“Hey, Smoky, do you remember me?” The female voice was not what Kendra had anticipated. She hurried forward, her jaw dropping in shock when she saw Jennifer Hutchins standing in the kitchen. Her last SAR mission involved finding a lost woman not far from the Redwood Motel in Greybull.
And now Jennifer was standing in their log cabin.
“Hi, Kendra.” Jennifer looked relieved to see her as she tucked a strand of her long dark hair behind her ear. “I’m so glad to see you. I tried to tell these guys you’d remember me, but they didn’t believe me. At least Smoky remembered me, didn’t you, girl? Huh?” Jennifer bent to stroke the dog’s fur.
“What are you doing here, Jennifer?” Kendra couldn’t tear her gaze from the tall dark-haired woman. “How did you know I was here?”
“I didn’t know you were here, but I need gas for my snow machine.” Jennifer cocked her head to the side. “Did you find it?”
“We did,” Griff answered. He took a step closer to Jennifer. In sync with Griff, Justin did the same from the other side. “But you need to answer Kendra’s question. How did you know she was here?”
“I didn’t!” Jennifer’s tone turned indignant. She looked from Griff to Justin, then back to Kendra. “Why is everyone acting as if I’ve done something terrible? I drove past the cabin, saw the cars, and came in to ask for help. That’s all.”
No way. Kendra couldn’t quite explain why the woman’s words didn’t ring true. Finding Jennifer inside the safe house explained Smoky’s alert. Her dog would have recognized Jennifer’s scent from their previous search, especially since that was only a few days ago. Even if Kendra hadn’t given her K9 the search command.
Yet having Jennifer Hutchins show up here at a federal safe house did not make sense. She glanced at Justin who seemed to understand her concern.
“Look, if you don’t want to give me some gas to fill up the snow machine, that’s fine.” Jennifer tossed her hair, as if annoyed. “I figured since you helped find me when I was lost a few days ago, you’d help again. But I guess I was wrong.”
Jennifer’s comment only deepened her mistrust. She’d just said she didn’t know Kendra would be there. Now she was using their relationship as a reason she’d help? No way. “Griff and Justin? Grab her.”
Without hesitation, both men leaped forward to snag Jennifer’s arms. The woman’s eyes widened in alarm. “Get your hands off me! What are you doing? I came for help, nothing more.”
“She’s part of this.” Kendra gave Smoky the hand signal to come. Her dog wheeled away from Jennifer, coming to sit at the heel position. “I’m not sure how or why, but she’s involved.”
“Involved in what? What are you talking about?” Jennifer tried to sound confused, but her narrowed eyes reflected the truth.
Jennifer Hutchins was involved in the attacks against her and Dominic. But Kendra didn’t think she was the gunman. There had been two sets of prints on the ground outside, and that made her think Jennifer wasn’t working alone. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Jennifer’s shrill voice held a note of panic. “Let me go!”
“Where is he?” Kendra took a step closer. “You’re not smart enough to have done this on your own. Where is he?”
Jennifer stopped struggling, looked away, and clamped her lips together tightly. Clearly, she was done talking.
Kendra turned toward Dom. “We need to get out of here.”
Despite his dazed expression, he nodded. As he reached for the laptop computer, a loud explosion just outside the log cabin rocked the earth, sending them all tumbling to the floor.
14
“Let’s go. We need to get out of here!” Dom blinked, staring up at Levy’s grim expression hovering over him. One minute he was standing and talking to Kendra, the next he was on the floor. The older man yanked on his arm, trying to get Dom up on his feet. Ears ringing from the blast, he managed to stand. “Hurry,” Levy urged.
Somehow, Dom still held the laptop. How he hadn’t dropped it was a mystery, but he tucked it under his arm and took a few stumbling steps toward the back door as Levy pulled him forward. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but he knew it was bad. It was important to get away from the safe house. As that thought formed, he abruptly stopped, resisting Levy. “Wait. Where’s Kendra?”
“Her brother has her. Hurry!” Levy yanked hard on his arm. “There’s no time to waste.”
Doing his best to gather his scattered thoughts, Dom followed Levy through the house. The US Marshal already had the back door open and was practically shoving him through it. The blast of cold air helped clear his mind.
Why did Jennifer look so familiar? Obviously, Kendra assumed the woman was involved in this mess somehow, but he wasn’t sure how or why. He didn’t recognize her first name, had Kendra mentioned her last name? He didn’t think so. Yet there was something about Jennifer that tugged at his memory. An elusive thought that hung suspended in the back of his mind, just out of reach.
Levy continued pulling him away from the house. Dom abruptly stopped when he noticed nobody else had come with them. He planted his feet in the snow, refusing to budge. “Wait. I need to find Kendra!”
“She’s not my responsibility. You are.” Levy’s voice was hard. “It’s my job to keep you safe.”
“I’m not leaving without her.” Dom pulled free of Levy’s grip. As much as he appreciated the guy’s determination to get him out of harm’s way, he wasn’t about to leave Kendra behind.
Not now, not ever.
