He startled and stared up at her for a second, then pointed, wordlessly, at the far tent.
Spinning on her heel, she stormed away.
I frowned. What was she doing? Did she hurt herself and I just didn’t see it?
The slow burn of anger erupted in my gut, and I rose from my seat, eyes locked on Vic. “What did you do?”
He held up his hands. “Not a damn thing. I didn’t touch her. I swear.”
Deke raised a hand. “Stay.” He turned to the tents. “Lana, darling, you’ve set off your dog.”
Rustling came from in the tent, then the swish of zippers.
I tipped my head. What was she doing? “Lana?”
“Hold your horses,” she said, her voice muffled.
Moments later, she emerged, holding three MREs, a pot, our utensils, and our water bottles. Glaring at Deke, she marched past him to the fire. “I’m starving. I don’t care if you planned to let us eat or not. Try and stop me.”
He sighed. “You two are more trouble than you’re worth. Careful. I might not need you once I get the coordinates from your pilot.”
“Walker won’t let you on board if we’re not there.” She looked at him askance. “He doesn’t know you, and you show up where his friends are supposed to be?” She scoffed. “That’s a red flag. He’ll just take off again and radio search and rescue to come get you. The man isn’t dumb.”
Cracking open her water, she dumped the contents into the pot and set it by the fire before rising and waving the now empty bottle. “Where can I get more water?”
I smothered a smile, glad to see our predicament hadn’t quelled her sass or her “I-don’t-give-a-shit” attitude.
“We have a jug in Vic’s tent.” Toby got up and walked over. “I’ll fill it for you.”
The first genuine smile I’d seen from her all day crossed her face. “Thank you.”
Color stained the young man’s cheeks. He nodded, taking the bottle before turning away.
Deke didn’t stop us as Lana reconstituted the MREs. Nor did he stop her when she took one to Dustin. The man took it eagerly and practically inhaled it.
My jaw worked. It appeared as though they hadn’t been feeding him.
The justice system wasn’t good enough for these three.
Aches and pains set in as we sat. Moving had kept my sore body limber, and the lack of mobility now was making me stiff. Pain medication would help, but it was in my bag in the tent. I’d try to take some once Deke allowed us to go to bed.
Trying not to think about the throbbing in my ankle and hand or the stiffness in my ribs, I took in every detail of the camp I could, including where I thought it was. While we walked up the mountain and into this valley, I’d kept a visual map in my head of the terrain and the directional changes we made. When we got out of this, I wanted to be able to lead the authorities back here to gather evidence.
Hours passed in slow motion. I let my mind wander.
Cara’s face floated through my mind.
I knew thoughts of her were inevitable. She’d been circling at the back of my mind since Lana drove up my driveway and squared off with me in her fancy boots.
Watching Lana cross the camp today, like there was no gun, no way for it to go sideways and it was just something that needed doing, so she was going to do it, had apparently loosened the reins I had on my memories.
Cara would have done the same thing.
The sound of her laugh filled my head, like music.
God, I missed that sound.
Shifting, I leaned forward, elbows on my knees, and pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes, pushing back the burn of tears.That’s enough of that.
