Page 4 of Vanished in the Mist
He shoved it into his back jeans pocket, shaking his head.
“Don’t look at me that way. I wasn’t going to shoot you.” She frowned and glanced around the cabin. “Where did that bullet end up, anyway?”
He pointed toward the wall to the right of the door. “Judging by the splintered wood, I’m guessing it’s buried inside that log.”
She winced. “Cassidy is going to kill me. Then again, it serves her right for this little stunt she pulled.” She cleared her throat and offered her hand. “Let’s start over. I’m Shanna Hudson, Cassidy’s big sister.”
He shook her hand. “Kaden Rafferty.” He motioned over his shoulder. “I hear there are bears around here. Mind if I shut the door?”
She blinked. “Bears? Oh. Yes, please do.” She sat at the table.
He shut and locked the door, then took the chair across from her.
They sat in silence for a long moment, then she let out a deep breath and picked up a piece of paper that must have fallen to the floor earlier. She turned it over and read a paragraph on the back, then set it on the table.
“What’s your superpower?” she asked.
“My superpower?”
“The reason Cassidy made that deal with you, free work in exchange for food and a roof over your head. I’m a private investigator. And you are?”
“Ah. I see. She tricked both of us into coming here to investigate the case of this missing girl. But she didn’t tell either of us the other one was coming. Am I getting warm?”
“Burning up.”
He grinned. “Then I guess my superpower is that I own a search-and-recovery company. We operate out of Charleston, South Carolina. This is my first time coming to Mystic Lake, Tennessee.”
She crossed her forearms on the table. “What type of search and recovery does your company do?”
He sat back. “It’s not your turn.”
“My turn?”
“To ask another question.”
“This isn’t a game.”
His amusement fled. “No kidding. I’ll be dead serious then, and tell you that almost being shot wasn’t in my plans when I drove eight hours pulling an extremely expensive boat and giving up a lucrative contract to take on your sister’s request pro bono.”
Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed pink again. She glanced past him, presumably at the splintered log, before she looked back at him. “I’m sorry. I truly am. We’ve both been played. You weren’t told I’d be here. And I didn’t know anything about you. I hadn’t finished that part of the note that my sister left before you opened the door. I honestly thought you were an intruder and that my life was in danger. Otherwise, I’d have never drawn my gun.”
The sincerity in her voice assuaged his anger and had him nodding his acceptance of her apology.
“You were going to ask me a question,” she said. “Please. Go ahead.”
He cleared his throat. “Yes, well. The trip here was a long one and I only stopped once, to gas up. I also drank way too much water along the way.”
A bubble of laughter escaped her as she pointed toward the far wall. “Go through that door. Once inside, the bathroom’s the second door on the left.”
Chapter Three
When Kaden returned to the table, the beautiful brunette was deeply immersed in whatever she was reading in the folder. He sat down across from her. When she didn’t look up, he asked, “It’s Shanna, right?”
She started, as if she’d forgotten he was there. His ego took a hit. Not that he thought he was God’s gift to women. But he’d been told he was decent-looking and being outright forgotten by a beautiful woman wasn’t typical for him.
“Are you married?” He glanced at her left hand. No ring. But some people didn’t wear them these days.
She blinked. “Uh, no. You?”
