Brock kept a hand on the door. “Storm tonight with a clearing for maybe twenty-four hours.” His gaze dropped to meet Ophelia’s, no expression revealed in them. “So, if you want out of here, according to our one and only weather guru, your chance will be tomorrow afternoon. Otherwise, you might be here for months. Think about that, Agent.”
He gave Flossy a nod and then stepped back, shutting the door.
Ophelia breathed out for the first time since meeting Brock Osprey. If he thought she could be easily frightened, he had another think coming straight for him. She turned, smiled at Flossy, and finally focused. “So. What can you tell me about the Osprey family?”
CHAPTER THREE
Morning brought more snow and a jacket piercing wind.
Keep going,just keep going, one foot in front of the other. The mantra ran through Ophelia’s mind as she tucked her chin and fought the wind, taking step after step along the icy sidewalk. White swirled around her, thick and mysterious, the freezing cold coating her leather jacket and sinking through the material to her skin and bones. Darn, it was cold.
She’d slept better than she had in years, awakening to the delicious smell of bacon and eggs. Flossy had eaten with her, giving her town gossip without any bite. Nobody seemed to know or care about who’d shot Hank. It was odd, and Ophelia couldn’t shake the feeling that, so far, the two people she’d interviewed had evaded the truth.
When she pushed Flossy, just a little bit, the elderly woman had started cleaning up and then insisted upon Ophelia wearing a thick blue knit hat with matching mittens over thermal hand liners, which proved surprisingly effective.
Her feet, on the other hand, were freaking freezing.
The B&B stood on the Main Street in town, only blocks from the sheriff’s office. It turned out that walking several blocks ina whiteout held more peril than she’d expected, and she rolled her eyes at herself. While the remote town failed to provide a car rental service, surely somebody had an old truck she could either rent or buy. She’d get on that after she found the sheriff’s office.
Snow blew across the vacant street, slamming against her legs. She seemed to be the only person dumb enough to be out in the brutal blizzard. Slipping, she yelped and quickly regained her footing. This might’ve been a bad idea.
She slogged through the snow and past the Green Plate Restaurant, a wooden building with weathered green eaves, closed without explanation. Well, except for the snow blowing into her face. Probably a good reason.
A shadow caught her attention across the street and to the side of Bob’s Bait and Outfitters, which stood dark and silent this morning. She blinked, twisting her head to see better. Nothing but snow and more snow. Great. Now she imagined shadowy threats. Even so, the skin at her nape prickled like somebody watched her.
She focused on not falling, trying to see through the billowing snow peripherally. On the other side of the road after Bob’s, a long wooden building housing a row of offices—all closed this Thursday morning—took a beating from the weather. A human form appeared at the far end, big and dark. She blinked, and he disappeared.
Had she really seen someone? Or had the snowy air distorted her vision?
Headlights cut through the murk, and a truck slowed while coming her way.
Awareness, that of a woman by herself on the side of a road, any road, straightened Ophelia’s spine. Her gun nestled reassuringly against her back, and she angled her right arm to retrieve the weapon if necessary.
The truck, covered in snow, stopped. The window slowly rolled down. “What the holy hell are you doing out in this storm?” Brock asked. In his deep voice, it came out more of a grunt than a snap, but anger lingered nonetheless.
She paused and then relaxed her shoulders. If he hadn’t tried to push her out of the plane the night before, then he obviously didn’t want her dead. Yet, anyway. “What are you doing out?”
“Coming to see you.” Definitely a growl this time.
Warmth, unexpected and unwelcome, flowed like a fine wine through her veins. “Why?” Did that sound flirty? She might as well swing her hips and twirl her hair at the guy.
His sigh didn’t come close to holding patience. “Get in the truck.” He leaned over and shoved the passenger-side door open in the middle of the snowy street.
She faltered. The truck’s interior looked nice and warm, and she wasn’t sure how much farther she had to struggle in the storm to get to the station. But nobody told her what to do. She really wanted to get into the truck. “Ask nicer,” she said, coughing out snow.
His eyes darkened. “Okay. Plant your fucking ass in the truck before I get out and haul you in here.”
Her head snapped up. “That wasnotnicer.” Both of her hands went to her hips. She could just shoot out his tire, but that’d create paperwork and possibly a psychiatric evaluation, and she didn’t have time for that nonsense. “You are such a complete dick.” Turning on her heel, she slipped, regained her balance, and charged back down the sidewalk.
Hence her surprise when he suddenly blocked her path. Holy crap, he’d moved fast from the truck, across the snow, and to the sidewalk. She was still waiting for clearance to obtain his military file, which now she feared might be heavily redacted. His years as a Navy SEAL probably provided a dangerous skill set.
She skidded to a stop and looked up. Today, he wore a thick red-and-black flannel coat, jeans that outlined powerful legs, and yet another pissed-off expression. “What the heck?” she hissed.
To his credit, he knew better than to grab her. “The storm is getting worse. Get in the truck, and we’ll argue where we won’t freeze to death.”
“No.” Yeah, she wanted inside that truck, and staying in the storm felt stupid, but he’d ordered her, not so nicely, and a woman couldn’t take that kind of crap. Plus, she worked as an FBI agent, for God’s sake. At least, for now. “I need to get to the sheriff’s office. Get out of my way, or I’ll get you out of my way.” She meant every word.
“You know how to fight?” Snow landed on his dark eyebrows and jaw scruff, warming and melting instantly.
