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The grin that spread across his hawkish face incensed her more. She raised her foot to bring down the heel of her hiking boot onto the instep of his sneaker. It wasn’t her intention for her upraised knee to ram into his balls, but it worked out that way, and she wasn’t sorry.
Kyle sucked in his breath sharply, released her wrist, and bent double. Her foot came down exactly where she’d aimed with all the force she could muster. He dropped to his knees and let out a howl.
Jordan swung back to the two friends, now walking side by side toward the clearing. They turned to stare, no doubt alerted by the commotion Kyle had created, and their smiles faded. She tried to speak, but her words wedged in her throat. Fifty feet away, Brody started toward her, anger twisting his features.
Jordan found her voice then, and her desperate cry stopped Brody in his tracks.
“Alex?”
Chapter Seven
“Jordan? What the hell?” Alex dashed across the ground that separated them and folded her in his arms.
Travis studied Brody, Kyle, and the other men who’d halted their tasks to watch the display. Brody appeared as surprised as Travis at the turn of events. The newcomer was Alex Halstead, nephew to Joseph Halstead, the man Travis could now confirm was financing this training camp.What do you know?The woman he’d pegged as an innocent was on close, personal terms with at least one member of the Halstead family.
Briefly, she leaned into Alex as quiet words passed between them. Then she stiffened, pushed against his chest until he released her, and gestured with a sweep of her arm toward their audience. Alex planted his hands on his hips as more words were exchanged, then stepped back and turned to glare at Brody.
“What the hell’s going on?” Alex’s expression revealed his displeasure, and from the way Brody prepared to grovel, the man had likely experienced it before.
He raised his hands as though he could stop whatever scenario played out in Alex’s head. “I didn’t know she was yours, Alex. We found her wandering in the dark early this morning and figured she’d be safer with us. I was going to take her into town this morning as soon as—”
“You’re a liar!” Jordan’s eyes flashed fire as she moved to step around Alex until he stretched out his arm to stop her.
A hint of rage flickered in Brody’s eyes before he caught himself and shrugged. “If I’d known she was with you—” Alex’s glare silenced him mid-sentence.
Travis caught a glimpse of Alex’s passenger from the corner of his eye as the man opened his door and stepped out. He was huge, obviously bodyguard material, and he called attention to his biceps by crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the pickup. The man looked familiar, but Travis drew a blank on his name.
“A misunderstanding then?” Sarcasm dripped from Alex’s question. “We’ll discuss this later.” Dismissing Brody, he turned toward Jordan, placing his arm protectively around her shoulders. Travis frowned. An acute desire to forcefully remove Alex’s hands from Jordan’s body heated his blood. He hated that he couldn’t stop thinking about her and her yellow dress since they met at the bar a week ago.What the hell was that about?
Brody clenched his fists, and hatred rolled across his face like storm clouds. Clearly, he was not okay with taking orders from the inconsequential nephew of the man in charge, and he wasn’t happy about losing his new toy before he’d gotten a chance to play. If not for that connection, Alex would undoubtedly be dead by now. Even so, it might not be wise for the kid to turn his back on Brody.
Travis couldn’t help a bit of smug satisfaction. Alex Halstead had just driven into Brody’s camp, shook hands with the man as though they were long-lost friends, and confirmed information essential to the investigation. When Alex reported back to Uncle Joe on Brody's progress, the FBI would be there to record and monitor the meeting. They’d have enough to arrest Joe and Alex, and someone in Brody’s organization would flip on Brody to save his own ass.Problem solved.All Travis had to do was get the information to his partner. He’d head down the mountain tonight.
Worry niggled at the back of his brain, chipping away at his sense of accomplishment, and he tried to push it out of his mind. Jordan would be okay. Alex would keep Brody away from her, and the DHS would collect her in their sweep if she were guilty. Either way, Travis didn’t need to lose sleep over her safety. He had a job to do, and he required cell phone service.
Jordan shrugged off Alex’s arm as he guided her toward the tent she’d escaped a few minutes ago. “No, Alex, I was a prisoner in that tent. Brody made lewd and specific threats to me in there. I’m not going in. I’ll wait in the pickup.”
“You’re safe now, Jordan. I’ll talk to Brody, and he’ll never threaten you again. I promise. But I might be an hour or so, and I want you somewhere these guys can’t ogle you. I want you safe.”
“How do you know that creep, Alex? What’s going on?”
Travis paused and knelt to re-tie his boot, pretending indifference to their loud conversation. If she questioned Alex’s connection to Brody, maybe she wasn’t involved in their movement. If only she’d wait until they were far away from here before diving too deeply into her boyfriend’s role.
Alex huffed a breath and raked a hand through his hair. “Brody is an old friend of the family. Lately, he’s thrown in with a bad crowd, and Uncle Joe asked me to try to talk some sense into him. I have to do this. It’s the main reason I came to the mountains.” He slid his arm around her again and coaxed her toward the tent. “You’ve had a terrible ordeal, and I feel responsible. You can get some rest, and no one will bother you. Trust me, Jordan, please.”
