Page 22 of Sergeant's Christmas Siege

“I’ll be honest with you, Mr. Gentry. I don’t like private armies.”

“Trooper Holiday is not a fan of armed men in remote, defensible positions,” Templeton chimed in. “Makes her twitchy.”

“It does make me twitchy,” Kate agreed. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that a lot of people think that they can come on up to Alaska, get far away from civilization, and make their own rules.”

“A person might argue that’s what Alaska’s for,” Templeton drawled.

But Isaac kept grinning at her. “Maybe they do, butthat’s not me. I’m a local boy. Born and bred right here in Grizzly Harbor.”

“And you trade on that,” Kate said coolly. “But I’m not sure that aw-shucks routine can really stand in the face of repeated arson attempts.”

“Why would I torch my own buildings?” There wasn’t muchaw shucksin Isaac’s expression then. “That’s not a rhetorical question. What benefit could I possibly get from it? I obviously don’t want a lot of attention, or I wouldn’t be here. I like the middle of nowhere. I don’t like crowds. I don’t like cities. I’ve seen a little too much to ever be comfortable with someone else’s wall at my back. There’s nothing in it for me to go around blowing things up.”

“Unless this is all sleight of hand.” Kate smiled. “If you’re blowing up a boat here, what are you distracting us from over there?”

“I’m a marine,” Isaac said, and she was sure there was an edge to his friendly grin. “Not a magician.”

“There’s no point to Alaska Force engaging in arson all over Southeast Alaska,” Templeton said. And when Kate looked back over at him, she shivered into a different kind of awareness. It was something about the way his eyes glittered. She had the distinct, if ridiculous, notion that he didn’t like her smiling at Isaac. But she shoved that thought away as soon as it formed. “The simplest explanation is that someone else is doing it.”

“Claiming that some unknown entity is framing you is not the simplest explanation.” Kate shook her head. “Why would anybody want to do that?”

“This might come as a shock to you, since you think we’re an evil cult racing around doing harm,” Templeton drawled. “But there are a whole lot of bad guys who would be thrilled if we weren’t around to keep messing up their plans.”

Kate sighed. “Do you think that you’re in a comic book, Mr. Cross? Bad guys versus good guys? Wait, letme guess. You’re actually made of steel, invulnerable except for that pesky kryptonite.”

“Everyone has their kryptonite, ma’am,” Bethan said then, with a laugh that made Kate too aware, suddenly, of how intensely she’d been staring at Templeton. “That’s pretty much the first thing they look for in boot camp.”

Kate ordered herself to take a breath. To center herself, remember why she was here, and stop...reactingto Templeton like this.

“What none of you seem to understand is that I can’t effectively tell the difference between metaphoric, colorful language and a widespread, shared delusion,” she said when she thought she had herself under control again, no matter the sensation shivering around inside her and making her so... jittery. “What I do know are the facts. A lot of arson, all of a sudden. And going back years, too many incidents involving questionable behavior and you. Is this a situation where all the smoke means fire? Or are you right that your hands are clean, if without official oversight? I have no way of telling. So far, everything has been very cloak-and-dagger or I’ve been treated to a number of performances, none of which I believe are genuine.”

And she didn’t look at Templeton when she said that. She didn’t have to. She heard the bark of his laughter, and whether or not he was performing, she still felt it thud through her.

“I have nothing to hide.” Isaac sounded as friendly and approachable as ever. “I’m private, not secretive. And you’re here now.” He opened his arms wider along the couch. “Knock yourself out. Investigate to your heart’s content. Invite all your friends.”

“Thank you, Mr. Gentry,” Kate said, smiling wide herself, as if they were buddies. “I’ll take you up on that offer.”

Isaac rose to his feet then, with a powerful ease that showed who he really was behind all the grinninggeniality. In case she was tempted to forget. “The only thing I’ll ask is that you stay out of our active situation room, because we make a commitment to our clients to keep their personal information confidential. When I saycommitment, I mean legal documents. You want to challenge that, be my guest. But it will take a judge’s order.”

“What I have to ask,” Kate mused, “is why, if you planned to be so open and obliging all along, you avoided setting up this interview?”

“Because I’m not guilty of anything,” Isaac said with a laugh. “How would you like it if the police wanted to comb through your life and business while hinting that you have terrorist leanings?”

“I’d assume they were doing their job.”

“You’re more trusting than I am,” Isaac said, with that same friendly smile. And something in his gaze reminded her what kinds of things he must have done while in the service. What sorts of places he’d been. “But you’re here now. Do your job at will.”

“Thank you,” Kate said, and smiled blandly. “I’m taking you at your word. I hope that’s wise.”

Templeton laughed again, and it didn’t make Kate want to laugh along with him—it seemed to lodge itself inside her, daring her not to free-fall straight into it. Into him.

She scowled at him instead.

“We keep our promises and honor our word,” Templeton told her. “That’s the number one rule of Alaska Force. It’s not a fight club. It’s about honesty, or we can’t do our jobs. We all take that seriously.”

“I’m delighted to hear it.” Kate whipped out her pad and clicked her pen. “Out of curiosity, how many times do you think someone has stood in front of me, monologuing about their commitment to honesty? And of the people who did, how many times do you think I’ve discovered that they were, in fact, lying to me?”

Templeton shook his head, and Kate told herself thatthe gleam she saw in his dark eyes, golden and fierce, did nothing. It didn’t make her feel warm. It didn’t make a jangly sort of light dance around inside her.

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