Night Prey. Sharon Dunn

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СКАЧАТЬ a long range rifle had been used. The knowledge that the shooter was far away didn’t make him any less vigilant.

      A slight breeze bent the boughs of the pines. He didn’t detect any movement that might be human. “Okay, but be ready to drop to the ground if you hear anything.” He could handle being shot at, but the thought of anything happening to Jenna didn’t sit well with him.

      Jenna ran down the hill and picked up the cage. Keith trailed behind her, assessing the landscape for any movement or sound that was out of place. He stayed close, so if he had to, he could pull her to the ground quickly. Her reflexes weren’t as fine-tuned as his, which meant he’d have to be doubly vigilant to protect her. And he would protect her.

      Of course, he remembered her. Over the years, she had come to mind more than once, but he had always pushed those memories down to some hidden place, not wanting to visit the bittersweet emotions that came with remembering.

      Seeing her again had shocked him. Jenna was a bright girl who could have done anything with her life. He had always assumed she would move away from the small town of Hope Creek. He never thought he would see her again. Memories threatened to swamp him now, but he refused to let himself get distracted.

      Keith remained tuned in to the forest, watching the trees and listening.

      Out of breath, she came up to him. “The last time I saw the little guy he was headed in that direction.” She pointed to a stand of lodgepole pine.

      “What’s the game plan here?”

      Jenna pulled a cloth from her back pocket. “If we can get a covering on his head, it will calm him. Then I can get him in the cage for transport to the center.” She untied the silk scarf around her neck. “You’ll have to use this.”

      He nodded. “Let’s get this done so you and the bird can get somewhere safe. And then maybe next time you can forego the trespassing.”

      “I have to make the birds my priority. There is not always time to inform the landowner. Everyone around here knows me.” Strength had returned to her voice.

      Keith clenched his jaw. When Jenna got an idea in her head, she was like a pit bull. She just wouldn’t let go. “We need to be careful up here from now on, Jenna, even if it was just teenagers being stupid with guns this time.” He hoped that’s all it was. That was bad enough. His grandparents were older and vulnerable. He didn’t like the idea of some town kid taking advantage of that.

      “I’ll be careful, but this is serious. Someone shot at that eagle on your grandparents’ land. That is against the law.” Her voice, fused with emotion, broke. “I don’t like it when people hurt the birds. I won’t know what’s going on with that hawk until I can get a look at him. What if someone has been shooting at him, too?” She turned and stalked up the hill.

      The scent of Jenna’s perfume lingered on the scarf she had given him. He held it for a moment before putting it in his front pocket as he followed her uphill. It would be so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of Jenna Murphy trying to save all the wild animals. Twelve years ago, the house where Jenna and her father had lived had been a menagerie of the songbirds her father took care of and all the unwanted and injured animals Jenna had adopted. He smiled at the memory.

      She stopped and turned to face him. “If you don’t want me tromping on your grandfather’s land, you can come with me each time.” Her tone was playful.

      Heat swept up Keith’s face. She was standing so close. “I’ve got a lot of work to do for my grandfather.” His heart hammered in his chest. Did she have any idea what kind of effect she had on him, even after twelve years?

      Jenna pivoted. “I saw movement over there.” She craned her neck. “That’s the hawk.” With the cage banging against her thigh, she darted toward the trees.

      Keith followed behind. She stopped abruptly on the edge of a clearing. He peered over her shoulder and saw a medium-size bird with gray-brown feathers. Jenna stepped back and slipped behind a tree, pulling Keith with her. He towered over her by at least ten inches. She stood on tiptoe and pulled his head toward her to whisper in his ear.

      “He hasn’t seen us. If you circle around to the other side, we have double the chance of getting him. Wait for a moment when you have a clean shot to throw the cloth on his head, and I’ll do the same. Whoever gets to him first, the other person needs to move in quickly.”

      His heartbeat sped up when she stood this close. Her breath made his ear hot. Twelve years ago, he had just begun to see her as a young woman and not a buddy. The feelings that had barely blossomed before she rejected him were still as strong as ever.

      After squeezing her shoulder to indicate he understood, he slipped into the evergreens, careful not to step on any underbrush. He knew plenty about moving silently through the woods. He had trained for cold weather combat and then they sent him to the desert. Sometimes, the military didn’t make any sense. He walked until he estimated that he was positioned opposite Jenna. He edged closer toward the clearing, still using the trees for cover.

      A gust of wind blew through the trees. The hawk hopped off a log to the ground. The bird cocked his head and flapped his wings before settling. Almost indiscernible movement on the other side of the clearing told him where Jenna was. The bird fluttered as though alarmed and turned so he was facing Keith. Jenna materialized in the clearing and tossed the cloth over the bird. In a flurry of movement, Keith dove in. His vision filled with feathers and a sharp object pierced his hand. He swallowed a groan of pain.

      When he oriented himself, Jenna had secured the cloth on the bird’s head with a piece of leather. Her fingers wrapped around the animal’s feet.

      Blood oozed from the cut on his hand as the pain radiated up his arm. He followed Jenna to where she had set the cage.

      Jenna made soothing sounds as she slipped the now still bird into the cage and secured the door. Her voice was like a lullaby. She turned to face Keith. A gasp escaped her lips as she grabbed his hand. “You’re bleeding.”

      He pulled away, tugging the cuff of his shirt so it covered his wrist. “It’s all right. I can take care of it.” He didn’t want her looking at his arms.

      “I should have warned you—their talons are like knives.”

      “So I discovered.” Keith held out his uninjured hand for the cage. “I can take that.”

      They hiked toward Jenna’s Subaru with the sun low on the horizon and the sky just starting to turn gray and pink. His old Dodge truck was farther down the road.

      “Thanks for helping me,” Jenna said. “I always thought we worked together pretty well.”

      Flashes of memory, of kayaking and rock climbing with Jenna, surfaced. They had had fun together. “We didn’t work. We played.”

      “Still, we were a good team.”

      Keith studied Jenna’s wide brown eyes. Being with her opened too many doors to the past and the painful memory of her turning her back on him when he had needed her most.

      A muffled mechanical sound caused them both to stop in their tracks. In the distance, just beyond the rocks where they had taken cover, a helicopter rose into view. The machine angled to one side moving away from them.

      Jenna’s expression indicated fear. “Tell me your grandfather СКАЧАТЬ