“I’ll just check we’re on course.” Cubby turned to find Katie pulling out her compass and studying it.
“We are.”
“Never hurts to check,” she said, still looking down, which gave Cubby time to study her. Black shorts that stopped a few inches from her knees, a rain jacket, and an old cap of Jake’s resting on her black curls. Like him, she wore hiking boots and thick socks. The rain wasn’t heavy in there, but a light mist of moisture covered her body; the body that only a few days ago he had come to know intimately.
“I think we should probably split up; we’ll be able to cover more ground if we do.”
“No.” Cubby shook his head. “Not happening, and way too dangerous.”
She tucked the compass carefully into her pocket before looking at him.
“I’m a detective; I know how to look after myself. Besides, I’m armed.”
“With what?”
“A gun.”
“I’m not stupid. What gun and who gave it to you?”
“Jake’s M9. He wanted to make sure I could protect myself if I needed to.”
“That’s my job,” Cubby said, unsure why he was so worked up.
“You’re not with me 24-7, and I know how to handle myself and this gun, so this conversation is a waste of time.” Her words were as cold as her eyes. “I’ll go left, you take right.”
Frustrated, he watched her walk a few paces away from him. “Make contact if you see anything.”
“I heard the brief, Cubby,” she said, looking over her shoulder.
“Just making sure you understood it.”
“Because I’m an idiot after all, and haven’t spent the last year as a detective solving crimes.”
She glared up at him from beneath the bill of her cap, and the hell of it was he wanted to kiss her badly.
“Whatever,” Cubby said, pulling out his own compass. “Just keep the airways clear; no chatting to your pal.”
“What pal?”
“Brady. You and he seem real tight now.”
Shut up, you idiot!
She studied him for several tense seconds.
“He’s hot, what’s not to like?”
The rage was so quick it nearly took his breath away. Cubby fought it back. He’d laid out the ground rules and had no rights to this woman; she could see whomever she wanted.
“Don’t get attached; he’s only here a few more weeks,” he managed to grit out.
“Thanks, Cubby, for the concern, good friend that you are. But we both understand that.”
Before he could react, she’d begun to walk away again, leaving him standing there with every muscle in his body clenched, and so many emotions running through his head, he couldn’t name them all.
“I’ll castrate the bastard,” he snarled when he was sure she couldn’t hear. “It will be a farewell present.”
They searched for hours,calling in every thirty minutes for updates, until the light began to fade. Cubby was just about to contact Rona and have her get everyone back when he heard his administrator’s voice.
