Page 14 of A SEAL's Protection
But if her father doesn’t know, then who does?
While Allegra packs up camp, I climb a small ridge, keeping the camp in my line of sight. When I’m out of earshot, I find a secure line and put in a call to Joel.
“Marcus,” he answers immediately. “What’s up?”
“I need intel.” I give him a brief rundown of our location and the suspected sabotage.
“I need to know mining companies, contractors, environmental violations, all known operators in the area.”
Joel promises to get Hudson on the case, and between them they’ll get the info I need.
“They’re not just watching her; they’re testing my perimeter.”
I finish the call with Joel and consider giving Allegra’s father a call.
“I’m ready.” I glance down to find Allegra with her pack on looking up at me. She’s speaking to me, and that’s better than ignoring me. If I call her father, he’ll insist on pulling her off, and that will be the end of her research. If I act too soon and I’m wrong, she’ll never get this opportunity again.
It shouldn’t matter. But it matters to her.
I’ll call her father when I get something concrete. Until then, I’ll keep my eyes open and keep her safe.
I scramble down the boulders and shoulder my pack, ignoring the twinge in my shoulder. Allegra heads down the trail, and I follow. I’m not keeping ten feet behind today. If she’s got a problem with that, she doesn’t say. Instead, we walk in silence,and I scan the surroundings. If someone is coming for her, they’ll have to get through me first.
7
MARCUS
As the day wears on, we climb steadily higher into the mountains. The trail follows an ancient riverbed that dried up long ago. Some time over the centuries, the river carved a new path, and we’re never far away from running water. Sometimes it’s a quiet stream, but as we climb higher, the river widens and becomes progressively more powerful. We meet it and then turn away from it, coming close and then moving further away all day.
I keep my attention on the surrounding landscape, but aside from a couple hiking the other way, we pass no one.
Allegra moves at a determined pace. I watch her backpack swinging behind her with the tent and sleeping bag strapped to the back. It must weigh almost as much as she does, but she doesn’t complain. I wonder again why she’s out here on her own with no assistant. If nothing else, she could have paid someone to carry half her gear.
But I get the feeling Allegra has something to prove.
The terrain underfoot turns rocky as we climb upwards. Allegra stops and pulls out her GPS. She peers at the screen and turns around to scan her surroundings.
“Everything all right?”
She frowns at me and purses her lips together. If we’re lost, she’s not going to tell me.
“My next waypoint is a hundred meters ahead, but I can’t see the river.”
She scans the area. There’s a cliff face on one side and rocks from the dry riverbed on the other. We’re boxed in here, and I don’t like it. I want to keep moving.
“The river should meet the trail here,” she exclaims.
“Keep moving,” I tell her. “It’s around the corner.”
She peers at me and shakes her head. “Have you hiked here before?”
“Nope.”
I put my boot on the rock she’s resting on, and as hoped, the thought of me getting too close gets her moving.
A moment later, we round the corner, and she pulls up short. We’re on a rocky ledge, and below us is the river. It gushes underneath us in a flurry of whitecaps churned up by the current.
There’s no way over it, and in front of us is a rock face with jagged edges and a single rope hanging down to our ledge.
