by Susan Stoker
To keep her mind off her aches and pains, and from remembering how she’d woken up in Mark’s arms that morning—a dream come true—she practically begged Mark to talk. She was curious about the men he referred to as if they were his brothers. She’d never had that kind of bond with anyone, friends or family, and was curious as hell about them.
“What do you want to know?” he asked.
“Everything,” she told him.
He chuckled, and the sound wrapped its way around her heart and made her feel a little better about the entire situation she’d found herself in. She didn’t remember Mark being especially jovial, but since they’d been stranded, she’d heard him laugh often.
“Well, we’re a team of six. We’ve been together since we graduated from SEAL training. Rocco’s the oldest at thirty-five, and our unofficial leader. I’m actually the youngest of our crew at thirty-one.”
“Wow, really?”
“Really. And we’ve been on the team a long time, so we practically know what each other is thinking. Most of the time we act before anyone gives us a command.”
“That’s kind of cool,” Zoey told him.
“Yeah. I love those guys. Would do anything for them, just as they’d do for me.”
“Is that how you know they’ll be looking for you?”
“It is. And I know down to the marrow of my bones that even if we somehow manage to die out here, they still won’t stop until they not only find our bodies, but figure out who got us into this situation and how we died.”
“Um…that’s a little morbid.”
Mark chuckled again. “Yeah, I guess it is. But my point is that they’re the best friends ever, and I don’t know where I’d be without them.”
“Must be nice,” Zoey said without thinking.
“You don’t have friends like that?” Mark asked.
Kicking herself for bringing it up, Zoey tried to blow off his question. “No, I mean…it’s nice you have people you can count on like that.”
“And you don’t?” he pressed.
Shit. He wasn’t going to let it drop. “Honestly? No. You know how it is, if you aren’t born and raised in Juneau then you’re an outsider. I have some people I get together with now and then, but nothing like what you’re talking about.”
“You’d love Caite, Sidney, and Piper,” Mark said.
She was glad he didn’t further question her lack of close friends. It was something she hated, and no matter how hard she tried to cultivate friendships, they never seemed to get any deeper than the occasional drink or meal out. “Who?”
“Rocco, Gumby, and Ace’s women.”
Zoey shook her head. “I swear you guys have the weirdest nicknames. There’s no way I could ever call you Bubba. You are so far from a Bubba it’s not even funny. And I’m sure your friends are probably the same way. Gumby? Seriously? Is he big and green?”
Mark laughed. “No. Phantom’s the tall one at six-five.”
“He’s the one you said is intense, right?” Zoey asked.
“Yeah. He had a horrible childhood, although he doesn’t ever talk about it with us. Just enough to know the topic is off limits and if he never sees his aunt or mother again, it’ll be too soon for him.”
Zoey shivered, and only partly because the air was chilly. She wasn’t so sure about meeting his team. She knew Mark loved them like brothers, but she couldn’t imagine being around so much testosterone all in one place. She had enough trouble dealing with Mark by himself. “Tell me about the women?”
Zoey listened intently as Mark shared the stories about how each of his friends had met their women. They all sounded awesome, and a pang of jealousy went through Zoey.
“Caite actually saved your friends’ lives when they were in Bahrain?” she asked. “Or are you exaggerating for the sake of the story?”
“I’m serious,” Mark told her. “Rocco said they’d made their peace with it, and were trying to figure out how to take out the most smugglers before they were shot, when Caite moved the table off the hatch that was keeping it shut tight. If she hadn’t shown up when she did, the smugglers could’ve just stood above the cellar they were trapped in and shot Rocco, Gumby, and Ace one by one.”
Zoey shivered. She didn’t like to think about how that could’ve been Mark. Hell, he hadn’t told her any other stories from his missions, but she had a feeling that it probably had been Mark at one point. Thank God he was still around today.
“I’m so glad Sidney rescued Hannah,” she said.
“Yeah, me too. That pit bull had been so abused, but you’d never know it as she’s the most loving creature I’ve ever met…except if someone threatens her humans.”
“And I can’t believe Piper and Ace were allowed to adopt those girls so fast! That’s totally not normal, right?”
“Right. But that’s Tex. He’s amazing. I swear to God he can find a needle in a haystack without breaking a sweat.”
Zoey knew she sounded a bit more unsure than she wanted when she said, “I never thought I’d compare myself to a needle, but I hope to God you’re right and he can find us in this haystack of a forest.”
Mark stopped then and faced her. Zoey almost wished he’d just keep walking. Then she wouldn’t have to try to look braver than she felt. Their situation was sinking in more with every hour spent in these woods. This wasn’t some tough camping trip. Someone had actually tried to make sure they’d disappear forever. Probably hoping they’d get eaten by a bear or something.
“He’s going to find us,” Mark said without one shred of doubt.
“You can’t know that.”
“I do. And you want to know why?”
“Why?”
“Because he’s the best at what he does. Because he’s a former SEAL. Because he knows how pissed off I’d be that someone dared try to kill me off for something as stupid as money.”
“You really think that’s why?” Zoey asked.
Mark nodded. “There’s really no other explanation. The question is, who? Kenneth? He was the one who’d arranged the charter for us. Sean? Pop’s business partner? He could be pissed if Pop left me part of the business, especially when I haven’t been involved in it at all.”
“Maybe it was Ashley,” Zoey said, getting into the spirit of the discussion.
“Who?”
“Ashley Gilstrap. She was a nurse your brother hired to keep an eye on your dad. She came to see him on the days I didn’t.”
“I didn’t know about her. Is she older? Younger? Married?”
“I’d say probably around our age. Single. I think your brother and her had a thing for a while, but I’m not positive.”
“Speaking of which…we can’t take Malcom off the list either.”
“Do you really think your own brother would try to get rid of you?” Zoey asked.
Mark shrugged. “No. At least, I’d like to think not, but at this point, we have to suspect everyone.”
“Sean’s wife is a bitch,” Zoey volunteered. “Your dad told me that Vivian Kassamali hated the business and was always telling Sean to sell out his half.”
Mark looked down at her for a long moment.
“What?” Zoey asked with a tilt of her head.
“You’re amazing,” Mark told her quietly.
Zoey had no idea what he was talking about. She frowned up at him.
“I know you don’t think so, but just being able to talk things through with you helps. This is what my team does. We brainstorm and throw out every possible outcome of every action. It helps us put a plan in place and make sure we come home in one piece.”
“Inside, I’m freaking out. I hate this, Mark. No one has tried to kill me before and it doesn’t make any sense,” Zoey said honestly.
“And that makes the way you’re handling things even more remarkable. To get back to our original subject, Tex and my team will find us…if we don’t rescue ourselves first. I half expect them to show up, laughing and joking about how long it took me to find the
m.”
“I wouldn’t be opposed to them showing up, but let’s say they swoop in with a helicopter so we don’t have to walk another hundred miles, yeah?”
Mark threw his head back and laughed, and Zoey was fascinated by the way his throat moved. Then he recovered and stepped toward her. He engulfed her in a huge bear hug, and it felt wonderful.
She’d loved waking up in his arms. The ground was cold, the fire almost out, and she couldn’t really feel her feet, but sometime in the night she’d turned so she was facing him, and he’d turned on his back. Her nose had been buried in his neck and his arm was around her waist, holding her tight. She could feel his body heat even through both their layers. For just a moment, she’d closed her eyes and tried to pretend they were sleeping together back in her bed in Juneau. That he’d come to visit his dad and promptly fell head over heels for her. He’d made love to her all night, and they’d both fallen asleep from exhaustion.
It was stupid, but she couldn’t stop her wayward imagination.
“A helicopter it is, Zo,” Mark said, then he kissed her temple and stood back. “You good to keep going for a while longer?”
Zoey nodded. She was tired, but she’d be damned if she let Iron Man in front of her know.
But it seemed he knew anyway. “Just a while. We’ll stop soon and I’ll find us a snack. Okay?”
“Okay,” she agreed.
He looked at her for a long moment, and Zoey would give anything at that second to be able to read minds and know what he was thinking. But eventually he simply nodded his head once, then turned and they were on their way again.
Finding their way through the forest wasn’t a walk in the park. There weren’t any trails to follow so they had to bushwhack their way as they went. Mark was constantly on alert for the sounds of bears or other animals, and more than once, he’d held up his hand for her to stop then stood listening for a long few minutes. Every time it happened, Zoey couldn’t hear anything but her own heart, which sounded way too loud and beat way too fast. But each time, after a moment, they’d continued their trek. So far they hadn’t come across any massive bears or moose, but Zoey knew that was just luck.
True to his word, after about an hour, Mark found a large rock for her to sit on and rest while he wandered off to find them something to eat.
“Don’t go far,” Zoey called out when he was about to disappear into the forest around them.
He stopped and came back to her. He put his hands on the rock next to her hips and leaned in. Zoey could only stare at him in surprise.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“O-Okay,” she stammered.
“I’m not leaving you out here by yourself,” he said.
“I know. But…shit happens.”
“I swear on my life, I’ll be back.”
Zoey’s throat closed up with unshed tears, and she nodded. She couldn’t talk without Mark realizing how close to the edge she was.
As if he knew anyway, he brushed her hair out of her face and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. Then he rested his sweaty forehead against her own and put a hand behind her neck.
The position was intimate and personal. Neither of them smelled all that great anymore, and Zoey knew her hair was probably a rat’s nest on her head, but at the moment, none of that seemed to matter. It was as if they were the only two people in the world.
“I haven’t survived being captured by the Taliban, two helicopter crashes, and countless assholes trying to shoot me and blow me up to be taken out by a bear in the middle of Alaska, leaving my girl to fend for herself. I. Will. Be. Back. If you believe nothing else I say, believe that. All right?”
Zoey wanted to hear all about the Taliban and the helicopter crashes, but figured she was probably better off not knowing. Besides, he probably couldn’t talk about them anyway. So she simply nodded once more.
“I know it’s not exactly comfortable, but if you can take a nap, feel free. At least close your eyes and try to relax. I’ll be back soon with something to eat and we’ll be on our way again.”
“Be careful,” she whispered when he finally stood.
“I will.”
And with that, he turned and headed out into the dense forest around them. One second he was there, and the next she was alone. She couldn’t even hear Mark walking around. It was scary, and she forced herself not to call out for him. He said he’d be back, so he’d be back.
Taking a deep breath, Zoey did as Mark suggested. She closed her eyes and did her best to relax.
Bubba hated the wild look in Zoey’s eyes. He hated that she was scared. She’d done an amazing job so far. She was more than pulling her weight, and he hated like hell they were in this situation in the first place. He didn’t like thinking about who in his father’s circle might’ve arranged for their demise, but it wasn’t something he could ignore. Someone had hired Eve Dane to fly them into the wilderness and leave them stranded.
He supposed it could be worse. Whoever was behind this could’ve sabotaged the plane so they’d crashed for real.
The whole situation was so bizarre. Why just leave them stranded if murder was the objective? Whoever had hired Eve had no way of knowing if he and Zoey would die after being left in the wilderness. The possibility that they’d come waltzing out of the wilderness weeks from now might be slim, but it was still possible.
Zoey wasn’t a SEAL, of course, and she was right when she’d said she was slowing him down. But the fact of the matter was, he didn’t care. He’d rather have her with him than not. Bubba didn’t know if they had ten miles to walk or a thousand. He was hoping that Rocco and Tex would work their magic and actually fly to their rescue sooner rather than later. In the meantime, they just had to keep moving, find enough to eat, and stay as dry and warm as possible. He could probably last for weeks out here on his own, but he wasn’t sure Zoey could, although she’d held up well so far.
Spying what he’d been looking for, Bubba kneeled by a tree and carefully pulled up the mushrooms growing at the base. His dad had taught him long ago which fungi were safe to eat and which weren’t. His pop had taught him a hell of a lot, and for just a moment, Bubba let his head drop as the reality of his father’s death washed over him.
He’d never again hear Pop’s laugh.
Never hear him talk excitedly about some new plastic.
Would never read another email from him, asking if he’d found a girlfriend yet.
Never hear him tease Bubba about wanting to be a grandfather.
It wasn’t fair.
Taking a deep breath, Bubba stood with the mushrooms in his hand. He couldn’t dwell on the past or his grief would consume him. Like he’d told Zoey, he had to keep going forward. But he made a vow right then and there to make sure the most important people in his life knew how much he appreciated and loved them.
As he retraced his steps back to Zoey, he thought about all the signs of trouble he’d ignored. How Kenneth had insisted on the charter flight when taking a commercial one to Juneau would’ve been just as fast. The way Eve, the pilot, wouldn’t look him in the eyes as she shook his hand when they were introduced. How she hadn’t immediately put out a mayday call. How calm she’d been when they were presumably going down.
Even the sound of the engine sputtering, now that he’d thought about it, hadn’t sounded right. He wasn’t a pilot, but he’d heard enough plane and helicopter engines failing to know what it sounded like.
Yeah, there had been plenty of things to make him take extra precautions, but he’d been worried about Zoey and focused on making sure she was all right.
He regretted ignoring the signs, but he didn’t regret being with Zoey here and now. If he’d stayed on the plane and Zoey had gotten out, would Eve have left her there by herself? If he’d protested in any way, would Eve have pulled out a gun and simply shot them both?
Shaking his head, Bubba forced himself to quit thinking about the what-ifs. He couldn’t change anything that he’d done now,
and he had to focus on the present. On surviving and getting both him and Zoey back home.
When he remembered the fear on Zoey’s face when he’d left, anger filled him. He knew what humans were capable of doing to each other. He’d seen it up close and personal. But he hated that Zoey had to experience it. She was good down to her core. He knew she’d stayed in Juneau mostly because of his dad. Because he’d needed her.
Her being scared was unacceptable. He’d find out who was behind this half-baked plan to get them out of the picture and make sure they paid. They’d fucked up by not outright killing him. Whoever it was must’ve assumed both he and Zoey would perish in the backwaters of Alaska, but the joke was on them.
“I’m going to find out who you are and make you wish you were never born,” Bubba said between clenched teeth. As if by saying it out loud, it would make it more true.
Taking a deep breath to try to control his anger, Bubba walked faster. Zoey would be worried about him, and he needed to get back. He had to feed her, make sure she had enough water, and maybe even warm her up a bit before they started walking. He’d never met a woman who was always cold like she was.
She probably had blankets all over the house that she could snuggle under. Maybe even an electric blanket on the bed. She’d love Riverton. It wasn’t too hot or cold. She could go to the many beaches and lay out on the sand and soak in the rays of the sun. He knew without a doubt that she’d get along perfectly with Caite, Piper, and Sidney. In fact, Zoey reminded him a lot of Piper. When they’d been fleeing the rebels in Timor-Leste, Piper had been amazingly resilient.
When he realized where his thoughts were heading, Bubba grinned ruefully. Despite telling Rocco that he was happy being single, the thought of bringing Zoey back to Riverton with him wasn’t distasteful in the least.
Stopping in his tracks, he tilted his head up to the sky. Did you send her to me, Pop? Was I taking too long to give you those grandkids you always wanted?