Page 21 of Sergeant's Christmas Siege

Instead, the Alaska Force lodge felt both comfortable and professional, and she had to stop a moment to think about how they’d achieved that. It was cozy and inviting, yes, with all the ruddy-colored rugs tossed across the hardwood floors that were somehow as masculine as they were surprisingly sophisticated for this part of the world. There were sleek, modern updates that wouldn’t look out of place inMountain Livingmagazine, from the flat-screen TV on one wall and the big stone fireplace on another, down to the lack of clutter or anything extraneous.

“You look surprised,” Templeton rumbled from beside her.

Too close beside her, because everything about him was inappropriate, and she understood that it was all deliberate. That was the game he was playing. She understood it, but for some reason, she seemed to be susceptible to him in ways that made absolutely no sense to her.

She ignored him—and her reaction—and walked farther into the great room, scanning it as she went.

“I wouldn’t categorize my response as ‘surprised,’” she said after a moment. “But I’ll admit that this looks more corporate than cultish.”

“Cultish?” Bethan laughed, though she had found another way to stand at attention just inside the door while Templeton prowled around like an oversized jungle cat. “I’m a soldier, ma’am. Not a cult member.”

“Some would say boot camp is the same as brainwashing,” Templeton pointed out. Conversationally.

“Not to my face, they wouldn’t,” Bethan retorted.

Kate smiled as she turned back to face them. “Did you practice that bit? Or am I supposed to believe it was spontaneous?”

“Again, ma’am,” Bethan said, and Kate thought there was a little bite in that word.Ma’am. Especially since she and Bethan were much the same age. “I’m a soldier. Not in a cult. And not on a stage.”

“Alaska Force is a business,” came another voice, from the far side of the lodge’s wide-open lobby, where doors clearly led to other rooms and the series of connected cabins Kate had seen from outside. “So whether or not you think we’re evil probably depends on your feelings about businesses in general.”

And there he was. The man she’d expected to see yesterday, who was at the heart of all of this.

Isaac Gentry stood there at the far end of the room, not at attention. In fact, he looked at his ease. Not in that pointedly lazy way Templeton always did, but like he was... just a guy. He wore a T-shirt with a drawing onthe front of it, cargo pants low on his hips, and boots like everyone else’s. Kate assumed that it was his goal to look unthreatening. Dismissible, even. His smile was genial. His eyes were bright. At a glance, he looked scruffy, bearded, and indistinguishable from any other male in his age demographic in Alaska.

Unless a person paid attention to how he was standing there, his weight equally distributed on the balls of his feet, spring-loaded and ready for action. Not to mention, he was in shockingly good physical condition. In perfect shape, even. And had the same kind of lean, dangerous muscles that Templeton had. The kind that were honed in battle, because the people sporting them didn’t need a weapon. They were the weapons.

But what Isaac Gentry did not look like, to Kate’s educated eye, was an unhinged survivalist cult leader.

Then again, things weren’t always what they seemed.

“I’m not sure I know of anyone who has warm, fuzzy feelings about corporations,” Kate pointed out. She kept walking until she had her back to a wall and could see all three Alaska Force members who stood in the room with her. It struck her how similar they all were, for all that they looked so different. Templeton was tall and wicked. Isaac looked so friendly. Bethan looked compact and tough. But all three of them had that same watchful stillness. The same hint of leashed power, just waiting to be set free.

Kate couldn’t imagine how they ever convinced anyone that they were regular citizens.

“Corporations are made of people,” Isaac replied. “If you hate them, you hate people. Do you?”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Gentry,” Kate said. “I have a lot of questions for you.”

“Fire away,” Isaac said cheerfully. He wandered in farther and tossed himself down on one of the couches, stretching out his legs in front of him and his arms to either side. Like a regular guy in his living room insteadof a superhero—or supervillain—in his very own Batcave. “What do you want to know? I’m an open book.”

“The first thing that comes to mind, off the top of my head, is why you find it necessary to stockpile an arsenal in a remote part of Alaska.”

Isaac’s laugh was as friendly and encouraging as the rest of him. It made Kate want to laugh along with him. She didn’t.

“I’m fully licensed and entirely legal, Officer,” Isaac assured her. “As is everyone who lives in Fool’s Cove.”

“If you weren’t, I wouldn’t be here alone, engaging in this friendly chat. I’d be here with a warrant and any number of fellow officers. But what I’d like to know is why you feel it’s necessary.”

“Alaska Force is a private security firm,” Isaac said.

“You mean a military company.”

“We’re not big enough to feelthatcorporate, Trooper Holiday. Deliberately.”

“Funny, I’m convinced there’s a word to describe a ragged little band of private actors with militaristic leanings.” Kate pretended to think. “Oh yes. Mercenaries.”

“If we were nothing but mercenaries, I doubt local law enforcement would allow us to keep operating.” Isaac grinned. “Would you?”

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