A sudden roar of an army of ATV engines sounded, all circling the cabin, and she knew the Xtreme Ops had answered Harris’s call.
Now that Joffrey questioned her leaving her post, she experienced a dropping sensation in the pit of her stomach. What if he was right and Harris could be in trouble?
She glanced at Paul, who was deep in a call over the radio to their base dispatcher. She turned to Joffrey. “I need to go back to the cabin.”
His brows crinkled. “We’ll go. You should probably go home instead. You’ve been on the clock since seven.”
She shook her head. “I can’t walk away now, but I need to return to the cabin. Actually, we all should go and talk to the team, see if there’s anything they need us to do.”
Paul’s conversation ended, and she repeated her idea to meet up with the special forces. Having more experience and age on him, he made the final call to take Jenna’s suggestion.
As soon as they reached the cabin again, Jenna leaped down from the ATV and ran toward the front door. Guilt burned in her stomach. She’d never forgive herself for leaving Harris alone if something happened to him. Or if he’d hurt himself trying to overdo it.
The door stood wide open. Harris and another team member she’d learned they called Gasper spoke in rapid tones. As she entered, Harris looked up, straight at her. His dark eyes seemed to spear through her, and she saw his jaw clench.
She worked around men for enough years to know when one was pissed. She raised her head and started forward, an apology for her lapse in judgment on her lips.
He broke away from Gasper and stumped over to her on his crutches. Before she even reached him, he grasped her by the upper arm.
“Are you freakin’ crazy running out of the cabin into danger? I gave you a direct order to stay back!”
She reeled, and any words of apology fled. “I was doing my job. This park is my territory, remember?” she challenged back.
He stared at her for a long heartbeat, eyes narrowed on her as if he’d never seen her before and didn’t recognize her. “You could have been killed,” he ground out, tendon pulsing in the crease of his jaw.
“I’m sorry I left you. I wasn’t thinking that you’re incapacitated.”
He released his grip on her upper arm and slashed his hand through the air. “You’re worried about me? Christ, woman. You rushed into the woods to stop a dangerous mark, and you’re worried about leaving me alone?”
She nodded.
His eyes gave a dangerous glitter. “I can handle myself.”
She was right to think this man was very different from those she knew. Harris Lipton was not part of her happy, peaceful group of colleagues, the few men she dated, or those she met on the hiking trails she loved to frequent outside the park.
“I’ve insulted you. I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
Gasper called him over. Harris gave her one last long look and then turned away, thumping back to his teammate. Even on crutches, he appeared to be untamed, built for strength and speed like a predator.
She turned back to the door.
Denali National Park was Jenna’s second home. She never felt out of her element. She handled every situation with calm ease. But right this minute, she had a feeling she was up against a big challenge.
And his name was Lieutenant Harris Lipton.
Chapter Three
“I’m going with the team.” Lipton squared up with his captain.
Penn wasn’t taking any shit. He shook his head. “We got it handled. We even have Cora with us.” He spoke of their newest member of the Xtreme Ops team, who acted as their personal bush guide and pilot most times. If Lipton had to guess, she’d been brought in to take his place.
“You know I’m fine on an ATV,” Lipton argued.
“It hasn’t been twenty-four hours since your injury. Don’t you think you should rest just a little while?”
“Maybe kick back with my foot propped on a nice plump pillow? Hell no. You know that isn’t me, Penn. I’ll take it easy, but I need to be out there with the team.”
Penn stared at him for a long minute. Finally, he sighed. “You’re not gonna let this go, are you?”
“No.”
He gave his head a shake. “Fine. Just don’t fuck yourself up even more. Being down a man is hard enough on the team, let alone for months if you do yourself more harm.”
“I won’t. Just get me an ATV.”
“You’re in the side-by-side with Pax.”
“Captain, we found something.”
They both turned to Pax, their other newbie.
“I’m coming.” With all the focus of a general in battle, Penn stepped away from Lipton to follow Pax out the cabin door. Before he stepped over the threshold, he threw a glance over his shoulder. “Don’t fuck yourself up, Lip. That’s an order.”
Lipton gave him a solemn nod of a promise and followed him out of the cabin. It would be a relief to drop the crutches and ride. He made it down the two steps to the ground, and his crutches sank into the wet earth. Scanning the area for Pax and the ATV, he noted the team had scattered to search the area. And off to the side of the road in front of the cabin, a group of park rangers congregated.
The sight of brown curls had his gaze zeroing in. Jenna turned her head slightly at the sound of the cabin door closing. The braid she wore swayed slightly. Though he couldn’t see the golden thread, he still searched for it.
As he watched, she climbed into an ATV with another ranger and took off. Pax waved to him. “Comin’, man?”
“Yeah.” He hobbled across the uneven ground to their own machine and he stuffed his crutches into the back beside a full gas can. In minutes, they were cutting through the dense forest.
He threw Pax a look. “What did you find?”
“It may be nothing, but it’s a bit of metal off some climbing gear.”
“Where was it found?”
“At the edge of a trail. A hiker could have dropped it.”
“That’s true. Was it buried under leaves at all?”
“Lots of leaves around it. That’s why we ruled it may be nothing. Penn will give the final call, but even so, we can’t say which direction the bomber might have fled. Any guesses as to what a motive may be?” Pax was one of the most efficient men Lipton had ever worked with. Once on the scent, he was a bloodhound with nose to the ground and he didn’t let up until the job was finished.
Since Lipton had spent hours in the ER, he didn’t have near enough information. When the intel came in, he’d been distracted by a certain park ranger followed by the second blast.
“No idea yet,” Lipton answered Pax.
They rode for a bit longer. The hour approached one in the morning, and daylight still burned. In an hour or so, it would fade for a few brief hours before sunrise. Right now, the fact they weren’t searching in the dark was to their advantage.
Up ahead, one of the park ATVs was stopped, and two people crouched beside the tire.
“This doesn’t look good.” Pax continued forward and stopped next to the vehicle. Jenna straightened, and her gaze met Lipton’s.
“What happened?” He started to climb out and realized he couldn’t get his cast wet in the mud.