. “Oh, and one more thing.”
He waited.
“Tell no one about this.”
He grinned. No doubt this was embarrassing for her. She would hate for anyone to know she’d been in this situation...especially as compromised as she was.