Chapter 5
Summer watched the group of men drag Easton along. She wasn’t sure what had happened, but knew something had. She’d finally met somebody who seemed to get her. Or maybe he was just a nursemaid kind of guy. She shook her head at that. Nobody in their right mind called Easton a nursemaid. The man was alpha all the way.
She wasn’t a hugger by nature, but it seemed so natural to wrap her arms around his waist and snuggle closer when he tucked her against him. Dangerously natural. She didn’t know him at all, though she wanted to. She wanted to look through her camera lens and learn everything about him.
But she knew he’d resist that idea. She had a little bit of time until Ross recalled her. She still had a lot of photos to go through tonight. With that thought uppermost in her mind, she headed toward her tent. She pulled back the flap and stood at the entrance. It didn’t look like anything was different.
Not only were the spare beds pristinely made but somebody—Easton?—had made hers as well. And did a much nicer job than she would have.
She didn’t see any sign of her laptop though, and that bothered her. She searched under the bed and pillow, then caught sight of it peeking out from underneath the bedding. He’d hidden the laptop. She lifted the covers, found her cord as well and set herself up for business. She went through all the photos, once again tossing and purging, then turned to her emails, finding one from her boss.
She read it quickly and dashed off an answer. “I have what I think I need outside of the morning exercises. I’ll catch those tomorrow.”
The response was almost immediate. “Good. Be aware there has been a complaint. We always get one or two, but this seems more pointed. Make sure you’re only taking pictures you’re allowed to.”
She frowned and answered, “Sorry to hear that. I’ll make sure I don’t point my camera on anybody I shouldn’t.”
Which was stupid because how was she supposed to know who she was and wasn’t allowed to show on camera? All the pictures would be vetted before they were used anyway. Sometimes the jobs were like that.
She pulled out a few she really liked and sent them to him. “Some came out great,” she said in the email, then sent several more.
She had lot of work ahead of her, and preferred to do it when she got home. Right now it was all about collecting pictures. With that thought in mind, and knowing she may only have another day here, she put her laptop back underneath the covers and remade the bed. Easton really did a much better job. Then grabbing her other camera and backpack, she headed outside.
It was an unusually bright evening with the sun falling, sending dappled patches through the trees. She only planned to stay within a few hundred yards of her tent, as she left most of her equipment in there and it would get dark very quickly. She walked the perimeter, taking pictures outside the base and of the base from a distance.
She could see, for some people, having her always taking photographs might be irritating, but she really wasn’t after anyone in particular. She was just getting the whole ambience of the group here. By the time she had walked all the way around and was back at her tent, she was proud of herself because she hadn’t gotten lost. She’d been out for almost two hours. Surely that had to be enough. She checked her watch—it was going on ten o’clock.
With that thought she continued, intent on taking a shower before she went to bed. Her tent was empty still. That was good. She was kind of enjoying having the space to herself. Often when she went on assignments, she had to share with whomever was around. And sometimes, being female, she had the benefit of getting a space all to herself. She wasn’t antisocial, but it was nice to be alone at times.
Back from the shower quarters, she sat on the bed in her pajamas with a towel wrapped around her hair. It would be another early morning again, but this time she was determined to get up and catch them for their dawn run. When she figured her hair was dry enough, she hung up the towel. Laying out her clothes for the morning, she curled up in bed and tried to sleep.
It was close to eleven o’clock. Curfew was somewhere around that time, she thought. But still a fair bit of noise was outside. She couldn’t help but think maybe Easton might stop by. However, so far, she hadn’t seen him this evening at all.
He was here for a purpose, a completely different one than her own. Apparently Easton and his group were SEALs, some of the most elite military-trained warriors in the world. And yet they were super-nice guys. She’d understood they were Navy but hadn’t realized the type of fighters they were. They’d never said, nor bragged in any way to show they were different.
But—as she’d observed before—they didn’t have to. It was all in their bearing. Hell, there was a reason they didn’t have to fight the crowds to maneuver in the mess tent. Like Gods, they parted the sea of people before them.
She snickered at the thought. Knowing them as she did, they were as real as anyone else. But it was lovely for them to have the respect of everyone.
As she lay in the bed, she studied the corner where Ryder and Corey said it looked like somebody had entered and maybe rolled out from underneath.
Where the wooden flooring lay near the side of the tent was a bit of a gap and the damage could be seen. It wasn’t something likely to be fixed when she was only here for another night or two. Besides, she hadn’t made a formal complaint so she doubted anyone other than Easton’s group and herself knew about the intruder.
Unable to stop her curiosity, she grabbed her cell phone to light the way, walked to the corner and checked out the area closer. She heard voices on the other side. When she lifted the separated material, someone’s hand grabbed it, pulling it down tight. She jumped back. Her heart slammed against her chest and her breath caught in her throat. Instantly she shut off her light. Then she heard Easton’s voice. “Summer, I’m just checking the tent so nobody can come in, okay?”
She sighed with relief. “Thank you.” She pulled on her long sweater to cover the camisole top and shorts she slept in, and, grabbing her slippers, walked around outside the tent to where the men were. It was dark but not pitch black. Just a half light that made it difficult to see. She almost tripped on one of the corners.
Easton grabbed her shoulder. “Easy. Use a light if you’re coming out here.”
“I just wanted to make sure nobody else could get in from the side either.”
“It’s secured now. No one will get in easily. You should hear the spikes being pulled out.”
She nodded, studying their repair of the new opening. They’d used tent spikes to secure the material together.
“Don’t worry about it. You should be safer now.”
She sighed. “I hope so. How did your meeting go?”
He shrugged. “It was fine.”
The atmosphere turned a little awkward when she realized he wouldn’t or couldn’t talk about it. Of course he couldn’t. That whole honorable thing. She half turned to return to her tent, calling back, “Thank you for checking on me.”
Inside she took off her sweater, kicked off her slippers and crawled back into bed. She wasn’t normally nervous being alone, but last night’s scenario had her on edge. She didn’t think she’d be able to sleep very easily, but, as she lay there thinking about Easton, her body slowly relaxed. Just when she was ready to fall asleep, she heard him call out, “Summer, are you awake?”
She pushed herself up on one elbow and answered, “Well, I was almost asleep.”
He stuck his head through the tent flap, saw her and smiled. “Okay.” He walked inside, dropped his bag at the foot of the bed across from her. “I’m sleeping here tonight.”
Inside, her heart jumped with joy. “Why?” she asked cautiously.
“Because, although you might be able to sleep, I can’t,” he confessed. “No doubt somebody was probably in your tent last night, and I don’t want a repeat event.” He waved at her. “Go back to sleep. I’ll be fine.”
While she watched, he took off his shirt, boots, socks, and pants, then crawled into the bed across from her. In the dim light, all she saw was shadows, but they hinted and teased. Her fingers inched to grab her camera. She desperately wanted to take pictures, but she doubted he would allow it. He had made it very clear he was off the menu. Forcing herself to lie back down and roll over, she whispered, “Thank you and good night.”
His voice soft, gentle, he answered back, “You’re welcome. Now sleep.”
*
Easton lay quietly on the bed, listening to Summer’s breathing calming down. He could feel the stress drop off her shoulders as she succumbed to sleep. He shifted so his arms were under his head, staring at the tent ceiling above him. He’d been trying to sleep in his own room, in his own bed. All he could think of was her wide awake, afraid of somebody sneaking into her tent. Last night his first inclination had been that she’d had a bad nightmare when she’d come screaming into his arms, until they’d examined the tent from the outside and found the new opening.
Also scuff marks and footprints were right at the tear. Just enough for him to consider somebody had been inside. And that was very worrisome. He’d checked up the chain of command, but he was a guest on the Canadian base. The news had filtered through the ranks on both sides. No one was happy. He’d been a hair away from requesting guard duty, then realized he didn’t need a formal process completed as he’d keep an unofficial eye on her himself. And keeping things low key right now in this small mixed group was paramount. Someone here was playing games.
That would never go over well. Not when the name of the game was Torment Summer.
The only reason to hassle her was if she took pictures someone didn’t like. In which case confiscating the images would be one resolution, but not an easy one on her. She needed to complete her contract to get paid. Not to mention there was no guarantee the harassment would stop even then. Not if something else was going on…
She had gone crazy, taking pictures of everything and everyone in the camp. Of course, she had been hired to do so. And, so far, he hadn’t heard anything more than a few disparaging remarks about her always being around. Nobody seemed to be pissed off enough to put in a formal complaint though. But he’d had enough experience and, as such, understood everything wasn’t perfect in military base camps. And, if anybody was doing something wrong or illegal, having a photographer in their face, catching every moment, could get ugly. She was also small, pretty, and with a naivety that was very fresh. A lot of men were here. He’d seen and heard firsthand how devastating the out-of-control male libido could be. He didn’t want that for her. He was quite astonished she’d been sent alone. He would’ve imagined at least a team of two.
He should ask her about that. Maybe the other one had to cancel at the last minute.
Using techniques he had learned years ago, he let himself drop into a light sleep. He would awaken instantly if anything wrong came about, but right now his instincts said everything was calm and quiet.
His phone buzzed against his chest. He lifted it to see Devlin’s name.
“All okay?”
“Yes,” Easton replied. “I’m sleeping here, just in case.” There was no response after that. He closed his eyes and let himself drift to sleep.
Until something woke him.
He didn’t know how long he had been out, but his instincts kicked in to full awareness. Something in his environment had shifted. He lay still in the bed, figuring out what bothered him. He didn’t move but let his eyes search the small space. Outside of Summer’s slow, steady breathing, no one else was in the tent. No shadows were cast along the three sides that he could see.
He heard a small scratching sound, like a peg being pulled, and sent a text to Devlin, warning him, then slipped off the bed on the other side. He hoped to stay out of sight long enough for the intruder to make it inside. Catching the bastard in the act was always the best, and riskiest, plan.
And then he heard the same thing Summer had earlier, breathing. Deep, heavy breathing. He frowned. The man’s breath was uneven as he pulled the pins and lifted the tent edge. Easton watched carefully as the corner lifted. It didn’t raise very high—about six inches. He was ready to pounce forward and catch the intruder as he tried to make his way underneath but heard another sound as well. A rattle. A sound recognizable enough to make anybody’s blood run cold. And then footsteps quietly disappeared into the night.
Using the flashlight on his cell phone, he retreated, going to Summer’s sleeping form, catching sight of the confused and angry snake on the inside of the tent. Its tail was upright and rattling. Some asshole put a pissed-off rattlesnake inside her tent. At the first movement Summer made, it would strike.
Jesus. He quickly took a picture and sent it to Devlin. He didn’t want to hurt the reptile, but this was not a good place for it to be. He glanced at the blanket on the spare bed. It was his only option, short of killing the snake. However, the blanket was nowhere near as effective as the special tools they used to capture critters like this. He would have to subdue it, and that meant using the only option available, the blanket.
Killing the reptile was the last resort. It was a victim too. It had already suffered. It just wanted to be back in the wild, free to roam as it always had. He could wake Summer and they could both exit the tent, but that would just leave the rattler looking for another target.
No way in hell would he get it calmed down, and, if he missed on his first attempt, there would be chaos.
He snagged the blanket as the snake slowly approached Summer’s bed, obviously attracted by her body heat. Using the blanket, he distracted it, hoping to send it in a different direction. It struck out, but missed. He didn’t know how much poison the snake had. Could it strike multiple times? Or did it need hours to regenerate the venom? He figured there was way more than he could probably entice it to lose in this game of chance. Just as he contemplated wrapping up the snake, the tent flap behind him opened.
Devlin stepped in. “Holy shit.”
In a low voice Easton said, “I know, right? Instead of coming in, the intruder actually left her a gift.”
“He put the rattler inside the tent? What an asshole move.” Devlin’s voice was hushed, realizing the best thing they could do was to take care of this without waking her.
“Yeah, nice, huh?”
“Somebody has it in for her in a bad way.” Devlin slipped to the far side near Summer and then stationed himself, knife in hand, at the end of her bed.
“I agree. First things first. We take care of this, and then we find out why.” Easton studied the reptile, blanket in hand. He’d done intensive training for this. It was doable even without the proper tools. In his head he counted down. Three … two …
“Move back.” Ryder stepped up behind them. “I got this.”
He had a long pole in his hand with a wire around the end. He gently placed it over the snake’s head and tightened it ever-so-slightly. He had a large heavy bag with him. Between the tool and the bag, he got the rattler cozied inside. As he lifted it high, the rattle slowed. He glanced at the other two guys. “Rattlers generally like small dark spaces. I don’t know where this guy came from, but this was a pretty shitty deal for him too.”
Ryder disappeared outside with the snake. Devlin and Easton looked at each other. Easton motioned to the entrance. They walked around to the back of Summer’s tent, using their cell phones for flashlights. Once again at the rear wall, several pegs were pulled up and the corner loosened. Footsteps from dozens of men going in opposite directions were evident, but none seemed to belong to their intruder. Regardless of the crappy light, Easton took photos, hoping he might see something on his computer. Even if he couldn’t, he had no qualms about sending this to a geek friend to see what she could find. Although he’d have to make sure Mason was good with Easton asking Tesla for assistance. Easton also had to report this up the chain of command. No way could Easton’s unit overlook this second attack.
He checked his watch as he motioned his men back to the front of the tent. “Midnight,” he said. “How did he know she’d be asleep?”
“Maybe he didn’t care, or hoped she’d be awake, see the rattler and scream, and it would strike.”
“As a lot of guys here would do,” Easton said in a low voice. “But this was extremely targeted. She might’ve taken pictures of that rattlesnake, but I’m pretty damn sure that wouldn’t have been her first thought.”
Inside the open doorway, Easton could see Summer slept deeply.
Devlin looked at him. “I think we should all stay here tonight.”
“No way in hell I’m leaving, but you don’t have to stay.” Easton glanced at Devlin, who made no move to leave. “I don’t like anything about this. We need to find and follow the next lead.”
Ryder returned then, dragging Corey with him. He nodded and said, “This guy was sleeping.”
“What else am I supposed to do at this hour?” Corey protested. “Although I’m sorry I missed all the excitement.”
Easton nodded. “We’re set for a run at 5:00 a.m.” He glanced at his watch. “That gives us just over four hours.” On that note, the men split up and lay down in Summer’s tent, Ryder and Corey taking the two nearest beds.
Easton returned to the bed he’d been in, Devlin snagging another on the far side.
With them all together she should be safe, pinned between them. As he closed his eyes, he whispered to Devlin, “Thanks.”
And in a tone and words reminiscent of what he’d said to Summer himself, Devlin responded with, “You’re welcome. Now sleep.”