“Oh.” Her gaze lowered. “Sure.” She pulled it from her back pocket and handed it to him.
He programmed his number into her contacts list and sent himself a text before he handed her phone back. “Let me know when you find what you’re looking for.”
She grinned. “I will. Let me know how you like your hike.”
“I will. Good night, Kinley.”
“Good night, Shane.”
He walked backward down the hall until she unlocked her door and entered the room, closing the door behind her. He fist-bumped the air and strutted the last few feet to the room he shared with Oakley and Ghost.
Pushing open the door, he said, “Guatemala rocks.”
Ghost grunted from his twin bed. Oakley looked up from his book, but whatever smartass comment he was going to say was cut off by a sharp scream.
Shane stopped dead. “Kinley.”
CHAPTER6
Kinley pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and smiled, pushing the door closed and throwing the bolt. Meeting a tall, funny, good-looking guy was the last thing she expected from this trip. And that kiss…
Something dark and rough landed on her head and over her face. She flinched and shook her head, trying to dislodge it. A strong band wrapped around her, trapping her arms and squeezing her chest.
Her scream was cut off when something slapped her in the face, hitting her nose and causing tears to well. Her brain finally caught up with her body and she realized someone was attacking her.
“Where is the notebook?” a harsh voice asked.
Even if she wanted to answer, the cloth over her head combined with whatever was pressing against her mouth stifled the air, making it difficult to draw breath. White spots danced in the darkness in front of her.
The attacker picked her up and she kicked out, hoping to strike something or someone, and maybe throw them off-balance.
A huge crash from the front of the room made her attacker loosen his arms briefly and she twisted her body even more, to no avail. He tightened his hold, but the hood over her head came loose and fell.
Something cold and hard pressed against her chin. A gun. Holy shit. She froze and stared at Shane—the reason for the huge crash judging by the mangled doorjamb behind him.
“Leave or I will shoot her,” the man behind her said.
Kinley froze and watched Shane. He appeared remarkably calm.
“Not happening,” he said.
A low whistle sounded near her ear and the man behind her screamed, dropping her and the gun. She stumbled a few steps to the side, catching herself on the edge of the bed. In the blink of an eye, Shane wrapped his arms around the man’s head and twisted, then dropped the man to the floor.
Kinley could only stare between the body and Shane. Shane and the body.
“Seriously?” He spread his hands wide and glared at Ghost. “You could have hit her.”
Ghost grabbed the handle of the knife and pulled it from her attacker’s shoulder, wiping it on the man’s shirt. “Not likely.”
“You killed him,” she said.
“Yeah,” Shane said.
“He’s dead.”
“It was you or him, honey,” Oakley said from the doorway. “We need to go.”
Shane grabbed her upper arm and pulled her toward the door.
