Wild Men of Alaska 04 - Wild Men of Alaska - Four Book Bundle

with a smile.
    “I don’t know him,” Eva said. Raven cocked a brow, and the heat of Eva’s blush belied the fact. “Okay, so I might physically know him after last night.” And very much wanted to physically know him better. “But I’ve never fallen so fast into bed before. I usually take a long time getting to know a man before taking that step. I’m off balance.”
    “Isn’t love all about being off balance? Explains that tingling in the belly and dizziness. That’s why they call it falling in love.”
    Could she really be falling in love? So fast?
    “There is no time frame for love,” Raven continued, having correctly read the panic Eva felt. “You can’t put logical parameters on it. Love just is.”
    “But what about Lynx?” Was she the only one hanging out here on the proverbial limb?
    “I don’t know what he’s feeling, but I will tell you this. I’ve never seen him make a fool of himself over a woman like he has you.”
    “Then where is he? I haven’t heard a word from him since he left earlier this morning.” She hoped she didn’t sound as desperate as she felt, but was very much afraid her desperation had vocalized itself loud and clear.
    “Did he say were he was going?”
    “Something about a report of poachers he’d been tracking.”
    “Hmm.” Raven swung a long wing of black hair over her shoulder. “His job is one of those where he can be gone for days. Once even a few weeks.”
    “Weeks?”
    “He’s usually good about checking in when he can. He has a GPS spot tracker on him if he’s out of cell range, which is most of the time. He’s in charge of a big area, and it requires a lot of his time.” She paused and slightly narrowed her eyes. “Are you one of those women who need a lot of attention?”
    Eva paused wondering if that was some sort of insult and then decided it was an honest question, trying to get to know more about her. “No. I don’t mind being alone, and Lord knows men get underfoot when they are around too long, but when I share myself with a man for the first time, I wouldn’t mind a return phone call.”
    “Totally understandable. And knowing Lynx, he’d call if he could.”
    “You don’t think he could be in danger, do you?” The thought had the power to paralyze her if she let it.
    “I don’t know many men who can handle themselves in the woods like Lynx can. It’s like he’s one with the animals. Don’t worry, I’d know if he were in trouble.”
    “How?”
    Raven waited another long minute before responding, and Eva got the impression she was letting her in on a secret.
    “I’d feel it.”

C HAPTER S EVENTEEN

    He was going to feel this for days.
    Lynx lay on his side, pretending he was still unconscious as the three men argued about what to do with him. He took stock of his injuries and decided he was bruised but not beaten. Nothing broken, nor internal bleeding, but damn he was going to hurt. He’d make them hurt as soon as he could get out of his own restraints.
    They had found his zip ties and had his hands secured behind his back and his feet restrained together. He’d never live this down if his fellow officers found him like this. He’d have to make sure that didn’t happen.
    “We can dump him in the river,” Pete snarled.
    That got Lynx’s attention off his injuries and back to the conversation these dumbasses were having. He slowly cracked open one eye. No one paid any attention to him. Were they really thinking of killing him? That was so not going to happen.
    “We can’t k-kill him,” Chad sputtered. “He’s a trooper. And I know him.”
    “You want to go to jail?” Pete got up in Chad’s face.
    Chad cowered back. “No. But I’m not going to be a part of murder either.”
    “You’re either with us or against us,” Big Bart added. “Guess what happens if you’re against us?” He belly laughed when Chad paled. “Got that right.” Big Bart slid a shifty look Pete’s way. “You know we could try a whole other type of hunting?”
    Pete shared a look with Big Bart and then a smiled. “I haven’t done that since Iraq.”
    Lynx’s blood shivered through his veins. Chad paled even further and backed up a few more steps. Then he ran for his life.
    Pete threw his head back with sick laughter. “Let’s do it! But I want the trooper.”
    Big Bart had an unnatural gleam in his eyes. “Just remember our motto.”
    “Shoot, shovel, and shut up,” they quoted together following with a fist