She swallowed. “Then what?”
He didn’t answer, and his face went blank.
Okay. Whatever he was planning, he didn’t want to share. She wouldn’t judge him for wanting to end the threat over his head. “What about me?” she asked. Waiting a few miles away was better than waiting an hour away.
He reached for a pair of combat boots and slipped his feet in, leaning down to lace them up.
She waited for him to answer, but he seemed so focused it was as if he wasn’t really in the room. “Denver?”
He moved to the bed and the myriad weapons he’d laid out, choosing a sharp knife with a jagged edge to set gently in a sheath strapped to his right calf. A darker knife with twin blades went into a sheath on his left. “Where is . . . there it is.” He grabbed some odd concoction of Velcro and strapped it around his right thigh before reaching for a big gun with a large barrel to place in its holder.
She looked around and found a similar-looking Velcro gun holder to toss his way. He secured it on his other leg and reached for another version of the same gun to set in place.
Whoa. Two knives and two guns. But he wasn’t done. Three cylinders went into holders near the guns.
“What are those?” she asked.
“Tear gas.” He flipped open a box he’d put on the floor and drew out several other odd-shaped silver things. “Flash grenades,” he said before she could ask, also setting those in pockets. Then he strode back to the corner and grabbed a bulletproof vest, wincing when he pushed his arms into it.
This was unreal. To think Ryker and Heath had all this stuff in their vehicle when they’d driven from South Dakota. The devastation he was already wearing blew her mind. “How is your side?” Obviously the stitches were pulling.
“Fine,” he said, securing the vest. Heath suddenly appeared in the door. “Talked to Jory, and they have snow camo suits that will blend in with the storm better. But they’d have to stop here first.”
Denver paused. “No. Stay on plan. It’s dark and we’ll be fine.”
“Agreed.” Heath gave Noni a nod and then moved away.
Noni swallowed. “Why not get the suits?”
Denver reached for the 9 millimeter she’d just loaded to place at the back of his waist. Spare clips went in even more pockets. “The plan is detailed to the last second, and we have to come from opposite directions. Madison is waiting, and I don’t want any delay.” He caught her gaze, his blue eyes glittering with determination. “Trust me. We’ll be fine. It’s dark anyway.”
A lump filled her throat. She didn’t seem to have much of a choice. So she stood and grasped a jacket off the bed, moving toward him to hand it over. “No weapons in the jacket?”
“Maybe just a couple.” His lips twitched, and he took more stuff out of the box to put in his jacket. “Did you count the weapons on me?”
“There are a lot,” she whispered.
He nodded. “See why you’re not coming?”
So she wasn’t a fighter, and she wasn’t trained. If they left the cars miles away in the snow, she’d need to turn on the heat to keep warm. Anything could give the position away. Didn’t mean she liked it, though. “Waiting is the hardest part.”
“I know.” He brushed her hair away from her face and placed a soft kiss on her nose. Then he paused. “Did I leave my pack in here? The one with C-4 in it?”
Her stomach dropped. “Um, no. Haven’t seen it.”
“Must be in the office.” He rolled his shoulders back.
She just looked at him. God, he was big. Tall and muscled, so deadly looking in his combat gear. She’d never been this close to so much danger—not really. But instead of seeing Denver as bringing danger, as she had a week ago, she now saw him as a shield. Even a protector. He’d do everything he could to save the baby. “Please be careful.” Fear was ice-cold inside her. Fear for him, for Talia, for all of them. This wasreal.
His eyes darkened past blue into something deeper. “I will. We’re leaving you all with weapons.” He jerked his head to the two guns remaining on the bed. One was the gun he’d given her just days ago, and the other one looked identical to it. She also had the gun she’d started with, and that was in her pack. “You just point and shoot them. Just in case,” he said.
She looked at the two silver guns, and a pit formed in her stomach as she focused back on him. “No problem.”
“Noni.” His stance was wide, his jaw hard.
“What?” she asked.
He cleared his throat. “I’m not that good with words.”
