“I was sent to make sure something like this didn’t happen, and it did. On my watch.”
Her steps faltered as her foot hit a loose root. “You always do that.”
“What?”
“Take on everyone’s pain.”
He knew it wasn’t true. If anything he shied away from emotional connections. He kept a cool head and a distance. The combination made him good at his job. And lousy at his relationship with her.
“I can handle it.” He’d been trained to shoulder the responsibility.
In his father’s world, the men had to step up and do what had to be done. Most of what the man said was a convoluted mess of craziness, but Joel internalized the need to step up and he wouldn’t apologize for that.
“So can I,” she said.
Joel pitched his voice even lower. “I know, but I don’t want you to.”
It was killing him not to touch her then. He could hear the buzz of conversation behind him, most of it complaining from Jeff. They were not alone.
“We need to head to the right. There’s a better path over there,” Charlie called out from near the back of the pack.
Hope shook her head. “That swings us too far over.”
“It’s the best way,” Charlie insisted.
She kept her focus on the GPS screen. “We’re fine. We’re not far now.”
“I’d rather trust Charlie on this since he owns the campground. He knows these woods,” Jeff said.
“This time Jeff’s right,” Charlie agreed.
Joel wasn’t in the mood to encourage their ramblings. He heard Cam settling everyone down, which was good because Hope kept frowning.
“Look to your left.” She looked straight as she said the words. “Don’t draw attention, but look. What’s that about thirty feet out by the small hill?”
“A mound of dirt and leaves.” Her eyesight was perfect. Joel questioned his because he had to narrow his gaze, homing in on the spot she indicated. “All stacked under a lean-to.”
He also saw something red. A piece of material, maybe. The storm had blown apart someone’s hiding place, and there was no question something was buried under there.
“Maybe the wind pushed it all up there during the storm.”
If she needed to believe that to get through the next few hours, he’d let it happen. “Is that what you think?”
She nibbled on her bottom lip. “What are you thinking?”
That she might have found Mark and, if so, the man was not their attacker. Only bad news no matter how you looked at it. “You don’t want to know.”
“We should look.”
“I can’t spread any more panic.” Joel caught her hand when he thought she’d peel off and check out the site on her own. “Note the coordinates on your GPS and move us to the east so the others don’t see.”
“Do you really think—”
“Get us to the clearing as fast as you can, but take us out around this site.”
Before she could say anything else, Joel dropped back, hanging along the right side of the group and hoping to bring their attention with him and away from the find on the left. He answered one of Lance’s questions, though Joel would never be able to remember what he’d said if someone asked him later.
He drew next to Cam, impressed at the clip Hope had them moving in now on the rough terrain. After working with him, Joel didn’t have to clue Cam in to the existence of a problem.
Cam kept his gaze straight and dropped his voice low. “What’s wrong?”
“Behind you to the left, thirty or so feet.”
“The pile.” Cam nodded. “Want me to check it out?”
“Do you need to?” They had had the same training, had seen many of the same things.
Cam took a second to study it. “Probably not.” Joel was about to rejoin Hope when the concern in Cam’s voice stopped him. “Be careful up there. I don’t like you in front of this group.”
That made two of them. “Watch my back.”
“Done.”
About ten minutes later they broke through the thick cover of trees and hit the edge of the woods on the opposite side from where he’d gone into the forest when they first arrived. The open expanse of the clearing stretched in front of them. The helicopter sat shining despite the overcast morning skies.
Joel brought the group to a halt under the cover of the final line of trees and scanned the area.
The space provided the perfect place for an ambush. Anyone could be hiding anywhere. A weapon could be pointed at them right now.
Lance dropped his side of the makeshift gurney and double-timed his steps as if he was running to freedom. Cam caught him in mid-stride. “Hold up.”