If this is your way of putting Kat on me for protection, no deal. Sam shook his head. I can take care of myself.
I know you can take care of yourself, Paul said. What Im worried about is that it could have been either me or you they were after. If its someone wanting to win the race at all costs, any one of the teams and mushers could be in trouble. Id feel better knowing you were looking after my little sister.
The little-sister part hit Sam square in the gut. If hed said Kat, the government agent, Sam might have told him which cliff to jump off. But Kat, the little sister, was another story altogether. Sam had a little sister back in Virginia. A grown-up little sister with a life of her own working as a legislative assistant to a congressman. If someone posed a threat to his only family left, hed be equally concerned. You play dirty, Jenkins.
Without batting an eyelash, Paul grinned. Damn right I do. Got to take care of my two favorite mushers.
Kat can take care of herself, Sam noted. Or so she says.
Oh, she can, Paul agreed. But it never hurts to have backup.
Tazer held the radio out. Does that mean youll wear it?
With a sigh, Sam took the equipment and adjusted the headset to fit in his ear, tucking the radio into his pocket.
Tazer reached out and flipped the On switch. Say something.
I dont have time to talk. I have to get back in the race, Sam grumbled.
That you, Sam? Kats voice sounded soft and smooth.
Blood flowed through his system like warm molasses and he fought the spreading heat. Why didnt you pin this thing on me yourself? Then again, that might not have been a good idea. For the past few days, theyd worked side by side to complete preparations for the race, bagging feed for the drops, packing and repacking their sleds and tending to the dogs. Hed bumped into her more than he cared for.
Kat chuckled. Tazer has a way with pinning unlike any other.
Tazers brows rose. Tell Kat to keep her eye on the trail and a hand on her gun, just to be safe. Then she turned toward Paul. Got room for me up there? Its getting damn cold out here.
Paul scooted over, easing his ankle out of the door frame.
Tazer climbed into the truck next to Paul and smiled. Dont break her heart, will ya?
Sam frowned. Who?
Paul chuckled from the interior of the truck. Buddy, youve been out in the woods too long. His smile faded. Take care out there.
Other teams were arriving, heralded by the barking of sixty dogs.
The teams all set. Vic clapped a hand to Sams back. Better get going if you want to make use of the remaining daylight.
Sam pulled the scarf up over his mouth and nodded to Paul, Vic and Tazer before he stepped on the sled, pulled up the snow hook and yelled, Lets go!
KAT HAD A HARD TIME slowing the team. They were trained to race, to go for as long and as hard as they could before they needed rest. Stopping every hour to waste fifteen minutes made the lead dogs nervous and the rest of the team impatient. Already, several teams passed her. Her team howled in protest when she applied the brake and snow hook.
As much as Paul wanted her to win this race, she couldnt go off without Sam. He was the only reason shed agreed to the race in the first place.
Now that she was out on the snow, a world away from the hustle and crowds of D.C., she was glad shed agreed. She couldnt ask for a better place to think, unimpeded by the well-meaning S.O.S. team or her family back at the house. Royce had told her to get away from it all. Hell, hed practically kicked her out of the office, insisting she needed the downtime. Nothing like being on the last frontier to get away from it all.
With the cold wind in her face, making ice crystals form in her eyelashes, and the soft sound of the runners skimming across the crusty snow, she relaxed.
Is this thing still working?
Sams clear crisp voice in Kats ear jolted her back to reality. A muffled tapping sound beat against her eardrum.
Kat winced. I can hear you. Can you hear me?
Yes.
Then it works. She could picture him frowning, and fiddling with the equipment, his gloved hands too bulky to be of much use with the small radio-transmitting device.
Whered they put the damn Off switch? he asked.
Theres a tiny switch on the piece that fits in the ear, but since weve got these things, we might as well use them.
Feels funny having a woman in my head.
Kat chuckled. No funnier than having a man in mine.
Just to set the record straight, I dont need your protection for this race. If anything, Im out here as your protection.
Sure, whatever you say. Most men resisted having a woman provide protection of any kindas if they conceded to being less of a man if they had a woman running interference.
We dont know that the accident was anything more than a onetime deal, Sam continued.
No, we dont, she answered smoothly, but Kat knew better. After inspecting the sled herself, she knew the damage had been deliberate. Question was, whose sled had the saboteur intended?
Sam sighed softly in her ear. I dont know about you, but Im out here to win this race.
Kat smiled behind the heavy wool neck scarf. Sure you are. Like all the other sixty-six entrants and me.
Thats right. He paused. So look out, it wont be long before youre eating my dust.
Snow. Kat couldnt help correcting him. He needed it. The man was too independent. A lot like Marty. Determined to make it on his own and damn anyone who got in the way. That was one of the characteristics Kat had loved about Marty.
Snow?
Eating my snow. We hope theres not much dust at this time of year.
Sam laughed in her ear, the sound warming Kat from the inside out. Are you always this disagreeable?
Only when Im confronted by a disagreeable man.
Point taken, he conceded.
I thought you didnt like talking into these things.
I dont.
Then shut up and get moving.
His gentle snort was the last sound he made for a while.
When Kat realized she was still grinning, her lips turned downward. Where had that lighthearted feeling come from? And had she just been flirting with the man?
Sam was all right. For a transplant from Virginia, he seemed to understand the nature, care and feeding of the animals. And the dogs liked him.
Even Loki treated him like a member of the pack and Loki was a better judge of human character than most people. If Loki liked you, most likely, you were a good person. Not that Kat formed her impressions of strangers on the recommendation of a dog. Sam might have proven himself in the kennels, but would he have the stamina and drive to complete the eleven-hundred-mile race?
No matter whether he did or not, Kat planned to. Not so much to win as to prove to herself she still had it in her. She might have left Alaska for a few years, but the blood running through her veins was still ninety percent melted tundra snow.
Over the next hour of silence, the only sounds coming over the radio were the occasional commands Sam gave his team.
As she neared a good resting point, Kat asked, Where are you?