Page 3 of The Hero She Loves

Jenna fought not to grind her teeth together. Leaning over, she tapped the address into the navigation system. “Lopez and Calt are dead. The troopers are both injured. Olson is in the wind.”

Owen cursed. “They’re dead?” His hands clenched on the wheel.

“The only way we can help them now is to find Olson.”

Her partner nodded. The tires squealed as he pulled out.

Jenna sent Vic a text message. He called instantly, but she ignored him. This was partly his fault. He hadn’t assigned enough resources, and he’d downplayed the risk to the troopers.

She’d warned Vic repeatedly that Olson was dangerous, and he hadn’t believed her.

Kyle Olson had a special skill set. He’d just proven that.

It would take someone with the same skill set to track him down.

“We’ll run this fucker down.” Owen’s hands flexed on the wheel. His voice was filled with the overconfidence of someone who didn’t fully comprehend the situation.

“We won’t. Olson’s too good. He can survive in the worst terrain, and he’s trained to kill.”

Owen’s brow creased. “You make him sound like the boogeyman.”

“I’d prefer the boogeyman.” She sucked in a breath. “But wearegoing to find him. We just need some help.”

As they headed out of Fairbanks, Jenna scrolled through the contacts list and touched a name. The call rang, then connected.

“Norcross,” a deep voice said.

“Vander, it’s US Marshal Jenna Sheridan.”

“Jenna, always a pleasure. What can I do for you?”

Ahead, she spotted the ruined cars in the distance. There were several Alaska State Trooper vehicles parked nearby, lights flashing. There was an ambulance, as well. The black SUV themarshals had been driving was on its roof. It looked like it had rolled several times.

Dammit.

“We apprehended Kyle Olson in Alaska,” she said.

There was silence. “Good,” Vander replied. “He’s dangerous.”

“Vander, he escaped during transport to the Fairbanks airport.” The anger was building inside her, scorching hot. “He killed two of my marshals.”

A curse cut across the line. “I’m sorry, Jenna.”

“I need help.”

He steppedout of the back door of his cabin and breathed in the fresh air. Standing there for a moment, he took in the view. His cabin sat at one end of a small lake. Mountains rose up in the distance, and spring had turned everything a lush green.

Best of all, there wasn’t a single person or another cabin in sight.

Parker Conroy took another step, and almost rolled an ankle on part of a pinecone.

“Dammit.” He picked it up. “Red, I told you to quit it.”

Since he’d moved in a couple of months ago, a red squirrel had started hanging around. Red liked to leave Park gifts of a dubious nature. Last week, it had been a ratty Barbie doll head. Park had no idea where the animal had found that.

He tossed the pinecone off the deck and heard rustling in the trees.

“I hear you. No food for you today.”

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