As the chopper lifted smoothly into the air, Mason again admired the efficiency and cool poise with which Kris handled the bird. She was all business, focused on managing the flight and controlling the sleek machine. He loved to watch the smooth play of muscles in her arms as she worked the controls and the deftness of her touch.

Her face was impossible to read, shielded as it was by her aviator shades and the bill of her ball cap. But nothing in the movements of her body or ...