Her face was freezing but thanks to the incredibly ugly snowsuits Will had found for them the rest of her was surprisingly warm. “Who taught you to fish?” Lilah asked, breaking the silence that had scratched around them uncomfortably for the past hour.
He tugged on his line a little, feeling for another fish. “My father. We used to spend family holidays at our cabin. The only food we got was what we could forage for ourselves.”
“That seems a little barbaric,” she said, imitating his action and pulling on the line. As it had been for the last hour, it was empty. Will, on the other hand, had caught six slimy looking grey fish.
“That’s what my mom used to say. But that’s just the way my father is. His father was like it with him, and so on.” He sent her a look that made her tummy contract. Memories of the kiss were still firing through her body. “But actually, it was a great education. You don’t know how many times I’ve found myself in situations where I’ve been grateful for the knowledge he imparted. Though his methods were … as you say, barbaric … it’s probably because of him that I survived …”
“Survived what?” She prompted, curiosity gnawing at her gut.
“Oh, you know.” The smile hid a multitude of facts. “Life.”
Lilah nodded thoughtfully. “Did you choose such a dangerous profession because of what happened to Maddie?”
He turned to face her sharply. The worry in her eyes was not new. Most people looked at him like that when they heard about his wife. Even Harry had looked at him as if searching for cracks. “No.” He turned his attention back to the water. “I put it off because of her.” He sighed. “In spite of Harry, I would have enlisted. But I met Maddie. And between the tw
o of them … well, I couldn’t face losing her. She told me she’d leave me if I signed up.”
“Did she?” Lilah could understand that. The thought of loving someone who was in such a dangerous profession would be hard to bear. She felt a searing urge of appreciation for the woman she would never meet.
“Yeah. I figured I’d talk her ‘round while I was at school. But by the time I graduated, I had a great job offer and we were engaged. Life just barreled along. Much to my father’s fury.”
“He didn’t approve?”
“No. I broke six generations of tradition. I’m the only Wright in two hundred years who hasn’t enlisted.”
“But your accomplishments are vast.”
His expression clearly showed surprise and she coloured.
“I was given a dossier about you before we met.” Her tone was defensive. “It isn’t as though I looked you up on the internet.”
“Obviously,” he drawled, his eyes doing funny things to her equilibrium. “He thinks journalism is a cop-out. That I was afraid to fight.”
She digested the words carefully. “I don’t think you’re afraid of anything.”
His expression was inscrutable as he studied her face. “Why do you say that?”
“You hurtled out of a highrise, remember?”
“I hurtled you out of a highrise too.”
She laughed. “One day I will find it impossible to believe I did that.” She tugged on her line once more; it moved as freely as ever.
“But you did. You were so brave.” Damn it, he sounded like a love-sick teenager. He cleared his throat.
“Abdim … what will happen to him?”
“I imagine he’ll be taken back to Delani and charged.”
“For what? He didn’t do anything …”
“Sure he did.” Will pulled on his line and reeled it all the way in. A fish flipped on the end. Will lifted him off then threw him back into the lake. “We have more than enough, now.” Lilah frowned in confusion at the change in conversation. “We just need yours and we can go.”
“I think I must have a poisoned line,” she murmured.
“You’ll catch one.” He studied the gently lapping surface. “Men like Abdim are very dangerous people, honey.” Again the word caused pleasure to gush through her bones. “Only soldiers of the UAC bore that tattoo. And in order to become a soldier they had to prove themselves capable of the most lethal violence.”
Lilah shuddered. “But the UAC was a problem in other countries, far more so than ours. Why would he target me? If indeed that is the case.”