Page 28 of A SEAL's Protection
“It’s scary and we’ll talk about it soon, but right now, I need you to pack up your things as quickly as you can. Can you do that for me?”
I’m leaving blood on her cheek, but the contact brings her back to herself. Her expression changes from fear to the steely determination I’ve come to recognize. She stands up taller, and I drop my hands.
“Okay.”
While Allegra stuffs her belongings into her pack, I examine the landslide. It’s too much of a coincidence to be an accident. Someone was waiting to trigger this. Someone was up on that ridge, and I didn’t spot them.
They’re a trained operator. We’re not dealing with an amateur here. We’re dealing with a company with influence that can afford to pay a lot of money to get a trained operative, someone like me. A mercenary. I have to assume they have the same skills I do.
But if they were watching, why wait until Allegra moved off the rock?
The answer comes to me. Someone briefed them to scare her, not to kill her. The thought provides little comfort. If they had wanted her dead, they could have done it.
“My laptop.” Allegra gasps, and my attention snaps to her.
Under the pile of rocks is the dull metal of her laptop, covered in a thin layer of dust. She pulls the rocks off it to reveal a dent in the top of it and the corner crushed.
Her look of dismay makes my heart ache.
“My notes” she says, and she can’t hide the dismay in her voice. “Months of data is in there.”
I glance upwards, wondering if someone is listening. If so, perhaps this is what they want.
Something lies beside the pile of rocks. I pick up her camcorder. It’s dusty but seems to be in one piece.
“Not all of it,” I say quietly.
While she finishes gathering her things, I get the sensors out of the ground. I find my sat phone at the bottom of the ridge where I dropped it as I scrambled down. When I pick it up, the front falls away, leaving an exposed chip and bent wires.
I press the on button, but nothing happens. The phone is completely smashed.
We’re on our own.
13
ALLEGRA
Marcus leads at a brisk pace, and for once I don’t mind not being at the front. My hand trembles as I grip the GPS. I hold it out in front of me as we walk, my hand rigid as if it will protect me from unseen forces.
The landslide has me shaken more than I like to admit, and Marcus’s insistence on getting out of there as quickly as possible leaves me unhinged. He keeps a fast pace, and I follow him for an hour until the trail dips and lands us back in the forest.
We come to a clearing, and Marcus halts, lifting his hand. He makes a tour of the perimeter, scanning carefully, and when he’s satisfied, he comes back to me and slides his pack off.
“Quick break, and then we keep moving.”
I pull a packet of jerky from my bag, nibbling, trying to get my appetite back. I’m not hungry, but if I don’t eat, I’ll lose energy.
As I dig in my pack, my hand brushes the cool metal of my laptop. I cringe inwardly. All my notes. My work. The only relief is that I still have the sample pouch intact.
Marcus hasn’t even bothered to take his pack off. He’s holding a map and a compass.
“There’s a trail through the forest. We’ll have to spend one more night here, but it will take us out at a town about thirty clicks away from where we were going for supplies.”
I stare at him, the meaning of his words sinking in. “You want me to abandon my research?”
His voice is quiet, steady. “That landslide was no accident.”
My gut clenches. “You think someone did that on purpose?”
