Gone Away (7 page)

A minute later Mason heard back from his dispatcher. No suspected illegal activity in the area. “Thanks.” He relayed the license plate number. “I’m not convinced they’re only here hunting, but I don’t have reason to search their vehicle.” He ended the call and stepped closer to Riece.

“They have all those gun lockers in the back,” Riece said. “And that guy was obnoxious. Even I could tell he was nervous about something.”

Mason nodded. “Hunters have guns, and the permit for his sidearm was legit. They haven’t done anything illegal.” He snorted and opened the back of his Jeep. “Hell, if being obnoxious and abrasive was against the law, I’d have been locked up for good years ago.”

Riece shrugged and made a face. “True.”

Mason pulled Riece’s pack out and twirled one finger in front of him. When Riece turned around, Mason helped him get the thing adjusted on his back. Riece took a step forward and stumbled sideways. Laughing, Mason steadied him, then shrugged on a vest-like go pack before he hoisted his own hiking pack onto his shoulders.

“It wasn’t his personality that set you off, was it?” Riece got his camera bag situated and took another few steps before he looked back at Mason and gave him two thumbs up. “I got this.”

Waving at a trail, Mason closed and locked his Jeep. “Let’s get going. We’ll talk on the way.”

Riece grinned and walked beside Mason into the rugged country of the Black Hills.

THEY CLIMBED
a small hill that took them away from the store. The trail Mason followed didn’t go straight down the hill’s other side but was a winding path.

Riece trudged alongside Mason, looking very pensive and unsure. Mason understood how far out of his comfort zone Riece was. He wanted Riece to enjoy this job and place as much as possible. Nudging Riece’s arm with his elbow, Mason asked, “Are you having second thoughts about doing this work?”

“No.” Riece shook his head. “I had to deal with people like that the whole time I was growing up. I thought when I was an adult it would be different. That guy was a jerk, and he sure picked up on your First Nations heritage. What an ass.”

“Yeah, some people are like that. Sadly, they never change, and it’s not the first time it’s happened to me.” Mason sighed and shrugged. “Don’t let people like that bother you.”

Riece snickered. “I loved your comeback and the look on his face.”

Mason smiled at him and put one hand between Riece’s shoulder blades for a minute. “It was pretty funny.”

“They looked like hunters.” Riece grabbed Mason’s arm as they walked. “Or poachers? Did we find poachers?”

“No, I don’t think so. Poachers don’t want to call attention to themselves. I’d believe that woman is a poacher, but if that kid is one, she’s got problems. Did you see that vest, sort of like mine, the kid was wearing?”

“Yes.”

Mason pulled his own, similar vest away from his body by a small amount. “It’s called a go pack.”

“Yours is different.”

“There are a few types, depending on what you need to use them for. That kid was wearing an urban tactical assault go pack. Those are used by military. Now granted they’re handy and durable, and a lot of hikers and hunters use them as well. However—” Mason held up one finger and arched an eyebrow. “—his was solid black, and usually hunters like to blend in, so they use tan or camo. Black stands out.”

“Why would he have it, then? Because he’s poaching, or something else?”

“Poachers are really nothing more than hunters, simply illegal ones. They still blend in. My guess is either that kid thinks his makes him look cool, or he got it on sale. His clothes in general were expensive, more like a rich kid playing at being a hunter or outdoorsman.” Mason pointed to a trail to the right. “I’m more worried about meth labs and illegal weapons than poachers.”

“How come?” Riece asked.

“Those people come to areas like this because it’s remote. However, oftentimes they don’t really
know
about the area. They don’t hunt and don’t understand the culture. They want to play the part of tough, badass guys so people are afraid of them,” Mason explained.

“Like that kid?”

“Exactly,” Mason said and nodded.

“But we left them. What if they’re doing something illegal? How will anyone find them again?”

“Uh-huh. Remember that spiffy onboard nav system? If something comes back with those plates, some federal judge issues a warrant to the park service and whatever agency is also interested, and the car can be tracked and located that way. Then I go hunting and you stay somewhere safe.” Mason grinned. “Gotta love technology.”

“Do you think they’re up to no good?”

Mason shrugged. “I don’t know. If that kid hadn’t been with her, I doubt I’d have given the woman a second glance. Wilderness areas like this are attractive to criminals because law enforcement is few and far between, there’s a lot of land, and it’s rugged and isolated. On the other hand, those sorts of people, for the most part, don’t want attention in the way that kid was drawing attention to himself. Yeah, I can understand them questioning why I was looking at their Jeep, but if they saw me, they saw mine, and there was no reason to think I wasn’t telling the truth about my interest.”

Riece nodded. “Lots of people like to talk about cars, theirs or ones they’re interested in.”

“Exactly. Think about it. Usually when you ask someone about their brand-new vehicle, you can’t shut them up or get away from them.” Mason stopped walking and took out his canteen, looking around as he unscrewed the top. “Most hunters don’t carry handguns, but it’s not illegal, and once in a while I see one. There wasn’t anything obvious in that Jeep to give me probable cause to search it. Sometimes I’m sorely disappointed being an asshole isn’t cause for arrest.”

He heard rustling from Riece’s direction and turned toward him as he took a long drink from his canteen. Riece had his camera up and was taking pictures, which in itself wasn’t unusual or alarming, but this time Riece was squarely focused on Mason. That caused him to arch an eyebrow and glare. “What are you doing?”

Riece looked up and blushed. “This is the real you. I haven’t had the chance to see this guy much.”

“So you want pictures of him?” Mason asked. “Are you sure you like this guy?”

Smiling softly, Riece said, “Oh, yes. Very much so. At college you were a student, and I only heard about your job. This is you, what you worked for, and now I can see it for real. Take your shirt off.”

Mason laughed. “No.”

“Being photographed nude or partially nude lets out the real you.”

“No,” Mason repeated. “I’m not sure the world is ready for the real me.”

“Sure it is. More importantly, I’d like to photograph the real you,” Riece said.

Mason put his canteen away. “You’re going to have to photograph the real me with my clothes on.”

Riece took another picture and grinned. “For now.”

“Come on. If we’re going to get to the first site today, we’d better put a move on.” Mason waved one hand toward the woods.

They made better time than Mason thought they would. Riece did fine carrying his pack while they walked in the open, but the more rugged terrain tripped him up, some places worse than others. The most difficult part for Mason was not stepping in to help him. By the time they reached their first location, Riece had shot dozens of pictures—and managed to capture Mason more than he would have preferred.

While Mason set up their camp for the night, Riece wandered around but left his camera hanging around his neck. He was making some notes on a pad, turning one way, then another before shielding his eyes and studying the sky.

“Hungry?” Mason poked at the campfire he’d started. This spot was a popular one. There was already a fire pit rimmed with rock and stone, set against an outcrop and facing a small stand of trees. Whoever constructed it had clearly thought out the location well. The trees were far enough away to be of minimal danger from the fire, yet close enough to be convenient for hanging food from. Their fire was protected by the outcrop and the shallow pit.

Riece turned and studied Mason and their camp. He grinned and raised his camera to take a few more pictures. “You photograph very well.” Riece walked over and sat beside Mason. “Want to see?”

“Sure. If I don’t like them, do they get deleted?”

“No,” Riece said and rolled his eyes. He settled on the ground beside Mason and leaned against him while going through the photos he’d taken that day.

Without thinking, Mason lifted one arm and put it around Riece, tucking him close to his side. “Those are pretty good. Even the ones with me in them.” Both of their actions seemed natural and easy.

Riece snorted and pulled the micro memory card out. “Of course they are. I have excellent technique.”

Mason laughed and handed Riece his bag. Riece extracted a plastic case, slipped the chip into one of the slots, and put a new one in the camera. “What’s on the menu?”

“Chicken burritos—well, my version. I threw some potatoes on to bake too, and the all-time campfire favorite of s’mores.”

“Oh, nice. I haven’t had those since I was a kid. My mom used to make them for me over the stove.”

“You haven’t had s’mores until you’ve had them made over an open fire,” Mason said.

Riece tucked his camera away, and they set about assembling and eating their dinner. Mason squeezed shredded chicken from foil pouches onto tortilla wraps. They added shredded cheese, some salami, and dried fruits and spices to the mix. Mason rolled them in foil and set them on the hot embers from the fire to warm up. Dried power-drink mix to add to their water completed the meal. It was completely dark by the time Mason loaded skewers with marshmallows for roasting.

“That was pretty good.” Riece leaned against his pack and gazed up at the sky.

Mason laughed. “What were you expecting, squirrel meat?”

“I was worried about what we were going to eat. I’ll admit I had visions of freeze-dried food packets. I didn’t really pay attention when you were packing. I was afraid to look too closely,” Riece confessed.

“Tomorrow we’ll be near a river, and we can score some fresh fish and use our water filters to refill our bottles. I’ll show you how to spear fish.” Mason stood and stretched. When he began collecting their food stocks and garbage, Riece immediately joined in, helping him. “Anything like toothpaste or mouthwash we’ll store in our sack as well. That stuff smells good to wildlife too.”

“We can keep the lube with us, right?”

That made Mason laugh. “I wouldn’t dream of having it any other way. It’s nice enough out tonight. I can set the tent up, or we can sleep without it.”

“If you don’t mind, and if the wildlife will cover their eyes, I’d like to be able to see the open sky.” Riece sat cross-legged near the fire and pushed his hands against the ground. “Sort of hard and lumpy.”

“You’re such a city boy,” Mason said with a chuckle. “That’s what I brought a sleeping pad for.”

“Now who’s being a city boy? I was thinking more along the lines of how comfortable
you
are to sleep on.”

Mason smiled, rolled his eyes, and shook his head before he went about completing the task of getting their sleeping area readied. Riece packed their food in the bear bag they would use to secure it high enough off the ground it would be safe. Using a rock and some utility cord, Mason showed Riece how to rig it between two trees.

“We’ll use this as a base camp, hike farther out tomorrow, and come back here to sleep before heading to the next area you need to go to,” Mason explained. He spread the map out and traced their path with one finger.

Riece looked over his shoulder. Mason could feel his warm breath on the back of his neck and how he nodded every few seconds. Eventually Mason spread the sleeping pad out, and Riece inflated it before arranging their bedrolls over it.

The temperature dropped fast after the sun went down. Riece was lying on his back, arms bent under his head, looking up at the sky. They’d hiked quite a way that day, and Mason was getting tired. He spent a few minutes watching Riece. He’d folded his clothes and neatly placed them in his backpack, which made Mason smile. Even in the wilderness, there were some things Riece would do to follow his routine, and there was no stopping him. Mason had learned long ago trying to make Riece give up too many of his habits too quickly would cause him to close off and withdraw. Something Mason wanted to avoid at all cost.

Mason stripped off his clothes before he slid into the bedroll with Riece and wrapped his arms around him. Despite the cool night air, he was warm in seconds with Riece’s body against his.

THIS PART
of Mason and his life now was a mystery to Riece. A mystery he wanted to learn more about and solve. He’d made a start, a good one. Earning Mason’s trust back would take time, and Riece was patient to the point of annoyance sometimes. Or so his mother and Mason had told him more than once.

Riece sighed and shifted to his side and backward when Mason slid into the bedroll and wrapped both arms around him from behind. Mason’s fingers spread out over Riece’s ribs, warm and strong and steady. He put his hand over Mason’s, threading their fingers together and inching back as far as possible until he was completely flush with Mason’s broad body. Turning his head to the side, he brushed his lips over Mason’s.

Using his hand under Riece, Mason ran his fingers through Riece’s hair. The gesture was tender and comforting. When Mason sighed and his breath blew softly across Riece’s skin, he shivered slightly.

“Cold?” Mason asked and tightened his grip.

“No. I’m quite comfortable.”

“Good.” Mason kissed the back of Riece’s neck softly and gently. Eventually Mason’s hand left Riece’s hair. He reached for the bottle of lube and the washcloth Riece had left near the bedrolls, and he smoothed the washcloth across Riece’s groin.

Riece sighed out a moan and tilted his hips backward even more when the silky slick gel covering one of Mason’s fingers pressed between Riece’s asscheeks. It warmed when it came into contact with his skin and oozed down to his entrance.