Yes, well, not to put too fine a point on it, but . . . Colt nodded, hands still out. But he was counting his steps to the old man, trying to decide how fast his reflexes might be. It looked like the man could handle himself, but—

“Tae?”

The voice came from a path behind the man, and in a moment, a woman stepped out. Petite. Pretty. Dark hair in a ponytail and dressed in an oversized University of Washington sweatshirt. “Tae!”

She broke out in a run toward Tae, who opened her arms. “Zoey!”

The man lowered his weapon.

The women locked in an embrace that had both Colt and the man looking at each other.

“Jethro Darnell,” the man said. “Neighbor. Zoey’s been staying with me.”

Colt had lowered his hands and now walked toward the man, eye on the gun. “Colt Kingston. Tae’s been, um, staying with me.”

Jethro held out his hand and Colt shook it.

Jethro gestured to the women. “Zoey thought Tae was dead.”

“Tae thought the same.”

“They’re into something bad.”

“You could say that.”

Jethro looked at him. “Hungry?”

“I could eat.”

“I have some fresh catch over at my place.”

Colt eyed the gun. “Ever used that on anyone?”

“I have a couple stories.” His gaze returned to the ladies.

Tae had let go of Zoey.

Zoey ran her hands over her cheeks. “When you disappeared, I didn’t know what to do. First Faheem and then . . .”

“I know.” Tae put her hands on Zoey’s shoulders. “You did the right thing.” She glanced at Colt, then back at Zoey. “Please tell me that you have your journal.”

Zoey nodded, and even Colt wanted to grab her up in an embrace.

“Let’s get you back to the cabin, and then you can tell us what’s going on,” Jethro said. He started down the path.

Colt didn’t move. Gave Tae a look.

Zoey saw it. “Who are you?”

“He’s a . . . friend,” Tae said.

“Mm-hmm,” Zoey said, her gaze perusing him. “He’s better than Sergei.”

Colt raised an eyebrow.

“What?” Zoey said. “I didn’t trust him from the beginning. He was . . . smarmy.”

“Thanks for saying something,” Tae said. “He kidnapped me, tried to kill me. I had to crash a plane to get away from him.”

Zoey’s eyes widened. “Wow. When you break up with a guy, you really break up.”

It took a second, but then Tae cracked a smile, laughed.

“Colt’s brother rescued me. I’ve been staying on their ranch in Alaska, trying to figure out what happened,” Tae said. “My journal was lost in the crash, but I thought maybe yours had survived.” Her smile dimmed. “I was worried something might have happened to you. Colt’s been helping me track you down.”

Colt stepped up to her, his hand out. “Glad to see you’re okay.”

She took his hand. “Thanks for taking care of my best girl.”