Safari Moon by Rogue Phoenix Press Page A

whisper. She
sighed and snuggled into the quilt, enjoying the mental picture
she’d conjured up. “I would never hurt you, Nyssa. I didn’t mean to
put you on the spot. You’ve bailed me out of chaos more times than
I can remember. I don’t want to lose what we have. Our friendship
means everything to me.”
     
    “Solo--”
     
    “Still buds?”
     
    “Yes.” How could she argue the point? He
called when she was at her lowest. “Where are you? The connection
is not very good.”
     
    “I’m in Alaska.”
     
    “You left early?”
     
    Why was he calling? Although the phone
rattled with static, she thought she could hear music in the
background--muffled giggles. It didn’t sound solitary to her. She
should hear a wolf howl or crickets or something.
     
    “So, you’re where you want to be. Why the
call?”
     
    “I had to get away.” His voice crackled over
the line, and she had to stop breathing to hear the rest of the
conversation. “But they followed me. Nyssa, I can have a private
plane at the Redmond airport in thirty minutes. I need you.”
     
    She was falling again.
     
    But she didn’t understand why he still
needed her. If she figured correctly, he was somewhere between
nowhere and the wilderness. He was probably huddled in a little
tent and the caribou were grazing downstream. His zoom was set on
his tripod and the pictures would be magnificent. “Solo, don’t you
remember what I told you? I’ve other commitments. I--”
     
    “I know. But I’m desperate for you. You
won’t let me down, please? I’m begging.”
     
    She sat up, the covers slipping down to her
waist. “What’s going on? You sound dreadful.”
     
    “Please, Nyssa. You have to hurry.”
     
    “I don’t understand. Can’t you tell me
what’s wrong?”
     
    But as she waited, breath held tight, all
she could hear was a throaty purr in the background. And then the
phone beeped off.
     
    For the longest time she waited, receiver in
one hand while she stared out the bedroom window. He was on an
adventure. The assignment was all-important to him.
     
    From the sound of his voice, he could have
been in grave danger--danger from a purring seductress?
     
    Thinking about it one more time, Nyssa came
to a sudden and quick conclusion. This might be her last Solo St.
John adventure. Perhaps she could be his damsel come to the rescue.
But if she went with Solo to Alaska, would she then be just like
all the other bimbos he'd dated?
     
    She had thirty minutes to get her act
together. That wasn’t enough time to pack and get to the airport,
but she was sure the pilot would wait. Solo knew how long the trip
would take.
     
    So she was going to Alaska. Going after
Solo.
     
    She’d get to see the wilderness and work
alongside him. She would pull Solo out of the clutches of any bimbo
that came along. And, she told herself, Alaska would be the last
time she’d allow herself to be alone with Solo St. John.

Chapter Four
     
     
    The runway, which wasn’t a runway but a long
strip of almost flat land, stood in the center of nowhere. The
Alaskan prairie stretched onward for a half mile in every
direction. To the south she could barely discern the lake they’d
flown over before landing; to the north, west, and east a few
scraggly trees rose to meet the sky. The earth was pristine and
breathlessly clean.
     
    Solo St. John was nowhere in sight. What
could she expect? She tried for anger but decided that emotion was
a waste of time. If Solo could have been here, he would have and
so, with that idea in mind, she looked around.
     
    After satisfying herself he didn’t intend to
meet her at the airstrip, and after she watched the tiny plane that
brought her to this desolate spot vanish in the sky against a
backdrop of thunderheads, she began to walk.
     
    A softly vanishing curl of smoke rose from
the indentation of a deep valley to the west, so she headed in that
direction. But doubts assailed her. He’d called her hadn’t he, or
was all