Hill, Gerri: Angel Fire

Hunter gave a quick laugh. “I should have known.”

Cameron bristled. “What does that mean?”

“Bossy.”

Andrea laughed too. “Oh, trust me. That’s not the military talking.”

Cameron looked at her. “What are you saying?”

“Oh, sweetheart, you know exactly what I’m saying.”

Sweetheart ? So Andi didn’t feel the need to keep their relationship a secret? Hunter was FBI. And not that Murdock was oblivious, but it wasn’t anything they talked about. Ever. They didn’t know Hunter. Certainly not enough to trust her with this. She looked at Andrea with a question in her eyes, and Andrea gave her the “don’t be stupid” look. Yeah. They were sharing a tent. Hunter obviously knew they were more than just work partners.

Okay then.

* * *

“We’ll stop here for the night,” Angel said.

Sam glanced up, noting the sun was still streaking through the trees. As if reading her mind, he motioned to a cleared-out area with a previous fire ring.

“Flat ground. Not many rocks.”

“Oh. That’s good. Because I slept like crap last night.” Then she smirked. “Not that I actually slept,” she added. He looked at her blankly and she held her bound wrists up. “Uncomfortable.” She didn’t mention that sleeping next to him, with his gun and knife, was even more uncomfortable.

He pulled her arms up, his brow furrowed. “You’re bleeding. Why didn’t you say something?”

She shrugged. “You intend to kill me. I didn’t think you’d be concerned with blisters on my wrists.”

He met her eyes briefly, then quickly pulled his knife from its sheath. She took a step back, wondering if she’d said the wrong thing.

“For the rope,” he explained.

So she held her arms out and he cut the rope from each wrist with surprising gentleness. She did note that the knife cut through the rope as if it were little more than thread. She immediately rubbed her wrists, then stretched her arms out to each side. She gave a satisfied moan as her muscles released some tension.

“I trust you won’t do anything stupid?”

“I’m tired,” she said. “And I’m really, really hungry. And please say there’s something other than beef stew.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I’ll find something better.” He pointed to a fallen pine limb. “Gather some wood for our fire. Once we get it going, I’ll put something on your wound. I have a first-aid kit.”

* * *

“So you live in a motorhome?” Tori asked as she stirred hot water into the pouch of mac and cheese. “That’s your office?”

The question was addressed to Andrea, but it was Cameron who answered.

“She’s a supercharged, custom-built motorhome,” Cameron said. “It started out experimental. There is quite an impressive computer setup. I’d be dangerous if I really knew how to use it all.”

“And your guy Murdock? He’s the boss?”

“Murdock has three teams,” Andrea said. “The other two are more conventional than us.”

“But not as conventional as, say, your office,” Cameron said. “We don’t play by the same rules.”

“I’ve heard about these teams that are made up of ex-military types,” she said. “FBI’s version of special ops?”

“A little, yes.”

“So what kind of cases do you get?” she asked as she sampled the mac and cheese. It was decent. Not great.

“Mostly remote. Pretty much west of the continental divide. We had a serial killer in the California desert. We had a kidnapping in Idaho.”

“There were the remains found in Nevada,” Andrea said. “That ended up being from drug wars. And of course, the Patrick Doe case in Sedona.”

Tori’s head jerked up. “Patrick Doe? That was you?” She frowned. “Yeah, you called me. I thought your names sounded familiar.”

“That was us,” Cameron said. “That’s where Andi and I met.”

Tori nodded. “That’s right. Andrea Sullivan. You were with the sheriff’s department. I remember Casey saying you’d contacted her too.” She arched one eyebrow. “So? That’s where you met? And then you became… colleagues ?”

Andrea laughed. “Yes. Colleagues.”

“It’s not advertised,” Cameron said. “Murdock doesn’t—”

“He knows,” Andrea said. “Don’t pretend he doesn’t.”

“Well, he pretends he doesn’t,” Cameron countered.

Tori smiled slightly. “When Sam and I first got together, Malone pretended he didn’t know either. Malone was our lieutenant,” she explained. “But Sam transferred to CIU, so we didn’t have that issue.”

Her smile faded completely. What was Sam doing right now? Was she cold? Hungry? Scared? How long before he didn’t need her anymore?

“What do you know about this guy? Angel Figueroa.”

Cameron shrugged. “We served together for a few of years. Same team.”

“Doing what?”

Cameron met her gaze. “We were on a sniper team. Middle East, mostly. He got out a couple of years before I did,” she said. “From what I heard, he didn’t leave the Middle East or his profession. He’s very good.”

“Gun for hire?”

“Yeah.”

“So what’s he doing here? Murdock said everything was related, starting with a robbery in Santa Fe,” Tori said.

“Yes, that’s what he told us too. It was an armored car facility. Three million dollars.” Cameron stuck another small limb on the fire. “Doesn’t sound like the Angel I knew, but who knows? People change.”

“But he’s a killer?”

Cameron nodded. “Yes. He’s a killer.”

They were silent for a moment, then Andrea leaned closer. “I’ll trade you some of this chicken stuff for some of your mac and cheese.”

“Chicken stuff ?” Tori looked at her pouch, not really hungry anymore, but she nodded.

“I think we made good time today,” Cameron said as if to ease her mind. “Another two days, we might get close.”

“Two days?” Tori felt her spirits sink. Did Sam have two days?

Chapter Ten

Sam savored the strong black coffee with a sigh. She’d slept better but not much. He’d left her hands untied, but the ground was hard and she’d gotten cold. And, of course, she was sharing the tent with a man and his gun. And a knife.

She looked at him from across the fire. “You didn’t take the time for coffee yesterday,” she stated. “You’re not afraid of someone catching us?”

He lifted one corner of his mouth in a smile. “You still think someone is coming after you?”

“Yes.”

He nodded as he folded up the map he’d been studying. “Yes, I suppose eventually they’ll attempt to track us, once their roadblocks don’t pan out. I can’t imagine there’d be much of a trail by then.” He motioned to her food. “How was it?”

Sam looked down at the pile of yellowish goo. Powdered eggs. “It was delicious,” she said dryly.

He laughed. “Yes, I know.” He held his hand out. “Give it here if you’re not going to finish it.”

She handed him what was left of her breakfast and he finished it off in three bites. She knew he would be ready to head out soon so she drank the last of her coffee.

“If we make good time, we’ll camp by a river tonight,” he said.

Her eyes lit up. “Like, a bath?” she asked hopefully.

“For you or me?”

She wrinkled up her nose. “Both.”

He laughed again, and she thought he sure seemed to be in a good mood this morning. But at least he was talking about their next camp. That meant he wasn’t getting ready to ditch her just yet. He stood and she was about to do the same when he sat back down again.

“Can I ask you something?”

She gave him a quick smile. “I don’t know. Can you?”