Lightning still flickering in her blood, she flattened the fingers she’d curled in his shirt and said, “Pretty damned abbreviated.”
Ian grinned and tugged at the straps. “The pack.”
Marley took a deep breath that did little to slow her racing heart and shrugged, the weight of the bag negligible. “Fine since you put almost everything in yours.”
“I’m bigger than you.” That was only part of the reason and they both knew it.
In the two days since the failed shadow jump, he’d been treating her with kid gloves, barely allowing her to lift a finger, pushing her only as hard as absolutely necessary. He’d also been decidedly…lighter, somehow. As if determined to revel in the time they had left. The sudden carpe diem attitude had her wondering, not for the first time, if he’d over-estimated their odds of survival. But she couldn’t bring herself to voice the question.
“I’m stronger than I look. I can take more if you really think we need all of this stuff.” From the supplies he’d amassed, it seemed they’d be gone for weeks rather than a day or two.
“Never hurts to be prepared.”
“Boy Scout,” she teased, watching him load the last of the pile into his own pack.
“You’ll thank me if we get stuck out here overnight.”
She half wondered if his kiss had been to inspire her as to how he’d prefer to be thanked. Eying the glowering sky, Marley said, “Are you sure we shouldn’t wait until this passes? Those aren’t exactly happy clouds.”
His eyes lit with amusement. “City girl. You won’t melt, I promise. Besides, I don’t want to take any longer than nec
essary. Matthias didn’t give any kind of timeline for this meeting, and we don’t know how long they’ll wait for us.”
Marley wasn’t sure if she hoped they were there or that they weren’t. Whoever they were. Friend or foe, according to Matthias, they held the secret to who she really was. What if she didn’t like the answer?
“Hey, it’ll be fine.” Ian brushed his thumb along the curve of her cheek. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She leaned into his touch, too anxious about what might be coming to worry about how much she had come to crave it. “I know, I just…I don’t like not knowing what we’re getting into.”
“First sign of anything off and we’re out of there. Okay? You sense anything, you say the safe word.”
“Which is?”
“Anything you want it to be. Something that won’t naturally come up in context.”
“Fudge monkeys.”
Ian blinked at her, lips twitching. “Well that certainly fits the bill.”
“First thing to pop into my head. Possibly I have reached toxicity from all the coffee and am now completely loopy.”
Running a hand down the length of her ponytail, he chuckled, “It’ll do the trick and we won’t forget it. Now, one last thing.” He pulled something from his own pocket. It was about the size of a mini tape recorder, ensconced in a black case. He slipped it out, pressed a switch.
Marley jumped at the crackle of electricity. “What is that?”
“Stun gun. Similar to a taser but meant to be used up close and personal. You have to touch them. Anybody gets too close, you zap them. Ten million volts. Won’t kill, but it’ll disrupt their muscle control long enough for you to get away.” He handed it over, showed her how to use it.
As she attached the lanyard of the case to her belt, Ian said, “If we get into any kind of situation where you need to use it, don’t hesitate. You use it and you run. Don’t wait on me. Understand?”
“I’m not going to leave you behind, Ian.”
“I’m not starving and weak now, and I’ll fight better if I know you’re away. So if it comes down to it, you run, and you don’t look back.”
She didn’t like it, but she nodded.
“C’mon.”
Less than a quarter mile from the trail head, they left the beaten path. Rock speared up from the parched earth alongside scrubby bushes. As they climbed, the scrub gave way to spindly evergreens Ian said were Ponderosa pines. The trees got bigger the farther they went, but the needles were dry and brittle, brown in places. Obviously the area needed rain. Still, Marley hoped it held off until they were finished. She didn’t relish the idea of sloshing around in wet shoes. Despite his leg, Ian moved over the increasingly rough terrain with greater ease than she did. Within half an hour, she was breathing hard and sweating.