Page 107 of Shadow Sabotage
“Yes.” That edge of steel was back in his voice.
I unzipped the tent and crawled out of our cocoon, missing it the minute I walked away.
As promised,we prepped quickly, barely talking while we got ready to head out. But despite the difficult conversation we’dhad the night before, the silence wasn’t awkward. We settled into an easy camaraderie, working together as well as teams that had been together for years.
The only thing different were the soft looks of affection and longing between us.
We didn’t address it. There was no point in wishing for something we knew we couldn’t have. But as we shared a quick cup of instant coffee and protein bars, the sadness and regret I’d seen in his eyes the night before remained.
And I didn’t need a mirror to know that the same feelings were reflected in mine.
After our quick meal, we broke camp.
“You ready?” I asked, swinging my backpack onto my back.
“Yeah.” He grabbed the second bag, then hesitated. “Do you want to switch? I feel dumb carrying the lighter load.”
I laughed. “Not a chance. No one carries my pack for me.”
His eyes grew serious. “You’ve got a partner now. You don’t have to carry it alone.”
“For now. I have a partner for now.” I was reminding myself as much as him.
His face fell.
My radio crackled, offering welcome distraction for both of us. The other teams were up and on the move, and by the sounds of it, everyone was cheerful and ready to get to work. A few hours of sleep and the promise of daylight brought the familiar surge of optimism that we’d find our target soon.
Vance and I began our careful descent down the ravine, moving slowly even though daylight gave us an advantage we hadn’t had the night before. Loose rocks rattled and slipped underneath our feet, threatening to send us tumbling with one wrong step. We stayed closer to each other than we had in the forest, frequently helping each other out with a steady hand while the other crossed tricky terrain. And we flagged a few moresigns that someone had been through here recently. Each clue gave me an extra hit of energy.
We were on target. I knew it.
I was about to say as much when King came over the radio, giving us the bad news that the trail they’d been following turned out to be a dead end. They were retracing their steps and would move to a new section of their grid.
I looked at Vance. “You know what that means, right?”
He tilted his head. “I’m not the SAR expert here. But it looks like everyone’s at a dead end except us.”
I nodded. “Exactly. I don’t have Cheyenne’s gut, but I’d bet money Robin’s in our section.”
In my excitement, I turned too quickly and put my foot down on a loose rock. I slipped, but before I could fall, Vance’s hand gripped mine. I skidded to a stop, my heart pounding.
“Thanks for the hand,” I said, glancing back at him.
“Anytime.” The look he gave me said he was talking about more than our search. But then his eyes shifted to the side. “Hey,” he said, his face lighting up in excitement. “Look at that.”
I followed his gaze. Ahead of us on the trail, something bright blue flashed in the sunlight. I slowly made my way toward it, using my hands on the steep slope to stay steady.
“It’s fabric,” I called over to him, fresh excitement hitting me as well. “Looks like it got torn. And it’s the same color as what Robin was reportedly wearing.”
He carefully worked his way toward me. “I bet she slipped right where you did. Her jacket probably got caught on the way down.”
“I bet you’re right.” I scanned the area and called out for her but got no reply. “Flag it and I’ll call it in.”
He wrapped tape around the branch and snapped a picture of it while I entered our location into my GPS and tried to radio.
“Dammit.”
“What’s wrong?” He frowned.
