Ghostwalker 07 - Murder Game

stop. She counted her steps instead, placing one foot carefully in front of the other, forcing her mind to go blank, forcing air through her lungs while she mutely shook her head.

    "Tansy?" Th
    ncern in h
    ere was co
    is tone.

    She'd gone pale beneath her tan, and little bead
    s of perspiration dotted her forehead.
    Tansy wiped them away with a leaden hand, holding the door closed while it shook and moaned, pushing hard against her will. "Go away." Her voice was a mere whisper of sound.

    e
    H kept pace easily, even though he wasn't walking on the trail, but in the rougher, thicker grass. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

    "Go away, Mr. Montague. I can't help you." She continued to climb, averting her face so that it was impossible for him to see her mouth trembling.

    "That's not the truth, Tansy. I've got a file on you four inches thick. You're the real thing, and whatever bullshit you've been feeding law enforcement across the country about losing your abilities in a climbing accident doesn't cut it with me."

    She swallowed hard, braced herself, and turned to face him. "If you have a file on me, ABC Amber LIT Converter
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    I'm certain it included the fact that I spent eight months in a hospital. You seem a very thorough kind of man to me, and you're not FBI, so your little badge doesn't cut it with me."

    Kadan moved in behind her, crowding so close she could feel the heat emanating from his body. She might look angry, but he was far too we l l trained not to have noticed the
    hint of desperate fear in her eyes and she detested that he knew she was afraid. "Not of you," she murmured aloud, pouring contempt into her voice. "Never of you. Get o f f my
    mountain and leave me alone."

    "What happened?"

    She took a deep, shuddering breath, her fingers closing to form two tight fists. "You're a perfect stranger—a man I don't want to know. I'm a photographer, working with permits on this reserve. As far as I know, you don't have the right to be here, or to question me. If you really are FBI, then go talk to my lawyer."

    "Now you're just being rude."

    She felt rude. He was getting to her because she was so shaken. Tansy took another breath and let it out.

    The sudden buildup of hostile energy hit her. It was hard and fast and came from just beyond Kadan.

    Kadan felt the surge of aggressive, threatening energy blast him, and he caught Tansy by the wrist, whirling around, thrusting her behind him, placing his body between her and danger. She stumbled and nearly went down, but he continued moving in a circle, pulling his weapon, finger on the trigger, squeezing as the enemy attacked.

    No! Back!

    The voice filled his mind even as Tansy leapt over him, directly in between his gun and the attacking cougar. His finger was already pulling the trigger, his aim true. He managed to jerk just enough to miss Tansy by a breath, but the mountain lion hit her full-force on her chest, driving her back and into him so they both went down. For one moment he stared into the cat's eyes, its breath hot on his face and then it was gone, le p a ing off
    Tansy into heavy brush and disappearing.

    Everything in him stilled. Kadan locked his arms around Tansy and rolled, pulling her beneath him so he could run his hands over her body, checking for damage. "Talk to me."

    The cougar had knocked the breath from her body, hitting her with the force of a locomotive. She'd likely be bruised, and she wasn't getting air, but there were no slash marks as he'd expected. The cat had pulled in her claws when she struck, and she hadn't bitten Tansy's exposed throat—and neither had his bullet hit her. He hung his head for a ABC Amber LIT Converter
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    moment, breathing his fear away.

    "'What the hell were you thinking, protecting the cat like that?" he demanded, fury replacing terror. "I could have shot you. I came a whisper away from killing you." He found he was shaking her, and, shocked, he drew a deep breath, trying to pull back from the edge of disaster. He was trembling, something he never did, but he had come so close to blowing her head off. It took a moment for him to realize that his hands were wrapped around her slender throat, thumbs pressed up into her jaw, tipping her head up so her huge eyes stared directly into his.

    Tansy tried