Page 72 of K-9 Prime Target

“Promise?”

“Promise.” She wished she could lean down and give Renee a big kiss, but that was a little much with all their coworkers looking on. Romance between patrol members wasn’t forbidden or anything, but still, it could be a little awkward for everyone else.

She tried to pull away, but Renee held on, then stood up and threw her arms around Raz. “Don’t you dare go getting hurt when I’m falling so hard for you,” she whispered, then pulled away.

“Come on.” Brian clapped a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll stop by my house and get my Polaris.”

“Snowmobiles aren’t allowed in the wilderness area,” Raz said.

“If Nina’s stalker is ignoring that, do you really want to face him on foot? Besides, a snowmobile is the fastest way on and off the mountain. If we get fined, I think it’s worth it to help Nina.”

She nodded. “You’re right. In that case, we’re going to need a second machine if we need to bring back Nina and Liam and the dogs.”

“We could ask to take one of the resort machines.” Brian looked doubtful.

“I’ve got a better idea,” Raz said. “Derek Frazier has a machine. Let’s see if we can borrow his.”

“You just want to make sure he’s not the one after Nina,” Brian said as he followed her.

“I want to make sure the sheriff isn’t following the wrong man.”

* * *

The morning after Nina and Liam’s ordeal with Nicholson dawned sunny and mild. The journey back to their car on skis would have been a treat if they both weren’t so exhausted. Neither of them had slept very well the night before, waking every few hours to check that they were still alone and safe, and to feed more wood to the stove.

But it wasn’t just fatigue that dragged at them. Nina was afraid. She couldn’t keep from looking back over her shoulder every few minutes, to see if Nicholson was following them.

“I disabled the snowmobile, and he doesn’t have skis,” Liam said. “There’s no way he’s following us.”

“We don’t know if he has skis or not,” she said. “He may have stashed some up at the Nina Marie.”

“The Nina Marie?”

“That was the name of that old mine, where that cabin was,” she said. “Or that’s what he told me it was named. He took it as more proof that we were meant to be together.” She shuddered, remembering the unhinged conviction of Nicholson’s words.

“When I got to the cabin, I heard him shouting that name—Nina Marie,” Liam said. “He was calling for you. But Marie isn’t your middle name, is it?”

“No. It’s Camille.”

Sky licked Nina’s gloved hand and whined. “It isn’t too much farther,” Nina said. The dogs were tired, too, Sky trudging along, Angel refusing to get out of Liam’s pack.

A distant roaring sound cut the silence, and Nina froze. Ahead of her, Liam had already halted. She looked around for somewhere to hide, but they were in the middle of a treeless expanse of snow.

“The sound is coming from ahead of us,” Liam said. But he moved closer and a little in front of her.

Two snowmobiles approached, one bright green, the other yellow. Not the rental unit Nicholson had been riding. “We should warn them about Nicholson,” Liam said. Nina relaxed, and Liam raised a hand to hail the pair.

The machines slowed and stopped a few feet away. The first driver pulled off a helmet, revealing short red curls. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you two,” Raz said.

Nina gaped. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

The second driver turned out to be Brian. “Hey,” he said.

“I can’t believe this,” Nina said.

“We came to check on you,” Brian said. “Everything okay?”

“It’s not okay,” Raz said, before Nina or Liam could answer. “You both look exhausted. And you said you reserved the hut for two nights, right? What happened?”