Page 105 of Shadow Sabotage
“Thanks.” He unwrapped it and ate half of it in one bite. “I can’t believe I’m already hungry after the dinner your mom made.”
“Hiking burns a ton of calories,” I said before biting into a bar of my own. “How are you on water?”
He lifted the liter bottle from my extra pack and showed me what remained. “Low. I drank more than I expected, too.”
“I’m glad you drank it. It’s important to stay hydrated. There’s a stream that runs close to here. We’ll refill in the morning before we head down the ravine. And there’s a creek at the bottom where we can fill up again.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Do you have a way of purifying the water?
“Of course.” I grinned.
“Of course,” he echoed. “I should know by now not to doubt you.” His sparkling eyes looked at me with undeniable affection, and I felt my breath catch. The smile faded from his face and those eyes turned serious. He stared at me, then shook his head. “You’re amazing. You know that?”
“Me?” I felt my cheeks flush.
“Yes, you. What you do out here? It’s incredible. Your knowledge, your dedication, your skill—I’m blown away. I’ve never met anyone like you.”
I felt caught in his eyes, lost in this moment where it was just us. For a moment, everything else disappeared—the search, the investigation, the betrayal. Even the grief over feeling like I was losing my best friend. It all faded away, and all that was left was me and Vance, sitting underneath a starry sky beside a fire he had built to keep me warm.
“I’ve never met anyone like you, either,” I whispered.
He held my gaze for a long moment before speaking. “I could stay. You make me want to.”
“At DCI?” Hope flickered in my heart.
“DCI or working for my father. He offered me a job, too.” Vance took his hat off and pushed his hair back.
“Are you serious? That’s amazing,” I said, unable to stop my smile—until I realized Vance didn’t look happy.
He nodded. “Yeah. I’d made up my mind to say no. That day at the gas station.”
I flashed back to the moment he’d stared at me intently, asking if he should give up on a relationship with his dad—and how I’d known I shouldn’t give advice on something that big, but I’d done it anyway. The weight of it crashed down, feeling like the worst sort of punishment for my impulsive tongue.
“You had two job offers,” I said, closing my eyes as the puzzle pieces fell into place. “The FBI or your dad.”
“Yeah. My dad’s offer was an insult. Grunt work at the bottom of his company, a chance to prove myself—again. I don’t think I realized until that conversation with you that I shouldn't have to.”
“You shouldn’t,” I said, hope dying like the flames in front of us.
“But if I took it now, I wouldn’t be staying for him. I’d be staying for you.” The look in his eyes was so earnest.
“You can’t.” I had to say it even though it broke my own heart. “You’re meant for more, Vance. More than DCI and definitely more than grunt work for your father. You’d be miserable—you’re miserable right now even thinking about it. You’d end up hating me if you passed up the FBI for my sake.”
His jaw clenched. “I’d never hate you for a choice I made.”
“You would.” I could barely force the words out over the lump in my throat. “You know you would. Maybe not at first. But you’d end up resenting me for it. And if things went sideways between us, you’d never forgive yourself for passing up the job of a lifetime for a temporary romance.”
His face hardened. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something but stopped. He shook his head and looked away.
I turned my eyes to the dying coals in front of us. They felt like an hourglass, counting down the little bit of time we had left. All I wanted was to get some of it back, but I couldn’t.
Just like everything else.
We sat in silence until the last coal darkened and the fire went cold.
“We should get some sleep,” I said, my words sounding strange as they pierced the silence. “Sunrise will be here before you know it, and we need our strength.”
“Yeah.” He kept his eyes on the ground. “Are you sure you’re okay sharing your tent?”
