Damn. He was annoying. “Except that.” At his expression she said quickly, “What if you’re injured and I’m sitting on a rock all night like an idiot?”

“I’ve lost two people I care about recently. I don’t want to be responsible for anyone else getting hurt.” Emotion shone from his eyes.

“You’re not responsible for what happens to me, Shane,” she said quietly. “You are not my boss. We are both on the task force and I am perfectly capable of deciding what level of danger I’m comfortable with.”

He touched her face, smoothing her hair back under her hat, disarming her fear. “You’re already freezing. How about you go back to the truck and sit in the warmth. If I’m not there in an hour you call Sloan and then drive to the nearest police station.”

Yael clenched her fingers trying to improve the circulation. The damp frigid cold was seeping into her so much she was starting to shiver. “I can’t leave you. I’m your backup. I won’t abandon you. I might not be an HRT operator or even an FBI agent, but I can watch from a distance and make sure you’re okay.”

Shane leaned back on his heels, looking frustrated. “I could handcuff you to a tree.”

She gaped at him. “You wouldn’t dare.”

For a few seconds, he looked tempted and she didn’t know how she’d react to that except with a feeling of utter helplessness and shame. She’d never speak to him again.

Whatever he saw in her face finally made him relent.

“Fine. This guy will be armed and we know he’s dangerous. If we get to the cabin and I see him outside and figure I can get the drop on him, I will. But I expect you to stay put wherever the hell I tell you to and not to come out even if I am lying bleeding out on the ground. Hide, observe, and then go call for help when safe to do so.”

That vision had her reeling. “I don’t know if I can promise that.”

His expression froze. “Then we both head back to the truck.”

Part of her wanted to do that, but she remembered Anya Baker’s terrified face and Agent Monteith’s mangled flesh. She knew how desperately everyone had been chasing Evi1Geni-us for months now with no real progress. And although this wasn’t him, Lloyd Zenko was the closest they’d ever come to finding someone who might be able to identify him.

“I’ll do as you ask.” Her voice shook. “I will stay hidden when you tell me and then go for help if you need it.”

His verdant green gaze held hers for a moment as if assessing her veracity. Finally, he nodded. “Okay. Follow me carefully. Step where I step.”