Page 58 of Hot SEAL, Under Pressure

“Not yet but I’m sure there will be.”

So was he. He was good at navigating himself, but teaching someone else to do it? That was a whole other skillset.

Best they get started right away.

“So when they drop you off, you first have to figure out where you are. You do that by putting the map on a flat surface along with the compass. Find magnetic north on the compass. Turn the map until the north line on the map matches the compass. Then you have to look around you for any prominent nearby land features, then find them on the map. Then you place the compass on the terrain feature and draw a line back to the vantage point. Understand?”

He glanced up from the map he’d been demonstrating on and got his answer by the glazed look in her eyes.

“Um, maybe we should try pacing first,” he suggested.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“You need to determine how many paces—steps—it takes you to cover one hundred meters. By knowing that number you can always calculate how many paces the distance you need to cover will take.”

This time her eyebrows rose high. “There’s math involved?”

That comment stopped him in his tracks. They hadn’t even gotten to azimuths and triangulation yet.

It was going to be a long day and, no doubt, a long hike for her.

At least the crew had cameras with night vision, according to her. They probably used it to spy on the cast and catch them being naughty. But if worst came to worst and the sun set before the women got back to camp, the SEALs could use the night vision to plan a night rescue and find their missing teammates.

Hero SEALs to the rescue. The viewers would love it—and he hated with every fiber of his being that he’d even thought that.

This show was changing him and he feared it was not for the better.

Shelly had changed him too. Or maybe it was just his feelings for Shelly that had changed. Because many hours later, he found himself pacing as he waited, worried, for her to return.

“Relax, man. What’s with you?”

Stefan lifted his head to find the guy who was partnered with the marathon runner. He was short and stocky, but strong and muscular. Tony was his name, or something close to it. And nothing seemed to bother him.

“I’m wondering where the girls are. It’s getting late.”

“They’ll be back when they’re back.” Tony shrugged.

Nick and Zach had been conferring together and joined them now.

“Sunset’s coming on soon,” Zach informed them all unnecessarily.

“When do we call this thing and go out looking for them?” Nick asked, glancing around the small group.

Tony shook his head with a snort. “I’m not going anywhere. The crew can go get them.”

Zach and Nick, both married to their partners, frowned at Tony.

He wasn’t married or even close to it with Shelly but Stefan felt and shared their rage at Tony’s nonchalance.

The sound of fast footsteps and underbrush crunching underfoot heralded the return of the first contestant. And of course, it was Tony’s partner, running at full speed to the rally point even though no other contestants were in sight.

“Told you not to worry.” Tony grinned as he stood to go congratulate his partner.

It was encouraging that at least one of the women had returned. And hopefully the rest weren’t far behind, but a little empathy on Tony’s part for the men whose partners hadn’t returned would have been nice.

“I’ll go with you if it comes to that,” Stefan offered, turning toward Zach and Nick.

Zach nodded. “Thanks, man. I’ll let you know if and when we head out.”

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