Ryan Williams ran as if the devil was dogging his tail. Too bad some devils
couldn’t be outrun. Like memories of betrayal.
He slowed from his flat-out run. Wave-packed sand gave a little with each
step, cushioning his bare feet as he raced along the shoreline. Blood red
fingers of light streaked the sparse clouds as the sun breached the horizon.
Blood red.
The thought raised goose bumps along his arms in spite of the tropical warmth.
Day two of his leave and he hadn’t shaken the images from the last mission
yet. Dealing with a traitor was never easy. It became doubly hard when innocent
people were hurt. Thank God everyone was going to be okay.
And thank God for well-to-do friends who issued standing invitations. Once
again, Jamie’s “guest cottage” offered Ryan refuge, a safe place far away
from the Bureau and all its intrigues. The north shore of Oahu was about as
far away from Quantico as he could get. He needed every inch of that distance.
His breathing approached normal as he continued slowing down, cooling off
from his customary five-mile run. He rounded the small bend in the shore,
passing the tall palm trees that marked the final leg of the course he’d laid
out four years earlier on this first visit.
He headed away from the ocean, winding through the small grove of coconut
palms. He loved the quiet of the beach at sunrise, the solitude, the freedom.
It provided exactly the break he needed.
He cleared the tree line high on the beach, skidded to a stop and quickly
stepped back behind the nearest trunk. Up ahead, a figure crouched in the
sand.
Who the devil was that? Ryan wasn’t particularly pleased with the
idea that someone had managed to invade this private stretch of heaven.
A quick scan of the surrounding area came up empty. No other intruders staked
out on the beach. No boats in the water. No movement among the trees. No vehicles
within eyesight. Not much could have ogteen past the estate’s security defenses,
even this early in the morning. So how had this intruder gotten so close?
Regretting the absence of his gun, he left the tree cover and crossed down
the beach to confront the intruder. The shushing waves masked what little
sound his footsteps made.
From behind, he couldn’t tell much about the person except that it was female.
Long black hair lifted on the gentle breeze, seeming to defy gravity. He had
a brief view of a slender back, narrow waist and softly rounded hips before
the breeze died. The hair settled back into a solid curtain.
Oh yes. Definitely female. Interest of another sort stirred.
