While tracking a fellow member of the Forest Service, Jessie Marcus comes face-to-face with a mountain lion. Raising her arms above her head, she makes herself as big as possible, hoping to frighten the animal away. His lips curled into a sinister grin as his paws adjusted for the assault. The moment the cat leaped, Jessie dove to the side. A searing pain raked down her arm and a blur flew over her head.

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Another mountain lion had attacked the first and knocked the blue-gray beast off his deadly trajectory.

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Jessie knew she might not survive the day, but it wouldn’t be because she failed to act. She scrambled down the hill and slipped on poison oak until she landed on Catamount Ridge Road. The ranger she searched for waited beside her truck. Hairs pricked at the back of her neck. His cool, handsome exterior had to be a façade, because in the light of day, Derek Foster felt more dangerous than the mountain lions.