ChapterSixteen
From Jeb’s property, they hiked more than a mile into the forest south of the lake. This area had no roads. No trails. Nothing but rocks, trees, and endless rain. The tent they’d borrowed was a pale moss green, meaning it would be well camouflaged in daylight, and Xavier would cover it with moss and ferns so it would be indistinguishable from the surrounding area.
They needed a place that was remote and untraceable, so they could both sleep without fear. The hike was slow going because Xavier had to ensure they left no mark of their passage. It was clear exhaustion was overtaking Audrey, but she didn’t utter a word of complaint. She put one foot in front of the other like the soldier she never was.
At last, he found the perfect spot—a narrow valley between two downed trees that were in the process of becoming nurse logs. The tent would just fit between them.
He quickly assembled the structure then turned to Audrey. “Get inside and set up the bed. I’m going to hike back a bit and make sure our trail is completely erased. When I get back, I’m going to cover the tent to camouflage it.” He cleared his throat. “Take care of business before you go inside. I’m going to bury the front in ferns and moss. We need to limit trips outside as much as possible during daylight, just to be safe.”
She nodded.
He set out to cover their trail. He hated leaving her even for this, but he had to be certain no one searching for them would stumble upon their tent. They’d been careful, and he was back ten minutes later. He piled ferns and sticks and moss on the shelter.
“Turn on the red light,” he said as he adjusted the covering then stepped back to view it from a few feet away.
There was no discernible light. He used the NVGs. Nothing.
He stepped closer and asked, “Is the light on?”
“Yes.”
He felt a rush of relief. This was going to work. “Good.”
He took a break to empty his bladder, then returned and piled a wad of moss and ferns across the opening as he joined Audrey inside the narrow two-person tent.
He noticed she’d zipped the sleeping bags together. Good. They both needed the shared body heat.
Audrey sat on one side of the double sleeping bag, her boots hanging off the end. “So—how do we sleep? Do we need to keep our boots and everything but our coats on?”
He paused to consider the question. If she were trained for this sort of thing, the answer would be yes. But she wasn’t, and she was shivering and had been off and on for hours. She needed to get warm, and she needed sleep. The best way for both was to strip down to their base layers so body heat and the warmth from the bag would cocoon them. And the stiff, wet leather boots would be uncomfortable enough to keep her awake, especially if her toes were already cold.
“We’re well hidden, and you need to get warm. Remove everything but the long underwear. Keep your socks on too if they’re dry.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “Good. I’m grateful for these boots, but they’re chafing and uncomfortable at this point.” She set to work removing the boots, followed by her outer layers.
He unclipped his tactical vest and set it aside. He then unholstered the Glock and set it at the top of the sleeping pad before doffing his coat, rolling it up, and placing it over the weapon. He turned to her. “Use your coat as a pillow, but don’t put your gun under it. Not a good idea for you to be taking shots in the dark.”
She let out a whoosh of relief. “I’m so glad you said that. I wouldn’t begin to know what to do.”
He did know what to do, but his standard operating procedure was skewed in this situation. Never in his wildest nightmares did he imagine being on an op on US soil with an untrained civilian as his backup while Russian mercs hunted them.
She rolled up her coat as directed, then finished removing her outer layers.
The long underwear she’d borrowed fit her like a glove, and he was glad she’d worn them for the last few hours. He imagined she’d be blue as a Smurf by now without them.
She placed her outer layers in the sleeping bag and pushed them to the foot. She caught him watching her and said, “Fieldwork trick. They won’t get wet if they touch the sides of the tent and they’ll be warm when I pull them on when we dress again.”
He nodded. “Plus they’re easy to grab in a hurry.”
She burrowed into the sleeping bag as he finished undressing. He copied her actions and rolled up his combat uniform. When he reached to put it in the bag, she took it from him and pushed it to the bottom with her clothes.
Stripped down to his Under Armour, he slid into the double sleeping bag beside her. They were side by side in the small tent, only a dim red light providing relief from unrelenting darkness as rain pattered on the moss and leaves that covered the rainfly.
Bodies at rest at last. He switched off the light.
“I—I need to eat,” she said. “The crackers and cheese I grabbed from the Baldwins should do it.”
Guilt stabbed him. He should have thought of that. They’d been hiking in the cold rain for hours. Not to mention that fear drained energy fast. She needed fuel.