With one last look into the menacing woods behind her, she stepped forward. She could see the gun strapped to his hip and knew Joel was well trained in how to use it. That used to scare her a little. Now it comforted her frazzled nerves.
“You cut your leg.” He ripped his sunglasses off, and concerned eyes traveled over her. “What’s going on?”
Seeing him hit her like a kick to the stomach. She almost doubled over from the force of it. She’d loved him and mourned his leaving, then had spent some time pretending she hated him. As she looked at him now, old feelings of longing came rushing back. So did the urge to punch him.
“What are you doing here?” The whip of her voice mirrored her frustration.
He hesitated as if weighing what to say and whether to let the question go. Whatever he saw on her face or in her expression had him closing the distance between them. “I came to find you.”
“Why?” Truth was, he devoted his life to gathering intelligence and protecting others. Right now she could use a bit of both.
The sound of the helicopter seemed to have scared off her tracker, and for that reason alone she was willing to hear Joel out. For a few seconds.
“You haven’t been picking up your phone.” His gaze did another bounce up and down her body, hesitating over her torn-up knee. “Where is it?”
Good question. “Lost.”
His near-black eyes narrowed. “Really?”
“Long story.”
“Any chance of hearing it right now?”
“First, you answer a question of mine.” She glanced past Joel to the pilot. He jumped down and headed for them.
“Shoot,” Joel said.
“There is no way you just happened to be out here, tooling around West Virginia, when you live in Annapolis. So, what’s going on?”
The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. “You know where I live now?”
No way was she walking into that discussion. “Let’s stick to my question.”
“Fine, it’s not a coincidence.” Joel’s expression went blank. “Your father sent me.”
Figured. “It’s still your turn to explain, so keep talking.”
She loved her dad, but his protective streak stayed locked in hyperdrive. He ran a private security company, one Joel used to work for. All that danger made her dad a bit paranoid. Though, admittedly, in this instance that was a good thing.
“Your dad and Baxter Industries.” Joel shifted his weight, putting his feet hip-distance apart. “Seems your dad wanted you to have backup out here. Combine that with the twitchiness of the Baxter Board about having a twenty-six-year-old woman, alone, guiding the male executives, and you get me.”
“How very sexist of them.”
“They clearly don’t appreciate how competent you are outdoors.”
She had no idea if that was a shot or a compliment, so she ignored it. “If the phone isn’t working, how did you...oh, right. The GPS locator still functions.”
“Yes.”
“So, Dad tracked me down and sent you by helicopter.”
Instead of answering, Joel motioned to the pilot. “This is Cameron Roth.”
She wasn’t in the mood for meeting people just now, but there was no reason to be rude. “Okay.”
“We work together,” Joel explained.
“At where exactly?” She’d tried to find out where Joel went when he left her dad’s company. One night, bored and feeling lonely, she conducted a search, hoping to locate him, and uncovered nothing.
Her father finally let slip Joel lived in Annapolis, less than an hour away from her place in Virginia, the same place he used to live with her but never bothered to visit now. Being ignored made her stop checking in on the guy. If Joel didn’t care enough to make contact, she wouldn’t either.
“Ma’am.” The other man butted in with a nod of welcome. “You can call me Roth or Cam.”
The guy looked about the same age as Joel, a few years older than her, and shared Joel’s used-to-be-in-the-military look. Broad shoulders with muscles peeking out from under the edge of his T-shirt. They both carried their bodies in a permanent battle stance, as if they could shoot or tackle at any moment, if needed.
Joel had the Tall, Dark and Whoa-He’s-Hot thing down. That hadn’t changed in their months apart. Cam’s lighter hair and blue eyes made him seem less intense, but knowing the male type standing in front of her, she doubted that was actually the case.
Joel clapped. “There. That’s settled.”
Looked like the menfolk thought explanation time was over. She disagreed. “Let’s go back to my question. Why are you really here? And skip the sat phone talk this time.”