AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He revved the engine gently and guided the vehicle until they were on the new track. If nothing else, it certainly looked like a better place to spend the night than out in the open. Not that his mind really wanted to go there at this moment. Anyway, he’d been getting concerned that they wouldn’t make it there before sunset, which made this a potentially better stop-over.
In silence they made their way to the cluster of buildings, somewhat reassured by the directness of the only slightly overgrown track. Pulling up outside it and climbing out, they made their way around the outhouses, which were in varying states of ruin.
‘You know, this might actually make a good location for the new pre-phase,’ Mattie said consideringly after several minutes. ‘One of the buildings around that side still has its roof pretty much intact so it would an ideal spot to set up the triage and stabilisation section.’
‘It isn’t in a bad position for defending against tactical fire,’ agreed Kane, circling back around the buildings as he headed back to the vehicle. ‘And we already know there’s an ideal landing zone back down the hill, where they can tab their casualties out.’
‘It isn’t too far off the designated route for the infantry?’ she checked.
Kane slid the map out of his pocket, laying it on the bonnet to check.
/>
‘Less than a klick, so it’s no big deal to bring them over this way slightly. See?’
She jogged across the path and peered over his shoulder, so close that he could feel her breast against his arm. The hear seared his skin even through the jacket and he heard her catch her breath. Then his brain cracked and went blank.
‘Yes,’ she managed thickly, refusing to meet his eyes. ‘I see.’
‘I’d like to drive it to be certain, but not at this hour.’
‘So we’re out here for the night,’ she remarked, and he found himself listening for any indication of whether she was happy about that or concerned.
But her tone was frustratingly even, giving nothing away, so instead he tried to gather the map up without snatching, only to end up making a meal of folding it back up.
He cleared his throat.
‘If we get the four-by-four into that first ruin, the ground’s flat enough for me to check underneath.’
‘Fine. I’ll grab a bergen from the back and start setting up camp.’
Peeling off his jacket and hooking it over the wing mirror, Kane began working on the vehicle. Slowly, methodically giving himself a chance to get his head back in focus as much as anything else. He could hear the bustling sounds as Mattie set things up on the other side of the crumbling wall and it was almost...homely. Was that good thing or a bad one? He worked steadily, his head torch allowing him to finally complete the task. And there was nothing left but to rejoin her.
His heart kicked stubbornly.
‘Good timing.’ She glanced up as he walked through the half-doorway.
She’d laid out her bedroll and sleeping bag and had lit a fire for warmth. A small pile of logs sat next to it so they could keep feeding it through the night, which he had to admit wasn’t a bad idea as the temperatures could drop considerably out here at night.
She even had a couple of rat packs by a gas burner, and he heard himself teasing her before he could stop.
‘Cooking me dinner? From the kid who needed me to teach her to boil water?’
‘Don’t get used to it,’ she quipped. ‘I’ve left you to sort out your own bedroll and sleeping bag.’
Stepping forward, he dropped his rucksack and jacket on the other side of the fire from hers.
‘Fair enough.’
‘You know you have oil on your T-shirt?’
‘I didn’t know that, no.’ He glanced down before peeling it up and over his head.
At least he had a spare in his bag. But when he retrieved it, standing up tall to pull it on, he became aware of Mattie staring intently at him.
Checking him out.
The air around them became heavy. Charged. And Kane couldn’t help it, he slowed his movements, taking his time, loving the way her eyes darkened and her nostrils flared slightly as she drank in the sight of him. Like he was as pool of fresh, clear water in the middle of a desert.
