Page 2 of Winter’s Heart (Three of Hearts #1)

“Protect me from what?” she asked, not hiding her mocking tone.

She didn’t need protection. She was a marine scientist on a short holiday after weeks of conducting a thorough investigation in the nearby fjords of Norway.

A normal person, with no enemies to speak of, carrying on with her normal life; she certainly wasn’t in any danger.

The initial shock and adrenaline of this policeman’s appearance was wearing off, making her fingers shake and her fear turn to irritation.

“Here, put these on. We need to get you out of here as soon as possible.” He shoved her boots toward her, ignoring her question.

His impatience shimmered around him, almost like a visible aura.

She put her feet into the boots slowly, taking her time, delaying as best she could, watching his eyes dart to the left and then to the right, while the rest of his body remained as still as a statue.

“I’ll fill you in on all the details later, but for now, we need to move.

Quick, go to the house,” he added when he noticed her stalling, moving out of the doorway and gesturing for her to go ahead.

Some of his agitation was rubbing off on her and while she didn’t believe there was any danger, she did as she was told, but at a dignified walk rather than a run.

The police officer—what had he said his name was, Jáhkot?

—followed her up the path, his gaze continuously raking the surroundings, so alert he reminded her of a German Shepherd on point.

Walking through the fresh snow made it slow going, so she followed the footsteps she’d made on the way down to the sauna, which meant that Jáhkot was practically breathing down her neck by the time she laid her fingers on the door handle of the cottage.

She was surprised he hadn’t picked her up and thrown her over his shoulder, he was so hyper.

Stepping inside, she had a sudden impulse to slam the door in his face.

He beat her to it, however, pushing her over the threshold and shutting the door firmly behind him, glancing once more outside as he did so.

Only then did she notice the gun. She hadn’t seen it when he’d burst into the sauna, but he had one in his hand now, pointed at the floor.

The sight of the gun pushed her over the edge. There were limits to what a normal person could put up with, and she’d had about enough of this nonsense.

“How dare you,” she said, putting her hands on her hips as she rounded on him, hoping to hide the fact they were still shaking.

“How dare you come here and scare the shit out of me, and act as if we’ve been dropped into some terrible B-grade movie?

I’m not moving from this spot until you tell me exactly what’s going on.

” Nikki was proud of herself. Look at her, channeling her grandmother and standing up to this guy.

Yes, he might be a police officer—although that was still debatable—but he had no right to order her around like this.

Not without a bloody good explanation. It was out of character; she normally hated confrontation, but this was like no other situation she’d ever found herself in.

A scientist by profession as well as by nature, she was always coolheaded, liked things that were logical and relatable.

She hated to be rushed or do anything in a perfunctory manner.

She was all about digging down to find the sense of things.

And in her world, this man made no sense at all.

Those intense, tawny eyes were trained on her again. “I’m sorry, ma’am, I’m not—”

She sliced through his explanation. “Nikki. My name is Nikki, not ma’am, or Nikita. That’s what my mother calls me.”

He gave a soft snort, and if she hadn’t known better, she might’ve thought he was amused.

His gaze softened. Holding up his gloved hand, he made a noise as if he were gentling a frisky horse.

Which only incensed her more. She wasn’t here for his amusement; she was deadly serious and she narrowed her eyes at him.

“Now… Nikki, I know this must be frightening for you,” he said, hand still in the air.

“Damn right it is,” she countered hotly, pulling the robe tighter around her body.

“And I’m sorry I don’t have all the answers. My brief is to extract you to somewhere safe, and that’s what I plan to do.”

“Well, Jáhkot…” she stumbled over the name, not sure of the Swedish pronunciation.

“Call me Jacob,” he said. “Only my mother calls me Jáhkot,” he added with a cheeky tilt to his lips.

Was he making a joke at her expense? And was that a hint of a dimple hidden in that smile?

Forgetting herself for a second, she stared at him.

Oh god, what a smile. It transformed his face.

Made it almost beautiful, lighting up his eyes.

If this had been any other situation, Nikki would’ve been transfixed.

Instead, she corralled her thoughts and sifted through her options.

What could be so urgent that she had to leave right now?

It was possible his supervisors, or whoever had sent him, had got it wrong.

She wasn’t in any immediate danger. This place was miles from anywhere.

What could possibly be a threat to her out here?

That thought made her wonder again how the officer had arrived, because there was no sign of any vehicle, but she put that thought out of her mind for now because there were more urgent questions needing answers.

Deciding she would reason with him, she said, “Ok. Look, Jacob, I’m leaving tomorrow, anyway.

I’m supposed to meet up with my colleagues back in Bod? across the border in Norway.

Can it wait until then?” There, she had a logical solution to his problem.

The owner of this wonderful hut, Andreas, was due to come and pick her up at nine a.m. tomorrow morning and take her to her hire car in the nearby town of Jokkmokk.

Then she would make the six-hour drive back into Norway to rendezvous with Tammy and Antoine and they would board the little charter flight to take them down to Oslo, and then onto a commercial flight back to the US.

It was already arranged. Tammy and Antoine had also been taking a well-earned break, but they’d decided to travel farther north to tour the maze of fjords at the top end of Norway.

“No,” he replied flatly. “It can’t. You must get dressed in as warm clothing as you can find. After that, we’ll—”

She stamped her foot. The man wasn’t listening. If he wanted her to go right now, then he needed to give her a very good reason to move, otherwise she was staying put.

“Perhaps we can call someone to sort out this mess. Your supervisor maybe?” she asked scathingly. Andreas had given her a satellite phone to use in case of emergency, but until now she’d never even turned it on. “I’m sure my co-workers will vouch for—”

Jacob’s face hardened. “I’m sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news, but both your co-workers are dead.”

What? What had he just said?

“I’m telling you this, because we think you might be next on the killer’s hit list,” he added. “That’s why we need to get moving. You’re in danger here,” his gaze flicked to the windows, not looking at her now.

Nikki’s legs felt rubbery, no longer able to hold her weight. A foggy haze settled over her vision, and everything became blurry. That couldn’t be true. Tammy and Antoine dead? No. No…

She crumpled to the ground with a soft thud.