Missing In The Glades

A cold sweat broke out on his brow at his body’s instant, unwelcome response to her sensual movements. He swore and shifted his weight, hoping she wouldn’t notice her effect on him.

“Who are you?” he repeated between clenched teeth.

“Let me go and I’ll tell you.”

“So you can shoot at me again, or kick my feet out from under me, or stab me? I don’t think so.”

She huffed out a breath. “You’re looking at this all wrong. I didn’t shoot at you. And the only reason I knocked you down and pulled my knife was because I thought that you’d tricked me when you yelled ‘police’ and then said you didn’t have a badge. What’s a girl to think? I’m vulnerable, in a secluded area, with a stranger I believed was pretending to be a police officer. I have a right, a duty, to do whatever I can to protect myself.”

He laughed without humor. “It’s a little late to pull the helpless female act. Now that’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one.”

She beamed up at him as if he’d given her a compliment.

“Your name,” he demanded.

“Like it really matters. My name is Faye Star.”

Faye Star? He let the name sink in as he studied her more closely. “Miss or Mrs.?”

Her sinfully luscious lips curved in a suggestive smile. But her eyes were like a road sign flashing a warning, danger ahead.

“For you, it’s definitely Miss,” she purred.

He ruthlessly tamped down the inappropriate tingle of awareness that shot straight to his groin.

“Miss Star, for the last time, why did you try to shoot me?”

Her brows drew down as if he’d insulted her. “If I was trying to shoot you, you’d be dead right now. Like I said, I wasn’t aiming at you.”

“Right. How stupid of me to think you were aiming at me since you shot out the window and hit the side of the car where I was standing just seconds before.”

“I shot exactly what I wanted to shoot.”

“The car?” He didn’t bother to mask the sarcasm in his tone.

“No, silly. The snake.” She rolled her head to the side, angling her chin in an effort to point. “Over there.”

He followed the direction she’d indicated. Lying under the driver’s door of the car was the longest, fattest snake Jake had ever seen. Its head had been blown clean off. And its enormous body was sliced in half.

The breath hitched in his throat. He blinked in shock, again.

“That’s a boa constrictor,” she said, “in case you don’t recognize it. It’s not native to these parts but there are plenty of the buggers around. People dump them in the swamp after their harmless pets grow too big and eat the family dog. It was hanging on a branch above the car and dropped down when you were looking through the window. I saved your life. This is the part where you’re supposed to apologize. And let go of my wrists. And get off me.”

He shook his head, grudgingly admiring her skill with a gun. He’d have been hard-pressed to make those two shots himself if the snake really had been falling as she’d said. He climbed to his feet, pulling her up with him.

“You could have shouted a warning instead of almost shooting me.”

“I told you, I always—”

“Hit what you aim at, yeah, got it. You still could have missed.”

Her eyes flashed green fire.

“I’m going to release you,” he said. “But be warned. If you go for your knife it won’t end well.”

She glanced longingly at the thick, six-inch blade lying on the ground a few feet away. Where she’d hidden the thing he didn’t even want to know.

She shrugged. “I’ll get it later.”

“Don’t count on it.” He let go of her wrists.

She frowned and tossed her long mane of hair out of her way, before crossing her arms beneath her generous breasts. “What are you doing out here?” she asked.

“Investigating the disappearance of the man who owns that car. And I’m the one asking questions. What are you doing out here? Since I don’t see any cuts or bruises, I’m going to assume you weren’t in that car when it crashed. But I didn’t notice any other vehicles parked beside the highway, either.”

“I live around here.”

“For some reason that doesn’t even surprise me. Where? In a tree house?”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “As a matter of fact, no.” She fluttered her fingers over her shoulder, the moonlight glinting on the half-dozen rings she wore. “A few miles that way.”

“Uh-huh. And you just happened to be wandering through the Everglades at ten o’clock at night.”

She shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a walk.”

At his skeptical look she added, “A long walk.”

“Of course you did.” He retrieved his gun from where it had fallen when she’d kicked his legs out from under him and pulled his cell phone out again.

“What are you doing?” Her voice sharpened as if in alarm.

He gave her a curious glance. “Calling the police. Is that a problem?” He shoved his gun in the holster at his waist.

“It is if you’re trying to have me arrested. I told you I wasn’t shooting at you.”

“Call me an idiot, but I believe you about that. I’m calling to report that I found Calvin Gillette’s car. They’ll need to process the scene and get some men out here to search for the driver.”

Some kind of emotion flickered across her face, so quickly he couldn’t identify it. Anger? Fear? Or something else?

“Did you see the man who drove that car?” he asked again.

A low rumble sounded from the direction of the bushes where Faye had emerged a few moments earlier.

Jake yanked out his gun and shoved Faye behind his back as he whirled around. Was the panther still out here, stalking them? Or was that more of a curse than a growl? Was Gillette hiding in the trees, armed, ready to make sure Jake didn’t make that call?

A full minute passed in silence. No more growls or curses. No rustling of leaves to indicate anything, or anyone, was there. He cautiously straightened and turned back to Faye.

She was gone.