ChapterTwenty-Six
Sunny followed Davis through the forest in the early morning mist, picking her movements with careful deliberation. They’d skirted Justin’s homestead a few miles back and closed in on the exploratory mining site. Davis had them stash most of their gear in a cluster of thick fireweed next to the clearing Justin’s family had used for a makeshift airstrip. If Davis could contact help, the field was the perfect place to rendezvous. Near enough, but not so close the approaching aircraft would be heard.
The bear spray hanging from her belt rattled against a branch, the loud metallic clang foreign in the birdsong and bug buzzing. Sweat pooled in her pits. She clamped her hand over the can, pressing it against her leg.
Davis held up a fist, just like in those action movies her brothers always watched. She froze, her muscles bunching to run or hide or whatever Davis told her to do. He leaned to the side with such a slow, steady movement that a sloth would beat him in a race. Her heart pounded so hard in her chest she could feel it in her throat.
She was not cut out for this super commando stuff.
He moved backward toward her, never taking his eyes off what he’d spotted through the trees. Part of her wanted to sneak up past him and look, just to know what had her limbs trembling in fear. The bigger part wanted to do a one-eighty and dash back through the woods they had just come through. Since neither would help them, she stayed rooted like a spindly black spruce, stationary, but one little push would send her toppling.
He stepped up to her, wrapping his hand around her hip and pulling her up against him. She gripped his shirt in her fingers, the quaking rushing through her body calming with his nearness. He bent close, finally turning his gaze from what he’d found.
His breath tickled her ear a moment before he spoke so low she almost couldn’t hear. “Facility just through the trees. We’ll find a hiding place. Follow close.”
He pulled back enough to stare into her eyes, his intensity silently asking if she understood. She nodded, hoping her fear wasn’t blinking on her face like a neon sign. His lips twitched in a sad smile before he pecked a kiss on her mouth.
She mimicked his every move as he led them in a circle through the thick spruce around the facility. Every now and then, she’d catch sight of the equipment, but the trees grew so tightly together, they revealed little. She hated traversing through the grabby, close-growing trees, but the dense, overlapping branches hid their movements.
After thirty minutes of circling, Davis crouched and crawled beneath one of the larger spruces. She followed, quickly recognizing the man’s genius. Underneath, moss blanketed the ground, while on the side facing the facility, a dead willow crisscrossed the opening like lattice. Their bodies sank into the moss, concealing them better than if they’d settled on dirt. She released her tension into the soft cushion.
She settled herself close to Davis, leaning her mouth right next to his ear. “You are one smart man, Davis Fields.”
Her lips grazed his skin as she spoke, sending a shiver of delight through her. She pulled back, because making out during a stakeout definitely was against the rules. His broad smile, full of confidence, had her grinning in return.
Before she kissed the living daylights out of the man and gave away their location, she turned her attention to the complex. She scanned the cleared area, surprised that it looked exactly like what it was supposed to be. A drill towered above the ground, surrounded by a network of scaffolding that reminded her of oil drills from the old western movies her dad loved. A series of connected metal shipping containers with windows cut into the side and a door cut into the end, sat a hundred yards away from the drill. That, most likely, held the offices or the barracks. Maybe both. A large, open canvas tent had been erected next to the containers and had picnic tables and a cooking area in it. A handful of all-terrain vehicles lined the opposite side of the forest.
That was it.
Nothing spectacular or nefarious looking.
A door slammed, jerking her attention to the building. A man crossed to the tent while buttoning up a flannel shirt over a protruding belly. He ducked into the tent, and pots and pans clanging quickly filled the quiet morning. Not long after, more men filtered out of the building and headed to the drill. A generator roared to life, and soon the rhythmic thunk, thunk of the drill vibrated the ground beneath her.
The entire scene confused her.
Where were the devious men?
Why was everything so open and unassuming?
“I don’t get it,” she whispered to Davis, confident the busyness of the mine would cover her voice. “There’s no fencing, no guards. If they’re up to something, wouldn’t they be more—I don’t know—cautious?”
“Why would they? There’s no one for miles, and if they put up a bunch of fencing and guards, it might raise red flags when inspectors come.”
He brought the binoculars to his face and scanned the area. She had no clue what he was scanning for. Nothing was there. They hadn’t even seen Zhang or the twisted duo in the milling of people.
After watching the men amble around, heading to the tent for breakfast, then returning to the drill, she came to the understanding that stakeouts sucked. Mosquitos buzzed all around her, spearing her with their teeny needles of torture, yet she couldn’t swat at them. She itched, her protein bar all but disappeared in her belly, and she’d never been so bored in her life. Worse thing was Davis’s nonchalant statement at the start of the stakeout that they’d be there until everyone went to bed.
The only consolation to this horrible day was her ability to stare at Davis as he stayed vigilant beside her. She’d studied him for the last hour. Honestly, he was by far the most interesting thing out there.
Even taking in his handsome face didn’t stop her eyes from drooping. She felt her body relaxing more fully into the moss, and she jerked herself awake. Blinking her eyes to put some energy into them, she huffed out a frustrated breath. Davis turned his inspection to her, his eyes softening in understanding.
“It’s okay, Firefly.” He reached out and brushed his thumb over her eyes, then the back of his fingers down her cheeks. “Sleep. I’ll keep watch.”
Her eyelids weighed as much as a moose as she tried to keep them open.
“Guess I’m not a great stakeout partner after all,” she whispered as her eyes closed.
“You’re the best partner I’ve ever had.” His lips pressed against hers. “Most beautiful too.”
She sighed at the compliment. A smile twitched on her lips when she thought of men like her brothers or the Stryker Security team cuddled up under a tree with Davis. Okay, she’d just rest for a minute, then she’d get back to business.