Unmapped (Treasure Hunter Security #6)

by Anna Hackett

  Peri swiveled. She looked like a woman on a mission. He could easily picture her leading an expedition. He looked around. No one appeared to be watching them, or paying them any interest. Good.

  They stepped inside the shop. The small space was packed with shelves that were loaded with books. A bookcase near the front displayed a number of train-themed books.

  Skirting the shelves, Peri scanned the staff member at the desk. A young man. She shook her head. “I don’t see Stacey. I think she’s blonde.”

  “There.” He spotted a young woman standing on a stool, organizing some shelves at the back of the store.

  Peri approached the woman. “Stacey?”

  The woman spun and gasped, the multitude of bracelets on her wrist tinkling. “Amber!”

  “No, I’m her sister, Peri.”

  Stacey stepped off the stool, giving Ronin a wary look before focusing on Peri again. “Right. You guys look similar, but aren’t identical.”

  “Did she—?”

  “Yes. I have no idea why she sent me something to the shop. It was postmarked from somewhere called Punta Arenas. She wrote that I had to take the package to an address in the mountains and put it in a secret hiding place. All very cloak and dagger.” Stacey smiled like it was all good fun. “Her note said to tell no one but you, if you came in.”

  Peri’s face fell. “The mountains?”

  The woman should never play poker. Ronin could read every emotion on her face. He mentally shook his head. He’d spent a lifetime being trained to not show his emotion.

  Stacey nodded. “She said you’d know where.”

  “I do,” Peri said. “Thanks. Did you see what was in there?”

  Stacey shook her head. “Sorry. It was small and the envelope was sealed.”

  “Thanks again, Stacey.”

  “Hey, when is Amber back from her trip?” the blonde asked, confusion on her face. She was clearly picking up that something was wrong.

  Ronin watched Peri’s lip tremble before she firmed it and forced a smile. “Soon.”

  As they left the shop, Ronin found himself sliding an arm across her shoulders.

  She looked up at him. “Are we acting as a couple?” she whispered.

  “I thought you looked…upset.”

  “Are you giving me a hug?”

  “I…don’t really hug.” Time to change the subject. “You know where this package from your sister is?”

  Peri nodded. “My gram, my mother’s mother, had a cabin up in the mountains. It’s about two hours out of Denver. Amber and I spent lots of vacations there with Gram. She left it to us when she passed away.” Peri squeezed her eyes closed for a second. “God, what did Amber get herself into? All this secrecy. What if she’s dead?” Pain vibrated through her voice.

  Ronin touched a finger to her chin and lifted it until she met his gaze. “You don’t know that. Don’t make up nightmares, just focus on the facts.” He reached for her hand. “Let’s get back to the office, I’ll grab my truck, and we’ll head up into the mountains.”

  She sniffed. “Thanks. Now I think I really do need a hug.”

  “I’m not the hugging type.” Although, Ronin was surprised by the unfamiliar urge to want to make her feel better. He wanted to see that terrible tension on her face melt away.

  “Everyone likes hugs, Ronin. You obviously just haven’t had enough practice.” She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him.

  Ronin stood there, looking down at her copper hair. Then he lifted one hand and pressed it to her slim back. She gripped him tighter, and he ran his hand up and down her spine.

  Finally, she pulled back and looked at him, a small smile on her face. “See, there you go. That didn’t hurt, did it?”

  “No.”

  Her smile faded and her gaze dropped to his lips.

  Damn. The last thing Ronin needed was an insane attraction to a vulnerable client. “Come on.” He gently turned her toward the front doors.

  Together, they started through the Great Hall. Everything had gone so smoothly that Ronin wasn’t expecting the attack.

  Two men rushed at them from either side. Ronin saw the glint of silver as a knife slashed at him. He shoved Peri out of the way and then felt a sharp sting on his bicep.

  He blocked out the pain, already spinning, and threw up an arm to block the next blow. He jammed his forearm against the man’s arm. He followed with a sharp jab to the man’s ribs.

  The man grunted, the knife falling to the ground. Then Ronin slammed the side of his hand against the man’s throat, hard. His attacker gagged, falling to the tiles with a hand pressed to his neck.

  Then Ronin heard Peri scream.

  It all happened so fast.

  Peri watched as Ronin slammed into the man attacking him. He fought with quick, hard moves she could barely track.

  Suddenly, a man grabbed her, wrenching her to the side. She screamed.

  He spun her around. “Give it to me,” he growled.

  He had an accent she couldn’t place, and a broad face with bushy brows. She could see Ronin was still busy fighting. People nearby were shouting and backing away.

  Peri looked up at her attacker. They had to be Silk Road. The bastards holding her sister. “Please don’t hurt me.” Peri poured fear and panic into her voice. She did her best to look petrified.

  The man relaxed a little. “Give me whatever you just collected, and you won’t get hurt.”

  Right, and next he’d tell her he had a bridge to sell her.

  As he took a menacing step closer, she struck out with her hand…and grabbed a handful of the guy’s testicles.

  The man gave a pained shout and his face turned gray. As he doubled over, Peri released him and then jammed her fingers into his eyes. With an agonized cry, he swung out clumsily with a fist. She didn’t manage to get out of the way fast enough, and he clocked her in the face.

  Ow. She stumbled back, pressing her palm to her cheek.

  “Peri.” Ronin appeared at her side. He grabbed the guy who’d hit her, slamming him into the wall.

  The savage look on Ronin’s face made her shiver, but as her attacker tried to straighten, her anger spiked. She darted in and slammed her knee between the guy’s legs. He moaned and slumped to the floor.

  Ronin was staring at her.

  She shrugged. “He made me mad.”

  “Remind me to stay on your good side.”

  That’s when she saw the blood on his arm. “God, you’re bleeding.”

  He glanced at it like it was a mosquito bite. “Nothing life-threatening.” He gripped her arm and tugged her toward the entrance. The crowd stepped back to make room for them. “How about we get out of here, before we get asked questions we don’t want to answer?”

  They stepped outside the building, and she saw a police car pull up at the curb.

  “Don’t run,” Ronin murmured, pulling her to the left. “We’re just a normal couple out for a stroll.”

  She nodded, trying to calm her racing heart. Finally, they reached his bike. She saw his sleeve was soaked bright red. “You’re bleeding even worse now.”

  He swiped at his arm. “Not much.”

  “Right.” She pulled a bandana from her pocket and shoved his T-shirt sleeve up. “Tough guys can’t admit to being injured. Goes against the code.” A nasty cut had gouged his muscled bicep. It wouldn’t need stitches, but could do with a proper cleaning and a bandage. She quickly tied the bandana around his arm.

  “You’ve done that before,” he said.

  “Yep. And treated frostbite, set broken bones, and saved a few people from hypothermia. It’s a requirement that all polar guides have advanced wilderness first aid skills.”

  Ronin reached out and cupped her face. His thumb stroked her cheek, and she hissed.

  “That’s going to bruise,” he murmured.

  “Well, every time I see it in the mirror, I’ll remember that I knocked his balls into his throat.”

  Ronin winced.

/>   Peri couldn’t help but smile gingerly. “But I will ’fess up to my cheek throbbing like I got hit with a bat.”

  He sat on the bike. “Tough gals can admit to their injuries, huh?”

  She slid on behind him. “Hell, yeah. We are way more evolved than tough guys.”

  He started the engine, the vibration of the bike moving up her body. As they pulled out onto the street, she held on tight to him, leaning into his body.

  Her fingers brushed against hard abs, and she felt a tingle run through her body. It was probably just the aftereffects of the attack and the adrenaline. Ronin wasn’t as lean and wiry as the climbers she often dated, instead he was bigger, harder, and far more intriguing.

  Sitting wrapped around Ronin Cooper made her feel protected. She pressed her cheek to his back. Her parents had taught her and Amber to be self-sufficient and independent. From about the age of ten, her parents had made a game of dropping the girls in some foreign city with a train map and telling them they’d meet them at a certain location.

  She’d loved her wild, adventurous childhood, but a part of her had always wondered what it was like to have your own bed, have someone bake you cookies, and to have a dog. To have someone who wanted to hold on to you, protect you, and keep you safe.

  Not that Ronin was a guy who wanted to hold on. She picked up the “stay back” vibes he emanated. But something told her he was one of the good guys, even if he didn’t believe it himself.

  They turned onto another road, moving around a slow-moving car. The vibrations of the bike worked through her and she felt the muscles in his thighs shift as they wove their way through traffic.

  What would he do if she slid her hand under his shirt and stroked his hard abs?

  Damn. She was here to find her sister, not to fall in lust with the man helping her.

  They swung into the THS parking lot, and ahead, a grim-faced Declan strode out to meet them.

  Chapter Four

  Ronin led Peri toward the office steps with a hand to her back.

  She’d fought brilliantly back at the station. Thinking of her attacking that man almost made Ronin wince again. She fought hard and dirty, and he really never wanted to be on the receiving end of it.

  “You were gone for no more than thirty minutes, and there are reports of a brawl at the train station,” Dec said, an eyebrow raised.

  Ronin shrugged a shoulder. “They attacked first.”

  Dec pressed a hand to the back of his neck and exhaled loudly. “You both all right?”

  “Yeah,” Ronin answered.

  Peri rolled her eyes. “He’s bleeding. Guy caught him with a knife. He might need to see a doctor—”

  Ronin scowled. “I’m not going to a doctor for a scratch.”

  At the top of the steps, Peri crossed her arms and rolled her eyes again. Dec looked amused.

  “She got a solid blow to the face,” Ronin said. “She’ll need some ice for her cheek.”

  “I’ll get the first aid kit and some ice.” Dec waved them inside. “The package?”

  “In the mountains,” Ronin answered.

  “Great. Sit down, and then we’ll make a plan.”

  Inside THS headquarters, Ronin and Peri moved over to the conference table.

  “Are you guys okay?” Darcy hurried over, worry on her pretty face.

  “Fine,” Ronin said.

  “What did you find?” Darcy asked.

  “Amber sent a package to her friend, and she had Stacey take it to a location in the mountains,” Peri said. “It has to be the old cabin our grandmother left us, not far from Estes Park.”

  “I’ll take her up there to recover it,” Ronin said.

  Peri flashed him a small smile and he felt a hit of warmth in his chest.

  “Um, there’s a short hike up to the cabin. By the time we get there, it’ll be too dark to come back. The trail through there is rough and dangerous in the dark.”

  “You could go in the morning,” Darcy suggested.

  Peri bit her lip. “Silk Road wants to stop us from getting this. What if they worked out where Stacey left it? I don’t want—”

  Ronin grabbed her hand. “We’ll go up this afternoon. We’ll take sleeping bags and dinner, then come back first thing in the morning.”

  Relief flashed in Peri’s eyes. “Thank you.” Peri turned to Darcy. “Stacey said the package was postmarked Punta Arenas.”

  “In the very south of Chile,” Darcy said.

  “It’s an important supply point for Antarctic expeditions, and all the bases on the western side of Antarctica,” Peri murmured.

  Dec reappeared and slammed an enormous first aid kit onto the table.

  Peri raised a brow. “I’m guessing you guys must get hurt a lot.”

  “Not a lot,” Dec answered.

  Peri looked at Ronin. “Another tough guy.” She winked.

  Ronin felt the urge to laugh.

  Darcy grinned at them. “There should be some ropes in there, too, so you can tie Ronin down. The man is notoriously difficult when it comes to treating his wounds.” Darcy’s lips twisted. “Actually, they all are.”

  “Hey, any word from Burke?” Dec asked.

  Darcy’s nose screwed up. “He hasn’t returned my call yet.”

  “Sit,” Ronin ordered Peri.

  He grabbed the ice pack from Dec and wrapped it in a kitchen towel. When he turned back to her, she was bent over, fiddling in the first aid kit.

  His gaze dropped to the way her denim jeans hugged her ass. It was rounded, but toned, and just the right size to fill his hands.

  God. He shook his head and squeezed the ice pack for a moment, tempted to press it against his crotch. She turned back to face him, and when she sat in her chair, he gently placed the ice against her face. She hissed.

  “You might end up with a black eye,” he said.

  “Maybe. Amber gave me my first black eye. We were fighting over the incredibly cute Jimmy Summers in the eighth grade. It was one of the few years we actually attended school in the US.”

  “Who won?”

  “It was a draw. I broke her nose, she gave me a black eye. We were both grounded, which in our family meant my parents forced us to do volunteer work at the local shelter in all our spare time. Jimmy moved on to Amanda Lewis of the big hair and developing breasts.” Peri tore open a packet and pulled out an antiseptic wipe. She leaned over, shoved up his sleeve, and tore off the blood-soaked bandana. She started cleaning the cut with steady, practiced swipes.

  Ronin ignored the sting. He’d lost count of how many knife wounds, bullet wounds, and dislocations he’d had treated.

  “Did you have a fight over any girls when you were young?” she asked, blue gaze flicking up to his face.

  “No,” he answered.

  She finished cleaning the cut, and then pressed a bandage over it. “Amber kissed my black eye afterward. We’ve always looked out for each other. My mother wasn’t the kind to kiss boo-boos. She’d just tell us it was character-building.” Peri’s shoulders sagged. “God, I miss my sister.”

  Ronin lowered the ice from her cheek and grabbed her hand. “We’re going to do everything we can to bring her home.”

  As he watched, Peri nibbled her full lip and then straightened. She nodded. The way she pulled herself together was impressive. She looked at his wound one last time, then carefully placed the remaining gear back in the first aid kit. “Who kissed your boo-boos when you were young, Ronin?”

  “No one ever kissed my boo-boos.”

  Her gaze shot back to his and he saw the questions swimming in them. Not that he intended to answer. He looked away. Pity was the one thing he’d never wanted and never needed.

  She moved closer. When he looked back, he saw the top of her copper-colored head, as she pressed a featherlight kiss to the bandage on his arm.

  Something moved through him and he just stared at her. She looked up and their gazes locked. Ronin’s senses filled with Peri. The bright, sunshine smell of her,
the warmth of her body, the sweetness of her face.

  “Ronin, I don’t know you very well, but I…”

  He just kept staring at her.

  She shot him a self-deprecating smile. “You’ll soon learn that I have a habit of just blurting things out. I don’t play games or put on pretenses. Growing up all around the world meant I learned to be upfront.”

  “Peri—”

  “I really want to kiss you,” she said quickly.

  Damn, she was making this hard on him. “Peri.”

  “I know that tone.” She tried to pull away.

  He should have let her go, let the moment slip away, but for some reason, Ronin held on tight.

  “It’s okay,” she hurried on. “You’re not attracted to me, I get it.”

  “I am attracted to you.” He almost winced at the deep growl of his voice.

  She tugged her hand. “You don’t have to say that—”

  He tugged her forward until their lips brushed. Just a quick graze that gave him the briefest taste of her.

  She blinked, her gaze dropping to his lips.

  “You’re a client—”

  She arched a brow. “That’s a lame excuse, Ronin. I know your boss married a client.”

  “I’m not a nice guy, Peri. I’ve been places and done things you couldn’t imagine.”

  “We all have, Ronin. It doesn’t mean we can’t do better, or want different things for our lives.”

  “Not a home kind of guy. I’ve never had one, or at least, not a good one. I’m best when I’m on the move, and I’m best working in the dark, doing the jobs no one else wants to do.”

  Her gaze scanned his face. “Maybe you just haven’t tried the light? Besides, none of that means you have to be alone.”

  “I’ll never have a home, a picket fence, or a dog.” For the first time in his life, he regretted it. “Sounds like you deserve all those things.” He stood. “I’m going to pick up my truck and make some plans with Dec. Silk Road is watching us. We need to make sure they don’t follow us into the mountains.”