29. Roni

Diego left thirty-six hours ago, and I was beginning to worry. He told me he'd run on the way there to make up time, and I'd expected him back a couple of hours ago.

I was in front of the cabin continuing with my target practice. The bow and arrow felt like an extension of me, but my fingers were extremely raw, even while wearing my winter gloves. I'd practiced shooting from every angle and distance that I could manage in this clearing, and even from the wood line. I felt like a modern-day Robin Hood as I took out my practice targets from the trees.

And I'd spent two hours exploring the surrounding woods around the cabin, taking care to avoid the riverbank. I didn't want to run into a bear, even with the bow and gun. There was a hidden cave system about a mile east of the cabin, which looked like minerals had been mined out of it at some point. Out of boredom, I'd dragged brush in front of the entrance to help disguise it in case we needed a hiding place.

With nothing else to do, I continued with the bow and arrows, switching it up between bows to learn the differences between them.

I nocked an arrow from the porch of the cabin. I took a deep breath, grounded myself, and released the arrow. It flew right through the center of the target I made. Then I quickly nocked another and sent it through another target. I picked targets rapid fire and hit my mark every time. When I ran out of arrows and lowered my bow, a loud clap had me jumping out of my skin. I looked to my right and found Diego standing there soaking wet with a cart full of supplies.

"I didn't realize you knew your way around a bow. Where'd you find it?" he asked with a sexy grin.

I let out a laugh and launched myself over the porch railing and wrapped my arms around him. The front of my clothes got soaked, but I didn't care. I was so happy to see him.

"Did you know the cabin has an attic? I found a whole bunch of stuff the sellers left behind, including several sets of bows and arrows. Figured I'd practice, and I'm not half bad." I shrugged as if it were no big deal.

"I'd say that's an understatement," he said as he put his hands on my shoulders and looked down at me. He pulled me in close again and kissed the top of my head. I melted into his embrace. When he let go, I took a peek around him. "How'd you get all of that across the river?"

"Took me several trips. I only had about half of this last night, but I found out some information in town and felt it wasn't enough. I would have been back earlier today if I didn't have to make more stops this morning."

He looked troubled.

"You can tell me all about it while we bring this inside, yeah?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

We dragged everything into the cabin and laid everything across the table, counter, and floor. My eyes focused on the two shotguns and another assortment of guns and their bullets. It was like looking at a small arsenal.

"These are what I don't like. On top of that, I stopped into a diner to get dinner." He pulled out a brown box with grease stains. I recognized the smell of french fries and nearly squealed in delight. I didn't care if they were cold; I started shoving them in my mouth two at a time. "The waitress mentioned that there are a couple of private jets scheduled to land in the Anchorage airport in the next few days."

My eyes popped up from the bag of fries in shock. "Holy crap!"

He nodded. "Yeah, we shouldn't be surprised, but I'm glad for the heads-up. Leaving you on your own was risky, but the reward paid off threefold. We have an early warning, I got the supplies I need and feel a little more prepared, and you've seemed to learn a deadly new talent." His eyes seemed to heat at the mention of my new archery skills.

"Diego Garcia, does my ability to kill a man turn you on?" I asked playfully.

He smirked, and the lustful amusement in his chocolate brown eyes made him look delicious. "Veronica Hanes, I never doubted your ability to cause pain to a man for a single moment." He winked and then picked me up and sat my ass on the table. His lips found mine and stole my breath as he kissed me with so much passion it was dizzying.

Fuck. If I knew shooting an arrow would turn him on this much, I would have studied years ago.

He pulled back just as quickly as he'd come at me. "As much as I'd love to show you my arrow, we've got too much to do. Why don't you show me the attic? While I'm in there, you finish your fries." He pulled a fry from the bag and stuck it in his mouth. I'd never wanted to be a potato so much in my life. "After that, be prepared to work hard. We've got a number of traps to set up, and I'm going to teach you how to use a shotgun. The good news is it's easier than the Glock."

Well, that was a relief.

I pointed to the loose boards I left in place above our heads. "Right there."

He jumped up on the table and then pulled himself up into the attic in an impressive show of upper body strength.

I shoveled fries in my mouth like they were going to go bad any minute, and when Diego came back down with a can of spray paint and a few pieces of plywood, he caught me with my cheeks full of fried goodness.

He chuckled at me before he disappeared outside, and I heard the sound of the aerosol hiss as Diego got to work.

I joined him outside and saw several "No Trespassing" signs propped up around the property.

I laughed. "You think these will stop them?"

He shook his head. "Of course not, but you're the attorney here. We're establishing self-defense, for when this inevitably turns into a shit show and a whole bunch of mercenaries end up dead."

I didn't know Alaskan laws, and each state was different about what qualified as self-defense and what was pursuable as murder. But the more I thought about Alaska and its nickname as the last frontier, I had my suspicions that Diego was right.

"Then give me that," I said as I took the can of spray paint and the last piece of plywood. I painted, Armed trespassers will be shot.

"There, now we're covered," I said as I tossed the can back to Diego and put my hands on my hips. I propped it up on a tree right at the top of the trail to the cabin.

"We're not even close to covered. Do me a favor and grab the e-tool and some wire. We've got some work to do."

It was going to be a long fucking night.