Phoenix

by Crouch, Janie

  Zac grinned up at him. “Phoenix, now this sort of result I was expecting out of you. I’m not surprised you’re coming in second.”

  Riley slapped the four flags down on the table.

  “Four?” Zach’s brow furrowed. “You couldn’t figure out number five?”

  Riley flipped them over so Zac could see the numbers on the back of each flag. “Nope, the puzzle for four wasn’t where it was supposed to be.”

  “You sure you weren’t just in the wrong spot?”

  “If I navigated to the wrong spot for puzzle four, then I would’ve been off for puzzle five also. I was at the right place. The puzzle wasn’t there.”

  Zac’s eyes narrowed. “What exactly are you trying to say?”

  “Somebody moved it.”

  Zac signaled for one of the volunteers to come over, one of the teenage kids that lived in town. “Adam, can you check in everyone as they get here? Mark their time on the paper.”

  The kid nodded.

  “Everything okay? We need some sort of amputation?”

  Just the sweet sound of Wildfire’s voice was enough to calm some of the angst inside him.

  “Can you help Adam man the table if he needs it?” Zac asked. “Phoenix and I need to go check something out in the woods.”

  “Everything okay?” she asked.

  Riley nodded. “Zac and I just need to double-check a couple things.”

  She smiled. “No problem. We’ll hold down the fort.”

  “Stay off your ankle as much as possible.” Zac grabbed a folding chair and set it up for Wildfire behind the table. “Have runners come to you.”

  Riley turned to ask her what had happened but was taken aback when he saw the look in Wildfire’s eye.

  Fear.

  Fear directed at him.

  What the hell?

  He’d dragged her all over the world, taken her rock climbing, scuba diving, hang gliding, all sorts of scary things.

  And she might’ve been nervous about some of them, but he’d never seen that look of unadulterated fear in her eyes.

  He wasn’t even sure how to process it.

  “What? What happened?” He dropped down next to her, eyes searching over the rest of her body, the same way hers had searched him so many times, trying to ascertain if there was some bigger injury he couldn’t see.

  “I’m okay,” she said, reaching out to him. “I just tripped. Barely twisted my ankle. Zac shouldn’t have made a big deal out of it. I’m okay.”

  He studied her again, scrutinizing her for signs of pain but found none. She really did look fine. “Really?”

  She looked away for a second, but when she turned back to him her eyes were bright. The fear was gone. “Just got clumsy and tripped. It won’t even hurt in a couple hours.”

  He still had the overwhelming urge to pull her into his arms and just hold her. To shelter her from some foe he couldn’t see and that probably didn’t even exist.

  He’d never been overprotective of Riley. There was not one thing about her that gave off a damsel-in-distress vibe. She could take care of herself—it was one of the things he most loved about her. So this urge to grab her now and fight her demons was a little unsettling, especially given the fact that she’d wanted more distance between them, not less.

  He held a hand out toward her. He wasn’t even sure what he was reaching for, what he was trying to do. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”

  His heart broke a little as she took a step back and sat in the chair Zac had set up for her. “I know.”

  What did that mean? He wanted to push, but this wasn’t the time.

  She turned to Zac. “I’m fine. We’ve got everything under control here. You guys go on.”

  Whatever emotional vulnerability he’d sensed was gone. His Wildfire, independent and capable, was 100 percent back.

  Zac turned to him. “Ready?”

  He nodded. Girl Riley was already talking with Adam and they were setting up a system to check the athletes in.

  He and Zac began walking back the same route Riley had used coming in to camp.

  They weren’t very deep back into the woods before he had to ask. “When did Riley hurt her ankle? I ran through camp multiple times this morning, and she seemed fine.”

  Zac had never been overly chatty, but he was quiet for so long Riley didn’t know if he was going to answer. But that just meant Zac had something further to say about Girl Riley’s hurt ankle. He would’ve already answered if had just been some random fall like she’d said.

  “Did you do something stupid?” Zac finally asked.

  Riley let out a short bark of laughter. That wasn’t what he’d been expecting the other man to say. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to be a little more specific. Or at least give me a timeframe if you want me to start listing all of my stupid.”

  Zac chuckled as he made his way through the woods. It was good to hear the sound. Before his fiancée Anne came along, Zac hadn’t laughed much. Losing a wife and toddler son did that to a man.

  “Fair enough. Specifically, I’m asking if you did something stupid like cheat on Girl Riley to make her break up with you.”

  “Wow, Cyclone, didn’t realize you had taken over the position of Oak Creek’s lead gossip.”

  Zac flipped him off without even looking at him but chuckled again. “I’m a man of many skills. Look, I don’t need details. I was just wondering if you’d been a complete dumbass and that was what had put the look I’ve been seeing on Girl Riley’s face the past few days.”

  Riley stopped. “You need to tell me exactly what you’re talking about. No, I did not cheat on Riley. I would never cheat on Riley. I can’t even imagine anyone else in the world capturing my attention the way she does. I would never hurt her that way.”

  Zac nodded and started walking again. Riley had to walk or get left behind, so he started walking.

  “So you guys broke up because it just wasn’t working for you anymore? A mutual decision?”

  He’d worked with Zac multiple times, here in Wyoming and when he’d helped Linear with some missions overseas. So he and Zac had spent their fair share of hours conversing. But this was by far the weirdest, most personal conversation he’d ever had with the man. “If you must know, she broke up with me, and I have no idea why.”

  Now it was Zac who stopped and turned to look at Riley. He nodded, no surprise anywhere on his dark features.

  “What exactly are you asking, Zac?”

  “Why are you here, Phoenix?” the man shot back.

  Riley started walking again, this time leaving Zac to follow or not follow. “I’m here to win this race again. To become the first two-time champion.”

  “Is that it?”

  “Is that not enough?”

  “I don’t know, is it?”

  Riley let out a sigh. “Zac. Whatever it is you have to say, just spit it out.”

  “I’ve known Riley for a long time. For most of her life. She’s an amazing woman. Smart. Independent.”

  “You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know and wholeheartedly agree with.”

  Zac shook his head. “She’s fearless. Maybe not in the way you are with the stunts, but in life. If I had to pick a single word to describe Girl Riley, it would be fearless. That’s why I always thought you two were a good fit. She would never be scared by your antics.”

  Riley raised an eyebrow. “I’m still sitting here parked at the corner of Already-Know-That and No-Duh. What’s your point?”

  Zac crossed his arms over his chest. “Last few days, something with Girl Riley has changed.”

  “The fearlessness is gone.” The words were out of Riley’s mouth before he was conscious of thinking them. Wildfire’s fearlessness was gone.

  Zac nodded. “Thus, my original question about whether you’d done something stupid. I know you being here has affected her, but I wasn’t sure you were the root cause of whatever it is that is weighing on her.”

  Ri
ley thought about the look on her face a few minutes ago. “You brought up her ankle in front of me on purpose.”

  Zac gave him a one-shouldered shrug. “Yes. I wanted to see how you both would react.”

  She’d been scared. Why? That was the question he needed to figure out. They started walking again.

  “Most people wouldn’t have caught that I’d done that on purpose.” Zac glanced over at him. “You would’ve made a good Special Forces soldier. You’ve got the physical and intellectual drive it would take.”

  “I’ve never been great at following orders. And somehow, I don’t think the army would approve of some of my antics.” Riley ran a hand through his hair as they continued.

  Zac chuckled. “Probably not.”

  “I’m here to win her back.” He stepped around a fallen log. “Or at the very least find out why she broke up with me to begin with.”

  Zac stepped over the log. “Something is hurting her. It might be you. And if that’s the case, you’re going to have to decide whether your answers are worth the pain you’re causing her.”

  That was something Riley hadn’t considered. The last thing he wanted to do was cause Riley pain.

  But, Jesus, he wanted answers so bad he could taste it.

  They continued on in silence.

  “Okay, show me where you feel like the puzzle box should’ve been.”

  Riley got his map out to make sure he was going to the exact same place. He led Zac back to the tree he’d been at three times already today.

  “This is it. Every calculation I did led me right to this point.”

  “I’m sure it did.” Zac pointed down to a rock resting against the tree. Sure enough, there was a box, about half the size of a shoebox, in Riley’s color.

  He grabbed and opened it, finding the puzzle inside.

  “Motherfucker.” Riley looked over at Zac. “I’m telling you, that wasn’t here. I scoured everything in a ten-foot radius of this tree. That box was not here.”

  Zac nodded, then looked down at his watch. “If you want to do the puzzle right now, I’ll clock your official time in from the moment you’re done. It’s less of a penalty than not having the flag.”

  Riley took out the papers and immediately began working on the puzzle. It was number and logic based this time. When he finally figured out the answer, he used the digits to open the combination lock inside the box and pulled out the flag.

  Zac nodded. “Okay. I’ll record this as your official time.”

  Riley got up, handing the flag and box to Zac. “I’ll take it. But I’m telling you, that box was not here when I was looking for it.

  Zac nodded. “On one hand, I believe you. I really do. You’d have to be damn near blind not to see this thing. Plus, you made it to the fifth puzzle’s location. You never would’ve been able to do that if you weren’t at this spot to navigate from.”

  “Thanks.”

  “But on the other hand, your brain is not fully in this race, Riley. I’ve seen people make mistakes more stupid than this, and that was just after the normal mental wear and tear of this race. With what’s happening with Girl Riley, you’re going through a lot more.”

  “Shit.” Zac was right.

  Was it possible that he’d just totally missed the box? Had he been so caught up with some stupid premonition that someone was hiding in the woods that he’d missed what was right in front of his eyes?

  Had Girl Riley been trying to tell him something for months and he’d missed that too?

  “I want to say it’s impossible that I didn’t see the box, but I can’t with 100 percent surety.” For someone who’d made a career out of situational awareness, this was a tough thing to admit.

  Zac shrugged. “Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. You take the time hit, but it’s not unrecoverable.”

  “Yeah. Thanks for even giving me that much.”

  Zac slapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s get back to camp. A few hours rest will probably do you wonders. Tomorrow is rapelling, another of your strong suits. You’ll be able to make up even more time.”

  If Riley could keep from sabotaging himself, which might be what had happened today.

  Jesus, was that also true about Wildfire? Had he been sabotaging their relationship and been oblivious to it?

  He needed a few minutes alone to get his head clear.

  He nodded at Zac. “You go on ahead. I’m right behind you.”

  Zac nodded and took off. Riley stood for a while looking at where the box had been.

  No. There was no way he’d missed that.

  He turned and made his way over to the place where he’d been sure someone had been hiding and watching.

  He blinked, muttering a curse under his breath. The broken branches that had convinced him someone was there were now gone.

  “Fuck.”

  First the box, now this.

  He didn’t know what to do if he couldn’t trust his own mind.

  As he began to back away, he looked down at the ground. Damn it, even the place where he’d seen an indentation from a knee was gone.

  But wait. He leaned down closer. There was no indentation, but the dirt there was a little too perfect. Had the person come back and covered their tracks?

  Or was he just taking a bad scenario and making it even worse, justifying his own neuroses?

  For the first time in his life, not only was Riley unsure what his next steps should be, he didn’t know which of his past steps were true either.

  Chapter 12

  Riley knew there was a problem as soon as she saw Zac returned to camp without Boy Riley. She stood up from behind the table. Her ankle really wasn’t a big deal. She wished he hadn’t said anything in front of Riley at all.

  She’d been terrified Riley was going to ask for details, and that she was going to have to figure out a way to explain away the random spasm that had caused her to trip as she was coming down the RV steps.

  MS strikes again. She’d just been glad only Zac had seen the misstep. But then he’d tattled on her, damn it.

  She left Adam at the table and walked over to Zac. Most of the elite athletes had already checked in for their official times. The ones coming in now were those in the middle of the pack, not the ones so worried about time.

  “Did you kill Boy Riley and need me to help you hide the body?”

  Zac smiled. “No. He should be back in just a few minutes.”

  “Had the box been destroyed by an animal or something?”

  Rumors about the missing box were already floating around camp. She and Adam had spent some of their time discussing what might have happened to it. They were in the middle of the Wyoming wilderness, after all, so there were lots of options for demise.

  “No. It was right there, exactly where it was supposed to be.”

  The camp around them got unnaturally silent—a telltale sign that the competitors had been listening in on the conversation. Zac didn’t look concerned.

  But Riley couldn’t believe what he was saying. “Are you sure? He wouldn’t have just skipped it. He loves puzzles and navigation. Not to mention he’s way too stubborn to have given up and just come to camp early. He’d still be out there now trying to figure the puzzle out if he hadn’t been able to do it.” She had not one doubt about that.

  “Probably. Riley’s timing in the navigation segment the year he won WAR was unparalleled. Faster than anyone had ever done it by far.”

  “You can’t really believe he would go from that to not being able to finish. Riley is too good for that.”

  Everyone was still listening. She didn’t really want to have this conversation in front of everyone, but Zac was leading them farther into the camp rather than toward the cabin he’d been using as an office.

  He was making sure everyone could hear.

  “I found the puzzle right where it should have been.”

  She shook her head. “He really just missed it?”

  “No. He never would’ve been able to make it t
o the fifth box and flag if he hadn’t made it to the fourth. Riley feels certain the box was not there earlier this afternoon. Yet, there it was.”

  “I can’t believe it. Riley doesn’t make mistakes like that.”

  “I agree.”

  Someone made a smirking noise behind them, although no one said anything outright.

  Riley could understand their frustration. The rules and penalties for this part of the race were clear. Riley had come in without one of the flags. Zac couldn’t just ignore that.

  But if he penalized Phoenix, it would effectively eliminate any hope Riley had for winning the race.

  “Riley led me directly to where the box should’ve been without any difficulty. And honestly, he would’ve had to be damn near blind to have missed it. I allowed Riley to complete the puzzle in front of me and recorded his time as the point at which he finished it.”

  “Okay.” She didn’t like it, but it was better than the multi-hour penalty he would have taken for coming in without the flag.

  “I’ll have to look at everyone else’s scores to know where that puts him overall.”

  There was silence for another moment before everyone resumed their normal conversations. Evidently, everyone thought Zac’s ruling was fair.

  The person this would most negatively affect was Riley. This should have been his event to catch up on.

  “I couldn’t give him any unfair advantages,” Zac said in a voice that didn’t carry to anyone else. “Not that he wanted me to.”

  “Yeah, I know.” She wasn’t surprised. That wasn’t how Riley would want to win.

  “He’s struggling, you know.”

  Because of her. Zac didn’t say it, but it was still true. She just nodded, unable to say anything. Zac squeezed her shoulder and turned to the check-in table. She walked over to the latest racers to arrive to see if they had any medical concerns. Even though today wasn’t nearly as risky as yesterday, everyone still had to be cleared.

  She almost wished for yesterday’s more serious physical ailments. Those had at least kept her attention riveted to what was happening.

  She couldn’t stand the thought that Riley was hurting. But of course he was. How could he not be? She’d broken up with him out of the blue, then had been ping-ponging back and forth ever since.