and spandex blend.”
“Let me take a look at it.”
Glaring at him, she took off her parka and pulled both arms inside her sweater. She wriggled the strap off one arm, pulled the bra over her head and took off the other strap. Though she hadn’t exposed an inch of flesh, she felt exposed, and she was glad the lights from the dashboard weren’t bright enough to reveal the heat she felt rising in her cheeks. At least she wasn’t scared anymore.
Plunging her arms back into the sweater sleeves, she dangled the bra in front of him. “Ta-da.”
“The perfect blindfold.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not going to have a bra wrapped around your face.”
“It won’t be for long,” he promised. “This maneuver needs to happen fast before the guy figures out what we’re doing. It goes without saying that you’ll stay in the van.”
“I understand.” She slipped back into her parka. “I have a question for you. If this person is trying to threaten the general, why kidnap Emily?”
“The general himself isn’t a realistic target. He’s a tough old bird, and he’s usually protected by his aides. If the kidnapper had Emily, he could use her as leverage.”
“To do what?”
“Could be something as simple as ransom,” he said. “Or it could involve having the general change his position on some kind of finance bill. Attacking the family makes for an effective scare tactic. When it comes to his own personal safety, the general is fearless. But his family? He’d do anything—including going against his core principles—to protect them.”
It sounded to her like he’d had some experience with this sort of operation. “Have you done things like this before?”
“I did some counterintelligence work in the Middle East, enough to know that terrorists don’t always use explosives to get what they want. Fear is a powerful motivator.”
Though she’d never been to war, she had an idea of what he meant. “You can’t give in to fear.”
“Can’t ignore it, either,” he said as he clipped a hands-free phone into his ear. “I’m going to check in with Kovak.”
Leaning back in the seat, she stared through the windshield at the cold, snow-encrusted forest on either side of the road. The mountains were a wonderful place to live. Nowhere else would ever feel like home to her. But she was well aware of the dangers hidden in these rocky slopes. Every winter, there were deaths due to natural causes.
Living here, you learned to be careful. But you couldn’t let fear keep you locked inside in front of the fireplace. Without risk, life was too dull.
He ended his call. “The cell phone reception is better here than at your B and B. Earlier tonight, I tried to call Jeremy and the call got dropped twice.”
“Is Jeremy with his father?” she asked.
“They’re together, driving each other crazy.”
“The general can’t be happy about having his son marry into Emily’s family. Her dad is super-liberal.”
The corner of Blake’s mouth twitched into a grin. “When those two shake hands for the first time, it’s going to turn into an arm wrestling match.”
“You think that’s funny?”
“Hell, yes,” he said. “Don’t you?”
Because Emily was a good friend, Sarah had been sympathetic about her family problem. But she had to admit that she’d been looking forward to the confrontation. “I’ve been trying to think of conversation topics they might be able to talk about without arguing, like the weather or sports.”
“Sports are out. The senator supports West Coast teams and the general likes the Yankees and Patriots.”
She envisioned many long, uncomfortable silences with the two men snarling at each other. “Do you have any ideas? I’d guess that you and I don’t have much in common. What would we talk about?”
“Mountain rescue,” he said. “How did you get started with that?”
“I took a search and rescue course a long time ago. And I was already into rock climbing.”
“Me, too.”
It seemed that they actually did share some interests. “Do you ski?”
“Skiing and snowboarding, but I like cross-country best.”
As did she. She’d learned cross-country skiing as soon as she could walk. “What about rodeo?”
“Not a big fan,” he said. “My family used to have a farm in Wisconsin, so I got enough of horses and cows when I was growing up.”
With that kind of background, she knew that he was familiar with livestock. “I’ve always been concerned about animal cruelty at rodeos,” she said. “I cheer for the bucking bronco instead of the cowboy.”
“Cowboys aren’t your thing?”
“Not really.”
The light from the dashboard outlined his high cheekbones and sharp jawline. When he grinned again, she noticed that his lower lip was fuller than the upper. “You know, Sarah, I don’t think we’d have a problem finding things to talk about.”
When she first started talking, she hadn’t been on a fishing trip, trying to find out more about him. But that was what had happened. She’d learned that they had similar interests and small-town backgrounds. In that way, they were compatible.
And in other ways, too. Emily noticed Sarah’s first reaction when she met Blake. A glowing blush that spread from her neck to her hairline. Sarah had always preferred big men with broad chests and long legs. Seeing Blake in action was, well, it was kind of thrilling.
She ripped her gaze away from his profile and squinted down at her lap, pretending interest in the bra she held in her hands. She didn’t want to be attracted to him. This weekend was going to be difficult enough.
“Take a left up here.” They were making good time. No other vehicles on the road. And the pavement was dry. “We’re about ten minutes away.”
“Put on your blindfold.”
Grumbling, she took off her cap and tied her bra around her forehead. When she flipped the front down, the black fabric covered her eyes, but she could still see through. She eased it up on her forehead. “This had better be worth it.”
“If we catch this guy, we’ll be on our way to ending the threat, and the wedding can go forward.” He took Farley’s cell phone from his pocket and held it toward her. “I should make contact with our mystery man. Press the redial button and hold the phone while I talk?”
She did as he asked and listened as the kidnapper answered on the first ring.
Using his fake drawl, Blake said, “I’m getting close. Where should we meet?”
“Changed my mind,” the kidnapper said. “This project is over.”
“What’s your problem?” Blake shot her a worried glance. “I did what you wanted.”
“Changed my mind,” he repeated, angrily. “Never contact me again.”
“You can’t just cut me off like that. You owe me.” Blake put a convincing whine into his voice. “What am I supposed to do with the girl?”
“Get rid of her.”
A shudder ran through her. This man had called for Emily’s death as casually as he’d order a pizza.
Playing along, Blake drawled, “Are you telling me to kill her? ’Cause that’s going to cost you extra.”
“Do