The Killing Game

by Anderson, Toni

CHAPTER 8

  He split them into three groups.

  “Can’t I go with the doc?” Cullen moaned. He might have the reputation of being the ladies’ man of A-Squadron’s Mountain Troop, but after what Dempsey had been thinking five minutes earlier while trying not to kiss Axelle Dehn’s lips, legs, and everything in between, maybe he was a frickin’ ladies’ man too.

  He wanted her and he’d let his eyes tell her exactly how much he wanted her.

  What was he thinking? There was a time and a place for that sort of thing and this wasn’t it.

  “No.” He kept his voice light. None of them were here to get laid. “You’re with Taz. Baxter you go with the Great Dane. I’m with the doc.” He gave them a firm smile that told them this wasn’t up for debate. “We’ll get the biologists to give us a demo how to tranq and release the cats before we head out. I want hourly radio checks.” He nodded to the men. “It might be a couple of days until the other guys get here. I’m still waiting on a rendezvous time. In the meantime, we watch the leopards and hope we capture our target while he’s trying to poach the cats.”

  “Cool,” Taz said.

  Baxter was beaming.

  Protecting snow leopards was a plum assignment, as long as they didn’t forget the very real threat out there—someone who knew his way around explosives the same way the boys knew their own dicks.

  “Keep your eyes peeled.” He turned as Axelle came out of her yurt. She’d braided her hair and wore clean clothes—olive pants, stone-colored fleece. Except for her scrubbed-clean pink cheeks and dark eyes, she blended right into the landscape.

  She looked at them and they all stared right back at her.

  “You’ve eaten?” She raised her voice across the dusty arena. She looked as if she didn’t want to approach them, as if by keeping her distance all her problems would disappear.

  If only.

  Each man nodded. He could tell she’d captured their interest the same way she’d captured his. They rarely dealt with women in their jobs. He liked it. Figured they did too.

  She ducked back into the bigger tent. Josef came out a second later with the two cubs in his arms. The guys went over and started playing with the balls of fluff, pulling out their cameras to take photos. He held back a smile. Three of the toughest soldiers on earth, turning into big softies because of a couple of pussy cats.

  “We need a demo of how you tranquilize the leopards and detach the collars,” he said when the student stood.

  The Dane nodded. Not exactly friendly. Not exactly hostile.

  Axelle came out of the tent and headed over to the horses. Dempsey saw a change in the student’s expression. A microsecond of yearning burned across the man’s features before he masked it again. Josef caught his eye and the two men regarded each other with absolute understanding.

  “You’re with Baxter—the short ugly bugger, rolling around on the floor.”

  The Dane huffed out a gruff laugh. “You’re with Axelle, I suppose?”

  Dempsey nodded.

  “Keep her safe. And keep your hands off her.”

  Cullen glanced at him. Dempsey swore with impatience. He wasn’t on a Club Med vacation. He was on a mission. “Look, Josef. She can barely stand the sight of me. I don’t think you’ve got much to worry about, right, pal?”

  Hell, he’d be gone in a day or two and that pissed him off. For the first time he wanted this mission to last longer. Maybe a few weeks would give him the chance to get to know Axelle Dehn better. A lot better. But she didn’t want to know him at all. She just wanted to save her leopards.

  Josef scratched his neck. “You remind her of her husband.”

  “Husband?” Dempsey had to work hard not to choke. She’s married?

  Josef nodded. “He was a soldier. Died in Iraq years ago.”

  Relief mixed with guilt. Poor bugger. It explained her antipathy toward soldiers. Maybe she blamed the military as a whole for her loss. Or maybe, like any sane person, she hated war.

  They watched her lead two horses across the dusty ground and stop a few feet away. A tiny frown marred her forehead as if she sensed they’d been talking about her.

  “Who’s coming with me?” she asked.

  “I am.” Dempsey took a step closer and her gaze flicked over him. He felt his cheeks burn and knew the lads noticed it, too. Why the hell had he wanted to stick close to the woman? Because he thought he could handle her? It’d be easier to handle a live grenade.

  She thrust a pair of reins at Josef. Then she handed out sheets of paper to everyone, which made him grin. “We only have two receivers and one always stays in base camp.” He and Cullen exchanged a quick glance. Yeah. Right. She pointed to the markings she’d made on the maps she’d printed out. “These are the coordinates of the snares Josef and I set up.”

  There were several crosses on the map, some close together. All in valleys.

  “You and your partner take this zone to the northwest.” She gestured to Cullen, who gave her his film-star grin. Dempsey stood behind Axelle and cocked a brow at the soldier. “The next group takes the snares east. Dempsey and I will head southeast again. I’ll show you how the collars work and how to tranquilize the animals without harming them. Radio in if something unexpected occurs. Any questions?” She stared them each in the eye like the Commander of the Regiment and it was all he could do not to salute.

  “No, ma’am.”

  Dempsey saw the suppressed grins and knew they were all thinking the same thing—she was something else. He stopped listening and just watched her demonstrate the tranqs as the cubs played with her bootlaces. He already knew how they worked. He and Josef held the horses, the lads watching her every move.

  “Does she have this affect on everyone?” he murmured to the Dane.

  Josef nodded and tightened the horse’s saddle girth. “Pretty much.” He looked resigned.

  “She’s young to be in charge of a project this big,” Dempsey noted. Although the setup looked basic, this sort of operation inside a theatre of war would cost a fortune.

  The big man shrugged. “She’s the top researcher in her field. Had a featured article on her in National Geographic a couple of months ago.”

  Dempsey raised his brows. “I guess that explains why she’s so bossy.” Just then she turned to face him.

  “Are you ready to go yet, or do you need to fix your makeup?” he asked.

  The lads grinned.

  A hint of scarlet brushed her cheek as her eyes narrowed dangerously. She knew he was baiting her. Thankfully she just huffed out a breath. “They need to know this stuff.”

  He tapped his watch. “We need to get moving.”

  She looked at her newest recruits. “Is he always such a jerk?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” They all nodded in unison, the pride of the British Army. “He’s a total fucking jerk.”

  And they’d die for him. He just hoped they didn’t have to.

  ***

  Axelle spent the next few hours boiling under the concealment of a desert tarp in a narrow valley, far enough from the snares not to be spotted by terrorists or wildlife, but close enough to see everything that was going on, which was nothing. It should have been boring but she was so tense from this forced proximity to Dempsey, she couldn’t relax. He’d switched back to professional friendly and she wondered if she’d imagined the heat in his eyes this morning.

  It scared her.

  Not him.

  But the fact he’d awoken this edgy sexual energy inside her freaked her out. So, for a change, she’d been cranky with him. It was a wonder he hadn’t put a bullet in her.

  “Josef said you lost your husband in Iraq.”

  Her chin jerked up and she swallowed the unexpected punch of grief. “Josef talks too much.” She blinked rapidly, sideswiped by the memories and the feeling of betrayal her response to this man evoked. Yet it was so long ago—should it still hurt this much?

  Since Gideon died, she’d dedicated her life to helping endangered species
with no time or emotional energy for human complications. She wasn’t sure how to act or how to feel now that someone had finally worked their way past her guard. Especially someone who’d probably leave in a day or two. Especially another soldier who might die.

  He didn’t even look like Gideon and that felt like a double betrayal. How could she lust after someone so different from the man she’d loved? They’d been teenage sweethearts, and with their matching brown eyes and hair, she and Gideon could have passed as siblings. They’d loved each other from the moment they’d met. He wasn’t supposed to enlist. She’d never agreed to be an army wife.

  God, how they’d fought about that.

  It was the only time they’d truly argued and it had been vicious. And then he’d been killed.

  She pressed her lips together. Even now, after so many years, she still hadn’t let go of the anger or the grief. Maybe she never would.

  She turned on the receiver and checked the signals from this high elevation.

  “Still the same?” His eyes were as blue as the brightest sky.

  “Yes.” She looked away.

  “The good news is there were no gunshots today.” Dempsey was trying to make her feel better, which made her feel worse. “Maybe we should head back and see if I can raise HQ for more intel.”

  She swatted at a fly. “Okay.”

  Dust rose as they packed the gear, trying to do it as quietly and surreptitiously as possible. Her eyes were drawn to the tanned muscles of his arms as he shoved things into his pack.

  “I was so angry when he joined up.” The words came out of nowhere.

  “Your husband? He didn’t talk to you about it first?”

  She shook her head. “I was in graduate school. He was a computer programmer and his best friend was killed by an IED. He signed up the next day. Came home and told me.” Even now, more than a decade later, the feelings from that moment threatened to choke her. He’d chosen to leave her. Chosen to go to war. It had scraped her to the bone.

  Why was she telling him this? She never discussed it. Never. “He promised he wasn’t going to die.” She felt his hands on her shoulders and gritted her teeth, fighting her anger and her shame.

  “Axelle.” He sighed. “I’ve been a soldier for a long time. I’ve lost a lot of friends—especially over the last decade. Some died heroes, others died because of shoddy equipment and because penny pinchers in the MOD know sweet Fanny Adams about warfare. But none of them died on purpose.”

  “What about the people you leave behind? Don’t you even care about them?” Her vision swam but she needed an answer to the questions that haunted her.

  “You’ll need to ask someone else.” His expression flattened out into an impassive mask. “I don’t have anyone who gives a rat’s ass whether I live or die.”

  “You’re an orphan?” Her eyes sought and found his, pushing for answers.

  “I wish.”

  “Your family would care—”

  “I’m dead to them.” His eyes grew detached, his voice hard.

  She grabbed his fingers. Held on even when he tried to pull away. His jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. He could fight her off if he wanted to. They both knew it.

  “Why?” she pressed.

  Unexpectedly, he pulled her against his chest and she caught her breath as his lips hovered an inch from hers. He didn’t kiss her. She wrapped her arms around him in a way she hadn’t allowed herself to touch a man in years. Maybe not since her husband had been deployed.

  It felt good to hold him, to feel warm supple muscles flex beneath her fingers. His Adam’s apple rippled in his throat. He smelled strong and warm.

  “My story isn’t going to tell you what your husband was thinking when he died. It won’t teach you forgiveness.”

  She closed her eyes and buried her nose in the crook of his neck. Some of the awful tension she’d been carrying for years leached from her marrow. Even though she wasn’t a woman who needed anyone, it was cathartic and reassuring to be held by such physical strength, by such emotional surety.

  “He shouldn’t have joined up without talking to you about it.” His hand brushed over her hair.

  No, Gideon shouldn’t have enlisted without talking to her first, but hating him for it served no purpose. She had to let go of the past.

  “Although I doubt it would have changed anything in the end.”

  She pressed her lips tighter together.

  He held her away from him and she forced herself to look into that perceptive gaze.

  “He needed to fight.” One side of his lips pulled into a crooked smile. “Some of us need to fight for our country, the same way you fight for wildlife.” With a final squeeze he let her go and stepped away. Busied himself folding the tarp.

  “Are you married?” She suddenly needed to know.

  “No.” He was bent over but he lifted his gaze to meet hers. “Are you proposing?” A glint of humor lit his eyes.

  “No.” Somehow she was both relieved and intimidated and she didn’t bother to fake a smile. “It just might have been easier if you were.”

  Their gazes collided and a million sparks ignited the air between them. Heat rose to press against her skin because she didn’t want this and she could tell from his expression neither did he. “You remind me of everything I lost.”

  “I’m just an ordinary soldier.” His voice was low and fervent. “There are thousands of us, trying to protect civilians by doing the dangerous, ugly jobs most people don’t want to think about. It doesn’t always go to plan.” There was a faraway look in his eyes. “But that’s what we try to do. Kill the bad guys. Save the innocents. And although I never knew your husband, I’d bet my ass that’s why he went to war—to protect the people he loved. To protect you.”

  A hawk cried overhead and her head pounded with an incoming headache.

  “If you can accept that then maybe you can begin to forgive him, and yourself.”

  “Maybe I don’t deserve forgiveness.” Damn. Her epiphany didn’t seem to surprise him, but it shocked the hell out of her.

  He tied the tarp carefully to his pack. “Then become a Catholic because then it doesn’t matter what sins you commit. Christ the Lord will welcome you to Heaven with open arms as long as you repent and go to Mass.” Bitterness made his voice sharp. “Bloody fucking religion. Let’s go.”

  She’d roused some inner demon. Terrific job, Axelle. Although pissing him off kept distance between them and right now she needed that distance, because when he’d held her she’d never wanted to let go. This man wasn’t sticking around, she reminded herself. He went where he was ordered, when he was ordered.

  It took them an hour to get back to camp, but neither said a word. Dempsey walked while she rode. He was unstoppable, seemingly tireless. When they got back Anji was standing outside the main yurt, wringing his hands.

  “Dr. Dehn. Thank goodness you’re here. Josef radioed, he’s been trying to reach you. They think they spotted the poacher’s tracks near their snare.”

  “Shit. Are they sure?” Dempsey answered.

  “No. Not sure.” Anji replied with a hint of fear. “Nobody sure of anything.”

  Dempsey eyed their Russian van. “Would that thing make it to their position?”

  Axelle thought about it. “Pretty much. It might get stuck in the stream though,” she warned.

  “Can I borrow it?” Dempsey asked her.

  “Sure.” This would give her the chance to break the effect he was having on her. She slid from the horse’s back, her muscles feeling like she’d been kick-boxing an iron giant. “Keys are in it. Take Anji with you,” she suggested. The poor guy had been stuck here for the past few days doing nothing except feed kittens. Although that was more than she’d achieved today.

  Dempsey frowned.

  “He’s training to be a ranger. It’ll be valuable experience for him and he knows the area better than anyone. I’ll look after the cubs.”

  Dempsey stared at the man and finally
nodded. “Okay. Be good.” He winked at her, and a half smile lit his face before he and Anji climbed in the van and trundled away into the dusty brown vista.

  “I’m always good,” she whispered. That was the problem.

  She checked on the cubs, who were snoozing in the wooden crate Anji had procured for them. She headed over to the shower area and had a quick wash to remove the worst of the grime. Tired, she decided to grab a nap before sorting through her email. She pushed into her tent and bent to take off her boots. The next moment, a hand clamped over her nose and mouth, and a prick of pain shot through her thigh. Panic blasted away her exhaustion but even as she fought and struggled, strong hands muffled her screams so they died like whimpers in her throat. Then she slammed into darkness.

  ***

  They’d followed the spoor for two hours but ground sign was disappearing as dust swirled in the wind. Dempsey was torn. Did he keep following the unknown originator of these tracks or go back to base camp and regroup. Base camp was calling his name but he wasn’t sure whether that was because Axelle had destroyed his objectivity or because it was the smartest thing to do.

  Hell, right now he was going in circles.

  “Let’s mark this GPS position and head back,” he said to Taz quietly. The sound of horses hooves drumming against solid earth made him glance in the direction of the biologists’ camp. The student—Josef—came flying into view, coat open and flapping in time to the rhythm of the horse.

  “What the feck?” They’d all rendezvoused at the snare where the tracks had been spotted, but he’d sent Josef and the local man back to camp on horseback an hour ago. He hadn’t liked the idea of Axelle being alone, although she’d managed without him all these years, so she could probably cope for an afternoon.

  Josef started yelling, which made Dempsey shake his head and climb slowly to his feet. Any hope of a clandestine patrol had been eliminated, although with all the general commotion he didn’t know why he bothered.

  The big man stopped in a shower of gravel. “Is Axelle here?”

  Dempsey frowned as he grabbed the horse’s reins. “What do you mean? Isn’t she back at camp?”