Page 63 of Havoc

I was proud of Riley. She sucked it up and was making good time without a single complaint. She wasn’t even winded by the physical exertion. She’d make a great old lady for a man like me. Any fool could see Riley was something special. In my eyes, she was determined, brave and resilient.

I asked, “Are you okay, sweetheart? We’re a little over halfway there.”

She nodded, glancing over to catch my eye. “Yeah, I’m fine. I like to hike. I’ve just never done it at night. It’s a little anxiety-producing, especially after running into the bears. I just hope we don’t end up being jumped by cougars or coyotes.”

I chuckled because I could tell by the tone of her voice she was joking. “I can’t make any promises, but I gotta say the chances are remote.”

She gave me a reluctant smile. “This is a pristine area, thick with foliage. The parts I’ve seen have been absolutely beautiful. I’d love to hike this area in the daylight.”

“That can be easily arranged once we’ve dealt with the danger. This is a remote area that butts up against a national forest on one side and native tribal lands on the other side. That means we don’t see much foot traffic in this area.”

Mace called out from behind. “It’s the perfect place to hide a bunker.”

I shot him a feral grin, ‘cause my club brother was not wrong about that. “Mace is right, of course. I don’t think anyone has ever stumbled upon our hidden location. It’s fairly remote in relation to the national forest. Mace’s tribe has an ancient burial ground on the far edge of our property. They usually don’t go much further than that, although they’re certainly welcome.”

“It would be amazing to visit the burial grounds one day. I’ve always been fascinated by historical sites.”

Edward’s voice rang out from the left. “Not gonna happen, it’s off limits to outsiders.”

Mace’s cousin could be an obnoxious prick when he wanted to be. But he was trustworthy, and we’d had each other’s backs several times over the years. Therefore, I chose to just ignore his antics tonight. Instead of engaging with him, I quickly filled Riley in on why we wouldn’t be visiting the native burial grounds. “I think it’s been designated as a protected site.”

“I see. Well, I’m glad they managed to hang onto their sacred ancestral lands.”

We continued chatting, mostly about how beautiful the waterfall was that we had visited together. I thought Riley just wanted to take her mind off everything again. She tended to use pleasant conversation to manage her stress, and I was totally there for it.

Eventually, we crested the ridge. Mace was squatting down at the hatch, dusting leaves and debris off with his hands. Somewhere along the line, Hacker had added one of his biometric locks. Mace placed his fingers on the scanning plate, and we immediately heard a click as the locking mechanism released. He tried to tug the huge metal door open, but it wouldn’t budge. I added my hands to the effort, and it was stuck tight.

Edward approached, frowning. “What’s the problem?”

Mace huffed out an exasperated breath and told his cousin, “Either the lock isn’t releasing all the way or the hinge has rusted into place.”

“Either way, we’re gonna have to use the back entrance. Once we’re inside, I can assess the situation better and decide what we need to do in order to get it fixed.”

Alicia rubbed her arms briskly. “Then let’s get going. I’m getting cold.”

“Thought you’d never want to see this place again,” Mace said to his old lady. He and Alicia had hidden out here for a few days last year when the cartel, and the man she thought was her father were after them.

She gave him a wink, “It wasn’t all bad.”

“Aw, you say the sweetest things, darlin’.” Mace stood up and put his arm around her, using his other hand to cup her cheek. “Alright, baby. We’ll make it quick.”

“It might be an underground crypt, but at least it’s cozy. I’m eager to get the heat started so we can get warm.”

Riley spoke up, “I second that motion.”

We started moving around the ridgeline. Mace and his cousins pulled ahead again, but Nine hung back, sticking close to Alicia.

Once again, when we caught up with Mace, he was squatting down, looking through a pair of binoculars that he wore folded up on his belt.

I came up behind him and asked, “What do you see, brother?”

He came to his feet, clicked his binoculars closed, and grinned. “Not a damn thing.”

“I wouldn’t think so at this hour of the night.”

He chuckled, “Better safe than sorry. You never know when a stray hunter, bear, or wolf is going to decide that stone platform in front of the back entrance is a good place to take up residence.”

“True. Let’s hope we don’t end up with another nasty surprise when we get down there.”

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