Page 25 of Cole

“Rich people, right?”

A deep chuckle slipped out. “Yes, some. But others who are threatened, and we can help.”

She dragged her tongue tip over her dry lips. “Keep going.”

He ran a hand through his dark hair. "I was at Penson's property yesterday, and I overheard him on a phone call. He was talking about someone 'looking at moose' near his operation. He said to keep going where we said to go. If they're a problem, take care of them. Money talks, so make it talk. And if that doesn’t work, just make it go away however you have to.”

Janice's blood ran cold. "He said that?"

"Word for word." Cole's expression was grim. "The way he said it... It wasn't friendly concern. It was a threat. And when I got to town and started asking around about who might be watching wildlife in this area, your name came up."

She swallowed hard. So Charles Penson knew about her. Or at least suspected someone was documenting his illegal activity. And he'd told his people to "handle" the problem.

"My team is working on finding out more," Cole continued. "When I called my boss this morning and explained what I'd overheard, he gave me clearance to check on you. We had no idea what the situation was, but given Penson's tone and what he was implying..." He trailed off, his dark eyes holding hers. "I couldn't ignore it. Even if it turned out to be nothing."

Janice's phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and read Marcus's response. Company is legit. Called the number and got hold of his boss, Logan Bishop. Cole Iverson checks out. If he says you might be in danger, listen to him.

Relief flooded through her, so intense it made her head feel light. Cole was who he said he was. This wasn't some elaborate trick by Northern Summit to get her to reveal what she knew.

"That was my boss," she said quietly. "I asked him to check you out.” She hesitated, then continued. “Thank you. For coming out here. For checking on me."

Cole's smile was slow, transforming his serious face into something almost boyish. "Trust me now?"

His grin was disarming. Along with his height, the muscles evident even through his jacket, the dark hair that fell across his forehead, the warm brown eyes that crinkled at the corners when he smiled, and the way his jeans stretched across his thighs as he sat on her sofa.

Good God, it's been a long time. She felt heat creep up her neck. A long time since she'd been attracted to anyone. A long time since she'd felt that flutter of awareness that came from being near someone who made her pulse quicken for reasons that had nothing to do with fear.

She shook off the thought. This was not the time. A potentially dangerous mining company was operating illegally in protected wilderness, contaminating the watershed she'd been studying for months. She'd just spent hours documenting their illegal operation in a snowstorm. And now a security consultant from Montana was sitting in her cabin telling her she might be in danger.

Romance was absolutely the last thing she should be thinking about. Even if Cole Iverson's smile did make her stomach do weird fluttery things. "Okay," she said, forcing herself to focus. "Tell me what we need to do, because I’m not giving up when I’ve been out here for four months collecting evidence."

He nodded and something passed through his eyes. Respect, maybe? Or perhaps he thinks I’m nuts.

“Tell me what you’ve got. Let’s work this from the angle that you’ve found out something suspicious, and they know.”

She slid her laptop closer as she said, “I’m out here for a six-month rotation. Through the University of Alaska, we have a grant to study wildlife in the area, examining how it is affected by climate change and other environmental factors. I have cameras in a fifteen-mile area along the creek that I monitor and record activity. Of course, that could be done remotely since the streaming is also sent back to the university. But I also monitor feeding areas, tracks between the camera sites, and the water chemicals. Since the creek is a watering place for so many species, it’s important to see if there are changes in the runoff.”

His attention was riveted to her, so she continued. “I've been tracking the water chemistry of Clearwater Creek for four months. There was another veterinarian here for the six months before me, and I have two more months to give us a full year of data."

“Okay… and you found something that didn’t fit what you expected?”

“First, I discovered three people near my farthest camera. They were so wrapped up that I couldn’t identify them at all. I’d guess grown men from their build, but there’s no way to be sure. They turned my camera away from the creek. I suppose they hoped I wouldn’t notice.” She scoffed, shaking her head in irritation. “I simply headed out to that location and moved my camera to a higher point in a pine tree where they wouldn’t notice it.”

Cole’s brows lifted. “That was risky.”

“But effective,” she snapped in return.

Their gazes held for a moment before he finally said, “What else do you have?”

She pulled up a spreadsheet with her water quality data. “You can come over here and see.”

Cole leaned over to look at her laptop screen, close enough that she could smell him… woodsy and clean, and she wanted to lean closer. Stop it. Focus.

She pointed at the graphs. "These are the baseline readings from when I first arrived, including the first six months of the study. Nitrogen, phosphates, heavy metals—all within normal ranges for a pristine mountain watershed. There is no mining in my area, and none north of here, so the water changes should be natural.”

Cole leaned in, studying the data. "And now?"

"Now they're elevated." She pulled up the recent readings. "Not dangerously high, but enough to impact the ecosystem over time. The patterns are consistent with mining runoff. Chemical processing waste, possibly from tailings pond leakage."