“Don’t tell me you forgot ’em already.”
“Two… Ah.”
“You remember them now?”
“I do.”
“Well? Let’s hear them?”
Another quick smile.
“Aye aye,” she said softly.
“Aye aye, sir,” he said, just as softly.
“That’s three words.”
“Yeah, but I’m letting you off easy. No snapping to attention. No salute.” He lowered his head, rested his forehead against hers. “Worrying is my department. Understand?”
She nodded. Put her palms against his chest. Rose on her toes and pressed her lips lightly to his.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
“There’s nothing to thank—”
She kissed him again. He fought back the urge to take her in his arms.
“Okay,” he said briskly. “Go ahead. Check the area. I’ll deal with the cleanup, but first, I’m going to try and reach Chay.”
“The man you called when we first made camp?”
“Yes. Chayton Olivieri. He’s the contact for getting us the fuck out of here.” Tanner took the satphone from his backpack. “I hadn’t intended to call again until we were on the other side of the river, but Chay’s the guy who can give us the data we… Chay? You there?”
“Tanner? Man, you okay?”
“Fine. So is the subject.”
“Good to hear.” Chay’s voice lowered. “Her old man’s driving me crazy. Her whole family, in fact, including a blonde. Her sister. Name of Bianca. Wants her home yesterday.”
“Yeah, well, I’m workin’ on it. Which is why I’m calling. I need some eye-in-the-sky info from you.”
Chay, seated in a small office at Camp Condor, reached out and nonchalantly swung the door shut. The blonde—Bianca—was pacing right outside it, and she shot him what he’d come to think of as The Look just before the door closed.
“You got an unexpected problem?”
“Bright Star.”
Chay said something short and pungent in Lakota.
“You got that right,” Tanner said, and explained the situation.
“Give me five,” Chay told him, but it didn’t really take that long.
There was going to be a change in the extraction site.
“There’s a steam near you.”
“I know.”