Alaskan Heat

By Pam Champagne

FBI agent Joe “Hawk” Hawkins is on the run. He’s been framed and the only chance he has of clearing his name is in Eagle, Alaska. Just when he thinks he couldn’t be in any more trouble, a woman from his past catches up with him. Sophie’s a brilliant statistician who works for the agency. She’s still ticked off about their disastrous one-night stand, but she also has an offer for him—a deal he can’t refuse.

The fact that Sophie’s first field assignment involves Hawk does complicate matters. She’s never forgotten or forgiven Hawk for the night he found his way to her bed and left her wanting more. Now she has two objectives—get Hawk to finish what he started that hot night, and get them both to Eagle alive.

The Alcan Highway can be long and hazardous. But with a heat neither of them expected drawing them together, and two rogue agents on their tail, they might reach their destination sooner than they think.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Aug 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781640630840

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Alaskan Heat

Pam Champagne

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2009 by Pam Strout. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.

Entangled Publishing, LLC

2614 South Timberline Road,

Suite 105

Fort Collins, CO 80525

Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.

Select Suspense is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.

Edited by Linda Ingmanson

Cover design by Fiona Jayde

Cover art from Shutterstock

eBook ISBN 9781640630840

Manufactured in the United States of America

First Edition March 2009

Re-release August 2017

Table of Contents

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

About the Author

Also by Pam Champagne...

The Enchanted Inn

Alaskan Heat

Bed of Lies

Discover more Entangled Select Suspense titles…

Black Rose

The Boss

Seduced by Sin

Burn

To Allen: Our Alaskan adventure is forever etched in my memory.

Chapter One

The smell of burning rubber irritated Sophie Branson’s nose as she rounded yet another hairpin curve. After driving down the side of this mountain every other day for the past two weeks, she handled the pickup carrying a Coachman camper like a pro. Tomorrow she’d make the three hundred mile return trip. At the bottom of the steep five mile grade sat a ramshackle garage that, coincidentally, offered brake repairs while you wait. Sophie chuckled. Whoever owned the place had business acumen since there was no competition on this section of the Alcan. The place had to be a gold mine.

The persistent ringing of her cell phone forced her to pull into the parking lot, and she chose a spot at the far end so the owners wouldn’t get all excited about raking in more money. If she had to make this trip for another week, she’d need new brakes. The pads must be wafer thin. The added weight of the camper sitting in the bed of her pickup didn’t help.

Branson here.

What’s happening?

Nothing. I think we underestimated him, boss. My calculations could have been off. Perhaps he came onto the highway farther north. We’ve either missed him and he’s already in Alaska, or his luck ran out and he didn’t make it.

At the long silence she pictured the red creeping into Stan Clement’s face like it always did when he was agitated. The Canadian wilderness isn’t going to stop Joe Hawkins. I’d bet my wife on it.

Sophie laughed. Don’t let Berta hear you say that. You’re cranky, Stan. Sounds to me like you have a bad case of blind faith. What makes you so sure Hawk’s not as guilty as the higher ups say he is?

Because I know the man. Damn it, Sophie. I’m disappointed hearing you say that. I’m counting on your support.

His words added extra weight to her already burdened shoulders. Why was he so sure of her cooperation? Had Stan discovered what had happened between her and Hawk last Christmas Eve? The mere thought got her squirming in her seat.

Sophie? You still there?

Yes, sir. I’ll check in tomorrow. I’ve got to get a move on if I’m to reach my destination before dark. She flipped the phone shut before he could ask more questions. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t come to terms with her feelings for Joe Hawkins. She’d been hot for him since she’d first laid eyes on him, yet her doubts about his innocence still nagged. The man was a loner, not a good team player at all. In spite of agent’s complaints in that area, they still respected him. Sophie’s own respect for Hawk had dwindled the night he’d left her sleeping in a hotel room without so much as a goodbye.

A quick glance in the rearview mirror brought a grimace. Maybe she’d opt for a cabin tonight instead of sleeping in the camper. A long, hot bath might be just what she needed to make her look human again.

Three hours later she hung a left into the Quick Fix country store parking lot. The same as every other day, she drove to the forest’s edge and backed into a space. Tomorrow she’d travel three hundred miles in the other direction. Not for the first time, she wondered at Stan’s warped perspective. With over a thousand miles of wilderness on this highway, how could he think Hawk would reach the highway in the three hundred miles she was watching? Stupid question. It was because her calculations had come up with it. But sheesh, talk about a proverbial needle in a haystack.

Anyone with a logical mind would realize that, even if she was right—and God knew it was a big if—Joe Hawkins wasn’t going to jump out of the woods and thumb a ride. Not when he was a wanted man.

She dragged her sore ass out of the cab, almost going to her knees when severe cramps attacked her legs. Her first official assignment in the field and so far she’d driven over forty-two-hundred miles without even a glimpse of her quarry. Despite the beauty in this part of the world, Sophie was ready for some pampering in a five star hotel.

…

Joe Hawkins ran through the woods, hoping to travel five more miles before stopping for the night. Abruptly, he skidded to a stop and listened to noises he’d not heard for two months. He shifted direction and jogged toward the sound of traffic. The wilderness trek was over. Now he could stop worrying about grizzlies and focus his energy on the two-legged animals who’d set him up for a fall and made him a fugitive.

Eyes and ears on high alert, he jogged toward the deepening pink hues of the western sky. He could no longer ignore the cold nights. Jeans, a denim shirt and the ratty camo hooded sweatshirt wouldn’t cut it much longer.

Straight ahead, bright headlights flashed through the forest opening. Hawk hit the ground, stifling a yelp as the aluminum canteen dug into his side. Staying low, he crept forward and rested a shoulder against the rough bark of a jack pine where he gaped in amazement at the lights of a small country store. After almost two months, he’d arrived at the Alaskan Highway. His interest peaked at the sight of a Ford F-250 toting a pickup camper parked not fifty feet from where he crouched.

A movement beside the truck grabbed his attention. A willowy woman did lunges in the parking lot. Next she stretched her arms overhead before bending to touch her toes, giving him the impression she’d been behind the wheel a long time. Shutting the door with her hip, she rubbed the back of her neck and jogged toward the store.

Hairs bristled on his arms. The long, lithe body tugged at his memory. Jesus. It couldn’t be! But he was almost certain it was. If her ass didn’t give her away, the curly red hair would have. Sophie Branson. What the fuck? Had the FBI tracked him here? Impossible!

Once she’d disappeared inside, Hawk dashed to the passenger door. He tried the handle. Unlocked in a silent invitation. Now he knew. This was no coincidence. Sophie expected him. But how?

He flung the door open and readied his weapon, expecting an agent to spring out, gun blazing. Paranoid fool. Could be they were in the camper. He should check. Instead, he climbed in and slouched in the hard bench