Tanner grunted but didn’t turn around. Zarina didn’t have to see his face to know he was still angry. “Chad wants me in his camp to help protect the place.”
Burt shrugged. “Maybe. I know I’d feel better if you were there.”
Tanner made no comment.
“Look, I have no doubt you’ll be fine on your own, but are you ready to risk Zarina?” Burt demanded. “Are you sure you can keep her safe from these psychos?”
That must have struck a nerve, because Tanner swung around, his face dark. He went crazy at the mere notion she might so much as stub her toe. The idea that she might be in danger would make him go ballistic. She appreciated that he wanted to keep her safe, but she hated that he thought he could do it without asking her opinion on the matter.
“It’s not really an issue,” Tanner stated flatly. “She’s leaving after she checks on Lorraine.”
Straightening up, she glared at him. “No, I’m not.”
Burt must have found that amusing, because his mouth twitched under his mustache. “Do what’s best for you and Zarina, Tanner, but if you want to stay with us, you’re welcome to. Like I said, we could use your help.” He gave Zarina a nod. “I’ll tell Lorraine you’ll be stopping by.”
Zarina waited until Burt had disappeared into the trees before looking Tanner’s way. “Okay, what the heck was all that about? Who are Burt and his friends? Why don’t they trust doctors? And who are these crazies that keep attacking their camp?”
“They’re preppers,” Tanner said casually, as if that explained everything. “They have a place north of here, just on the edge of the federal property above Lake Chelan. They don’t know who keeps attacking their camp, but a few nearby prepper communities have been hit recently, too.”
Zarina waited for him to say more, but he didn’t. Instead, he crouched down and started folding the blanket he’d slept on last night. She couldn’t believe he’d been comfortable using nothing but a thin piece of fabric to keep him warm, but that came with being a hybrid.
She forced her attention away from the display of rippling muscles as he moved and focused on what he’d said. “Okay, maybe I’m losing something in translation, but what’s a prepper? And why would anyone want to attack them? Are they wealthy or something?”
Tanner chuckled softly. “No, they’re definitely not wealthy. Preppers are people who think there’s going to be a big disaster in the world at some point, so they stockpile food, water, and other supplies. As for why they don’t trust doctors, they just prefer to depend on themselves instead of outsiders.”
Zarina folded her arms. “So they’re paranoid kooks waiting for the zombie apocalypse?”
Tanner finished folding the blanket and stood, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “They’re not kooks. I’ll admit, some of them are a little more paranoid than others, especially when it comes to the authorities, but most of them are normal, everyday people who live off the grid.”
“Who keep a year’s supply of food in their pantry,” she said.
“Who keep a year’s supply of food in their pantry,” he agreed. “A lot of them—like Burt and his friends—have community farms, too.”
Zarina nodded. That she could understand. Farms were a way of life back home in Russia. She even got the part about not trusting the authorities. That was a way of life in Russia, too. But living off the grid and keeping that much food on hand sounded a little odd to her.
“So why are these people attacking the preppers if they’re not wealthy?” she asked. “Is it to take their food and supplies?”
“The attackers weren’t after food or supplies, that’s for sure.”
Tanner dropped to one knee beside her pack, then took everything out. He hesitated a moment when he ran into the stack of panties that must have been all the way in the bottom, maybe overwhelmed by the sheer number of them. But there weren’t any washing machines out here, and the idea of wearing panties more than once made her feel gross. She reached out and snagged a pair from his hand so she could change into them later.
Tanner didn’t look at her as he stuffed them back in the pack. “If they grabbed Josh, that makes him the fifth person who’s been abducted in the past few weeks. That’s not counting the people missing from the homeless camps located in other parts of the forest. I’d assumed it was the locals trying to chase them off, but now I’m not so sure. My gut tells me there’s something else going on, though I don’t have a clue what it might be.”
“What are the police saying about the abductions?” she asked as Tanner finished with her pack. “Do they have any leads?”
“I doubt the police even realize anything is going on,” he said, walking over to his tent.
Zarina watched as Tanner leaned in and pulled out the sleeping bag, then rolled it up. If he was packing up, that must mean they’d be staying at the prepper camp. She wasn’t surprised. The moment Burt had suggested she might be in danger, she’d known Tanner would agree to move to their camp. That also meant he was smart enough to know he wasn’t getting rid of her.
He quickly finished shoving his stuff in his pack before starting in on the tent. Zarina would have volunteered to help, but he was moving so fast, she’d only get in the way.
“Like I said, preppers don’t trust outsiders, especially the police. I’m pretty sure they didn’t even report it,” Tanner told her.
She blinked. “So the preppers are going to try to find their friends on their own?”
Tanner shrugged. “Probably.”
She didn’t see them having much success. “Okay, so they don’t like the police, but what’s the deal with doctors and hospitals? They’re willing to let Lorraine lose the ability to walk simply because they have trust issues?”
Tanner was silent as he finished strapping the tent on top of his pack. “Hospitals mean paperwork, lots of questions, and ultimately, cops. None of them want that.”
Zarina shook her head. Picking up her backpack, she dragged it on over her shoulders. “How long will it take to get to this prepper camp?”
It could already be too late for Lorraine. A person could go into life-threatening shock within an hour of a major injury. Burt didn’t say whether the woman had been hurt sometime last night or early this morning, but either way, that was a long time to go without proper medical attention.
As Tanner shrugged his pack on his broad shoulders, Zarina looked around and realized he’d been right. There was nothing left to show anyone had made camp except for the cold fire pit. Tanner really did carry everything he owned on his back.