CHRISTMAS AT THUNDER HORSE RANCH by Elle James Page B

he’d close his eyes and take a short nap on the way back. A glance to the rear proved Emma had nodded off. She had to be exhausted after nearly being killed and then slogging through knee-deep snow to find shelter.
    Though he closed his eyes, the rumble of the engine and the thumping of the rotors made his blood pump faster and his hands itch to take the controls. Giving up on a nap, he opened his eyes and scanned the snow-covered landscape below, half expecting to find a man on a snowmobile pointing an RPG at him.
    His nerves knotted and remained stretched tight until the lights of the Grand Forks International Airport blinked up at him.
    Biacowski hovered over the landing area and set the helicopter down like laying a sleeping baby in its crib.
    Dante climbed into the backseat before the rotors had time to stop spinning and helped Emma out of the harness.
    “I’ll take you home as soon as I debrief my commander.” He stared into her sleepy eyes. “Will you be okay for an hour or two?”
    “I can catch a taxi back. You don’t have to worry about me.”
    “My supervisor will want to hear your story, as well. You actually saw the man who fired on my helicopter.”
    “I didn’t see much.”
    “Whatever you saw, he’ll want to know about.” Dante grabbed her hand and led her toward the building. Biacowski followed.
    Jim Kramer met them at the door to his office, showed them in and offered them coffee. “Do I need to get an ambulance to have you two taken to the hospital?” Kramer frowned, staring hard at them. “You both look like you got rolled in a fight.”
    Dante’s gaze met Emma’s and he sighed. “We did get rolled and almost lost the fight.” He told his side of what had happened over the past twenty-four hours and waited while Kramer questioned Emma.
    “Could you describe the man on the snowmobile?”
    Emma shook her head. “Other than he had black hair, no. He was seated, so I couldn’t get a feel for how tall he was and it all happened so fast, I was more worried about him running over Dante than getting a clear description of him.”
    Kramer came around the side of his desk and held out his hand to Emma. “Thank you for saving one of my best pilots.” His lips twisted. “He’s also a vital member of this team and we’d have missed him.”
    Dante shifted in his chair, uncomfortable with the praise when he’d allowed himself to get shot down. “Sir, whoever shot me out of the sky came back to finish the job. When he finds out he wasn’t successful, he could be back. And if he thinks for a moment that Emma could identify him, he’ll be after her.”
    Kramer leaned against his government-issued metal desk and ran his hand over his chin. “You have a point. I suppose I could assign a man to keep an eye on her.”
    Emma leaned forward in her chair. “I don’t need anyone to keep an eye on me. I’m fully capable of taking care of myself.”
    Kramer shook his head. “Whoever did it has to know it’s a federal crime to shoot at a government agent. If there’s any chance you can identify him, he might come after you next.”
    Dante leaned toward her and took her hand. “Let the boss assign an agent to you. At least until we catch the bastard.”
    Emma’s lips pressed into a tight line, her cheeks filled with color. “No, thank you. I’m off for the next four weeks on Christmas break. I’ll be vigilant and watch my back. No need to tie up resources babysitting me.”
    Kramer glanced at Dante. “I can’t force her to accept help.”
    Dante’s gaze met Emma’s. From the stubborn look on her face he could tell she didn’t like having people make decisions for her. But after all she’d done for him, he needed to be sure no one would come after her. He turned back to his boss. “I have a lot of use-or-lose vacation time on the books, right?”
    “Yes, you do,” Kramer confirmed.
    “I’d planned on spending a little time with my family at the Thunder Horse Ranch over the holidays.