“Nice.” He nodded. “What do you think?”
While she was working on the stickers, he had used the paint pens to draw volleyballs and write messages on the side and rear windows.
Bump, set, spike!
Sand Dogs are #1!
Dig it!
Valerie gave him a thumbs up and a huge smile, and God damn if he didn’t puff with pride like a pathetic schoolboy.
Inside the van again, he pointed to the pull-down shades mounted at the top of the windshield and over each door. “Get those, will you?”
While she blocked out the light—and prying eyes—up front, he clambered into the cargo space and tugged opaque blue curtains across the side and back windows. The place he’d been calling home since he arrived in California was neat enough. His clothing and camera bags were lined up on one side of the van, along with a small camp stove, a five-gallon water jug, a box of basic kitchen supplies, and what basically amounted to a chamber pot.
The previous owner had covered the knee-busting corrugated metal floor with a thick piece of plywood. At night, Scott rolled out a dense foam pad and spread open a sleeping bag, using a thin blanket to stay warm.
He and Valerie could both fit, but it would be tight. Which, granted, his body was totally on board with, but she wasn’t some woman he could mess around with and walk away from, no matter how much he wanted to experience the touch of her lips or the soft skin of her magnificent breasts.
Choking back the groan that built in his chest at the thought of her right here, naked beneath him, he took several deep breaths and then rolled out the bedding.
They were in this together for who knew how long, which meant Valerie was off limits. As if she even wanted a man like him—a killer—touching her anyway.
He glanced up and caught her watching him, her face mostly hidden in shadow.
Swallowing hard, he said, “You can sleep back here, I’ll take one of the front seats.”
“That’s not fair to you. I’m sure we can both fit.”
Especially if they spooned.Good Lord.Where was his legendary patience now? He bit back his protest. If he made too big a deal of this she’d know exactly what was going through his mind. Better to act like it was nothing.
“I trust you,” she said.
He almost laughed. That made one of them.
Valerie squeezed between the seats and into the back of the van, her heart drumming. The vehicle seemed to shrink, and her awareness narrowed to Scott’s breath, the unreadable expression on his handsome face, the makeshift bed they were going to share…
Needing a diversion, she took in the black bags neatly lined up against the wall, the small camping stove and box of supplies. The van might be a piece of crap, but he kept it clean and uncluttered.
“So this is how you spied on me in Zachari?”
He nodded. “I was one of the ‘surfers’ living out of his van, parked down the street from your rental.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t catch on. I thought I was so…aware.” How could she have missed him? Her father had trained her to be observant and alert, always. She might have gone lax over the years, but she’d been careful while on the run. Or so she’d thought. He’d followed her around for days even before she ran, and she’d never once felt a tingle of alarm.
“Don’t feel bad,” he said, apparently reading her thoughts. “We see what we expect to see. And I did learn a thing or two about blending while in the Marines. Hell, half of scout sniper training is learning how to get close to someone without being noticed.”
She bit her lower lip. His level of training should make her feel better, but it didn’t. “Whyscoutsniper?”
“That’s what we’re called.” He sat on the wheel well, arms resting on his knees, hands loose. Hardly the picture of a trained killer, which was probably part of what made him an expert.
A shiver ran through her.
“Taking out targets is such a small part of what we do,” he said. “Most of the time we’re on reconnaissance and overwatch, providing intel for the platoon and covering their maneuvers.”
“Is it lonely?”
He gave her a strange look. Most likely, people usually asked how many kills he had or whether he got a thrill from taking lives. She wasn’t sure she wanted those answers.
