Tag, You're It! Read Online Free

half-dead, and still trying to protect himself. "Not bad for a guy who just had a near-death experience," he said.
    She rolled her eyes. "It was a toss-up whether you were going to shoot me or blow your arm off, since you were trying to use my rifle as a crutch."
    "That's right, I took your gun away from you, too."
    "And then you passed out, and I got both guns."
    "I can see how happy that makes you. And since you have all the firepower," he held up his hands, "I promise I won't make any sudden moves."
    "And I should believe you why?"
    "I just fell out of an airplane. About all I can do right now is lie here and look pretty."
    "Nothing wrong with your ego." She set the gun down on her left, away from him, the barrel resting against the side of the bed. She untied his hands, stuffed the rope into her back pocket, then picked up the gun again. Her eyes never wavered from his. "Except the way you came by it."
    "Meaning?"
    "At the expense of other people. Probably women."
    She went back to the fireplace, leaving Tag to replay the conversation and wonder where it had taken a left turn from joking and sarcasm to her slapping him down. Must be a cynical streak hiding behind that matter-of-fact exterior, he decided. And it wasn't because of something he'd done. Not that he hadn't left a woman or two with a heightened level of… resentment. But he hadn't done anything to Alex. Aside from the gun thing. "I'll bet there's a man in your past," he concluded.
    "You had a mission, remember?" She looked pointedly at the pop bottle, then confined her attention to the fire, poking around in it and adding more logs. The cabin was one room, big enough for a sleeping area and a living/work area, small enough to be warmed by the single fireplace. Barely manageable for bodily functions involving strangers.
    Alex stayed by the fireplace, making cover noise by poking at the logs but keeping him in her peripheral vision so he didn't try any funny business. He didn't know her story, but whatever it was it had left her pretty suspicious. He'd barely set the pop bottle down on the opposite side of the bed when she picked up the interrogation again.
    "So what's your story?" she asked.
    "You first." When she didn't answer, he popped up an eyebrow.
    She mugged back at him, but he could see she was amused. She wasn't, however, wordy. "I grew up, went to college, and got a grant to come out here and study mountain lions," she said. "Just the normal stuff—except for the Miss USA thing." She did the royal wave. "But that was before I got my PhD."
    Tag snorted. "You should tell people you were a stand-up comic. That I'd buy."
    "You don't believe me?" She pressed a hand to her heart. "I'm devastated."
    Her expression was so perfectly deadpan, Tag couldn't help but laugh.
    "So?" she prompted. "What about you?"
    "I don't know," he said, "I don't have anything as excitas being a beauty queen to show for my life."
    "Well, we can't all be gorgeous and talented, but you got dumped out of a plane without a parachute. You could start there."
    "Is that coffee I smell?"
    Up went that damn eyebrow. "Is that evasion I hear?"
    "It's caffeine withdrawal."
    "Then by all means, let's take care of that," Alex said. "Wouldn't want you to succumb to your addiction before you satisfy my curiosity."
    She did some more stuff by the fire, then brought him a cup and a bowl. The bowl was filled with gray slop, which he promptly handed back to her. He'd had enough oatmeal in his childhood to stucco the Washington Monument. Besides, the cup was sending off little tendrils of steam that made his nostrils twitch in anticipation. She handed it to him. He ignored the headache long enough to lever himself up and take a healthy gulp. The minute it hit his tongue he opened his mouth over the cup and let the coffee trickle back out.
    "Hot?" she asked.
    "Crappy," he said. "Do you actually drink this stuff?"
    "I did yesterday. I didn't get around to cleaning the pot before I went out this morning,