by Rebecca Rode
Chapter 6
SHELBY GLANCED UP WHEN MARTINEZ poked her head in the office where Shelby had spent the last five days cooped up.
“Hey, boss.” Martinez said. “Want me to bring you something from the cafeteria?”
“That would be wonderful. Can you pick me up some munchies too? I’ll be here late.” She straightened and arched her back until it popped.
Martinez stepped fully into the room and did a quick scan. “Your blood sugar bothering you again?”
“No. I’ve got cheese sticks and crackers, but it’d be nice to have a better variety. Tomorrow I’m moving my office to Rochefort-en-fleur.” Shelby rose from her chair. “There’s a sweet office with a great view of the beach.”
“You are looking pale.” Martinez sat on the edge of the desk. “You’re on a Southern California island with four great beaches. No one should be pale in this setting. You need to get out. Do something besides work.”
“I know.” Shelby’s duties with this job were different from any she’d done before. The individual project managers reported to her, but she was little more than a liaison between them and Alan. Her primary responsibilities, besides coordinating with Wade, included doing an audit of the entire project’s books. She gave a soft chuckle. “These books have turned into a bit of a treasure hunt. I guess I’m obsessing about it.”
“Mr. Bradley asked if you were.” Martinez grinned.
Shelby shifted in her chair, all humor gone. “Please don’t tell me he’s turned you into his little spy.”
“No, Ms. Nash.” She stood, her posture turning more formal, matching Shelby’s tone. “But I am charged with your security during the day. He’s just concerned about you.”
Shelby sighed and forced herself to relax. A part of her still wanted to be mad at Alan over the Wade thing, but she couldn’t get up the energy. Working with him hadn’t been too bad after all. She decided to drop it. Martinez was only doing her job anyway, and Shelby liked the woman.
“He isn’t usually a naggy old man,” Shelby said. “And can you do me a favor?”
“Sure, what?”
“Can you call me Shelby?”
“Is that appropriate?” Martinez asked. “I don’t want to get in trouble.”
“You won’t. I’m the only one who’d complain, and since it’s my request ...” Shelby raised her brows. “Didn’t you introduce yourself as Ava? I’ll call you that.” She lowered her voice. “But I’m still calling Shang ‘Shang Junior.’”
Ava laughed. “Does kind of bring that on himself, doesn’t he?”
“I’m glad he’s on night duty. It’d drive me crazy to have his scowl hanging around all the time.” She turned back to her work.
“I’ll bring back your supper. Oh.” Ava paused, and Shelby looked up. “I go hiking in the mornings before it gets too hot. Want to come? There are some sweet trails.”
“Yeah, I think I would,” Shelby said. “I need to get some exercise.”
***
Wade sat down to eat his dinner in the small staff cafeteria and scanned the room. He’d thought meals might provide a chance to interact with Shelby, but she only showed up for breakfast. Once, he’d seen Martinez carrying a tray over to the building where Shelby had set up her office. The only other time he saw her was during their planning meetings with the staff. Since Martinez hadn’t provided any help yet, he’d considered just dropping in at Shelby’s office to see if he could get her to talk about anything besides work.
He dug into his spaghetti. The cafeteria only had a few people. Not unexpected since it was Thursday evening. Most of the work crews did four/ten schedules. A few chose to stay overnight in the dorms. On Monday morning, it’d taken three large ferries to bring in the crews. Wade had worried about the sheer number of people who worked on the island, but the layered organization seemed to flow well. He had daily meetings only with the section leaders. A few crews were putting the finishing touches on the Chinese village, while the majority of the crews had moved on to the French town square.
“Hey, Masters.”
Wade shifted in his seat to find Martinez approaching him. He indicated the other chair.
“I’m here for Shelby’s dinner.” She put her foot on the chair and bent, conspiratorially. “You still coming for a hike tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Why?” He took a bite.
Martinez wiggled her brows and grinned. “We’re having company in the morning.”
He sucked in air and choked.
Chuckling, she patted him on the back. “See you at six.”
***
As Wade finished dressing the next morning, he thought about Martinez’s expression when she’d told him. He doubted Shelby knew he’d be there too. Would she leave when she saw him?
He walked outside to the bright sunshine and wondered how long it might last, what with the weather forecast. The possible threat of the edge of a tropical storm in a few days was something he’d never experienced before. How much rain could it dump on them? He hoped it didn’t delay work or, worse, damage any work already done. It’d also make for a rough sail for the commuters. At least there hadn’t been any more incidents with sabotage.
Martinez had texted him where to meet, so he went to the trailhead. He’d hiked with the bodyguard twice, and they’d taken a different trail each time. After the first time, he’d pulled out one of the designs. It turned out the trails made a fifth destination. Located on the original island, visitors coming for a day of hiking would be presented with a fabulous view of all four villages. What better advertising?
When Wade arrived at the trailhead, the women had already arrived and were stretching. Martinez must have heard his approach because she looked up from her standing hamstring stretch.
“You made it.” The bodyguard straightened.
“Oh, hi.” Shelby glanced up at him for only a second before bending to tie her shoe.
Perhaps not a greeting Wade might have hoped for, but she hadn’t shown any sign of leaving. He decided to count it as a win.
“We ready?” Without waiting for an answer, Martinez headed up a trail she’d taken him on the first day. “There’s a path that branches off that I’d like to check out. Doesn’t look as used as the others.”
“A road less traveled?” Wade positioned himself between the two women.
“Like the poem?” Shelby asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s a favorite quote of my parents.”
Wade hoped she’d keep talking, but she didn’t say anything else. She could be such a conversation killer when she wanted. Matching his stride with hers, he thought over what to say that wasn’t about work, but nothing came to mind. “How are the books coming?”
“Interesting, to say the least.”
“Have they confirmed the decision to let Conti go?”
“Oh, yeah.” Shelby finally glanced at Wade. “Apparently he was also better at tekkie stuff than he led us to believe. Grantham’s IT is still working through some sophisticated protections he had in place.”
“This way.” Martinez pointed to the side.
“Are you sure that’s a trail?” Wade squinted at the barely there break in the bushes.
“It’s probably a path the animals use to get to a water source.” The bodyguard pulled aside some vines with purple flowers, and both women went through.
“Must be small animals, then.” Shelby squeezed through the narrow opening. “That might be easier to get through if we crawled. Where’d you learn all this, Ava?’
“My grandparents were migrant workers, but my dad got his law degree. In fact, he’s a law professor now. He moved us out of the San Joaquin Valley and farther north. Bought some land outside of Arnold.”
“Where’s Arnold? Whoa!” Wade ducked his head to miss a low branch.
“Isn’t that close to Calaveras Big Trees?” Shelby held another branch so it didn’t hit him in the face.
“Thanks.” He ducked under and matched his pace with hers up the sh
arp incline.
They focused on the trail for a couple of minutes before he asked, “Have you been to that tree place?”
“Calaveras Big Trees.” Shelby paused to catch her breath. “I’d never been camping before and begged Alan to take me. You might not have guessed, but he’s not much of an outdoorsy guy, but he did it. Calaveras Big Trees is exactly that. It’s a park of Sequoia redwoods.”
“Like the kind you can drive your car through?” Wade asked.
“I never saw any trees that cars could drive through there, but the trees are big. And old,” Martinez said. “Back in the late 1890s or around there, some idiots cut some of them down. One had a stump so wide they used it for a dance floor.”
“They have some campgrounds nearby, and that’s where we stayed.” Shelby laughed. “You should have seen the two of us, trying to set up the tents and then cook our food. Some nearby campers came to our aid. I talked Alan into going into some of the caves in the area. He had a hard time of it, but he didn’t want me to go alone.” Her expression turned reflective. “You know, he didn’t have to do it. But he did it because it meant so much to me.” She looked down at her feet. “And I never once thanked him.”
“So, call him tonight and tell him. This way.” Martinez pointed ahead and moved out again.
“Are you still mad at him?” Wade asked from behind her.
She glanced over her shoulder, wearing a little smile. “No, not anymore. I—” Her body lurched forward, her arms flailing.
Wade lunged to grab her but tripped on the same root she had. As he staggered to stay on his feet, she stumbled and collided with Martinez’s back. The two went down just before Wade did a face-plant. After a stunned second, he lifted his head, spit out dirt, and ran his tongue over his front teeth to see if he’d chipped any. Ahead of him, the two women lay sprawled on each other. They burst out laughing.
“Are you two okay?” Wade got to his feet and brushed himself off, still spitting out dirt.
“I think so.” Shelby tried to sit up, and Martinez gave her a push, still chuckling.
“Well, my father always said that coordination strikes every seven minutes.” Wade held out his hand to Shelby. Her laughter died, and she hesitated.
“I don’t bite,” Wade said softly.
“I know you don’t.” She accepted his hand and let him pull her to her feet.
For a second, they stood only inches apart. Their gazes met, and that zing he’d felt when he’d helped her from the helicopter hit him again. Her eyes widened a little, and her cheeks flushed.
“You cut your lip.” She reached up as though to touch it but pulled back.
He wanted to kiss her so bad. Good thing Martinez was there to keep him from doing anything stupid. He released Shelby’s hand and stepped back.
“Anyone hurt anywhere?” he asked. “Should we go back?”
“You chickening out, Masters?” Martinez pointed ahead. “The trail still calls.”
They paid more attention to the trail after that. Another fifteen minutes and the narrow path ended at a wall of vines.
Martinez moved a strand to the side and exposed a wooden door. “That’s odd.”
***
“What is it?” Shelby stepped back to get a broader view, wishing more light shone through the overhead trees. What she’d supposed to be another large thicket appeared now to have a more uniform, squarish shape. “Is it a building?”
“I don’t know.” Ava pulled more of the vines back and exposed a doorknob.
“This is the really old part of the island.” Wade gave the knob a turn. The door opened a little and then scraped along the floor with a squeak. “It’s warped.” With a good shove of his shoulder, it opened most of the way.
“Anyone have a flashlight?” As soon as she spoke, Shelby remembered her phone. She grinned when they all reached in their pockets at the same time. She joined them at the doorway. “I wonder if this was used by the World War II watchers.”
“Is this a bunker?” Wade asked.
“Let’s find out.” Ava led the way through the door.
Shelby thought the giant box seemed a lot like an old storage room or attic, filled with junk people didn’t need or want anymore. She ducked her head away from some hanging cobwebs. A childhood memory came to her, of lying in her bed on a hot summer night, of little feet scrambling across her skin. She shuddered involuntarily. There’d better not be rats.
A bunch of crates fully lined one wall, with another, smaller grouping near another wall. Near, but not against. Curious. Wade and Ava had already begun pulling the stack of crates down. Shelby stepped outside.
“You leaving already?” Wade poked his head out the doorway.
“No. I just don’t like all those spider webs.” She ignored his grin and selected a decent-sized branch lying on the ground.
The others had turned the interior into an obstacle course as they investigated the crates. They had already tossed some old wool blankets to the side. She made her way to the back corner, taking down cobwebs as she went.
The light from her phone’s flashlight app revealed nothing more than a cot with a small crate at its side, like a nightstand. A couple of very old pinup pictures torn from a magazine still hung from thumbtacks on a strip of wood hammered in the heavy concrete.
“Looks like someone wanted a little privacy,” Wade said from close behind her. Close enough that his body heat warmed her from the chill in the room. He didn’t quite touch her.
A long time ago, he would have encircled her waist with his arms and rested his chin on her shoulder. Once again, her body remembered. Without thinking, she leaned back against him. His hands came up to grasp her arms gently, his cheek pressed against the side of her head. The pounding of her heart made her breaths turn shallow. Shelby closed her eyes; she’d missed him so much.
“What a lonely existence,” Wade said. “I wonder if the government stationed two men here, taking the watch by turns.” Wade pressed his lips against her hair and whispered. “Shel—”
“Looks like they took most anything important,” Ava said from behind them.
Shelby started and took a step forward, pulling free, chagrined at her reaction. “Have you two noticed anything that might interest visitors?” She forced herself to look back then, keeping her attention on Ava. “We’ll have to do a search for old pictures. Don’t you think it’d be fun if we found enough items for a display? Like a mini-museum.” She waved them off. “I’ll check this box.”
“Shel—” Wade began.
“No!” She met his gaze then. “Just stop it. Please.” The open, concerned expression on his face closed up, like he’d shut a door. Well, wasn’t that what she’d done? Slammed it right in his face.
“Come on, Martinez.” Wade turned and put his hand on the bodyguard’s back.
Like with that clerk in the San Francisco chocolate shop, a twinge of jealousy irked Shelby. Being around Wade muddied her thoughts, made her second guess her decision. She had to get done with Alan’s job and be gone. She took a deep breath. Aloof. And not in proximity to Wade. She’d had no way to guess that after all this time just his nearness would have so much power over her. What was she, anyway, still in high school?
Shelby picked up her phone and shone it toward the box. She tried to pry open the lid. With only one hand free, she couldn’t quite pull it up. She positioned the phone to light the area, and pried the lid open with her fingers. It came off, throwing dust in the air, and slid back behind the crate.
Coughing, Shelby took the phone again and pointed it into the box. Some kind of packing materials sat on top, with something shiny below. She pushed the material to the side, revealing an odd, oblong roundish ... thing. As she shifted the phone to see the object better, the light reflected on something else. A tiny pair of eyes.
With a shriek, she staggered back. Her whole body shuddered, and she turned only to crash into Wade.
“Let me out. Let me out.” She shoved past him and dash
ed outside, brushing at her clothes.
“What the—” Ava began, running up behind her.
“Was it a rat?” Wade interrupted, staying a couple of paces back.
“Yes.” Shelby stood still, forcing herself not to shake out her clothing anymore, embarrassed by her overreaction.
“Did it bite you?” Ava grabbed one of Shelby’s hands and examined it.
“No, it didn’t.” Her body shuddered again, and she pulled back her hand.” I just have a thing about rats. I need to get to work.”
“All right,” Martinez said. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 7
“WADE, I LOVE ALL THE flowers in this design.” Shelby pointed at the newest colored sketches he held for her to see. “We might want to consider some gardens with just that in mind.”
“Like this?” He whipped off the top sheet with the flourish of a magician and revealed a drawing of some formal gardens.
“Oh, I like these,” she said. “We need to show this to Alan when he gets here.”
“He’s coming?”
“Didn’t he email you?” Shelby asked.
“No.” Wade pulled out his phone and checked. “But the system’s been twitchy today. Probably that storm headed our way. Look, these are just prelims from our landscape architect. She’s doing some research right now for a list of plants native to that part of France that will work here. Our biggest challenge with the island could be the amount of wind.” He sat down. “We’d just like to know if Grantham can afford to add these features before we have her spend any more time on it.”
“I can imagine some great photo opportunities.” Shelby leaned forward in her chair and studied the bright combination of colorful flowers, some in planters and others climbing the stone walls. She looked up. “Why Rochefort-en-fleur? That name is a mouthful. I heard one of the construction workers call it Rockford.” When she’d heard that, she hadn’t been sure if she should laugh or be insulted.
“It’s a play on the name of a real French village.” Wade leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “You really like the additions?” He didn’t quite look at her.