Jeff slid on a pair of sunglasses, then picked up the oars. “Ready?”
“Just a sec.” Tessa withdrew sunglasses and a hat from her bag and shoved them both on. “Now I am.”
George pushed the boat off the sand. Soon they were floating. Jeff used the oars to turn the boat so they headed away from the dock. His well-defined biceps drew her attention. The guy obviously worked out. She appreciated when a man took care of himself.
She forced herself to look away. That he was fit aided in what they were doing. That was the only reason she’d even noted his athleticism.
They rowed from location to location along the lake’s surface while she collected and tested samples. The dead fish floating around the boat saddened her.
“Can you row that way?” She pointed to a sandy stretch of the shore. “There’s something weird with the sand over there.”
Jeff dug the oars into the water, propelling the boat in the direction she’d indicated. When the Zodiac slid firmly onto the sandy shore, Tessa scrambled out of the boat to inspect what at first appeared to be a dark stain in the sand.
But on closer inspection, the dark line was some kind of moisture slowly flowing into the lake from the trees. The putrid stench of decay coming from the liquid assaulted her senses.
Heart racing, she ran back to the boat to grab her testing supplies. Jeff walked toward the trees while she returned to the mystery fluid and tested it.
As the results presented themselves, her stomach twisted in dread and triumph.
With a blue and a red vial in hand, she called to Jeff, “This is the source of the contamination.”
* * *
With Tessa’s words echoing in his head, Jeff stopped at the tree line and stared into the thick ancient forest, where the nasty runoff seemed to originate.
This area was unpopulated and rugged with dense underbrush, towering evergreens, maples and alders, making the woods dark and forbidding.
What was causing the lethal runoff? Had someone been using the forest for chemical waste? Was the noxious substance caused by an accident, or had someone purposely released it? To what end?
The questions spun in his head, making his temples pound.
His first inclination was to charge into the woods to find the cause and put a stop to the polluted flow. They were on American soil. His jurisdiction. His hand rested on the butt of his holstered gun. But he couldn’t do that part of his job, not while he was responsible for Tessa.
He spun around to look at the woman heading back to the boat. She may know her business around fish, but her domain was the lab, not the wilderness. Despite her bag of essentials, she wouldn’t last more than a few hours in this terrain.
He blew out a breath. He couldn’t leave her here by herself. Besides, there was no way she’d agree to being left behind, anyway.
The best course of action was to report what they’d found and let the sheriff and the professionals who knew how to deal with toxic waste handle this situation. He slipped his cell phone out of his pocket. No signal. Great.
The roar of an outboard motor revved through the air. A speedboat, carrying two men dressed in camouflage, zipped along the water’s surface heading in their direction.
Jeff clenched his jaw. Probably hunters. Ranger Harris and Sheriff Larkin had shut down the lake. These two jokers were going to be in big trouble. He’d report the boat’s bow number to the sheriff when he returned to the ranger station.
Shaking his head with frustration, Jeff stalked back toward Tessa. She sat in the boat fiddling with a walkie-talkie. Resourceful woman.
She glanced up and yelled, “I can’t get this thing to work!”
The engine on the speedboat cut to an idle and diverted Jeff’s attention away from Tessa. Both men pulled bandannas over the lower half of their faces, and one of the men hefted a rifle to his shoulder, aiming the weapon at Tessa.
Horror flooded Jeff’s system. He grabbed his sidearm. “Tessa! Get down!”
A startling bang followed by an even louder pop jolted through Tessa. One side of the Zodiac deflated like a balloon pricked by a needle. She was being shot at!
She dived to the floor of the boat. More gunfire erupted. The shocking sound vibrated through her, making her heart pound so hard she thought it would explode out of her chest.
Jeff jumped over the still-inflated side of the Zodiac, landing with a thump beside her. He log-rolled onto his back, his gun in front of him, aimed toward the lake. “You okay?”
“Yes. You?”
He fired off two rounds. The deafening noise reverberated inside her head. She reached beneath the bench seat for the Zodiac’s emergency kit, grabbed the flare gun and clutched it to her chest.
“Please, God...help.” The whispered prayer slipped out, dredged up from a suppressed place deep within her soul.
She flipped onto her back and aimed toward the boat, preparing to fire.
Jeff shook his head. “No. We may need that.”
The speedboat roared away. They were leaving. Relief made her melt into the floor.
Jeff jumped to his feet and tugged on her arm. “They’re circling back. Get up. We have to run for the trees.”
Galvanized by fear and adrenaline, she scrambled out of the boat. Her ears rang, and her temples throbbed. Jeff grabbed her duffel bag and tugged her along.
“Wait! The walkie-talkie!” She’d dropped it on the bottom of the boat. It was the only way of reaching help. She turned to run back.
The speedboat raced toward the shore.
Bullets slammed into the ground, spitting up pieces of sand that bit her flesh through her pant leg. She let out a yelp as she skidded in the loose soil, her arms windmilling as she fought to keep her balance. Her mind screamed, Run for your life! while her practical side yelled, Get the walkie-talkie! It could be the only way they survived.
“Leave it!” Jeff’s shouted command overrode her inner conflict. He captured her by the waist, hauling her off her feet, and ran with her in one arm and her duffel gripped in the other hand.
More bullets whizzed past, hitting the earth, the trees. Tessa gripped Jeff’s arm with a fresh wave of panic. What if he was hit trying to protect her? She hated the thought of someone being hurt on her account.
Once they reached the shelter of the forest, he set her on her feet. “Go!” he urged, giving her a slight push.
She ran, charging through the underbrush, not caring that branches snagged at her clothes and twigs snapped beneath her heels. They were running for their lives. But at least they were alive to run.
Finally, Jeff tugged her behind the huge trunk of a Douglas fir. Dropping the bag on the ground, he pressed close to her, his six-foot frame crowding her personal bubble. Normally, she didn’t like when anyone invaded her space, but she found comfort in the protection he so easily and willingly extended. That it was part of his job didn’t matter. She’d take it.
Her breathing came in ragged gasps. She willed her heart rate to slow. Blinking up at him, she asked, “What do we do now?”
He leaned sideways to peer around the tree toward the lake, then straightened to meet her gaze. “Pray. And thank God for the forest.”
Was he being glib?
Looking into the depths of his blue eyes, she saw sincerity. “Praying’s