Page 3 of Vanished in the Mist (A Mystic Lake Mystery #2)

“Get off me!” the woman yelled, twisting and bucking beneath Kaden Rafferty as he wrestled the pistol out of her right hand.

He sent it sliding across the hardwood floor out of her reach and grabbed her now-free wrist before her fist could make contact with his jaw.

“Knock it off, all right?” he practically growled. “Obviously there’s been some kind of misunderstanding here.”

“Misunderstanding?” She bucked against him again, her knee nearly connecting with a vulnerable part that had him settling his full weight on her to stop her from trying that move again.

“Lady, if you’ll just quit fighting me I’ll let you go. You’re obviously in the wrong cabin and—”

“Wrong cabin?” Her blue eyes blazed up at him, hot with anger. “You’re the one in the wrong cabin. Or maybe the right one if you were hoping to break in and steal something. You just didn’t expect anyone to be home.”

“You’re right about one thing. I was told that no one would be here.”

She jerked her wrists, struggling against his hold. “Who told you that? Your partner in crime? Let me guess. He’s waiting outside with a truck to load up whatever you both plan on stealing.”

“Not unless my partner in crime is a high school teacher named Cassidy Tate.”

The mad-as-hell brunette suddenly grew still, her brow wrinkling in confusion. “Cassidy Tate? How do you know her?”

“Remember the part where you accused me of breaking into this cabin? If you think back, instead of trying to get your gun to shoot me again—”

“I didn’t shoot you.”

“Not for lack of trying.”

She rolled her eyes.

He prayed for patience. “I didn’t kick down the door. I used a key. The one Mrs. Tate mailed to me last week when she hired me.”

The woman blinked, her eyes widening. “Cassidy hired you? To do what?”

“You know her?”

“Not as well as I thought I did. She’s my sister.”

“Ah. That explains it.”

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Explains what?”

“She was stubborn and feisty on the phone, calling several times over the course of three weeks insisting that I consider her proposal. Somehow, she convinced me to help her, free of charge in exchange for lodging and food. That stubbornness must run in the family.”

She swore.

He couldn’t help smiling. The salty words coming out of that pretty mouth weren’t the way he’d have expected this beautiful woman to speak.

She was nearly as tall as he was, which put her at close to six feet.

Her slim, athletic body, delicate facial features and long, thick brown hair were an appealing combination.

The only things destroying her supermodel potential were her generous breasts, which were currently burning a hole in his chest. She didn’t have that waiflike half-starved look that so many models had. And he most definitely approved.

She was gorgeous, especially when she wasn’t trying to punch or shoot him. She’d stopped struggling and her face was turning a delightful pink. She was either still mad and planning her next attack, or she was embarrassed about something.

“Why did Cassidy call you?” She was markedly calmer now as she waited for his reply.

“She wanted me to come here to search for a missing girl.”

The woman groaned. “What’s the girl’s name?”

“Tanya Jericho.”

She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, and her brow wrinkled as if she were in pain. Then her body went lax and soft beneath him as all the fight drained out of her. “I’m guessing you’re the doozy she mentioned in her note.”

“Doozy?”

“Will you please let me up? You’re right. There’s been a misunderstanding.”

Her soft curves were starting to do alarming things to him now that she wasn’t trying to kill him. He was eager to let her go before she noticed his body’s response. But he wasn’t even close to trusting her.

“You don’t have another gun in your other pocket, do you?”

“I wish.”

He smiled again. The woman was delightfully sassy. Too bad she was so bloodthirsty. “I’ll release your wrists on the count of three. Don’t try to pull any sucker punches when I let go.”

“Just get up already.”

He chuckled and rolled off her, then leaped to his feet and swiped the pistol off the floor before she could get it.

She stood and frowned, then shrugged as if she didn’t care even though she’d been clearly going for her gun.

He shoved it into his back jeans pocket, shaking his head.

“Don’t look at me that way. I wasn’t going to shoot you.” She frowned and glanced around the cabin. “Where did that bullet end up, anyway?”

He pointed toward the wall to the right of the door. “Judging by the splintered wood, I’m guessing it’s buried inside that log.”

She winced. “Cassidy is going to kill me. Then again, it serves her right for this little stunt she pulled.” She cleared her throat and offered her hand. “Let’s start over. I’m Shanna Hudson, Cassidy’s big sister.”

He shook her hand. “Kaden Rafferty.” He motioned over his shoulder. “I hear there are bears around here. Mind if I shut the door?”

She blinked. “Bears? Oh. Yes, please do.” She sat at the table.

He shut and locked the door, then took the chair across from her.

They sat in silence for a long moment, then she let out a deep breath and picked up a piece of paper that must have fallen to the floor earlier. She turned it over and read a paragraph on the back, then set it on the table.

“What’s your superpower?” she asked.

“My superpower?”

“The reason Cassidy made that deal with you, free work in exchange for food and a roof over your head. I’m a private investigator. And you are?”

“Ah. I see. She tricked both of us into coming here to investigate the case of this missing girl. But she didn’t tell either of us the other one was coming. Am I getting warm?”

“Burning up.”

He grinned. “Then I guess my superpower is that I own a search-and-recovery company. We operate out of Charleston, South Carolina. This is my first time coming to Mystic Lake, Tennessee.”

She crossed her forearms on the table. “What type of search and recovery does your company do?”

He sat back. “It’s not your turn.”

“My turn?”

“To ask another question.”

“This isn’t a game.”

His amusement fled. “No kidding. I’ll be dead serious then, and tell you that almost being shot wasn’t in my plans when I drove eight hours pulling an extremely expensive boat and giving up a lucrative contract to take on your sister’s request pro bono.”

Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed pink again.

She glanced past him, presumably at the splintered log, before she looked back at him.

“I’m sorry. I truly am. We’ve both been played.

You weren’t told I’d be here. And I didn’t know anything about you.

I hadn’t finished that part of the note that my sister left before you opened the door.

I honestly thought you were an intruder and that my life was in danger.

Otherwise, I’d have never drawn my gun.”

The sincerity in her voice assuaged his anger and had him nodding his acceptance of her apology.

“You were going to ask me a question,” she said. “Please. Go ahead.”

He cleared his throat. “Yes, well. The trip here was a long one and I only stopped once, to gas up. I also drank way too much water along the way.”

A bubble of laughter escaped her as she pointed toward the far wall. “Go through that door. Once inside, the bathroom’s the second door on the left.”