“I’m evidence, Nick. Not luggage. Treat me like a partner in this crisis, or you’re going to learn exactly how difficult I can be when someone tries to manage me.”
He looked at me for a long, agonizing beat. His shoulders held the fight for him—the ranger braced against the man who had tasted adrenaline and salt on my skin.
“You’re not involved in the security decisions from this point,” he said.
It was final. Not cruel. Worse. Operational.
I felt my fingers curl around the phone, the plastic edges digging into my palm. My ribs tightened, my heart becoming an inconveniently audible rhythm in the quiet room.
He didn't say,I want you gone.He said,you leave.Procedure, not preference. Order, not confession.
Which was very nearly worse.
The door opened again. Sarah poked her head in, looking flustered. “Nick? The guests near the transfer board are asking—they heard the radio traffic. They want to know if the roads are blocked again.”
Nick’s mask didn't even flicker. He turned toward her with the ease of a man who spent his life withholding the part that would make people panic.
“No. The road team is conducting a final safety review,” he said. “Tell them we’ll have a formal update at the top of the hour. In the meantime, the bar is open and the afternoon tea is being served on the east deck.”
Excellent. He was suppressing a riot with Earl Grey.
Sarah nodded and vanished.
I turned back to Nick.
“You are not the only person who knows how to keep people calm while withholding the truth,” I said softly.
His eyes flickered. For a second, the distance wavered. My hands were locked together to keep them from shaking. I hadn’t stepped back. Something in my face tightened his jaw.
“I need my luggage,” I said. “It’s still at the bush suite.”
“I’ll send a two-person escort to retrieve it,” Nick said. “You’re staying here. In the library wing. Under guard.”
“I dislike that.”
“Noted.”
“I didn't say I disagreed with the logic,” I added. “I just said I dislike it.”
“Also noted.”
He reached for his radio again. “Elias, take Mbeki. Go to the western bush suite. Retrieve Ms. Wilder's belongings. Check the interior for any signs of breach before entry. Inspect all items before bringing them into the main lodge. Especially electronics.”
“Absolutely not.”
Nick lowered the radio a fraction.
“I’m not consenting to two armed men inventorying my underwear, Nick.”
“That was not a request for comment.”
“And yet here comes one. They can check the exterior. Seals, zippers, pockets, device cases. They do not open my personal items without me present.”
A beat.
“For everyone’s dignity.”
One second passed.
