Stepping inside the warm interior of the Tanana Inn from the crowded parking lot, Vivian heaved a sigh, wondering if this stay was a bad idea. I’ve seen my grandparents’ house…maybe it’s time to just go back to Fairbanks and catch a flight home. The hotel was much busier than she anticipated, but seeing a large sign in the corner announcing a “Men of Alaska Tour Weekend”, she grimaced, realizing the hotel might be full. Looking at her watch, she shook her head, knowing it was too late to arrange a flight today.

The desk clerk was on the phone, but mouthed, “Sorry, I’ll just be a minute.” She nodded and walked to one of the windows overlooking the parking lot. A shawl-draped head caught her attention and, as she moved to the left to have a better line of vision, she recognized Akram and Farrah. Her breath left her lungs in a rush as she tried to think of why they were here, but she could only come up with one reason terrorists working with a known bacterial agent would come to a tiny, nowhere town, on a weekend with a hotel full of guests from all over—Oh, Jesus! It can’t be good, no matter what they’re doing! Reaching her hand into her purse, she grabbed her phone, then realized it was her personal phone. The burner phone with Logan’s number was back on the kitchen counter of the house in Ester.

Sucking in a deep breath, she knew whatever happened, it was up to her to stop them. Smiling at the receptionist who had just hung up the phone, she said, “I…uh…see a friend. I’ll be back.” Moving to the door, she watched as the Zamans got into their car and backed out of the parking lot. Hurrying out the door and down the steps, she jumped into her car and began to follow them from a distance.

* * *

Logan, his equipment out of the helicopter and into another truck, churned down the road, finding it took only about three minutes to drive through town. No sign of Vivian or the terrorists. Gripping the steering wheel with white-knuckled intensity, he pulled to the side of the road. Parking, he fought to regain his objectivity as he considered his next move. He had taken Vivian’s phone off the kitchen counter after she left but now cursed the inability to get hold of her.

With his head down, he rubbed his eyes. “All right,” he planned out loud, “I’ll go back into town, hit the bar and restaurant, and see if anyone has seen them.”

Just as he was about to pull back on to the road, he saw a car coming from behind. Waiting until they passed, he caught a glance of a woman wearing a hijab sitting in the passenger side and, disbelieving his luck, he watched as the Zamans drove past. About to pull out behind them, another car was coming from the same direction. What the fuck? This town’s got only 300 residents. Are they all fuckin’ out today?

A small black car drove past and his disbelief took another jolt—Vivian was intently staring ahead at the Zaman’s car, never looking over to see him stare at her. Realizing the danger she was putting herself in, he jerked his truck onto the road, following behind her. Jesus, we’ve got a fuckin’ caravan on the road—not exactly incognito!

* * *

Vivian followed at a distance, noting when the Zamans turned onto a gravel driveway, leading to a small house sitting on the side of a hill. Several cars were parked next to the house, the long drive visible to anyone inside. Frustrated, she continued down the road for another mile until she came to a widening where she could turn around. Turning to look behind her, she squeaked when a truck pulled right in front of her, jamming on their brakes. The windows were tinted and she could not see a driver.

Fearing for her life, she put the car in reverse just when the driver hopped out of the truck and rounded the hood, jerking their sunglasses off. Logan?

Before she had a chance to roll down her window, his hand was on her door, opening it swiftly. Forcing her back against the seat as he leaned his large body in, he unclipped her seatbelt before clamping his hand around her upper arm, pulling her out of the car.

“What are you doing?” she yelled, trying to dislodge her arm from his grip.

“The better question is what the fuck are you doing here,” he growled, dragging her to the far side of his truck, out of sight from the road.

“Logan, stop. I saw Akram and—”

“Jesus, Viv, do you have any idea how much danger you’re in just by following them? How do I get it across to you that they are fuckin’ terrorists who’d kill you for interfering?”

“I wasn’t going to go up there and knock on their door, Logan. Give me some credit!”

Logan pinned her back against his truck, his arms on either side of her, fighting the desire to lean in and kiss her senseless. Shifting his gaze down the road, he pinched his lips as he tried to control his frustration. Sucking in a deep breath, he let it out slowly before dropping his eyes down to hers, almost afraid of the anger he knew was in them. But instead, she peered up at him, her face unreadable.

“Akram blew up the house next door.”

At that announcement, her eyes bugged out and her mouth fell open, but no sound came forth.

“I was finishing the clean-up on the shed when they left. I fuckin’ missed it and by the time I got back to the house to take the next step, the goddamn house blew to bits. The firetrucks showed up but there was not a fuckin’ piece of it left.”

“How’d you know they were here?” she asked, her voice shaky.

“Iggie’s on the volunteer fire squad. He said you stopped by and told them you were going to take a trip here. ‘Bout that time, I managed to get to my laptop to check their chatter. Akram sent a message to Rashad that they were coming here.”

Vivian’s shock at seeing him had worn off, the first flush of pleasure that he had come for her died as she realized he was all about the mission. Inwardly cursing, she realized she was a complete fool. Of course he’s about the mission. That’s what we were here for…it was me who forgot and fell for him.

“I just happened to see them when I was checking into the hotel,” she informed. “They didn’t see me, but I knew it was important to find out where they were going. I wasn’t going in guns blazing or anything. Trust me, I don’t have a hero complex.”

“I landed in town and happened to see them drive by, pure fuckin’ luck. But then I saw you right behind them and couldn’t believe my eyes.”

Fixing a tight smile on her face, she said, “Well, okay then. You…uh…know where they are. I suppose you saw the other car there. I think it might be Malik’s but, I’m not sure.”

A short jerk of his head was the only response. His arms stayed in place and she wondered if he even realized he had her pinned in.

He dropped his gaze back to hers, asking, “How will they test it?”

Knitting her brow, she shook her head for a second, replying, “I…I don’t know. I…” She stopped and began carefully analyzing the situation. “They didn’t have a lot of the solution with the bacteria in it. I suppose direct contact would be the quickest. Um…shops, restaurants, public places where people touch things… shit! The hotel.”

She looked up quickly and said, “The hotel is full right now with some tour group. They might be up there planning or even staying, but Logan, the hotel must be the key. It would be so easy to spread the bacteria around. People from all over the country who are up there for the event would not realize they’d been infected until a week or so later and, by then, they could have passed it to others.”

He glanced back up the road toward the house the Zamans had gone into. “I’ll take care of them, but I need you to get out of here.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out her burner phone, tucking it into the front pocket of her jeans.

She tried to ignore the feel of his fingers pressing so intimately on her hips, but his warm breath across her face could definitely not be ignored. Swallowing deeply, she asked, “Do you have backup…or whatever they call it, for going in to arrest them?”

Grimacing, Logan shut his eyes tightly, forced to face her innocent, direct question. Knowing she would never accept what he was doing and unwilling to live with a lie, he bent close and growled, “There’s not going to be an arrest, Viv. I’ve got a job and was hired to do it. No arrest. Just termination.”

Blinking, Vivian tilted her head slightly, staring as she processed his words until her eyes widened with understanding. Voice shaky, she opened her mouth, but the only word formed was, “Oh.” Her head jerked back, hitting the side of his truck, but she ignored the pain. “You…you’re…you’re going to—”

Standing to his full height, Logan pulled his hands back and placed them on his hips. “Yeah, Viv. That’s my mission. That’s my job. Your job was to figure out what they had and how best to destroy it. You did that and now it’s my turn to do my fuckin’ job. Terminate.” He watched as her face registered shock, but her dark eyes accused.

Her breath came in a spastic pant as she shook her head. “But surely…this can’t be the right thing to do…to just kill them…”

“You think who hired me is going to take a chance that the legal procedures would put these terrorists in jail? That justice would be served? They’re to be dealt with one way and one way only. And if you think for one second that those terrorists would spare your life if you got in their way, then you’re way too naïve.”

Blinking at the sting of his words, Vivian’s mind grappled with what he was saying. Sucking in a shaky breath, she simply nodded, unable to process what he was going to do. But one thing stuck in her mind. Looking back up into his face, she asked, “You’re going alone?”

“You see a SEAL team here? Didn’t think so. This is what I’m here to do, Viv. Terminate the terrorists before they have a chance to spread their destruction. What I don’t have time for is to stand here and argue with you.”

She reached out to touch his arm, but stopped short. “Thin ice,” she said, her words soft, laced with pain.

He jerked back, his brows drawn down. “What?”

“You’re skating on thin ice, Logan. Out there all alone. But you don’t have to ‘cause I’m here. There’s safety in numbers.”

Logan dropped his chin, his gaze now studying his boots, his heart piercing. Slowly, he lifted his head, his eyes now on hers. “I appreciate that…more than you know. But this isn’t skating we’re talking about. This is my job. What I’m trained to do. I can’t focus on the job if you are a distraction.” Blowing out a long breath, he added, “And I need you to go.”

Swallowing deeply, Vivian slipped underneath his arm and walked over to her car, her whole body shaking. Opening the door, she paused, looking over her shoulder. “Will I see you again?”

His face, set in granite, seared straight through her, saying nothing. But telling her everything at the same time.