Wolf Tracks by Vivian Arend Read Free Book Online Page A

me.”
    “Wait, it’s not like that.” He scrambled to his feet, patting all his pockets frantically. “Ah, fuck, I’m screwing this all up. I didn’t say it right. I meant to… I wanted to ask you if you would like to stay here. We can still call the helicopter back. Just…”
    TJ tossed the pack off his back and flipped open zippers, obviously looking for something. Pam lowered her pack as well, dropping it against the side of the cabin. She wanted her hands and feet clear if she needed to kick his butt. She assumed a defensive crouch, ready to smack him to the ground if necessary.
    He twirled toward her. Something dark thrust her direction and she moved instinctively, the side of her hand cracking his forearm hard enough to bruise. As he cried out, an oblong shape flew from his fingers and slammed into the door. Pieces of black plastic rained down on the porch boards, a set of batteries rolling and spinning back from the wall, finally coming to a stop against her foot.
    Fuck .
    Pam knelt and picked up the mangled body of the transceiver, snapped wires dangling from the case. One round dial fell to the ground and spun like a top, the echo of the whirl whirl fading until the piece tipped over with a soft plop .
    TJ cleared his throat.
    She pinned her lips together. Letting out a shriek of laughter right now probably wasn’t the most mature response, but…oh my God. It was a full minute before she could speak.
    “That was a satellite phone?” She was proud of how calm she sounded. Not on the verge of hysteria or anything.
    “Umm, right. So we could call Shaun back if you didn’t want to stay.”
    Pam closed her eyes and counted to ten. Two wrongs didn’t make a right, but it appeared his mistake coupled with hers did make them stranded.
    “That was our only phone?”
    “Yup.”
    His honest answer amused the heck out of her and suddenly most of her bluster drained away. “I’m upset with you. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still planning on getting my revenge. But in a kind of twisted way, you bringing me here is sweet. Psycho, but sweet.”
    “Twisted and sweet. I’ll take it.” He gave her the most disarming puppy-dog look, and she bit her lip to stop from laughing.
    He opened the door and motioned for her to enter first. She grabbed her pack, crunching a couple of pieces of plastic underfoot as she stepped inside. The cabin was bright and cheery, and bigger than she’d expected. The main area held an open sitting room with a mini kitchen on one side and a beautiful stone fireplace on the opposite wall. Two doors opened off the back, and after dropping her pack to the floor, she peeked her head into the first to find a bedroom. Damn, that wasn’t a king-size either, more like a king plus.
    “I have to do a couple of things outside. Look around, get settled.” TJ took off quickly and she let out a big breath.
    Holy crap, they were stuck here. She should be absolutely furious. How could anyone in this day and age think it was okay to take a person somewhere without permission? Yet as she wandered the cabin, she wasn’t really upset. She had wanted to have an adventure, and signing up for the expedition had been more Maggie’s idea than her own.
    It was partly her fault for overreacting on the stairs. Oh God. She laughed at herself, shaking her head as she wandered the cabin. This—enforced solitude—was what she truly wanted right now. Add the fact that TJ, Mr. Turns-me-on-without-even-trying, was the one she was staying with? She stared at the monstrous bed again. Okay. She was the one out of her mind, but this could actually be a lot of fun.
    Of course she still planned on making him suffer. She should be able to get a few backrubs, maybe even a foot massage, out of him if he felt guilty enough.
    She spotted a broom in the corner and took a few passes, but there wasn’t anything underfoot that shouldn’t be there. She checked the cupboards, looked under the bed…no dust, no signs of mice. The