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“I know.” She turned to him. “If you’re worried about keeping me safe, you will put us both in jeopardy.”
He laughed. “Okay, I’ll try not to be insulted by that.”
“You know I’m right. I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.” Her gaze peered deep into his.
Apparently, he wasn’t keeping anything from her. He became serious. “I know.”
“So can you keep your personal feelings separate from your job?”
Embarrassment flooded him. “I believe I can. Can you?”
“You mean if Emerich was torturing you, but I had a chance to rescue Marcie and escape, would I leave you behind?”
“Well, not exactly the scenario I was thinking of, but yes.”
“Yes,” she said, and he believed her.
“That’s good to know. I think.”
“And you would do the same for me?”
Not a chance.“You are my responsibility. I will die before I let Emerich get to you. That’s my job. Keep you and the others safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She stared at him, her blue eyes holding his.
“What?”
She leaned forward, her lips inches from his. “That’s nice. Stupid but nice.”
It took all his strength not to kiss those lips, to pull her against him and smother hers with his own. He wanted her so badly, he was almost frozen with it. “It wasn’t meant to be.” His words sounded choked. Suddenly, the cave was a lot more than warm and toasty—it was downright hot.
Focus. Focus on Marcie. On the job. Not on the beautiful blond barely dressed standing in front of him.
“I have packets of tuna or cans of Vienna sausages,” she offered.
“You do?” His surprise was obvious.
She stepped back and laughed, digging in her pack.
“I brought something too.” He dug into his pack and pulled out a couple of MREs along with an MRE heater. “Would you like a turkey dinner or roast beef?”
Her eyes widened. “Turkey, please.”
He opened up the heater and slid the two MREs inside, added a little water, and waited for them to heat up.
She watched him, a slow smile filling her face. “I didn’t know I was coming to such a gourmet place for dinner.”
“I serve only the best.” A few minutes later, he pulled the turkey from the heater, checked the package to make sure it was warm, then handed it to her with a spoon. “Bon appétit.”
“Thank you.” She opened it up and took a bite. “Wow, this is good. So much better than the packets of tuna and Vienna sausages I brought.”
He laughed and opened his beef stew. “Yep.” He pulled out a couple bags of crackers, and they were set. Once they’d eaten and their stomachs were full, fatigue settled in. The rain had stopped and Cameron knew he’d need to go out for more wood before calling it a night. He started to rise when he heard something moving outside the cave below them.
He eased to the cave’s opening and looked out as a grizzly bear swatted at the water in the river below. He held up his finger to Becca to be silent as he watched the bear. It stopped and looked up, smelling the air. Cameron held his breath for a long moment and eased back, hoping the bear would keep moving. He seemed to be taking his sweet time. Cameron pushed as deep into the cave as he could go and Becca did the same.
“Are we in his home?” she whispered.
“I think so. The fire must be keeping him at bay.”
