Page 48 of Dead Girl Running

She glanced at the time. Two forty-five a.m. Whoever it was either wasn’t afraid of being seen or wanted to be seen. Or their meeting hadn’t occurred as they expected and they were desperate. Or…or she didn’t know.

She did know the night was pitch-dark, rain rattled against the window like sleet and today they’d found a decomposing body out on the flats. Had someone found another one?

The light flashed around again.

Damn it. Annie left and less than twenty-four hours later, Kellen was up to her ass in alligators and it was hard to remember that her directive was to drain the swamp. She watched that light, willing it to go out permanently, and when that didn’t happen, she cursed as only an Army officer could curse, got her Glock and strapped it into her shoulder holster, pulled her rain gear on over her clothes and headed out.

As soon as she stepped foot on the porch, the wind caught her breath and whipped it away. Sleet blew beneath the overhang and stung her face. This was going to be one fast trip out to check on…whatever. Maybe she should pretend she hadn’t seen anything… But no. She owed it to Annie to find out if they’d been dealt another tragedy. Holding the handrail, she groped her way down the stairs. She took small steps toward her ATV.

A man’s voice behind her said, “Don’t do this.”

Not a moment of hesitation. She whipped around in the turning kick Mara had been teaching her. She should have struck his throat. But she slipped and landed a strike on his hip. She kicked again, aiming high.

He blocked.

She landed a solid strike against his arm.

She attacked.

He parried.

She landed good hits, but somehow she never did enough damage to hurt him. She felt as if she was being toyed with by an expert. Or led through a training session.

No. No one was going to lead her anywhere she didn’t want to go. She leaped back, out of his reach. She hoped. She pulled her Glock, released the safety, pointed and asked, “Who are you?”

“Nils Brooks.” His calm voice continued, “Your drill instructor said your hand-to-hand attacks were organized, focused and deadly in a way he had seldom seen in a woman.”

That knocked the breath out of her like nothing else had in this battle. This guy, whoever he was, had tapped into her military records as far back as Army basic training. He had investigated her. Not a cheap, simple, superficial investigation; one thorough and seemingly impossible. “It’s late. It’s been a long day. I don’t have time for games.Who are you?”

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“I’m Nils Brooks of the MFAA.” He waited a beat, then asked, “Ever heard of the MFAA?”

Kellen searched her memory, came up with the correct title. “Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives?”

“That’s it. How did you know?”

“I saw the movie. I read the book. I…found some treasure. The MFAA is the Monuments Men.” He wasn’t going to fool her. “But don’t tell me you’re from the MFAA. The group was disbanded after World War II.”

“Can you saysecret government agency?” His voice held a trace of humor.

“No, I can’t.” She didn’t believe it. She didn’t believe him.

“Don’t blame you. I came here from Washington, DC. The whole place is rife with liars, thieves and politicians. But I’m none of those things.”

“You’re saying you’re part of a secret government agency?”

“Who else would care about a smuggling ring using Yearning Sands Resort as a delivery depot?”

“Smuggling?” She didn’t stutter and she didn’t shriek. Points to her.

“Those lights you saw aren’t UFOs.” He was nothing more than a voice in the darkness, but he wasn’t trying to circle her or play her. “You’ve got your sidearm. Come on and we’ll talk.” He turned his back and headed for his cottage.

She sorted through his options, and hers.

He had been waiting in the dark. When she stepped out of her cottage, he could have attacked her, raped her, killed her. He hadn’t. Obviously, that made him a gem of a man.

Her own cynicism let her know she hadn’t lost herself to all sense. So she would listen, pistol in hand, and wait to see what Nils Brooks said about mysterious lights on an empty plain where today a body had been found.

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