It all happened too fast for her to struggle, much less scream. When he pressed the throttle again, the force propelled her flush against him, and she pushed against his chest, her feet fighting for purchase on the footboards.
He drove between trees, turning into a stop in the middle of several spruces and punched the kill switch.
She flipped her face guard up and then reached for his. “What are you doing?”
He ripped his helmet completely free and looked around, his body tense. “Be. Quiet.”
She went on full alert, scouting the area. Slumps of snow fell from tree boughs, but the wilderness seemed peaceful. The areafeltpeaceful.
Finally, his body relaxed, and he faced her, his expression hard. “What did you think you were doing?” He clenched his teeth so hard she heard them grinding at the back of his jaw.
“You ignored my tapping.” Wasn’t that obvious?
“Yeah. I’m not stopping at the area where somebody fired at us from cover yesterday.” He looked around again.
She breathed out. “I’m a federal agent who found a dead body on federal land yesterday. I need to secure the scene, or at least take more pictures since I think I lost my phone in the river. Please let me use your phone. At the very least, I’d like to make sure whoever shot at us hasn’t returned.”
“No.” Brock smacked snow off his helmet. “I’ll bring Ace or Christian back out later for the body.”
She stiffened, sitting straighter. “That’s a nice thought, Big Man, but you’re not the law enforcement around here, remember? You’re not the sheriff. I am an agent, and I’m calling the shots.”
The look he gave her made her want to swallow, so she didn’t. Instead, she faced him, wondering if she had a chance in a fight with a Navy SEAL. Oh, she could grapple, but he had skills beyond the norm.
“This isn’t federal land,” he said mildly, surprising her. “Not your jurisdiction. Sorry, Agent.”
He didn’t sound sorry.
She moved to get off the sled. “That’s okay. I’ll just?—”
The buzz of an engine caught her attention, and she stilled. He slipped off the snowmobile, taking his gun from beneath his jacket and pulling her off to stand behind him. “Get down.”
Why had she dropped her damn gun in the river? She dropped to her haunches along with him, using the sled and the surrounding trees as cover.
An animal bounded out of the trees lining the river, white fur flying, eyes blazing. “Wolf Warrior,” Brock murmured, standing and holding a hand out to help her. She ignored his offer, planted a palm on the seat of the sled, and stood all by herself. It would’ve been a better accomplishment if he didn’t look so damn amused.
The animal licked her glove and whined. She patted his already large head, even though he was still a puppy. “Is he a wolf or a dog?”
“Both. I think we’re calling him Tika,” Brock said.
Two sleds rode into view, following the animal. Christian rode in the front, a shotgun slung over his shoulder and the same dark hat on his head. His snowmobile gleamed black with deep red accents, while Ace’s sported blue hues with black stripes. They stopped, both remaining quiet and studying them.
“You okay?” Ace asked.
Brock nodded. “Yeah. Somebody shot at us yesterday. Since you’re here, let’s take a moment to see if there’s anything to find, although the storm probably obliterated any evidence.”
Christian tilted his head. “Shot at you? With what?”
“Shotgun,” Brock returned, pointing toward the river. “Took cover in here somewhere and was a crappy shot.”
“Unless he didn’t want to hit you,” Ace murmured, jumping from his sled into snow up to his thighs and striding into a bigger stand of green trees Ophelia couldn’t identify.
Christian sat back on his sled, removed his glasses and revealed those odd eyes. His helmet didn’t have a face guard. “Who would shoot at you?”
“At her,” Brock said, tucking his gun back into place.
“Ah,” Christian said, his face clearing. “Makes sense.”
She frowned. “Hey.”
