Page 33 of Fourth Point Of Contact

“Okay, big man,” she teased. “I’m sure you’re all strong and powerful, but nobody can tote around another human for hours on end without tiring.”

“I never said I wouldn’t tire, but trust me, I could carry you all over this mountain. So, that chick at the airport that you said was your fake niece…”

“Never met her until this morning.”

“Then why did she save your ass?”

“I’m not sure,” she sighed. “I don’t even know her name. I just gave her the name Celia so I wasn’t calling herthe girl. I gave her a hundred dollars to get me through security. After that, shit happened.”

Like her boyfriend coming after her, though I wasn’t sure it was his men chasing us down. It could have just as easily been Masterson’s goons. She shifted behind me, rubbing her breasts against my back. This was not going to work. I stopped and lowered her to the ground.

“Tired already?” she smirked.

Little did she know that the only reason I was setting her down was because the trip was becoming uncomfortable. My dick could only handle so much temptation, and having her boobs pressed against me the whole time was making the walk uncomfortable.

“I’m sure you can keep up,” I muttered, walking away.

9

PIPER

I staredat him in shock, my jaw hanging open at his sudden change in gentlemanly behavior. He just took off, leaving me in a single shoe—a shoe that I had to protect with my life. Jeanie would have my head for the loss of one shoe, but I would keep the remaining shoe safe and in pristine condition so I could tell her I did my best.

Slipping it off, I cradled it in my arm as I rushed after Patrick, wincing at the way the twigs snapped under my feet. “Hey! Wait up!”

He glanced over his shoulder, shaking his head at me. My nostrils flared in anger at how beautiful he was. I was tired of good-looking men with strong jaws and dark hair that waved slightly in the heat. And those blue eyes…was he using them to draw in every woman within a hundred miles? It was bad enough that I had to deal with staring at those massive muscles rippling all over his body, but to stare at his eyes all fucking day was going to do me in.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“Chasing you down,” I snapped, hobbling when I stepped on a particularly sharp branch. “Could you slow down?”

He sighed, stopping in place. “We have to keep moving so we can catch up to Nick and Chase.”

“Well, that’s fine and dandy, but whatever happened to you carrying me all over the mountain?”

“Did you need me to?”

“No, but that’s not what I’m saying. You made the point of saying you could do it and then you dropped me on my ass!”

Turning away from me, he rubbed the back of his neck and took off again. What was with this guy? Things were going so well for us back at the airport. We really had something going, and then it all went up in flames for no reason.

“Hey! In case you haven’t noticed, I’m trying to chase you in a skirt!”

I stumbled after him, yelping and nearly in tears when I stubbed my toe on a rock. The man wouldn’t even slow down. It was ridiculous.

“Believe me, I noticed you were in a skirt.”

I hurried up the side of the mountain, slipping and sliding the whole way. It must have rained recently because the ground was still moist and patches of mud coated the ground where grass didn’t grow.

“Then why are you being such an ass—ah!” I screamed as I slipped in mud. My legs went out from under me and I landed hard on my hip, but the misery didn’t stop there as I started sliding and rolling down the hill, holding the shoe above my head the whole time. I came to a stop with a thump as I smacked into a tree. Groaning, I rolled to my back and let my head thunk on the ground as I stared up at the blue sky.

“This day sucks,” I muttered.

Patrick came strolling down the hill without a care in the world, his hands shoved in his pockets as he eyed me curiously. “That was not very graceful.”

Narrowing my eyes at him, I shoved myself to a sitting position, wincing when I felt mud in places it shouldn’t be. There was hardly an inch of me that wasn’t covered in grotty dirt and grass with twigs mixed in. I took a calming breath, determined not to lose my shit. I was on a mountain. I was fine. And most importantly, I still had the information I needed from James’s office.

Patrick strolled over and held out his hand for me. I narrowed my eyes at him. “Now you want to help?”

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