the main road south about two clicks, then head east at the first intersection. It’ll take you straight into town.”
“I know how to get to Fort Mason, Sam.”
“But you’ll want to go to the clinic and then come to the station. The health clinic is west of Queen Street, second building on your right. Beige siding, parking around back.”
“Thanks.” It was hard to keep the bitterness from her voice. Old, negative emotions warred with a sense of gratefulness that he’d arrived when he did. If he hadn’t been there, would their attackers have done worse? “I’ll come right over to file a police report after I get Mike in to see a doctor. I’ll need to visit the Gaida Industries office, too. They need to know about this, and I’d rather do it in person than call.”
“Agreed. I’d like to speak to them, as well.”
As they reached the edge of the woods, Kara prepared to say goodbye—and then groaned at the sight of the cars. Flat tires faced the road, and she was fairly certain that she had only one spare inside the rental. She sighed and gritted her teeth. Someone really didn’t want her here, and they’d made sure she couldn’t go for help after that attack if she’d lived. “I don’t suppose you can call a tow truck?”
Sam slid from his horse and patted the tall black creature’s neck. Kara didn’t miss how the animal leaned into his touch. She’d never really been a horse person, but she appreciated animals of all kinds—it was hard not to, working out in the field. There was nothing like having bits of her lunch stolen by a curious, inquisitive squirrel.
He rounded both vehicles and shook his head, sighing. “Whoever those guys were, they were definitely in a rush. Only the tires facing the road are slashed. Want me to see if the two tires on the foreman’s car will fit on yours? Looks about the same size. I can do it quickly. Unless...” He paused and looked at her, as though he expected her to snap at him again.
“That would be great, thank you.” She knew how to change tires, and part of her wanted to tell him so. But that wouldn’t help either of them.
Less than ten minutes later, Sam had the tires changed, and Kara had secured the foreman in the backseat of her car.
“Be careful heading in,” Sam said. “I called the station while changing the tires and told them what happened out here, but the truth is that there aren’t regular patrols too far outside of town. I only came out here thanks to a tip about a possible grow-op up this way. Whoever those guys were, I doubt they’ll come after you while you’re on the road, but you can’t be too careful.”
She slid into the driver’s seat and buckled the seat belt. “What about you?”
“I’ll be following behind on Brenik and meet you at the station. They’d have to be awfully dumb criminals to attack an armed RCMP officer.”
She offered a tight smile in thanks as he closed the door. She rolled down her window to verbally thank him and found herself caught in his gaze. Her throat closed up and the words on her tongue dispersed as though blown away by the wind. Had it actually been eighteen years? He looked the same as he did the last time she saw him. Older, of course, but settled into his sharp features. Square jaw, hair the color of Saskatchewan wheat, eyes containing the distinct bluish-green of polished apatite. She blinked, coming to her senses.
“Thanks,” she mumbled, then started the car. A handsome face didn’t equal a strong mind, and their relationship had ended badly almost two decades ago because of it. She had no reason to take a second glance now, not when she had a job to do.
Especially not when her life might be on the line.
* * *
Sam kept a sharp watch on the tree line at each side of the road as he rode Brenik back into town. He wasn’t sure which part of the day felt more unbelievable, the attack in the woods or the fact that Kara Park had popped back into his life again. Fort Mason and the surrounding area wasn’t known for violent crime—in fact, most of the crime in northern British Columbia was drug-related, domestic or break-and-enter incidents, not violent attacks. The few violent attacks they dealt with this far north were usually caused by grizzlies, not humans, and even those were incredibly rare.
He reached the station just as Kara pulled into the small parking lot. She offered a terse nod as she climbed out of the vehicle and strode inside with purpose. He couldn’t help the tiny smile that caught the corner of his mouth. Kara had always known what she wanted out of life and hadn’t been afraid to push for it, even at the expense of those around her—well, that wasn’t entirely true. It had come at the expense of their relationship, yes, but after she’d left the province to attend university in the United States, he’d realized that he should have expected it all along. Kara had never been the type to sit around and wait for life to happen to her. She went out and grabbed it by the reins.
He stabled Brenik behind the station and headed inside after Kara. She stood at the front reception desk, looking mildly confused.
“Small place,” he said, coming alongside her. “The stable out back is nearly as large as this building. There are only five of us at this detachment, and we have a part-timer who comes in for a few hours every day to do reception. Otherwise calls go to me or one of the other guys. It’s a forwarding system, so whichever one of us answers first takes the call, but Aaron has seniority.”
She shook her head slightly, as if she was having trouble processing his words. “Aaron? As in, your brother?”
“Yep. Leo’s here, too. I know, it’s unusual that we’d all be in the same detachment, but we put our names in to be assigned up here, and a series of circumstances made it happen.”
“Plus your father’s connections.”
“I won’t deny that it helped, sure.” He tried to study her face, but it was hard to read. Was that disgust or just exhaustion from the attack? “I assume the foreman is secure? Did the doctors say anything when you dropped him off? Please tell me you had yourself checked out, too.”
She pursed her lips and gently tapped her fingers on the top of the reception desk. “Yes, and I’m fine. Some bad bruising and mild whiplash, but I’ll be okay. As for Mike, they didn’t say much. I gave them the number for Gaida Industries and said you’d probably be stopping by to get a statement from Mike after he’s feeling better, but that’s about it. He was a lot more awake and alert by the time we reached the clinic, so I don’t imagine he’ll be in there long.”
“Good.” Sam rounded the desk and began pulling out the necessary forms to compile a report on what happened in the woods. “Hopefully he got a good look at the guys who came after you. Between the two of you, we might get enough of a description to go on. Please, have a seat.”
Twenty minutes later, Sam filed the paperwork and pushed back in his chair. Kara had been hit from behind and had caught only a blurry glimpse of one of the attackers, so her description was lacking. He needed to get back out there or send one of the other officers to check for clues—footprints, fibers, anything—but not with the wind picking up outside. In the impending rain and darkness, it’d be not only dangerous but impossible to see the terrain.
“Are we done here?” She raised dark, full eyebrows at him. “I need to head to Gaida’s offices and speak with them about what happened before everyone goes home for the day.”
“I need to head there, too.”
“I
