Page 28 of K-9 Prime Target

“Then thank you. That sounds like a good plan.”

She moved to the back of the house. Sky got off of the sofa and trailed after her, while Angel followed Liam into the kitchen, where he heated canned chicken noodle soup and made toast and tea. He refrained from snooping in the cabinets or combing through her bookcase. He didn’t need that peek into her personal life to tell him anything more about Nina. What had happened with Nicholson had changed her, just as his time in war zones had shaped him. But she was still the woman he cared about deeply.

She returned with damp hair and glowing skin, dressed in an oversize sweatshirt and trim joggers, smelling of rose petals and more enticing than he’d ever known her. He sat across from her and deliberately kept the conversation on stories of her rescue work with ski patrol—tales of learning to launch explosive charges to trigger avalanches, and hours spent setting up snow fences to mark trails and installing padding around lift towers, dealing with inebriated or irate skiers, jokes played on fellow patrollers, and the antics of the patrol dogs. Her face took on a new light as she talked about her work and the people. “It sounds like you’ve really found your place in life,” he said.

“I guess I have,” she said. “I feel at home here for the first time in maybe…ever.”

“Where did you live as a little girl?” How did he not know this about her? “Wasn’t it Ohio or one of those Midwestern states?”

“Illinois,” she said. “But I only lived there until I was fourteen. Then my parents sent me to boarding school in Vermont. A school for skiers. I was on the Junior Women’s Ski Team the year after that, with tutors and trainers. I lived with families who took in ‘ski orphans’ like me, but I never really had a home until I came here.” She sipped her tea, watching him over the rim of the cup. “I always envied people like you—who grew up in one place, with family all around.”

“And yet I couldn’t wait to leave and travel the world.”

“Your parents are still in the same place you grew up, aren’t they?”

“They are. And my sister and her children. I’m the wandering black sheep who flies home once or twice a year to bask in the family’s adoration. Until I begin to feel stifled and have to set off on a new adventure.”

“I used to think that would be my life,” she said. “But I’m happier here with the people I know and with Sky.”

“At least I manage to take Angel with me most places. She’s quite the world traveler now.” He fed a crust of toast to the little terrier, who was waiting at his feet.

“Do you ever think about settling down in one place?” Her voice was light, but he felt the weight of the words.

“Maybe,” he said. “In the right place.” With the right person. But he didn’t say that out loud. She had enough burdens right now, without carrying his.

* * *

The next morning, Nina woke with an unexpected energy. She heard the shower running and smiled as she remembered Liam was here. The thought led to an unsettling arousal as she pictured him in the water and steam—an image she had no trouble filling in the details of.

She threw back the covers and sat up, earning a disgruntled look from a sleepy Sky. She dressed and went to the kitchen to start coffee. A few moments later, Liam arrived, hair wet and cheeks smoothly shaven. “How did you sleep?” she asked.

“I was fine.”

She wondered at the truth of that, considering the shadows beneath his eyes. She had been restless at first but had finally dropped into a deep, dreamless sleep. Maybe because she knew she could count on him if Nicholson showed up again.

“How are you feeling this morning?” he asked.

“Determined,” she said. “I am not going to let this guy ruin what I have here. But first, we have to figure out where he is.”

“I have some ideas about that.” He filled a cup from the coffee machine, then sat at the kitchen table. “Today I need to review all the footage I have of you. There are images of Nicholson online from his trial. I’m going to see if I can spot anyone who resembles him in the background of the video and still shots I took.”

“If he’s bundled up in ski clothes, a helmet and goggles, how are you going to tell?”

“I can pick out people who fit the general description, then zero in on anyone who appears in more than one shot. Especially anyone who is focused on you. I thought you could come to my hotel room after your patrol shift and I’ll show you what I’ve got. I can blow up any likely images, and you can hand them on to your fellow patrollers to keep an eye out.”

“We’ll give them to the sheriff’s department, too,” she said. “I’m not letting them off the hook on this.”

“Good idea. I’ll make sure Doug and Marlena have them, too. They can hand them out to resort security.”

“I’m not going to make the mistake I did last time, pretending these notes and ‘pranks,’ as the sheriff called them, don’t mean anything.” She cracked an egg into a bowl, then reached for another. “I’m not going to let anyone else get away with thinking that, either.”

“You’ll be back on patrol today?” he asked.

“Yes, and I can’t wait.”

He stood and collected the toast and put in two fresh slices. “I’ll bet Nicholson hasn’t considered that he’s not just dealing with an athletic woman who’s fast on skis. He’s up against someone who knows how to handle explosives.”

“Not just me—a whole team of people who could bring half a mountain down on top of him.” She chuckled. It felt good to remind herself that she had skills and people to help her. Last time, she had been alone, caught unawares. That wasn’t going to happen again.