Eye Of The Storm - DK3 Read Online Free Page A

wouldn’t be a good idea. Oh well.” She circled him and regained the path. “Time to get to work anyway.”
    He moved suddenly and blocked her. “Hey, hey. So what kind of work do you do?” His hands stroked his cane. “Pretty little thing like you?”
    Oh boy. Kerry drew in a breath, then expelled it. “I’m a network ana-lyst.” She forced a smile. “But thanks for the compliment. Now, I do have to be going.” The cane snaked out and caught her upper arm, and her heart started pounding. “Sir, you don’t want to do that.”
    “Now, I just want to talk. Take it easy, little girl.” The man laughed.
    “Not often I get to see someone as nice looking as you up here. Surely not half naked.” He tugged her closer.
    Kerry almost panicked, but just as she was about to scream she could almost hear Dar’s calm words in the back of her mind. Don’t lose your mind. Stay calm. Hit hard . She grabbed the stick with one hand and jerked hard, then spun and swept a leg out, pulling his feet from under him and dumping him on the ground.
    The stick came free into her hands and she backed off, spreading her grip across the length of it with a feeling of weird familiarity.
    It was strange. Her body shifted, coming over her center of balance as her knees unlocked, and her shoulders tensed in readiness. “Like I said, you really don’t want to do that,” she said quietly.
    “Son of a bitch.” Oddly, the man didn’t seem upset. He laughed.
    “Joke’s on me, then, I guess. Sorry about that, young lady. I really did think you were just out to tease an old goat like me.”
    Kerry eyed him uncertainly, but she relaxed a little. She stepped back, but kept the cane between herself and the prone man. Her thumbs slid out to balance her grip and she was aware of how comforting it felt to have the thing in her hands. “That’s a pretty disgusting thing to think.”
    “Well,” he got to his knees, then heaved himself up onto his feet, “if I’d a known you were some kind of a ninja, I surely would have kept my thoughts a deal more pure.” He held up his hands. “I am sorry, ma’am.”
    Slowly, she let the stick’s end drop, then extended it towards him.
    “It’s all right. Sorry I threw you that hard.” She felt a faint pang of regret in releasing the cane, but she put that down to her natural caution and focused on keeping her knees from shaking in pure reaction. “Are you all right?”

    14 Melissa Good
    “Surely.” The man brushed his pants off then wrapped his hands around the walking stick. “I am sorry, Ms. ...”
    “Stuart.” Kerry offered her hand. “Kerry Stuart. And you are?”
    “Jess Walters.” He gingerly returned her grip. “You new around here, Ms. Stuart?” He gestured towards the path. “I don’t want to keep you.”
    Kerry started walking back the way she’d come, and he fell into step next to her, his limp hardly keeping him from matching her stride. “No.
    I’m just visiting. My company sent me here for a few days.”
    “Ah.” Jess nodded. “I live up past the hill top there. I’m a web designer.”
    Kerry gave him a startled look. “Really?”
    “Ayup.” He nodded. “Last job was with Tungsten Aerospace. Just finished their web site last week.”
    “I work for ILS.”
    Now it was his turn to stare. “No. Really?”
    “Mmm. They just bought Allison Consulting. That’s what I’m here for.” Kerry felt the shakiness fade as she continued walking and decided Mr. Walters was probably harmless for now.
    “Ah.” The tall, burly man chewed his lower lip. “Well, since I put a scare in you, let me try and make amends. You be careful of those people, Ms. Stuart. They’re not nice folks.”
    Kerry turned her head. “Really? They seemed all right. What do you mean?”
    “I can’t really say.” His jaw firmed and he looked off into the distance. “Just you be careful, all right? Nice talking to you, Ms. Stuart. And sorry about the misunderstanding.” Abruptly, he chose an