Cam looked at Audrey’s delivery van and the two women loading the last of the front-of-shop supplies that hadn’t been destroyed by flame or water. He studied the woman he was here for. Even from this distance Audrey looked tired. She wouldn’t thank him for that observation, so he’d keep it to himself. His thoughts skirted that moment back at the church, that whatever-the-hell-had-almost-happened instant, circling back to the moment at hand.
Right now, beneath her tiredness, he could tell she was on edge. Her lithe body thrummed like a violin struck by a bow. She moved jerkily, as if holding back an angry momentum. But no fear. He didn’t think he’d ever met a braver woman. And the misplaced pride that rose within him had no business being there. Nor did his attraction to her.
Fed up with his one-sided thoughts, he picked his way through the sodden debris, making his way over to Elena and Audrey. Halfway there, he shoved his hands into his jeans’ front pockets, attempting a nonthreatening demeanor. If he could tell she was full of nervous energy now, what he was about to suggest would shoot her straight into anger.
Before she’d shown up in the rear of the shop, he’d called a friend of his who owned a cabin in the redwoods. After multiple tours of duty in the Sandbox, a lot of guys, including himself, sought refuge in the forest. Cam’s home was in Washington state, deep in the woods with a pond nearby.
Zack lived in San Francisco but owned a cabin that not many people knew about. He’d given Cam the greenlight to take Audrey there until they got a handle on the situation. She wasn’t going to like it, though. Hiding wasn’t one of her default choices. He hoped he could diffuse her resentment and get her to see sense. They needed some time to figure out what was the driving force for the attacks on her, and on the military in general. Time without interruptions or threats on their lives. Going off the grid was the only way Cam knew of finding that time, as well as keeping Audrey safe. It would be a long shot to get her to agree. Thank goodness no one was carrying at the moment. Except for him.
“Get everything sorted?” he asked, scanning across the street as well as up and down it, as if he were in enemy territory. He felt more and more like he was in a combat zone with each day that passed.
Audrey glanced at him. Tension lines bracketed her lips, and unshed tears shone in her eyes. He wanted to enfold her in his arms, prop his chin on top of her head, and tell her everything would be all right, but he had no idea if it would be. Not until they knew what, or who, they were fighting.
She gave a tiny shrug, turning to look into the van. “What little there was left, I suppose. At least I still have my computer and my schedule book. How I’m going to fill the orders, I have no idea.”
“Work out of your house?”
His attention swiveled to Elena. A badass wannabe. She was a true-blue friend to Audrey and because of that, she had a target almost as large as the one on Audrey. Her suggestion ran counter to his plan, however.
“I think you both need to pop smoke and lay low for a while,” he ventured, at a clear disadvantage with these two strong women.
Of course they disagreed.
“There’s too much I have to do,” sputtered Audrey. She looked around, at a loss for anything more to say.
“If ‘pop whatever’ means what I think it does, you can forget about it, boy toy. I’m not about to hide from that jackass.”
Yup, exactly the reaction he’d expected. Boy toy? He fought a grin at that moniker. He imagined Elena would be a helluva good time, but he was here for Audrey, so that’s who he addressed.
“Brett is after you, right?” he asked. She nodded, narrowing her eyes. Of course she’d attempt to figure out where he was going with this line of questioning. That was her expertise, after all.
“How could he get back at you best, besides trying to kill you?” Both women’s attention was on him. He moved his hands into his rear pockets, assuming a nonchalance that was all for show. He was just as wired as them, if not more.
Audrey jerked her head at her burnt-out shop. “This was a damn good start.”
He nodded, drawing out the silence. They leaned forward. He was pulling them in. Unfortunately, in another second they’d be jumping off the hook.
“He could go after someone you’re close to.” He met Elena’s gaze and held it before hers darted to Audrey’s and back again.
“Oh, hell no. I’ll be ready for the douche.”
He smiled without humor, looking past her to Audrey. “Do you want that possibility resting on your conscience?” These women needed to realize what sort of danger they were in. His idea was the only viable solution.
“Ugh,” Audrey growled, with a shake of her head. “You’re right. Of course you’re right. I can’t go home because it was already violated, and I can’t go to anyone else because that will bring him to their doorstep. Dammit, why couldn’t he stay where he was!” Her gaze bore into his. He felt Elena’s on him as well. He inwardly squirmed and finally replied.
“Yes, it’s my fault he’s loose. But that’s water under the bridge. Last night proved we’re dealing with more than just a revenge scheme. Right now we have to minimize the rest of this Charlie Foxtrot and get you the hell away from people you care about.”
He turned his attention to Elena. “You need to go somewhere safe. Go visit your family until we get a handle on the situation. Lock up your house and leave. Tonight.
“And you?” he addressed Audrey, who’d fisted her hands on her hips. “I put a call in to a buddy of mine. He has a place we can go. Off the grid. We can regroup, reassess, and reevaluate. We still need to figure out if you have something Brett needs. Inadvertently,” he added. Leaving it at just Brett was a lot easier than scaring Elena with talk of terror cell attacks.
Audrey digested the information he’d given her. He liked that she didn’t get hysterical or throw a fit about leaving everything behind. It was the soldier in her, and the soldier he was admired that.
“Hold the phone. Audrey, what did you mean, your place was violated?” Elena pointed a finger at him, reacting exactly how he thought she would. Emotions steered her boat.
Audrey went into an explanation that was a serious drag on their getaway time. Cam held it together as long as he could, but they really needed to hit the road. He wouldn’t be able to relax until Abbottsville was in the rearview mirror.
At last he broke into their discussion. “Audrey, we need to go. Brett seems to work best at night. These attacks have been so random, we don’t know where the hell he’ll strike next. Let’s not make ourselves any bigger targets.”
The two women shared a look and hugs.
“Take care of yourself, Audrey.”
“Same with you, Leni. I’ll contact you when I can.”
Cam took a step away, hoping Audrey would automatically follow, but he paused when Elena warned him, “You’d better take care of her, boy toy. Or what Brett does is gonna look like a toddler tantrum compared to what I’ll do to you.”
His laugh was genuine. “Message received, ma’am. Take care of yourself. Get as far away as possible. Brett’s out for blood, and I don’t believe he’s going to be too particular about whose.”
She gave him a jaunty salute, a nod with sad eyes to Audrey, and then headed to her car. Cam moved up beside Audrey, who watched her friend leave in silence. Though her profile was stoic, he could see her jaw muscles working. He wanted to put a comforting arm around her, but after that mutual attraction moment from earlier, he didn’t trust himself. He’d have to keep that under wraps, especially where they were going.
“We need to drop these supplies at your house and pack a bag for a few days. I’ll call my CWO while you’re doing that. We also need to pick up a burner phone for you. Mine is hard to triangulate, but yours can be tracked anywhere. Write down the contacts you need before we hit the road.”
She stared after her friend’s disappearing car and
nodded once before slamming the van’s rear doors shut. Without saying another word to him, she strode to the driver’s side and hopped in. He got into the passenger seat, maintaining radio silence as well.
Chapter Eleven
The drive was longer than Audrey expected. That, or she was overtired. Whichever the reason, she dozed off in Cam’s truck, escaping the events of the last twenty-four hours in untroubled sleep.
She woke up when her head banged against the passenger window. Rubbing it, she looked at Cam. He shot her an apologetic look before returning his attention to the road. “Sorry about that. We’re almost there.”
Groggy from sleep, she looked out the windshield. A fine, spring drizzle was coming down, turning the ribbon of partially paved road into mud. Redwood trees towered on either side of them. She couldn’t see the sky through all their foliage.
All the green triggered memories of how her flower shop had looked before they’d left, threatening to spill the tears she’d fought to withhold. Knowing she could rebuild was small recompense because it represented so much more than simply her livelihood. Starting her business had come at a time when she had lacked direction and focus. She’d lost confidence in herself as a soldier when that informant blew up the bus full of innocents. Making a new life for herself without the Army proved she could pick herself up and start over. And now she had to again, thanks to Brett. It hurt even more this time.
The truck bounced again, and Audrey grabbed the suicide handle. “Do you know where you’re going?” Her words echoed every woman from the passenger seat.
Sitting back, he flashed another of those devastating smiles, the kind that crinkled the corners of his eyes and helped her forget her woes. His bruises had yellowed, bringing the pirate comparison to mind again. Except she’d already gotten to know him and could see the exhaustion beneath his bravado. Neither of them had gotten much sleep the night before, and they’d left after the fire. Cam had given her barely enough time to pack her duffel and pick up a burner phone before heading out of Abbottsville and into the redwoods. And now he’d driven while she catnapped. He had to be tapped out.
“It’s a challenge, I’m not going to lie. Zack’s directions were thorough, but it’s getting kind of dark now.”
She sighed and looked out her window again. “I thought this was all national forest. How could he live here?” They were winding past trees and more trees, going deeper into the woods. The gloom of nightfall cloaked them in silence, except for the creaks of the truck as it bounced along. Every so often they’d pass a leaning mailbox, signaling that someone lived nearby, but she could see no other evidence of humanity. Her skin tingled.
“With Zack it’s best not to get too nosy. He’s been a spook for a long time and racked up a lot of knowledge and friends in high places. He’s not in the business anymore, but I’m sure he can call in favors. We’re right on the edge of the Avenue of the Giants. He bought this place after his divorce. He was pretty ripped up after Angie left, I guess, and needed a quiet place.”
Audrey digested this, until they hit a dip in the road that sent both their heads into the roof of the truck.
“Damn it!” they exclaimed at the same time. They shared a brief smile. Cam cranked the steering wheel to the right, and a rustic cabin came into view. Pine needles littered the shake roof. The place looked right out of the movie Evil Dead. Audrey pulled her windbreaker tighter around her.
An older Jeep was drawn up close to the cabin, and a man in hunting camouflage leaned against it, smoking a cigarette. Which was more reassuring than a hunting rifle cradled in his arms. She didn’t see any weapons. He glanced up, taking a drag and squinting through the exhale as Cam pulled in beside him.
Cam jumped out and immediately strode to the man. Audrey slid out more slowly, her gaze sweeping her surroundings, what little she could see in the dusk shadows. The soaring trees and continued drizzle didn’t help with visibility.
“Why the hell haven’t you paved this donkey track yet, old man? My balls are in my throat, thanks to you.” Cam threw an arm around the shorter, thinner guy before doing some secret handshake that looked more like grabbing a doorknob.
Audrey edged around the hood of the truck and cleared her throat. Both men retreated from the “bro” moment, Cam shooting her an apologetic look before doing the introductions.
“Sorry, Audrey. This asshole always brings the worst out in me. This is Zack Addison. Zack, this is Audrey Jenkins.”
She finally got a close-up look at her host. Just under six feet, Zack Addison was wiry beneath all the unnecessary layers of clothes, with dark hair long enough to put in a ponytail, which he had. Smoker lines creased either side of his mouth, aging him more than the mid-thirties that she guessed him at. His eyes looked brown, but she couldn’t be sure in the half-light.
He switched the stub of his cigarette to his left hand and held out his right to shake. She looked him in the eyes while she took his hand. They were clear and direct. His skin was rough against hers, cool where Cam’s was always warm. And he smelled like smoke. She stepped back, bumping shoulders with Cam.
“Mi casa es su casa,” Zack said, waving his hand toward the cabin. Shooting another assessing look his way, Audrey hefted her duffel from the truck bed and preceded the two men up the wood porch steps that needed a good sweep.
The door was ajar. She pushed through and entered a man cave. Her first impression was: books. Books everywhere. Bookshelves obscured all four wood-paneled walls, floor to ceiling. A sliding library ladder stood at the ready in the far corner of the room. Several books sat open on the farm-style table, one with a pair of reading glasses resting on it, like the reader had just stepped away for a moment. Which he had.
Worn, brown leather furniture faced the rocky fireplace, topped by a chunky mantel and a very sleek flat-screen TV, currently dark. A couple of rough-hewn end tables with mismatched lamps and empty tuna cans serving as ash trays rounded out the not-so-great, great room.
What drew Audrey’s attention next was the office-size desk in another corner of the room. Double monitors winked at her, each rivaling the size of the wall-mounted TV. One screen had some internet site on it, while the other showed Cam and Zack walking up the steps, heads together in deep conversation.
She wondered if Zack was one of those crazy survivalists waiting for the end of the world, with a food cellar stocked with water, batteries, and ammo. More vets than people realized preferred living off the grid, armed and ready for Armageddon. By the looks of this place, it seemed their host was well on his way to being one of them.
Audrey faced the men as they entered the cabin. Addison snicked the deadbolt into lock position, she noticed. Was that to keep the bad out? Or them in? The thought was unsettling.
Cam, at least, seemed impressed with this return-to-Archie-Bunker abode, where everything was set up for the man of the house. The only thing different was no woman shared the space.
“Like I said, make yourselves at home for however long you’re kicking back here. Which is…?” His voice trailed off as he looked from her to Cam for an answer. She shrugged. It wasn’t her idea to hide to begin with. Let Cam do the explaining.
“Not sure. It got a little hairy downtown, so we’re going to lay low here and figure things out.” Cam let out a whistle as he studied his friend’s computer station. “This is one sweet set up. We should be able to figure out what’s happening on Mars if we want.”
“Knock yourselves out. I’m untraceable out here. Unless you brought your idiot phones, you should be safe.”
“He got me a burner,” Audrey supplied. “How do you get internet out here?”
Cam slashed his hand across his throat when Audrey glanced at him, reminding her of his earlier suggestion. She addressed their host, who didn’t seem inclined to answer anyway. “Never mind. I forgot. Don’t ask, don’t tell.”
Both men laughed, and Zack push
ed off from the computer desk, heading toward a shadowed hall. “I’ll show you the racks and the shitter and then shove off.”
“Actually…we might need some assistance.”
Addison dropped his head back and spoke to the ceiling. “I knew it wasn’t going to be this easy. Damn.”
…
Zack even made their dinner. His buddy came off as slightly paranoid to most people, but Cam had always found him to be that one friend you could count on, no matter what. Their paths didn’t cross much anymore, but Cam kept Zack in the back of his mind, just in case. Today was one of those times. Once one of the best covert operatives in the Army, Zack had been taken to the cleaners by his ex-wife, whose defection seriously undermined his self-confidence. Now he wrote spy thrillers and made bank on them, though he’d never regained the assurance he once had.
Cam and Audrey cleaned up after the homemade chili dinner, while Zack accessed the Dark Web. Now all three of them circled Zack’s King Tut throne of a desk while a fire cheerily burned in the grate. Since there were other cabins in the area, Cam supposed hiding in plain sight was the best strategy and didn’t mention the fire potentially signaling their whereabouts.
Zack stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles like a virtuoso before a performance. “All right, boys and girls, what are you interested in finding out today?”
“Terrorist chatter,” Cam blurted at the same time Audrey said, “The GUWP.”
Zack eyed Audrey. Seconds passed. Audrey gazed back without blinking. The longer Zack studied her, the more irritated Cam became. What was his friend doing, counting her freckles? He made a move to interrupt the stare-off, and that’s when Zack began nodding.
Zone of Action (In the Zone) Page 11