Shadowed by Dani Pettrey

Author:Dani Pettrey [Pettrey, Dani]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC042040, FIC027080, FIC042060
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2016-10-03T14:00:00+00:00

TWELVE

Libby settled in by the campfire Ben had made somewhere in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness. She felt as if she were in an extreme Alaskan cloak-and-dagger documentary. They’d actually left a chalk X on a mailbox in town to get Elliot Hargrove’s attention. Seriously? How crazy was this guy?

The crackling wood, dancing flames, and warmth of the fire on her face was soothing. The pine scent of the trees surrounding them and the vast number of stars shining down made it a magical setting for a date, but it wasn’t a date. She had to keep reminding herself of that, despite the fact she was in the company of a man she was coming to believe was perfect—handsome, intelligent, resourceful, honest . . .

She exhaled in frustration, needing to distract her thoughts from Ben. “Okay, so what’s the deal with super spy guy?”

“Elliot?” Ben smiled. “He’s paranoid, but given his background, he has reason to be.”

“His background?”

“Let’s just say he’s witnessed backstabbing firsthand.”

“As in literal or figurative?” Apparently everyone in Yancey owned a gun, and most she’d seen carrying a knife as well.

Ben chuckled, but there was heartache in it. “Figurative, but, trust me, it’s no less painful.”

She eyed him curiously. What weight was he carrying? “If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?”

“That’s for Elliot to say, if he chooses.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I meant with you.”

He stopped stoking the fire. “That obvious, huh?”

“Apparently I’m not the only one who’s easy to read.” She smiled softly wanting to know more about what made the man who’d hijacked her heart tick. What was at the center of Ben McKenna’s soul, bumps, bruises, and all?

He sat back, rubbing his hands together—sturdy yet gentle hands she loved holding hers. “Remember you asked why I run fishing excursions?” he said.

“Yeah, you said because you love doing it.”

“Yeah. And that’s true . . .”

“But . . . ?”

“There’s another reason. After receiving my doctorate in Atomic Physics I started at Los Alamos labs.”

Her brow pinched. “In New Mexico? The crazy one the atomic bomb guys used to fly in and out of secretly?”

Curiosity danced across his brow. “Don’t tell me you’re a conspiracy theorist?”

“No. I just read a lot of newspapers while traveling. Some more scandalous in nature than others.”

“No . . .” He drew out the word as amusement tinged his lips. Lips that she ached to have pressed again to hers. “Don’t tell me.”

She leaned back with a bashful shrug. “Enquiring minds.”

He laughed, hard.

“All right, Chuckles,” she said. “Back to Los Alamos.”

“Right.” He moved to sit closer to her. His strong, broad shoulder nestled against hers. She certainly wasn’t complaining as she leaned into his strength.

“I worked there two years,” he continued. “On a team under the tutelage of a man whom I greatly admired, Randolph Hess. He was a father figure to me, especially after my own father passed.”

“I sense a but coming. . . .”

Ben swiped his nose with a sigh. “One day he stole our team’s work and disappeared.

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