“A special variety of pyracantha. Extra large, and the leaves are poisonous. Commonly known as firethorn. Needle-sharp spikes all over those stems, and the growing tips are four-inch-long hypodermics. Nasty enough for you?”

She nodded. “I thought it might be something like that. But I had to know.”

He smiled crookedly. “Just in case?”

“Just in case.” She started back toward the mansion. “I realized how little I knew about you, and suddenly I was in an isolated place that might be difficult for me to get away from. Worse. It might be almost impossible for me to get Maria away even if I could find a way out for myself.”

“So it was my fault you perched yourself on the top of that wall?”

“It was your fault,” she said flatly. “You don’t say ‘maybe’ to me when I need answers. That sends me to look for them myself.” She turned to him as they reached the front door. “That’s a nightmare stretch of thornbushes before I could get through those woods. But they only climb ten to fifteen feet high into the trees. Once I got into the higher branches, I’d be safe from them. But, as I said, getting Maria out would have been almost impossible without getting her cut to ribbons. I can’t allow that to happen, so get your shit together and let me know what the hell is going on.” She opened the front door. “And it better be very soon, Tanner.” She slammed the door behind her.

*  *  *

Tanner swore beneath his breath as he whirled away from the door.

“She was angry that you stopped her from getting away?” Rennell asked.

Tanner turned to see him now standing a few feet away. “No, I told you that wasn’t what she was doing,” he said curtly. “She said that she had no intention of trying to get away; she was only looking at the possibilities if she decided she couldn’t trust me.”

“Really?” A flicker of interest lit Rennell’s face. “And I suppose those possibilities discouraged her?”

“No, she thought she could make it to the main road, but it wouldn’t be without damage, and she’d need to use the trees to get her away from the thorns.”

Rennell’s gaze went to the wall. “And would she be able to do that?”

“Probably. She once told me she’d spent six months training herself to be able to survive in the forest. When I first met her, she’d just spent three days on the run from two hit men in Avgar Forest and had already taken down one of them.” He grimaced. “Yeah, she would have had to use the trees there, if only to hide at night.”