The surprise on Robert’s face when they placed the graylings at his feet was priceless. The dumbass was wise enough not to comment. He just grabbed his knife and began filleting the fish.
“Save me the eyeballs, would you?” Tern said. “Us natives love our eyeball soup.”
Mac snickered, taking a stump near the fire.
“I’m going to gather some herbs for cooking the fish,” Tern said. “Mac, want to join me?”
“Gage, go with her. There’re some things I need to take care of in order to be ready for tomorrow’s trek.”
The bottom of Gage’s stomach dropped out. Being alone with Tern again would pierce what was left of his heart. He needed some kind of buffer, but to make an issue of it would bring more attention than either of them wanted.
Tern must have felt the same, for she tightened her hold on her knife and looked from Mac to Gage, her gaze flicking just past him without landing.
Gage grabbed his rifle and waited for her to make the call.
“Nadia?” Tern asked.
Nadia picked up a fish. “I think I’ll give Robert a hand.” She glanced at the trees, worrying her lip. “With all the wild animals roaming about, I’d rather stay here in camp.”
“Let’s make this quick,” Tern mumbled under her breath.
“Lead the way,” Gage said.
“Don’t venture far,” Mac hollered after them.
Tern led him back toward the lake. They didn’t talk. Tern stomped, obviously angry and frustrated—not her normal, graceful swagger. Watching her took him back to yesterday and the unruly way they’d gone at each other. He’d been the one angry and frustrated then.
Had that only been yesterday?
The last thing he needed was to have those memories return now.
She suddenly stopped and he almost ran into the back of her. She swiveled and glared at him. “Stop it.”
“Stop what?” he asked.
“Watching my butt. Unless you want to end up on yours, pay attention to something else.”
She turned around and stomped off again and he had to scramble to catch up.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“You ought to be. One minute loving me is ruining you, and the next you’re ogling me. Make up your damn mind.”
He grabbed her arm and yanked her to a halt. “I can’t. I can’t stop looking at you, wanting you. This is why I stay away from you. If I hadn’t decided to answer the invite to this farce of a competition, you would never have seen me again.”
“Bullshit.” She stepped closer until she was right in his face. “You are so full of bullshit.”
He could smell her, fireweed and wild roses. His nostrils flared and his hands tightened around her bicep.
“You decided to come on this geocache because you knew I’d be here.”
He scoffed, though the sound came off weak to his ears too.
Tern leaned in, becoming flush with him breast to chest. “You wanted to be with me. Living without me was killing you. Why don’t you be honest with yourself for once?”
Frustration and something darker, edgier boiled to the surface. His arms banded around her, yanking her closer against him. He kissed her hard, pushing into her mouth, tangling his tongue with hers, groaning from the feel of her, the taste of her.
She was right. Everything about her, he’d missed. It was driving him senseless, causing him to do irrational things. How could one woman have this kind of power over him? He was a scientist. He should be able to compartmentalize, make decisions based on thinking, not what pumped through his heart. But no matter what his head demanded, he physically didn’t have it in him to stay away.
“I give up, you win,” he said.
“You give up? I’ve beaten you into wanting me, loving me? No, I don’t think so.” She pushed him away.
He gave her a warning growl as he reached for her again.
She slapped at his hands. “Don’t even think about it.” She looked him up and down and the sting in her stare started to penetrate the fog encasing him. “You aren’t man enough to be with me.”
Her words slapped him back harder and more effectively than any blows she could have landed.
“My love doesn’t ruin a man. If anything, it will make him more of a man.” One last look full of fury and lined with his own aching need, her hair flipped him good-bye as she stomped away from him.
He stood dumb stuck for a minute before slowly following. Her words reverberated around in his mind like a Ferris wheel on warp speed. Around and around they went, bruising and mashing all he thought he believed.
He didn’t want her, yet…he wanted her so much it scared him. He was torn between what he was driven to do, and the logical part of him that had spent months deciding what he ought to do.
Right now, the drive to twist his hand in her long mane of hair, pull her head back, and kiss his way down her exposed neck was almost his undoing. His hands itched to pick her up and carry her to a soft grassy place where he’d take the rest of her body. He’d pushed her away when he knew she loved him. He’d hurt her and he was an ass for wavering back and forth with her emotions like this. But knowing all that didn’t seem to help this…yearning. It was primal and made him no different than the wild animals.
He adjusted the erection that rubbed behind the zipper of his pants. Not that it did any good when she bent over and ripped plants out of the ground. If he had only kept his mouth shut, he’d be inside her right now. His hands would be clenched around those hips, thrusting deep within her caressing warmth. And she’d hate him even more than she already did afterward.
“Here, carry this.” She slapped a stalk of something with a sharp lemon-bay leaf smell across his chest. Then she went on to harvest other plants from the bank of the lake.
How did she know what would feed them? She’d told him her grandmother had taught her, but what if she was wrong about a certain plant? What if she made them sick? He’d seen Into the Wild.
He opened his mouth again and then decided to keep it shut at the last second. Look at what he had already done not thinking before he thought it through. So he bit his tongue and just took whatever she threw at him without comment, letting her spank him with the wet weeds from the lake.
They hiked back to camp, his arms laden with what looked like weeds to him. Tern, in full drill sergeant mode, proceeded to tell Robert how to cook and season the fish with the plants she took from Gage’s muddy arms.
Robert went to speak, and Gage sent him a warning look. He picked up the vibe, showing he was smarter than Gage would have given him credit for, and buttoned his mouth, nodding at the appropriate times. Finished with her instructions, Tern left them to do as she ordered.
“I think I’ll go have a chat with her,” Nadia said, getting up from where she’d been helping Robert fillet the fish. She gave Gage an irritated look as she passed by him.
“What did you do to her?” Robert asked, when the women were safely installed in their cabin. “She’s on the warpath.”
“Stay out of it.” The last person he would confide in was one of Tern’s former lovers.
“Did you at least pay attention when she told me how to use all this stuff?” Robert gestured to the pile of greens and roots laid out in front of him.
Yeah, they were up a creek.
“What’s the deal?” Nadia asked, shadowing Tern into their cabin.
Tern tossed clothes into her backpack and wished Nadia had remained with the men. What she wouldn’t give to have a freaking timeout.
“What happened between you and Gage out there? Don’t tell me you went at each other again?”
“Not in the way you’re thinking.” Tern blew out a deep breath. She didn’t want to talk about what went down between her and Gage. She’d be fine never thinking of him again. It hurt too much. “Can we not do this?”
Nadia fell back and dropped her gaze. “Okay, well…I wanted to talk to you about Robert.”
She didn’t have time for
Nadia’s hurt feelings, not when hers were bleeding. She did a mental sigh. Talking about Robert wasn’t as bad as talking about Gage. “What about him?”
“Well, you did interrupt us in a very private moment. I wanted to know how you were feeling about it? Feeling about me?”
With everything going on she hadn’t really cared, but Nadia wouldn’t take well to that. She asked a question of her own. “I thought you were crazy about Lucky?”
“I was.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I hadn’t meant for it to happen. I was so cold and upset, and he offered to hold me. The next thing I knew we were…you know.” She shrugged, dropping her gaze again, and working the zipper up and down on her hoodie. “I hope you don’t think less of me because of it. If it makes you feel better, neither one of us actually…finished.”
Way more information than she wanted. “People tend to do things out of character when they experience a death.” She’d done her fair share. “Let’s just forget about it.”
“That has got to be it. So tell me, did you and Gage get it on then. Come on, give.” Nadia curled up on her cot like she was preparing for some serious girl talk. But Tern wasn’t in the mood. All she wanted was to be alone.
“Nothing happened between us,” she repeated, the ability not to gash her teeth straining the muscles in her jaw. The start of a headache materialized.
“You can tell me. Give a little, girlfriend.”
“Nadia, I can’t do this. I’m not good company and what’s between Gage and I is too…raw to talk about right now.”
“Oh, sure, hon. I understand.” Nadia stood, her expression crestfallen. “You rest and if you need to talk later, I’ll be here.” Nadia opened the door to leave the cabin.
Tern knew she’d hurt her feelings again, but couldn’t find in herself to care right now.
“I’ll come and get you when dinner is ready. Until then, try not to think too much about what happened between you and Gage. Things have a way of working themselves out.”
Right. And tomorrow she’d wake up and all of this would be a dream. Lucky would still be alive and Gage never would’ve reentered her life.
“Where’s Mac?” Gage asked. How much water per measure of rice had Tern told them yesterday? One part rice, one part water? No, that didn’t sound right. Two parts rice, one part water? Oh, hell. He grabbed the bag of rice and flipped it over to read the instructions on the back.
“I haven’t seen Mac since you guys came back from fishing. The old man must have needed a nap.” Robert snickered while dredging the fish in flour mixed with the herbs Tern had gathered, and carefully laid it in the pan sizzling with melted butter.
“Has anyone checked on him?”
“I’m not his babysitter.”
“Robert, Lucky was killed. We don’t know who the killer is. What if he got to Mac?”
“Fine. Go check on the old man if you want. He’s gotta be all right. He’d be one hard asshole to kill.”
“Who would?” Nadia asked, joining them and hitching up on one of the stumps.
“Tern okay?” Gage asked.
Nadia shrugged. “I don’t know. She wanted to be alone.”
And away from him. Gage looked down at the bag of forgotten rice in his hands. Tern not wanting to be around him shouldn’t bother him. That was what he wanted. Needed. Then why did it make him feel empty inside? He measured water and rice into a pan and set it on the coals.
“So who would be hard to kill?” Nadia asked again, hooking a knee with her arms as she rocked on the stump.
“Mac,” Robert said, picking up a stalk of something that Tern had picked. “Do you remember what she wanted me to do with this?”
“Uh…chop it and cook it?” Gage said.
“I thought that was what I was supposed to do with this one?” He held up another leafy plant.
“Wasn’t that supposed to go in the fish stock?” Gage suggested.
“Right. The fish eye soup.” He shuddered. “The woman’s got some weird tastes.”
“She’s the reason we get to eat.”
“Why would Mac be so hard to kill?” Nadia asked, once again bring the subject back around.
“Mac’s a former Ranger,” Gage said. “They’re worse than Marines and SEALs put together.”
“Yeah, but under the right circumstances, anyone can be killed,” Robert said, adding the chopped whatever to the stockpot of fish eyes and bones.
“Why are we talking about this?” Gage asked, the subject matter not sitting well with him. He glanced at Nadia. “Why you so interested?”
“I don’t know.” Nadia shrugged. “Curious, I guess. I never thought someone could get the jump on Lucky either. I guess that’s why I was wondering.”
“I’d think Lucky would be easy to take out,” Robert said. He flushed when all eyes focused on him. “I mean, he is, was, kind of a space cadet. It wouldn’t be hard to distract him, is all I’m saying. The man thought more with his dick than his brain.”
“Not a nice thing to say about a man who isn’t here to defend himself,” Gage said.
“I never said I liked the guy.”
“Tern left you for him, if I remember right,” Gage couldn’t help baiting. Could Robert have murdered Lucky out of jealousy? Had this whole geocaching charade be motivated by something so petty as jealousy?
“I know what you’re thinking and I didn’t kill him.”
“Your alibi sucks.”
“So does yours.”
“All right, guys,” Nadia said. “This pissing match is going to spoil dinner. Might want to check the rice, Gage, and Robert, time to turn the fish.”
“Nadia, why don’t you watch the rice?” Gage said. “I need some fresh air.” He stood and walked away, knowing he was damn close to taking Robert down. The man was a fucking asshole.
Gage decided to check on Mac, and tell him dinner was almost ready. He knocked on the cabin door. “Mac, its Gage.” There was no answer. “Mac?” Gage turned the knob and pushed the wooden door in.
The cabin was empty.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Where’s Mac?” Gage hollered at Nadia and Robert. Neither one looked concerned.
“He’s probably taking a shit,” Robert said.
Why hadn’t the killer taken out Robert instead of Lucky? At least Lucky was fun. Robert was useless.
“Check Tern’s cabin,” Nadia said.
Gage headed to Tern’s cabin and knocked on the door, this time not waiting for an invitation. He opened the door and entered.
There were Tern and Mac, lying together on her cot. Mac holding Tern in his arms. Tern struggled to sit up and wipe tears from her face.
“What’s going on?” Gage asked. The tears on Tern’s face had his insides clenching. “Are you okay?”
Tern nodded. “Just upset over Lucky.”
Of course she would be. But why hadn’t she sought comfort in his arms instead of Mac’s?You’re just as much of a fucking idiot as Robert. She tried and you pushed her away.
“Dinner’s ready,” Gage said, at a loss of what else to say.
Mac inclined his head. “We’ll be there in a minute.”
Gage took another look at Tern, but she’d hidden her face in the crook of Mac’s shoulder. Both his arms were wrapped around her, their legs comfortably resting alongside each other, stocking feet touching.
He wanted to rip them apart. Had this situation brought them closer together? Now that he had pushed her completely away, would she turn to Mac again? Of course she would. She had. He was seeing it with his own eyes and couldn’t look at it any longer. He shut the door behind him, dragging in deep breaths that failed to fill his lungs.
Gage had no rights to Tern and he respected Mac. He should be glad the man was there for her, since obviously he couldn’t be. He’d gone far enough to tell her she wasn’t worth loving and then tried to make the moves on her later. He was the asshole. At least Robert didn’t pretend to be something he wasn’t.
&nbs
p; What did he really want from Tern? He’d thought he’d known. Nothing. But nothing wasn’t even close to what he needed. The reality of how much he’d fucked up his life came crashing down on him.
Dinner was surprisingly good, Tern thought. Robert did a fair job even though he’d messed up her instructions. Oh, well, nothing like trying something new. They ate, all of them too hungry to converse over dinner. The four graylings disappeared quickly followed by the slightly crunchy rice. They broke out the Almond Joys for dessert, and then Nadia helped Robert clean up. She also made a pot of coffee and poured everyone a cup. After warming enough to melt the snow, the temperature had dropped again, but the sky was clear and without threat of snow. The fire crackled soothingly, and Tern got lost gazing into the dancing flames.
“I could hike out of here on my own, while the rest of you stay here in camp,” Mac said.
“No,” Nadia said, her hair swinging around her face as she shook her head. “Haven’t you ever watched a horror movie? Once the characters spilt up, they’re massacred one by one.”
“I’ll move faster alone,” Mac said.
“Nadia’s right,” Tern said. She didn’t want Mac out of her sight. Not only did she feel safer with him around, she didn’t want anything to happen to him either. She didn’t want anything happening to any of them. It hurt so much to know that Lucky had been killed because of her. “There’s safety in numbers, Mac. Plus, how would we know if something happened to you?”
“We stay together,” Gage said. “We’re stronger as a group, and if one of us is the killer, I’d rather have them close, you know what I mean?” He took turns glancing at each one of them.
“It’s settled then,” Mac said. “We leave first thing in the morning.”
“I still want to go on the record that we should wait until the plane returns,” Nadia said.
They all looked at her and then back to Mac. Mac tightened his lips. “Pack only what you can carry. Leave the rest.”
Death Cache Page 12
