Page 12 of The Scenic Route
Felicity spent the rest of the morning and the early part of the afternoon at The Coffee Spot. Immediately after getting her cell number, Callum had leaned over the counter to kiss Lou on the cheek and left, so Felicity only had one stone-faced giant to deal with. To her surprise, Bennett was an unexpectedly relaxing companion. Once he had Dino Fletcher’s details, he focused on researching on his own laptop while she studied maps of the town and surrounding areas.
When Felicity gave a little shiver, Bennett turned his head to look at her questioningly.
“It’s this.” She turned her laptop so he could see the topographic map she’d pulled up.
He frowned at the screen for a solid minute before giving her another look that clearly said he didn’t get it.
“All this.” She circled her hand over the map. “It’s so…mountainy.”
He still looked confused. “We’re…inthe mountains?”
“I know.” She turned her computer so it faced her again. “But I’m a Front Range girl. I’m used to mountains being more of a pretty backdrop than a…”
When she paused, Lou stepped closer and filled in the blank. “A predator-filled, ice-coated, shifting rock pile of death?”
Felicity pointed at her. “Exactly.”
His snort sounded amused, making Felicity raise her eyebrows at him. “You disagree?”
“Nope.” He leaned back on his stool, his dark eyes gleaming at her in a way that made her want to smile back at him. “That’s actually a really good description.”
“I’m from the East Coast, so this”—Lou drew a circle over the map with her palm, imitating the motion Felicity had just made—“took a while to get used to. I love it out here, but it’ll never not be terrifying.”
For the first time since they’d hatched this plan, Felicity envied Charlie. Knowing Jane, she’d never venture out of civilization. At least Charlie wouldn’t have to chaseherskip through snow-dusted cliffs littered with mountain lions.
Swallowing a sigh, Felicity made herself look on the bright side. At this altitude, she could test her lung capacity, plus she did love a good adrenaline rush. The extra helping of mountain danger would just add to her buzz.
“Find out anything useful?” she asked Bennett, deciding a subject change was in order.
He twitched his shoulders in an awkward shrug as he bent over his laptop again.
Something about him seemed so familiar, but Felicitycouldn’t put her finger on what. She would’ve definitely remembered meeting—or even getting a glimpse of—Bennett, so he had to be reminding her of someone else. Pushing the thought to the side for the moment, she focused on what he was saying.
“I found a few names connected to the Freedom Survivors,” he said. “Clint Yarran seems to be the current guy in charge…at least for the past six months.”
“Yarran,” Lou repeated thoughtfully. Now that the lunch rush was over and everyone else except the three of them had left, she’d been chatting with Felicity while clearing tables. “That sounds familiar. Who was the boss before him?”
“I just have a nickname.” Bennett scrolled down as he peered at the screen. “Cobra Jones.”
“Hmm…” Felicity said. “Those are always the guys who started life with names like Eugene Balzac.”
Lou winced. “Oh, poor Eugene.”
Leaning over to get a better look at Bennett’s laptop, Felicity blinked and then turned to give him a condemning look even as she tried to hide her grin. “Field County Sheriff’s Department? Why, Mr. Bennett Green! Did you hack into the local sheriff’s records?”
Placing her hands over her ears, Lou called out, “La-la-la! My law enforcement–adjacent self can’t hear you talking about doing illegal stuff!”
“Maybe?” Bennett guiltily peeked at Felicity out of the corner of his eye, and she decided there should be a law against looking so adorable while also being such a big mountain ofmuscles and hard jawline. “Their security is terrible. It’s almost like theywantedme to access the records.”
“Norah!” Felicity said suddenly as the thing she’d been struggling to think of all day finally popped into her head. Bennett reminded her of Norah, which changed her entire perception of him. Maybe he wasn’t an ass—or at least as much of one as she first thought. Maybe, like Norah, he was just really socially awkward.
“What?” Lou asked.
“Your sister?” Bennett said at the same time.
“Yes, sorry.” Flushing a bit, Felicity waved her hand in an attempt to dismiss it. “I was just reminded of my sister. Going back to the militia, what happened six months ago?”
“Six months ago?” Bennett repeated, still looking slightly abashed from being caught hacking.
