“It all started with some odd security jobs around our small town of Stone Pass. You know, throwing drunks out of the local fair or guarding an abandoned building that kept getting broken into. Then Ross’s idea to go bigger formed. At first, I thought I’d back the venture financially. But soon I was roped into the trainings and sent on a few missions.”
“It’s really impressive how large WEST Protection has grown in a short timeframe.”
“I guess it shows you that the world has need of our service. The cybersecurity division is growing so fast we can’t keep up. We keep hiring tech nerds right out of college. Ross has them sprinkled all over the West Coast doing work for us, and we have a couple in-house people who specialize in that.”
She nodded. She knew all of this, but hearing Mathias talk about it made her feel as if she was hearing it for the first time. Maybe because his excitement about the topic infected her too. She had so many ideas they regularly implemented in The Guard, but it was impossible to work on them all when new ones cropped up every day.
“I don’t mind being in the field on jobs like this…but I prefer to work more behind the scenes.”
She arched a brow at him but realized he couldn’t see it behind her oversized sunglasses. “In the cybersecurity end?”
“More like in the give-advice-and-direct-the-guys end. I’m not much of one for processing data and finding leaks in firewalls.”
“I feel the same way. Being stuck behind a computer isn’t for me.”
“No—you prefer to be out using your martial arts and shooting skills.” He grinned. Completely unguarded, natural and one hundred percent Mathias Trace.
A hot tightness spread through her chest, and she looked away.
She must stay focused. Dahl was out there. Close. They needed to find the artifact fast—and before the gorge was flooded.
She had no time for thinking about cowboy bodyguards who could flip between scorching smiles and menacing glares.
* * * * *
Mathias stretched out his hearing. The sound of evening filled his ears—night insects and the trickle of water cutting through the natural formation of rocks. But underneath that, he detected a noise.
Madeline slowly pivoted her head toward him, ear cocked. “Do you hear that?” she murmured.
“Yeah. Been wondering for a few hundred yards.”
She rested her hand high on her thigh, prepared to quickdraw the weapon probably tucked in her waistband.
He sniffed the air. “There’s a campfire.”
“I smell it now too. Think it’s Dahl?”
“More likely the people I thought we’d catch up with by lunchtime and didn’t.”
There were two riders, and they weren’t moseying along the trail the way he first thought.
As soon as the sun lowered in the sky, the heat of the day seemed to radiate from the very rocks surrounding them. But Madeline had slipped on a lightweight jacket, chilled despite what he felt to be hot conditions.
His lower back ached from the rented saddle. He was accustomed to the best money could buy. He wasn’t a one-size-fits-all guy either, and the mule he rode was proof of that.
He appreciated beautiful country, though, and regularly stared at the vistas and forgot he had a job to do. Guarding Madeline was easy so far, but he couldn’t let his focus wander.
She was silent most of the day, which gave him time to think on what she told him about the guy after the artifact. His training taught him to find the motive of a criminal first because then keeping him from getting what he wanted would be easier.
He’d only needed a few seconds in Dahl’s presence to understand the guy was an asshole. Madeline confirmed as much. But he didn’t see the appeal of owning an object with no intention of selling it unless the object did him some good.
Like a horse. Don’t like the horse? Sell it to someone who does. But keeping a horse, feeding and watering it day in and day out? It just took up good space in the barn.
The scent of burning wood flitted on the breeze. He and Madeline exchanged a look. Around the next rock formation, they were about to meet their fellow travelers.
He gave her a slow nod of assurance. He had her back. She could trust him.
As if by unspoken agreement, she kept her mount alongside his. When they rounded the outcropping and the orange glow of a campfire painted the rock in shades of the sunset, he took in the campers in a blink.
A younger couple, and the man wasn’t Dahl. Since Madeline warned him Dahl would pay people to guard him, Mathias was still on high alert as they rode toward the campsite.
The couple saw them and stood as they approached.
“Howdy.” Mathias raised a hand in greeting.
The guy was twenty-ish with a mop of curly hair, and the woman with him was similar in age with dreadlocks pulled into a big band in the center of her back. Both dressed in loose-fitting clothes like they’d just come to a festival. Or were headed to one.
“Hello,” Madeline said from beside him.
“We were just headed by your camp. We won’t interrupt your peace,” he said.
“You got the mules!” the woman exclaimed, loping toward them with a big, friendly grin on her face. She reminded Mathias a little of a dog he once had, always open and eager to meet new people.
She reached toward the mule Madeline rode and stroked its neck. “We thought about getting mules. It just seemed more challenging somehow. But we took the horses instead.” She tipped her head toward the pair of good, solid horses dozing off to the side of the campsite.
Mathias inwardly cursed. Maybe they’d be up for a trade.
“Why don’t you share our fire? We were hoping to meet with some other people on the trail, but we didn’t see anyone all day.” The woman’s offer brought the guy she was with forward.
“Absolutely. Share our fire—if you’d like to. We’d love to exchange tips for riding the trail.”
Mathias wasn’t much of a people person, and he could tell by the camp that the couple had some of those tree-hugger, love Mother Earth views. Not that he didn’t share most of the ideas on conservation and preservation, but he didn’t like to discuss them.
“Only if you want.” The woman looked between him and Madeline.
He could almost feel Madeline’s resistance to the idea of making friends. But to his shock, she nodded.
“Great! We’ll put another log on the fire while you get settled.” The woman loped back to a small stack of kindling they’d somehow managed to bring with them or scavenge.
Mathias watched her go, his mind moving in a thousand directions. This wasn’t a good spot to stop for the night. It was too open. Easily found. He and Madeline couldn’t speak freely about why they were here. They didn’t have time to coordinate their story.
He swung off the mule and battled the groan that formed in his throat at the stiffness in his lower back. With the lead in hand, he approached Madeline’s mount. She slipped off to her feet.
“Are you crazy?” he whispered to her. “What if they’re in Dahl’s employ?”
“They’re harmless. Can’t you see for yourself?”
“I’m questioning why you want to stop here and share their fire.” He leaned over her to whisper so they weren’t overheard. “You don’t strike me as the hippie type, Madeline. So what’s really going on?”