Chapter 6
Jenna’s eyes fluttered open when Colt opened her door, and her sweet smile as he leaned across her to unfasten her safety belt was full of innocent wonder. Colt had to laugh about how misleading that was, Jenna Lamont was no one’s shrinking violet, that was for certain. But, where would be the fun in life with a doormat? Colt slid his arms behind her back and under her knees and turned to walk to the cabin. Jenna finally found her voice, and turning to look all around her, asked, “Where is your cabin?”
Colt smiled. “Hard to spot, isn’t it? It’s above you. The entrance is hidden in the rocks, see the staircase straight ahead of us?”
“Wow, you’ve taken great care to ensure the place blends into the environment, haven’t you? Is the entire residence inside the rock walls?” Colt could tell that Jenna was finally coming fully awake and that she seemed to be really interested in the place Colt Matthews considered his hideaway.
* * * *
Colt Matthews and Mitch Grayson had spent many nights in locations Colt was certain God had forsaken talking late into bleak nights, brainstorming details of what would become their dream retreat. The entire structure was built into the side of a canyon wall overlooking the river running through the lower part of ShadowDance Mountain. When Grayson had suggested including his friend, Bryant Davis, Colt had readily agreed. The man was a stellar engineer, and on the occasions they’d met, he had seemed like a stand-up kind of guy.
Because of a rock shelf about halfway up the canyon wall, the largest part of the cabin’s exterior was hidden from view when passing below on the river’s edge. The front was entirely glass enclosed and faced the south, so the interior was warmed by sunshine during the long winter months. They had all laughed that even in the deepest winters, they’d never suffer from seasonal affective disorder, they’d be getting plenty of nature’s golden energy booster.
As they approached the bottom of the staircase, Jenna was not surprised to see well-hidden surveillance equipment and a high-tech security panel that Colt proceeded to punch a long series of numbers into. “The codes change at irregular intervals and are totally random, and so far we have never had a security breach. Like your brothers, Grayson and I have both made a number of enemies over the years, so we make every attempt to see to the safety of our surroundings.” Colt’s statement of the obvious made Jenna smile.
“Indeed you do. But do you really think international terrorists would travel halfway around the globe just to rob you?” Jenna had always felt her brothers’ obsession with security was at times really over-the-top. She understood they or their families might become the targets of domestic crimes, kidnapping, etcetera. But satellite and infrared technology had seemed a bit much to her.
Colt wasn’t sure how much Alex and Zach had shared with their family regarding all of their team’s continued black ops work, so he knew he needed to keep his comments in general terms. “It isn’t like any of us are completely out of the business, Jenna. We still contract for Uncle Sam, as I’m sure you are aware. And you need to see it from a criminal’s mind-set. If someone is trying to bring you down, and they are relentless in their efforts, you want to distract them, right?” He waited for her to nod her assent, then continued. “What better way to distract someone than to target someone or something your pursuer loves, be it a person or place?” When she didn’t look convinced, he added, “Okay, think of it this way, if you wanted toreallyhurt your brothers, what would you do?”
“Hurt Kat.” Jenna’s softly spoken words told him that understanding had dawned. Everyone has a weak point, and for most people, it was someone they loved.
“Absolutely. There have been vast techno improvements to the ShadowDance security network since Katarina’s arrival. Most aren’t that visible to the naked eye, but I assure you they are in place. Your little whirlwind of a friend doesn’t make a move that at least three people besides your brothers aren’t aware of. Alex and Zach have made sure each member of the security team knows her safety takes precedence even above theirs. Something our superiors at NSA routinely balk at.” Smiling as he leaned against the deck railing where they had stopped to talk, he looked over at her profile. She was breathtakingly beautiful, and in the fading light of the late afternoon, the reddish-golden rays of sunshine highlighted her grass-green, wide-set eyes and lush, deep red lips that always looked bee-stung. Jenna had inherited the best of her mother’s soft beauty in addition to her father’s dark hair and skin tones. But while both of her parents were statuesque, Jenna was diminutive. Colt was sure she couldn’t be over five two. He remembered his friends always cautioning visitors to not be fooled by her size, reminding anyone coming home for a holiday or visit with them to beware of the “Warrior Fairy.”
Jenna had taken up kickboxing while still in high school and had continued into college and had even been accomplished enough to compete competitively on a national level. Now, after she had spent the past several years avoiding close physical relationships, her sudden interest in self-defense was being looked at more speculatively. And Colt intended to find out exactly what had happened to prompt Jenna’s sudden need to feel that she would be capable of defending herself from physical attack. That, along with his desire to finally put an end to her denial of their mutual attraction, was the basis for this trip to Pomola.
Looking toward the front door, Jenna asked, “What does Pomola mean? I know you well enough to know there is a story behind the name.” She was smiling and relaxed, and Colt couldn’t remember the last time he’d spoken to Jenna for this long without some sort of snarky remark crossing those sweet lips. He honestly enjoyed her company, she was bright, intuitive, loved her family deeply, and he had always known there was an explosive passion that she held in check simmering just below the surface.
“Native American legend calls the bird spirit that is associated with winter winds and storms Pomola. The bird spirit Pomola was supposed to be big enough to carry off a moose. So, since there are moose in this area and God knows we experience the ferocity of the winter’s storms and wind, it seemed appropriate.” He smiled down at her look of wonder and knew her mind was always processing. Every bit of information was something to take in, analyze, and store. Teaching her to shut down her constant overthinking was going to be one of his biggest hurdles. He had no doubt she used that exact method to build and maintain the glass walls around her heart that she’d spent years erecting and polishing to a gleaming shine. What she didn’t realize was that, while she’d put all those protections in place to keep out the pain, they also kept her from experiencing life’s gifts of passion and joy. If everything went according to plan, he’d be changing that, and this week would give him a good head start.