Every Step She Takes (Who's Watching Now Book 2) (8 page)

One foot in front of the other.
Stumbling down the trail in the semi-dark a short time later, she repeated the mantra through clenched teeth. Ahead of her, Travis walked with a jaunty step. Obviously he was one of those disgusting morning people. Another thing they didn’t have in common.

“How’re you doing?” He called over his shoulder without having the decency to turn around.

“Peachy.”

“We can take a break and have something to eat once we get off the main trail.”

The amusement in his voice found a home on her third nerve. “Wylie can have my share. I’m not hungry.”

“How long are you going to sulk?”

A yawn nearly cracked her jaw. “Not sure. Maybe another hour or so.”

“Good to know. I’ll set my watch and check back with you then.”

Grinning, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her bad mood evaporated as the sun rose, shining golden through the trees. With each passing mile, the forest thinned, turning to a stretch of rugged grassland.

“Damn.”

“What’s wrong?” Her voice croaked from disuse. She cleared it.

“Without cover, it’s easy to spot someone in this terrain with a pair of binoculars. Forget what I said about taking a break. We need to run instead.”

“How am I supposed to do that carrying a backpack?”

He stopped abruptly. “Hot damn, that must be the secondary trail. See those scuffmarks. I’m guessing Sutton dropped his pack there, maybe to pull out a map or food.”

Grace stared at the ground and blinked. Dirt and rocks, a few bent grass stems... Wylie sniffed the area before wandering off.

Turning, Travis faced her. Worry lines fanned out from his eyes. “I really want to lose the guy tailing us. See the trees up there near the base of the mountain. We can rest when we get to them.”

Her skill at judging distance without convenient street blocks was sadly lacking, but she guessed it was at least a couple of miles. “I suppose I can run that far. Let’s do it.”

His eyes warmed. “You’re a good sport.” Bending, he brushed away the prints in the dirt. “Not much I can do about the grass. Try to stay on the rocks until we get a few yards away. This isn’t much of a trail, and I’m hoping the man following us will pass by without noticing it.”

Stepping carefully, she followed Travis across the uneven ground. Wylie tore through the grass, ears flapping as a big jack rabbit bounded before him. After a couple of minutes, he returned, a disappointed look in his eyes.

“Sorry, buddy.” She gasped for air. Running with the pack was an effort. It thumped painfully against her tailbone, but she didn’t dare stop to adjust the straps. The distance between her and Travis increased gradually. She forced herself to run faster.

Reaching the trees took an eternity. Focused on the blur of green, it slowly morphed into individual, towering spruce and hemlocks. The rising sun filtered through the branches, and a bed of needles padded the ground beneath her aching feet.

“We can stop now.”

Grace slid the pack from her shoulders and let it fall with a thump. She dropped next to it, her chest rising and falling with her labored breathing. Rivulets of sweat soaked her shirt, and needles clung to damp skin. With tongue hanging and sides heaving, Wylie flopped down a short distance away.

“You okay?”

Letting out a long breath, she closed her eyes. “Yeah.”

“I’m unbelievably impressed.”

Grace opened one eye, squinting against the light angling down on her face. Travis stood next to her. His thigh muscles bunched beneath soft cotton sweatpants when he squatted beside his pack.

“By what, my graceful collapse or sweat drenched hair?”

“Good God, Grace, half the Navy SEALS I trained with couldn’t have maintained that pace. You’re an animal.”

“A compliment guaranteed to put a smile on any woman’s face.”

He laughed and squeezed her shoulder. “I take back everything I said about you slowing me down. How many miles a day do you run to stay in that kind of shape?”

The light breeze dried the sweat dripping down her neck, and she sighed. “I don’t know. I watch old action movies while I run on a treadmill for an hour or so every day.”

“A gym rat?”

“You bet.”

“Well, it’s working.” Turning with a handful of power bars, he offered one.

“Not hungry. It’s only five-thirty for heaven’s sake.”

“Eat it, anyway. You need the calories after that sprint.”

With an eye roll, she sat up, ripped open the package, then broke off a piece and tossed it to Wylie. He gulped it down without chewing. Munching whole grains and nuts pressed together with molasses, she nearly choked when Travis pulled off his thermal shirt to drape it over a bush. His chest glistened with sweat beneath damp hair.

Not the smooth, model type physique she was used to seeing at the gym.
A real man.
She forced her gaze away and shivered.

“Your damp shirt will give you a chill in this breeze. You should change it.”

He had a point. Opening her pack, she rummaged through it and pulled out a T-shirt. Then, with a shrug, she jerked the sweaty one over her head. The jog bra covered a lot more than a bikini top. Too bad it was soaked, too. Presenting her back, she found a clean bra in the pack and made short work of changing.

When she turned, Travis swallowed and looked away.

“Modesty has never been one of my virtues, or vices, depending on how you look at it. Besides, you didn’t go hide behind a tree.”

“I’m not complaining.”

After pulling on a fresh shirt, he handed her another bar. “Eat this, and then we’ll get moving.”

Grace shared with Wylie before accepting Travis’s help to ease the pack onto her back. After adjusting the straps, she nodded. “I’m ready.”

“Then let’s go. It’s going to be a long day.”

Long was an understatement. Excruciating. Exhausting. Enervating. She made a game of picking new letters and thinking of adjectives to describe her misery. Her legs shook with fatigue before Travis finally called it quits for the night.

“Damn. I was really hoping we’d catch up to Sutton.”

She collapsed onto a rock. “Doesn’t the guy take breaks? Shouldn’t he stop to enjoy the scenery?”

“You’d think. He must have a destination in mind.”

“Goody for him. Any idea where it might be?”

“I’m not familiar with the area, and the map doesn’t list points of interest.” With short, jerky movements, he unloaded his pack. “I just hope like hell he didn’t double back or stray off this poor excuse for a trail. If we lose him…” His lips pressed together.

“Speaking of losing, you haven’t mentioned the man following us all day.”

Some of the worry lines on his face smoothed. “That’s the only bright spot. I’m almost certain he missed our detour. Now if we can just find Sutton before he figures out where we went, our chances of getting out of here without incident are better than fifty-fifty.”

“That’s better?” Her voice rose.

“Damn right. I wasn’t joking about the danger, Grace. You can still turn around and go back.”

She was too tired to worry about percentages, and certainly too tired to argue. “What’s for dinner?”

He was slow to answer. “Pork tamales and rice.”

“I’ll go fill the water containers. At least the stream is deep here so we can have a decent bath. I’m pretty sure I smell worse than Wylie. No offense, boy.”

Apparently, the dog didn’t hold a grudge. He followed her as, taking the containers and purifier, she walked to the creek, slapping at stray mosquitoes undeterred by the repellent she wore. Mount Snow—or whatever its name was—towered over them, casting shadows across the campsite. A circle of blackened stones indicated someone had used it before them, not that Travis would build a fire. Flames in the night would draw attention they couldn’t afford if the man following them was anywhere within miles.

After pumping water through the purifier to fill the bottles, she carried them back to the small clearing then dug clean clothes, a towel and soap from her pack. Travis gave her no more than a quick glance before returning his attention to preparing their meal. With a shrug, she headed down to the creek. Wylie dogged her heels every step of the way.

The man was in a surly mood this evening. Worry about Sutton, she supposed. Too exhausted to speculate over Travis’s ill humor, she pulled off her shoes and socks then stripped out of filthy shorts, shirt and underwear before wading into the stream. The cold water flowed around her, refreshing and relaxing, as she dipped under the current. When her limbs began to numb, she scrubbed with the soap and washed her hair then rinsed. Shivering, she waded out, snatched the towel off a rock and wrapped it around her. Sitting in a patch of sunlight, she let the warmth seep into her chilled skin.

“Are you about finished?”

Grace glanced over her shoulder and nodded. “I’ll get dressed and be right up.”

His scowl would have scared a grizzly. Arms crossed over his chest, he backed away then paused and strode forward, not stopping until he stood a foot from where she sat.

She glanced up through her lashes. “What’s got your shorts in a knot this time?”

His chest rose and fell on an exhale. “I’m only human, and you’re pushing me to the breaking point.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“This.” He pulled her up by one arm and touched the towel tucked between her breasts. When Wylie growled, he gave the dog an
I dare you
glance.

“I told you I was going to take a bath.”

“Not that you’d be
naked
. Jesus. I started down the slope and nearly had a heart attack. Do you
want
to push me into making a move on you? Is that the goal?”

Her eyes narrowed, and she gave him a shove. “Get your mind out of your pants, Travis. I’m tired. My whole body aches. I’m not the least bit interested in sex with you or anyone else at the moment. I wanted to scrub off the dirt, and I didn’t give a rat’s ass who watched. Got it?”

He pushed a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I’m on edge.”

“You should be sorry.” Turning away, she bent to reach for her clothes. Her foot came down on a sharp rock, and she jerked back arms flailing. Grabbing for support, she clutched his shoulder. The towel slipped and dropped to her feet.

Her gaze met his before his eyes lowered. Color flooded cheeks already dark with stubble. With a muttered oath, he drew her against his chest and kissed her. There was no tenderness in the kiss, just a melding of mouths, a release of tension. His hand stroked down her back and came to rest on the curve of her waist.

She held onto his shoulders with both hands and kissed him back until Wylie’s growl worked its way into her consciousness. When the dog barked sharply, she jerked away. Bending, she grabbed the towel and held it to her chest.

He turned to face the mountain, hands shaking as they fisted on his hips. “I won’t apologize for that.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to.” Wrapping the towel around her again, she scooped up her clothes and headed up the incline without looking back.

He’d lost them.
Un-fucking-believable
. After spending half the day trying to figure out where Barnett had left the trail, he’d finally given up and made camp. With a grunt, he scanned the open terrain with his binoculars as twilight set in.
Nothing
. Still, with or without Sutton, Barnett and Grace would have to pass his current location to get back to the lodge. There was no other way out, not with a steep ravine on one side and a mountain rearing up on the other. His bet was on
with
. The minute they were within range, he’d take them out, one after the other, right down to the freaking dog. Loose ends weren’t an option.

Son of a bitch
!

The whole situation was a pisser. Taking this job had been sheer idiocy. He was no stinking mountain man. Give him a civilized hit in a metropolitan setting, and he never failed.
Never
. As much as it sucked to sit around twiddling his thumbs, he wouldn’t fail this time either. His confidence in Barnett’s tracking skills had increased over the last couple of days. If anyone could find Sutton, it was the former SEAL.

Barnett and his little entourage might have chalked up a minor victory today, but they wouldn’t win the war. Victory would be his. All he had to do was wait.

* * * *

Travis took his time at the creek, bathing then shaving. His food would be cold by now, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t ready to face Grace, didn’t have a clue what he’d say when he did. His behavior was inexcusable, and they both knew it.

The tension and worry were getting to him, and sex would be a release of the former if not the latter. The thought intruded, unbidden, every time he looked at her. Still, it sure as hell wasn’t Grace’s fault he was unbelievably attracted to her. He knew she wasn’t trying to tease him, that she was just being her usual, charming, uninhibited self. The fact that he was a walking hard on was his own damn problem.

Picking up his dirty clothes and shaving kit, he squared his shoulders and headed to their camp. She glanced up with somber eyes and gave him a half smile. Setting aside a tiny bottle, she waved her hands in the air. Wylie stood beside her and stared him in the eye, lips curled back to expose sharp teeth. Even the dog seemed to know he’d been way out of line.

“There’s repellent if the mosquitoes are bothering you.”

“Huh? Oh, no mosquitoes. Well, there are mosquitoes, but I sprayed down already. I’m drying my nails.”

He frowned as he split open his tamale and dug into the lukewarm food. “Why don’t you use a towel?”

She laughed, a light trill of pleasure that made him forget about his less than appetizing meal.

“I painted my nails. The polish is drying.” With another chuckle, she shook her head. “You really are clueless about women.”

He forked up a bite of rice. “Why would you paint your nails out here?”

One shoulder lifted, and she glanced away. “It makes me feel pretty.”

His hand holding the fork stilled. “If you were any more beautiful, my heart wouldn’t be able to take it.” With a sigh, he waited until she looked at him. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I hope you’ll forgive me.”