“The arrogance of my man. You have no idea if you can outshoot me. Just because you have a big bad reputation and I don’t, doesn’t mean you’re better than I am.”
He laughed. Actually laughed. The sound was like music to her, playing over her skin and sinking deep, branding his name somewhere she knew she’d never get it out. She didn’t want to. The truth was, she was already lost. Free-falling right off the cliff when she wasn’t a risk-taker. She was a methodical huntress. She planned ahead for every contingency.
Falling so fast and so hard for a man hadn’t been in her plans, but now that it had happened, she accepted it. She had made up her mind that she wasn’t going to be a coward and pass up the opportunity to be with a man like Diego Campos.
“Let’s do this.” She lay completely prone on the ground, eyes on the series of targets he’d set up. “You go first.”
Diego stretched out beside her on the ground. He wasn’t super close to her, but she could feel the warmth of his body, and it was distracting. Apparently not for him. He didn’t miss. Every singlebullet fired was a kill shot. It gave her an incredible rush, knowing he hadn’t gone easy on her. She didn’t want easy. She wanted a partnership. She knew the reputation of Diego Campos. If you ever had the misfortune to get into the sight of his rifle, you were as good as dead.
She would like to see what he could do with a knife. He seemed to prefer to use knives, something she disliked. Killing with a knife was very personal. Up close. She could feel the blade enter the target and knew the damage she’d done. She could see her prey’s eyes, feel their emotions. She didn’t want to use a knife if she could avoid it. But she was excellent with one when the need arose.
She took her time with each shot, knowing her skills would surprise him, maybe even impress him. At least she hoped he would be impressed. She was an excellent shot, and like Diego, she didn’t miss. Each bullet fired was a kill shot. When she’d hit the last target, she couldn’t help but look over at him, anxiety uppermost. She knew most of the men she’d trained around despised that she was a better shot than they were. She wasn’t Diego Campos good, but she was very close.
The look on his face was everything she could have wanted. Fantasized over. Needed. There was sheer pride in her. A slow grin swept up toward his eyes, lighting that darkness. It might have been brief, but it was there.
“You should have insisted on a bet.”
That said it all. Was everything to her. Before she could reply, from somewhere in the forest, quite close, the great horned owl issued a challenge to any owl entering her territory. Diego reached over and gently curled his fingers around Leila’s shoulder. She looked up at his face, and a shiver of fear slid down her spine. His entire demeanor had changed. She was no longer looking at her sweet companion; she was looking at a full-on predator. There was no mistaking the killer in his eyes.
He didn’t speak, but his hand moved, signaling her toward the cover of the trees. She didn’t argue. She was up and moving in a low crouch straight into the thicker forest. He moved with her, shadowing her every step, her smaller body dwarfed by his. She wanted to demand that he stop protecting her. She was his partner when it came to threats—and in this case, the threat was there most likely because of her.
Once both had been swallowed by the deeper foliage, Diego indicated a large tree with an extensive root system. “Crawl in there.”
She frowned at him. She didn’t hesitate because there were spiders, lizards and mice; she was used to dealing with insects, reptiles and even rodents. She took a few heartbeats, shaking her head at him. “How am I going to be helping you if I’m hiding like a coward in there?” She hissed the question, keeping her voice a mere thread of sound.
“You won’t be hiding for long, Warrior Woman.” He flashed her a grin. “I’m just going to scout out the enemy. I’ll let you know how many.”
“It could be your brother. Or Luther.”
“The owl knows both men. She would have let me know they were on their way, but she wouldn’t have raised an alarm.”
Leila didn’t argue with him. She crawled beneath the framework of roots. Diego placed several weapons as well as ammunition beside her right hand and a bottle of water beside her left.
“Won’t be long, sweetheart. Catch a nap if you’re so inclined.”
“A nap?”
“Don’t tell me you aren’t a little tired. You’ve been working nearly nonstop after lying in bed. You’re still not completely healed. A nap will do you good.”
“Is that what you do when you’re about to go into combat?”
“Yep. Keeps me sharp.” He grinned at her, pressed a kiss to hisfingertips and then placed the pads of his fingers on her lips. “Seriously, Leila, this won’t take that long. I just need to know where they are, who they are and how many, and lead them back this way if they’re lost.”
“Well, if that’s all, a nap sounds like a perfect choice.”
9
It was a mistake to send anyone to hunt him in his own territory. Every commander should know that. Whitney occasionally sent his supersoldiers against a GhostWalker unit to test them. It never ended well for the soldiers. There were times when Diego speculated that Whitney wanted to rid himself of a group of troublesome soldiers, so he sent them against the GhostWalkers.
But the commander of the soldiers sanctioned by the government? He would know better than to send someone out once Diego had identified himself as a GhostWalker. Even if the commander didn’t recognize his name, the fact that Diego was in the GhostWalker program should have been enough to deter him. If he wanted Leila back, he could apply through proper channels, although she was Diego’s woman. He would never stop fighting for her, and neither would his fellow GhostWalkers. That was their code.
Sending anyone after her, knowing they were entering Diego’s home turf, was just plain stupid. Diego was aware that Luthercould arrive any minute if he hadn’t succeeded in stopping the soldiers from taking Bridget. Rubin would be on his way as well. Diego didn’t need them, but he did worry they would walk into a trap. He would have to leave signs to warn them.
Rubin would know the long vertical bear rubs on three trees in a row were made by Diego as a danger sign. It was possible Luther might see them and know that Diego, not a black bear, had created the bear rubs. He marked several trees on and off trails as he hurried down the mountain in the direction the owl indicated she had spotted intruders.
Rubin knew to be cautious in his approach to the cabin. They were always careful when they returned. The cabin was unoccupied for months on end. It was known throughout their part of the mountains that the land was owned by Rubin and Diego. They paid two neighbors to watch over their property in their absence. If an occasional hiker went off course and found the cabin, the two men took care of it immediately, escorting the intruders away.
The GhostWalker commanders had the information on the location of the cabin available to them. Being the commander of an experimental program most likely gave Leila’s commander a very high security clearance. Diego was positive, depending on that clearance, that the commander could access the information.
