“We should probably trade out our sleeping bags too. Get mummy bags that pack really small.”
“No,” Xavier said without hesitation. “I don’t care that they’re bigger and heavier. If we have to camp out another night or two, I’m holding you while you sleep.”
She felt a little flutter at the intensity of his eyes.
“To be clear, I’m not talking about fooling around. Dropping my guard like that could be a monumental mistake, but I will hold you close, feel your heartbeat, and know you’re safe.”
Since there was no one around, she rose on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Okay, then.”
He smiled and reached for ultrathin sleeping pads. “Unfortunately, we should trade out for these.”
She nodded even as she grimaced. The larger, thicker pads they’d used yesterday were comfortable, but far too bulky. The pads he’d selected would do little more than provide a thermal barrier from the cold ground. She was a fan of comfort, but understood the need. The sleeping bags would be their only extravagance comfortwise.
But given that they could only afford one extravagance, she was glad that was the one he chose. She wanted to be held as much as he wanted to hold.
Being pressed close to his warm, muscled body as they made love, then slept had been glorious. His body was a masterpiece, and she’d loved exploring every inch of him. Of kissing his scars. Bringing him to pleasure.
Camping gear set, next they raided the food supplies and loaded up on protein bars and trail mix in addition to Meals Ready to Eat and more cooked chicken and cheese.
Between the cold and the exertion of the hike, they’d need a lot of fuel, so they packed far more than Audrey would normally eat. They weren’t going to take chances, even though it meant more pounds on their backs. That part of the load would get lighter at least as they continued.
Packed and ready, the team members who weren’t guarding the perimeter or searching for the missing men all gathered. Even George was present.
He surprised her by giving her a full hug. “Roy Heller would be damned impressed by all you’ve done here these last days. Jeb too. Not to mention, I’m impressed, Audrey, and damn proud to call you my friend.”
She blinked back tears. It was incredible praise from a man who rarely gave it. “While I’m in awe of what you managed here. We wouldn’t be in the lodge right now if it weren’t for you.”
He grinned and tweaked her braid. “Gotta look out for the brat who always asked way too many questions.”
She swiped away another tear, remembering George’s curmudgeonly complaints the first time they met when she was eleven and full of questions about the Ozette village—an archaeological site she’d visited on a field trip with Roy’s “junior archaeologists” group. George had been one of the guides on the trip.
Finally, she and Xavier set out, leaving via one of the service doors, which spilled out into a side parking lot that was cloaked in darkness.
They moved silently as planned, heading straight for the culvert so they could cross the road without being spotted. The SEALs on scout duty were patrolling the area, ensuring they wouldn’t be ambushed when they were under the roadway.
They emerged and entered the forest. Audrey fell into her place behind Xavier. He had her gun, returned by the SEAL who’d used it in the battle for the lodge. Four bullets remained.
Audrey had the clip-on holster with a Glock that only fired Simunition, but she had more than a hundred rounds.
Xavier had traded the NVGs he’d gotten from the dead mercenary for the US military-grade ones the SEALs used. Most of their hiking would be in daylight, so Audrey, being unfamiliar with the equipment, had opted not to take a pair that would be better utilized by a SEAL.
If all went well, they’d need neither guns nor night vision. The most important items they carried were satellite phones—one in each of their packs.
If something happened to one of them, the instructions were clear: the other would continue on to the promontory, where they should be able to get a satellite signal once the clouds thinned.
Fingers crossed the new storm that had rolled in overnight would clear in the afternoon—around the time she estimated they’d make their destination.
Xavier alone would probably be faster, but this wasn’t the kind of hike one should do solo in this weather.
As agreed, they went hard at the start, trying to get as much distance as they could while night still clung to the mountain. But all too soon, they passed through the varying stages of morning twilight and the morning mist rolled in, a flat white shroud enveloping spruce trees that had sprouted before the Ozette mudslide five hundred years ago, growing next to firs that predated the birth of Chief Sealth—commonly known as Chief Seattle—around 1786.
This time of morning, in this remote place, it could be any century. No planes flew overhead. And to their great distress, no radio signals transmitted through the air.
It was just her, Xavier, birds, deer, and the occasional mountain goat. There were cougars and bears too, but as Xavier had pointed out on the first day, the bears were probably hibernating, and it had been several months since she’d spotted a cougar.
They came to a steep slope, and Audrey stared at the slick hillside, looking for the best route. There was a band without trees, but she was uneasy about being exposed as they traversed the difficult section.
Why couldn’t the fog be thicker right here?