“Of course you will.” He must be able to feel her heart beating beneath those fingers. She felt as if she were melting. “I’m not arguing about that. It was never in question, and it doesn’t matter now that I know they’re all going to be safe. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

He suddenly froze. “Anything you have to do?” His hand dropped away from her. “Son of a bitch.” He pushed her away and got to his feet. “Damn, you’re good. You spiraled me right back to that fourteen-year-old girl again.”

“I didn’t mean to do that,” she said quietly. “I was never that girl you’re imagining. But I can’t pretend it doesn’t make me happy if it’s going to help me save those students.”

He asked through clenched teeth, “Because you think you’ve ‘got’ me.” He turned on his heel. “No way!” The next moment he was striding into the rain forest.

She drew a long, shaky breath. She hadn’t handled him at all well. She had just been so exhilarated she had at last been able to read Korgan, and what she had seen had filled her with hope. But it was clear that he was wary and antagonistic at anyone realizing he might be vulnerable to manipulation of any kind. That was why what had happened afterward had escalated so quickly and emotionally. Now he wouldn’t believe she’d never intended to manipulate him—that she’d meant only to show him the honesty she’d promised him. Those few moments with him had been searingly erotic. Her body was still taut and ready. She didn’t know what she was going to face when she confronted him again, but she would worry about that later.

Right now she was just grateful that she knew Sasha had a much stronger chance to survive than she’d thought when she’d seen Korgan walking toward her earlier tonight.

Chapter 4

Chapter
4

Margaret!

An hour later, Alisa stiffened as she saw the pale gleam of Juno’s coat as the retriever moved out of the darkness of the rain forest. She jumped to her feet and ran toward Margaret as she followed the dog into the camp. “Sasha?”

“Not good.” Margaret wearily rubbed the back of her neck. “Masenak staged one of his horror shows for the parents of an eleven-year-old classmate and Sasha had to watch it. I don’t know how much more she can take.”

“As much as she has to,” Alisa said grimly. “She’s strong and she knows the stakes. She won’t do anything that will get those girls hurt. Just having you there to talk her through it must help enormously. I wish I could be there.” She paused. “Baldwin?”