Hawk looked down. “What’s the matter? Are you tired?”
“I’m fine. Do you need to stop for a rest?” She grinned at his snort. He didn’t even bother to answer her. “You keep forging ahead like you know where you’re going.”
“I wanted to make sure there’s nothing over this ridge, that’s all. You’re back to point man once you get up here.”
She grinned up at him and resumed her climb. He had been teaching her all these military terms as they hiked through the night. “Point man” was the one walking point, looking for wires and bombs as he led the way.
“I kind of like checking out your cute ass from behind,” she told him.
Hawk frowned down as he offered a helping hand to pull her up. “That’s not very professional,” he said. “You’re supposed to be looking around you to make sure we don’t come under attack.”
She had been doing that, but she wished he hadn’t taken off his jacket. His soaked T-shirt molded his pumped body like a second skin and it was distracting. She had better change the subject before she showed him how unprofessional she could get.
“There’s a farm a short way from here,” she told him. “We’ll try to hitch a ride. That will give us more rest time.”
“Won’t the farmer think it odd to have two strangers drop in like that?”
She shook her head. “No, this area is full of foreigners, refugees, and aid workers. During the height of the war, refugees were pouring in from Kosovo and Macedonia, so strangers are nothing new to the locals around here. It’s the Albanian authorities we have to worry about. We’ll tell the farmer we’re heading for Tirana. It’s one of the oldest cities, with famous castles, and we can have them drop us near there. And if nothing else, money talks around here.”
“Tirana. That’s one of the cities near the weapons.”
Amber nodded. “It’s roughly fifty kilometers between Tirana and Elbasan. Let’s hope your coordinates are correct, because that’s a lot of area to go looking for a hidden cache.”
“Jed told me that they had all the coordinates for the UAVs as they flew over the various drop points. The problem from his end was to distinguish between regular food aid and weapons that are being illegally smuggled into the theater.”
Amber coughed. “Umm…UAV? Theater?” He had definitely reverted to military mode, with all this talk. “Can we talk English?”
His lips quirked. “Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. “Theater” means the battle zone.”
She chuckled quietly. “You guys. How about stopping for some TQL from the WHD?” She pointed to their pack. “You know, thirst-quenching liquid. Water-holding device?”
Hawk pulled her close to give her a quick kiss, his stubble rubbing her face. “ILY,” he said quietly into her ear.
She looked up at him, the morning sun just breaking into a tiny red streak in the sky. Standing on a mountain. Heaven above and mere men below. Her parents would certainly approve. She smiled joyously.
“ILY, too,” she said, and it felt so right.
Everything seemed to fall according to plan after that. They didn’t see any border authorities or roaming mercenaries. The farmhouse. A curious but helpful farmer and his family. American dollars bought them some breakfast, the use of the facilities, a new change of shirts and some straw hats, and a ride toward Tirana. They took turns napping as they sat in the back of the little truck, bouncing uncomfortably, though still it was, Amber noted with satisfaction, much better than spending the next two days hoofing it. It was a risk, but time wasn’t on their side anymore. Dilaver had transportation, and sooner or later he would catch up.
She watched Hawk give the farmer another tip when he dropped them off, frowning as she noticed Hawk limping. “How’re the ribs holding up?” Like he was going to tell her truth. “I know, I know, you’re a SEAL, blah, blah, blah, but you’re a limping SEAL right now.”
Hawk surveyed the dusty path. “We have to get off the main road, if you can call this one. Do we go to the left or the right of it?”
He had changed the subject, so he was in pain. Amber frowned. His eyes were a little red and there were lines bracketing his mouth. She probably looked just as rough, but she didn’t have to deal with bruised ribs. They probably had another ten kilometers to cover and then they still had to conduct a search of the area. “Hawk?” she prompted.
“I’ll make it, sweetheart,” he said. “The thing is to keep moving. It’s the resting that’s killing me.”
She stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. “Is that what they teach you in SEAL school?” she asked incredulously.
He grinned. “We have a saying. The only hard day is yesterday, baby. Come on, I’ll race you.”
To prove his point, he took off running. Amber stared after him. “I’m in love with a madman,” she muttered.
The morning sun broke through the canopy of trees, dappling the path with speckled patterns. They made their way through the woods, then a clearing, and then another patch of rocky woods.
“According to the coordinates, the drop zone should be east of here,” Amber said. “I need a quick break before we get out into the open again.”
“All right. I’ll stand guard right here.” Hawk looked around. “Don’t go too far. There might be ugly bears or something.”
