Page 5 of Cold Light of Day

I’m no hero.“Hello, Chief. Or can we still call you that?”

THREE

His question took her aback. Grier was direct, she’d give him that to go with his irritating, roguish grin, but she didn’t answer as she assisted the guy onto the small plane. He probably didn’t need her help, but then again, he must be exhausted after that strenuous swim.

With the woman he’d rescued secured in the second-row seat, a blanket draped over her, Grier took the seat next to her. His presence made the compact cabin feel even smaller.

Autumn buckled into her seat next to Carrie and twisted around to take in the shivering woman who looked barely conscious.

“Call for the ambulance to meet us at the dock.” They’d done all they could do.

“Already on it.” Carrie got on her radio. “As soon as everyone is secured, I’ll head that way. There’s another blanket in the back-row seat with my emergency preparedness kit for you, Grier.”

“Appreciate it.” Grier twisted around and found the kit, then yanked the silver-lined blanket out. Instead of putting it on himself, he placed it over the woman to go with the one she already had.

The plane started forward, taking longer to lift from the water than it did from land. Once in the air, Carrie flew themaround a ridge—Eagle Bluff—in the deep fjord up the Lewis Inlet, then landed on the water again. Shadow Gap was located at the mouth of the glacier-fed Goldrock River where it flowed into the inlet. Carrie maneuvered the plane up to the dock right as the ambulance steered into the parking area. Two EMTs—Dooley and Harlan—jumped out and grabbed a gurney they rolled to the end of the dock to meet them.

Autumn, Carrie, and Grier got out of the plane and out of Dooley and Harlan’s way so they could carefully move the woman onto the gurney. Watching them roll the gurney back to the ambulance, Autumn decided she would go see her later. She wanted to question her, but she could wait until the woman’s life was no longer in danger. As it was, she hadn’t gotten her name and hadn’t found any identification on her.

Grier lifted Autumn’s duffel out of the plane and set it on the dock. He stood next to Carrie, watching Dooley and Harlan load the gurney into the ambulance, and Autumn was guilty of watching Grier instead. Was it her imagination, or did the neoprene suit make his arms look bigger, his shoulders broader? Definitely a swimmer’s physique. He was in top shape even in his midthirties, a good five years older than she was.

Carrie glanced at Autumn, catching her staring, and arched a brow. Time to shift gears.

“So what happened?” Autumn asked. “Who’s the woman? You two out for a swim or what?”

He threw up his hands in either surrender or defense. “Whoa. I don’t know any more than you do. I’d just come from down the road and caught a glimpse of someone in the water. I had my dry suit in the back with my scuba gear. I figured that to give her the best chance of survival, I’d need the dry suit. It only took a couple short minutes to put it on.”

“Thanks for your quick actions, Grier. Like I said, you were a hero today.” Autumn took in his still-wet hair that, when dry, was almost blond, as well as his strong jaw and deep-green eyesthat reminded her of the lush Tongass Forest. On the inside, she berated herself. She knew entirely too much about his appearance and almost nothing about his background.

Carrie shifted toward the plane. “Listen, I’d love to stay and chat, but I have work to do before the sun sets, and I’m already late.” Smiling, she waved and climbed back into her Helio.

“Thanks for the lift.” Autumn returned the smile. “Be careful out there.” Then she looked at Grier, who acted like he expected more questions from her.

“If I think of anything else I need to ask, I know where to find you.” She picked up her duffel.

Then he gave her his rakish grin.

Ignore, ignore, ignore.

Oh. Wait.

“I’m going to need a ride, if you don’t mind,” he said.

Right.

“I never mind helping a hero.” Her duffel in tow, she headed to the Interceptor she’d left parked at the landing dock.

“Please don’t call me that.” He hiked next to her, his suit booties making a squishy noise.

Okay, then. She wasn’t sure what that was about, but he projected the kind of confidence Autumn wished she had herself, especially after the vote of no confidence she received yesterday.

Once she and Grier had gotten into the Interceptor and buckled up, she started the vehicle and steered quickly through town and the few miles out to where he’d left his truck near the water, during which time she queried him more about his swim out to save the woman.

But she learned nothing new. He’d spotted the woman only a few moments before she and Carrie had from the air. They’d all converged onto the water at nearly the same moment, and that’s the only reason the woman was still alive. And maybe Grier too.

A tragedy avoided.

Once they were across the bridge south of town, Autumnsteered down the rocky terrain to park next to his red Dodge Ram 4×4.

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