02 Avalanche Pass by John Flanagan Read Free Book Online Page B

like you. And I think you like me. Now, I don’t plan on following you back to Steamboat, and I guess you’re not planning to come back to Utah looking for me, right?”
    He grinned at her succinct appraisal of the situation and nodded.
    “I guess that’s pretty much right.”
    “Now,” she continued, taking his hand and placing it on her breast. He felt the nipple stir and harden and her breath came a little faster. Her other hand was working at the buckle of his belt, then at his jeans. “I’ve got to tell you that the majority of men I meet these days are either gay or married. I’m guessing you’re not gay,” she said and her hand stroked the hardness inside his jeans. “So are you married?”
    “No,” he said immediately. Then, feeling he should, he added, “There is someone in Steamboat who—”
    But again, her finger went to his lips, silencing him.
    “I don’t need to know that. You answered the important question. You’re not married. Far as I’m concerned she’s crazy to let you run loose. But I figure that’s my good luck.”
    She’d worked his jeans down now and was unbuttoning his shirt. He helped her, then hooked a thumb inside the waistband of her panties, sliding them down over her smooth thighs. He placed both hands on her rounded, smooth buttocks and drew her against him, feeling his erection searching for her. His shirt was gone and her hand was on him, teasing him gently, urging and guiding him.
    He picked her up then, hands still cupping her buttocks and her legs wrapped around him as he took the two short steps to the bed. They half fell onto it and his mouth found her breast, rolling the hard nipple around his tongue. Just before he entered her, she chuckled, close to his ear.
    “Damn glad I had that keycard.”
    W hen he awoke, a little before dawn, she had gone. The place beside him in the bed still retained a little of her warmth so he knew she had left only recently. He smiled at the memory of the night. He felt a slight twinge of guilt, then pushed it aside. He didn’t love her. He knew that. And she didn’t love him. It wasn’t about love or a lasting commitment. But he liked her. And he liked her too much to go feeling guilty about what they had done. Somehow, that would cheapen it, he felt. And that would be unfair to her.
    He sat up on the bed, swinging his legs over the side to the floor. There was a note on the side table, torn from one of the pads left in the room. She’d drawn a rough version of the Marine Corps anchor and globe badge. Under it, she’d written:
    “
Semper fi.
Tina.”
    He smiled to himself. That was one way of putting it, he thought.

SIX
    CANYON ROAD
    WASATCH COUNTY
    1515 HOURS, MOUNTAIN TIME
    SATURDAY, DAY 1

    T he leading minivan in the three-vehicle caravan dropped back to low gear for the final climb into Snow Eagles Canyon. Kormann, seated beside the driver, checked his watch.
    Three-fifteen in the afternoon. Maybe a few minutes ahead of schedule. He hunkered down to check the other two minivans in the outside mirror, considered slowing down for a few minutes, then, even as the thought entered his mind, abandoned it.
    Ahead of him, moving down the winding road that led from the higher reaches, he’d caught sight of another group of vehicles. A few minutes later they passed, their occupants glancing incuriously at the three minivans grinding their way uphill. Kormann nodded to himself. Perfect. There had been no reason why the resort should change its normal pattern of operations this weekend. But there was always the possibility that they might. An accident, a blackout, anything could have delayed the departure of the contract cleaning staff.
    Even, he thought, with an almost imperceptible twist of his lips, an avalanche.
    His driver had slowed fractionally as they’d inched their way past the oncoming traffic on the narrow mountain road. Now the exhaust note picked up again and the eight-seater moved forward a little faster. He craned