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Sure, out in remote areas like this the likelihood of stumbling across danger was fifty/fifty. Being as remote as it was didn’t mean that it was that much safer.
There might not be thousands of cars travelling up and down the mountains, but those that did were likely to speed. There was a false sense of safety that came from being ‘alone’ on a road. People took more chances.
They stopped being as vigilant as they might normally be.
It was the relaxed ease that killed more people than if there were thousands driving through the area.
A wild animal crossing the road would do just as much damage, or more, than a blown tire on a car. It wasn’t just the impact, it was the driver’s skill and reaction time as well.
Cygny dropped her chin down to her chest and tried to focus on what Hank was saying, but most of it was the usual dire situation when it came to fringe extremist groups. Had she not spent years in Homeland Security she’d likely be twisted up with worry and stress, but she’d faced groups like this before. She’d been inside their ranks and the only thing that concerned her was Leslie and how they were going to get her back home.
The women all listened as Hank explained the intel he’d received about the region and the kind of people who were reported to be in the area.
Radical Domestic Terrorists.
Cygny absorbed the information as Hank gave it.
The men they might be facing had no qualms about using violence to get their way.
They called themselves the Loyalists, but in her experience the only thing they would ever be loyal to was their own self interests. They’d follow the leader as long as their goals were front and center.
The instant that their own interests diverged from that of the group, then all bets were off.
Hank was upset and she couldn’t blame him. He’d picked out this area for its remote location thinking they’d be all but alone up in the mountains.
Just their luck that they’d end up almost on top of a group like the Loyalists.
Cygny fought off the idea that crept up into her thoughts that this was just another instance of her downward spiral in life.
She pushed it into the back of her own mind when Hank spoke up again, directing everyone to the big tent for assignments. He was going to split them up into pairs.
She hesitated for just a moment when everyone began to walk, searching for Leo. He was behind her, off to the side just a bit.
She knew it.
Felt him.
Situational awareness had always been a strong suit of hers. It had to be when you were raised by criminals. You learned rather quickly to know where people were. How to put your back to the wall to avoid someone walking up behind you and knocking you to the floor.
She’d learned that the hard way as a toddler. Even in the present, the memory was fresh and painful. She was careful to keep her arm at her side instead of reaching up to feel the indent on the bone near her temple. They made furniture to last back then.
The group moved on to the tent and she picked up her pace to move along with the rest.
Yes, Leo was still behind her, out of eyesight, but he didn’t scare her in the least.
Even though he hated her, she knew he’d never lower himself to put his hands on her. To punish her for what she’d done.
* * *
It washard to remember that he hated her. Watching her react to the intel about the Loyalists, he could see her concern. The soothing hand she put on Beck’s shoulder, the way her eyes darkened as she offered her friend quiet words trying to reassure her.
That’s the woman he remembered.
The woman he thought he knew.
Not the woman who’d left him alone and aching.
He shook himself free of his thoughts when Hank spoke up again, raising his voice to draw everyone’s attention.
“Okay. Here are the pairings. Melody, you’re with Dean Turner. Cygny, you’ll pair with Leo. Victoria, you and Logan Tackett are a team, and, Fay, you’re paired with Walker Nash. You’ve all met each other already, so get together.”
Leo didn’t need the pointed look that Hank leveled at him as if Hank thought he needed reminding why they were there in the first place.
Okay, so maybe he’d deserved that look for the ruckus that he’d made at the beginning, but this wasn’t about him, and he knew what to do.
“I’m sorry.”
Leo looked down at Cygny. Surprising himself that her former… her make-believe name wasn’t front and center in his head.
“What for?”
She winced at his question.
“I know I have a lot to apologize for,” she began, “but right now I want you to know that I had no hand in this.” She gestured between them.
Inwardly, he groaned.
His tone hadn’t been friendly.
And no, he didn’t think she was responsible for the pairing.
“No. I didn’t think so.”
Her expression eased a little and the hard line of her shoulders relaxed. “Good.”
Leo looked over at the lot where the vehicles were parked. He lifted his chin in that direction. “Motorcycle okay?”
“I’ve never driven a motorcycle.” Her voice was a little tight as she looked at her phone and opened the message. A moment later she turned the phone to show him the map grid that they’d been assigned. “There’s no way we’d make good time on two bikes. As long as you’re okay with riding double…”
She left the decision up to him but they both knew it was already a forgone conclusion that they’d need to ride together if they were taking a motorcycle.
“Let’s grab our gear and go.” Leo watched her head toward their camp before he ran off to grab his pack.
When Cygny returnedwith her pack, she’d left room in it for his things. He handed them over without comment and when she shrugged it on, he saw the front of her jacket open up enough that he could see the sidearm she carried in a shoulder holster.
