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After a thoroughly enjoyable shower, Carson pulled on a pair of his brother’s sweatpants and a sweater. Tucking his feet into a pair of fur-lined slippers, he padded into the kitchen to see what he could scrounge. There wasn’t much in the fridge that could or had gone bad, and so Carson had no clue as to where his brother might be or how long he’d been gone. Grabbing a jar of spaghetti sauce and some frozen ravioli, he made a quick meal before checking the cabin again and then heading over to the big bed. Normally when he was here, Carson slept on the comfy leather couch but with Mason gone, the king-size bed was his to enjoy.
Pulling off his clothes and slippers, he crawled under the cover and was asleep before his head hit the pillow. In his mind’s eye, Carson smiled. He’d wondered if he’d see her tonight. She didn’t disappoint him. From the end of a long dock, the woman smiled, waved, and blew him a kiss. She was not necessarily the kind of a woman men dreamed of—she was curvy, had medium length chestnut-colored, curly hair and the most engaging smile he’d ever seen. He had no doubt she was most likely his fated mate, but she seemed to be more tease than anything else. She was always laughing, always elusive and just out of reach.
He and Mason had told each other they didn’t believe in fated mates, but Carson had been lying. For almost a decade he had seen her in his dreams, aging as he aged—at first only a couple of times a year, but more and more frequently until of late she had become an almost nightly visitor. Her appearance ensured a good night’s sleep and a massive hard-on come morning. There would come a day when she would take care of the latter for him.
For the next few days, after moving the snowmobile down to the small shed, Carson spent his time doing random chores and minor repairs around the house. In a wilderness cabin, there was always something to be done. He had to admit, however, that if the cut firewood—both green and dried—was any indication, his brother had been busy. It seemed to Carson that there was enough wood to last for years. He also began to hunt and fish, using Mason’s smokehouse to cure the meats as well as wrapping and freezing some of it. Once he had the larder full, Carson began to get bored.
By the third day, boredom was being replaced by concern. He’d had no word, nor had he found anything from Mason indicating where he’d gone or when he might be back. Otter Cove was a long day’s journey from the cabin, but there were provisions and things Carson would like to stock up on. He made plans, and on the morning of the fourth day, he headed out on the snowmobile down toward the eastern shore of the Alaska Peninsula and to Otter Cove. Perhaps someone there would have news of Mason and the world at large.
CHAPTER4
AMELIA
The following dawn broke bright and clear. Amelia logged immediately onto the weather service’s website to see what the weather might look like for her lucrative trip to Alaska. The Doppler radar looked a little dicey, but not chancy enough to miss out on a payday that was big enough to pay off her plane and ease the pressure for the rest of the year. Paying off the plane early meant reducing the stress of keeping things going even in the lean months of the year. Besides, the Beaver was a solid plane and in peak condition and it beat the hell out of flying combat missions.
She’d spent part of the evening doing enough research on Phoenix Corp that she was convinced there was little chance there was anything nefarious in the pouch she was flying up. And with the size and assets of the company, if she did a good job on this initial run, she might well secure future lucrative contracts for her charter service.
Amelia got dressed in comfortable but professional clothes for her flight. She wanted to present a good impression to Phoenix Corp’s representative but still be comfortable for the actual flight. She called in her order for a breakfast burrito and swung through the drive thru. Munching her breakfast, she arrived at the marina and made her way down to the plane.
Opening the door to her plane, she grabbed her preflight checklist and began to go through it, checking off items as she went: weather status, general status of aircraft, wheels, doors, wings, propellers, documentation, licenses and certificates, fire extinguishers, life jackets, and emergency systems.
“Ms. Lockhart? Or should I call you Captain?” asked a tall, good-looking man who looked as though he’d stepped off the cover of a men’s fashion magazine. He was gorgeous.
“Actually, most people just call me Amelia. Can I help you?”
“Yes. I’m Tevryn. Your associate, Ms. Pierce, said you would be able to deliver our package.”
“The one with the secret contents?” Amelia teased.
The smile that lifted the corners of his mouth did not quite reach his eyes. “I wouldn’t call them secret. More confidential. Documents pertaining to proprietary business of the Phoenix Corp.”
“You do realize you named your company after one in a popular television series, right?”
“In point of fact, they named their fictional company after our very real one.”
Amelia could see humor wasn’t big on Tevryn’s agenda.
“That’s true. Your company has been around for more than a century…”
“Several centuries to be precise.”
“Right,” said Amelia, slowly beginning to wonder if perhaps there wasn’t something more at stake than Tevryn and his people were saying. “If I find out now or sometime later that you have involved me in something illegal, I will not withhold any knowledge I have from the authorities.”
This time the smile showed true amusement. “Yes. Ms. Lawrence was quite clear on where you stood regarding stolen or otherwise contraband information. I give you my word, there is nothing in this pouch that in any way could be used against you and yours.”
“Okay. Just so we’re both clear. I believe you were to have wired the fifty percent non-refundable deposit to our bank. I’ll take the pouch and confirm with Phoebe we’ve been paid. You were also supposed to supply me with some kind of parachute for the thing.”
Tevryn nodded. “Yes. The pouch is to be placed in this small box. The GPS coordinates have been programmed in and all you need is to turn it on and drop it from the plane. The parachute will open automatically and the navigational unit will see it to its drop zone. As soon as you radio us that you are approaching the area, we will wire the rest of the agreed-upon fee before you dispatch our parcel.”
Amelia leaned inside the plane and grabbed the palm microphone. “Phoebe?”
“Yeah, boss?”
“I’m standing on the dock with Tevryn. He says they wired us their deposit, and he has the parcel.”
“Checking… Yep. We have it. I saw the weather was a little dodgy.”
“Not bad, even if I fly straight up the coast, but if I go a little inland or a little out to sea, it should be smooth sailing. I’ll radio you when I’m in position. You let Tevryn and his people know, and once you confirm receipt of the balance, I’ll drop the package and head for home.” She looked at Tevryn. “Sound good?”
