Morgan's Hunter (32 page)

“Sorry, bad habit.” She moved her hand to his chest, letting it rest there.

“I got the tattoo when I came back from Afghanistan.”

“You don’t have to tell me. It’s okay.”

He moved his fingers in lazy circles over her hip. “You want to know about the date.”

“I don’t want you to feel like you have to share. I know it’s painful.”

He went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “September 23, 2010 was the worst day of my life. I don’t think anything will ever be as bad.”

He stopped talking. The gentle drum of rain against rock filled the cave. She figured he changed his mind.

When he spoke again, she heard the strain in his voice. “My men and I were heading out on a classified mission. We were off to bag Al-Qaeda’s number three. Word came down through the chain that he was about to get away—again—so we went for it. We had four weeks left. We were going out in glory. God, if I could go back and change it...” He scrubbed his hand over his face, ran his fingers through his hair. “It was my job to plan the route. We had several options, but I chose the fastest—which was also the most dangerous. We couldn’t let the fucker vanish into the mountains again.”

Bitterness spewed with every word, and she snuggled closer.

“It was a bad call, but it was the one I made and will live with every day for the rest of my life. There were a thousand and one ways I could’ve done things differently, but I didn’t.” His fingers stopped their lazy circles, tightened against her skin. “We were ambushed. Six of my men died, and in the end the bastard disappeared anyway.”

His restless hand relaxed and bunched as he blew out a long breath. “One of the men killed was my best friend, Jake. We were friends for so long I can’t remember him not being a part of my life.” He paused again, swallowing hard. “I tried to save him. God, did I try, but his injuries were more than I could handle on the side of the road in the middle of fucking nowhere. So I sat there and watched him bleed to death while I lived.”

“I’m so sorry, Hunter.” Morgan pulled him as close as she could, trying to give comfort for something bigger than herself. She held him tight until he slept, trying to imagine the horror he had lived through.

Morgan sat up on her elbow, staring down at Hunter. She brushed her hand through his hair, remembering the tenderness that passed between them. He surprised her when he started sharing a part of his life with her. The pleasure of him finally opening up was quickly overshadowed by the tragedy he had experienced. His story only made her love him more. It took courage to walk away from something like that and keep going, keep living.

Her finger roamed to the dimple in his chin. She touched it gently. She wanted to hug this moment to her. There wouldn’t be many more—when her body lay naked, warm and pressed against his. Her hand returned to his hair as she pressed her lips to his lightly, wanting to savor one more minute before she went back to sleep herself.

Hunter’s eyes opened, looked into hers. Her hand moved to his cheek. “I thought you were asleep.”

“Not yet.” He took her hand, kissing her palm. “Lay back down with me.”

“I will, but first I want you to know you aren’t to blame. What happened wasn’t your fault.”

As the words left her mouth, she saw the shutters come down over his eyes, felt the wall he put up between them so easily.

“Jake’s daughter is growing up without a father and his wife is a single mother. I am responsible for that. When you’re in charge of a squad, it’s your responsibility to get each and every soldier home to their families. I didn’t.”

“That’s not fair, Hunter. You—”

“What’s not fair is Jake watched his daughter come into the world and never got a chance to hold her. What’s not fair is Kylee will never know Jake. Sarah will never feel her husband’s arms around her again.”

“I thought you told me earlier that what happened to my team wasn’t my fault. How is this any different?”

“It’s completely different. My men didn’t have a choice. They had to follow my orders, and I messed up. I don’t want to talk about this anymore, Morgan. Let it go.”

Tears welled in her eyes as she looked away, nodding.

Hunter reached over, turned out the lantern. When he settled himself, his body no longer touched hers.

Hurt and desperately sad for him, she started toward her own sleeping bag.

Hunter hooked an arm around her waist. “Where are you going?”

“I just figured you wanted your space.”

“When I want space, I’ll let you know.” He pulled her back until she lay against his side. She turned, facing him, as his arm wrapped tight around her. His free hand came up, covering her hand resting against his heart. Their fingers laced and she drifted off, content in Hunter’s arms.

Chapter 27

B
Y MID-AFTERNOON THE NEXT DAY, Morgan and Hunter made it to Tower Junction, Wyoming, a small tourist stop-off within Yellowstone’s boundaries. Hidden deep among the trees on the outskirts of town, Hunter scrutinized the sea of visitors strolling about.

He had no idea who pursued them, but the tingle along his spine and lead ball weighing heavy in his stomach told him that among the groups of happy, chattering families, people watched, eager to take him and Morgan out.

They were a day early and he had no way of contacting the Bureau or the agent who was supposed to get them the hell out of there. He needed to call Ethan but didn’t dare use his or Morgan’s cell phone.

Hunter peered through binoculars, keeping his eye on the small twelve-room motel, general store and scenic center across the street from where he and Morgan hid. The three buildings beyond were the area’s main attraction. If someone waited, and he was sure they did, they wouldn’t be far.

Morgan read a book while she lay on her mattress pad, resting her head on his lap. “The worst part about this whole thing is there are perfectly comfortable motel rooms right across the way, and we’re lying on the ground in a pile of trees being blinded by the damn sun.”

Hunter looked down at her, grinning. “One of us is lying down. The other is actually working. If you were sitting up, the sun wouldn’t be in your eyes. It isn’t bothering me.”

Rolling her eyes, she mimicked him. He drilled his finger into her side, making her squirm and laugh. Morgan grabbed his hand, attempting to hold him off. “Okay, I’m sorry.”

“That’s better.” Chuckling, he peered through his binoculars again as a silver Buick Lacrosse pulled into the motel parking lot. Hunter came to attention when a man emerged from the car in an outfit too upscale for a day of fun at Yellowstone. The tall, fifty-something with black hair going gray at the temples wore Armani slacks and a polo shirt with thousand dollar leather shoes.

“Unless you have something specific for me to do—”

“Hold up, hold up,” Hunter interrupted. “I think we might have something here.”

The man looked around, smiled as a navy blue Escalade pulled into the parking spot next to him. A man dressed similarly, in black slacks and a white button-down, nodded as he stepped from his vehicle. The men shook hands, talked, turned toward the mountains. The man with the Buick gestured to something as he spoke. Hunter followed his hand as he pointed toward the wooded area far off in the distance.

“Can I see? I want to see.” Morgan grabbed for the binoculars. Hunter moved, evading her hand.

“Stop. I’m trying to watch two men who certainly don’t fit the part of tourist.”

“Maybe one of them is the agent from the Bureau.” She tried for the binoculars again. “Just let me look for a second.” She pushed herself up.

Hunter handed them over. She peeked through the lenses. “Who am I looking at?”

“Straight ahead, twelve o’clock. The guys that look like they missed the turn for the country club.”

A grin spread across her lips. “Pretty accurate description.” Still watching, Morgan shook her head. “I don’t recognize—wait.” Sitting taller, she pushed forward through the trees. “The man standing closest to the silver car seems familiar. If he would turn just a little bit.” As if on cue, he did. “It’s Dean.”

Hunter yanked the binoculars back, peered through them again. “Who’s Dean?”

“You know, Dean Jenkins, the guy we talked to on the phone the other night. What in the world is he doing here?”

Hunter didn’t like it—it didn’t sit right. He watched the men get into their vehicles, back up, drive off through the chaos of visitors.

“I guess my dad sent him to pick us up. I honestly thought he would’ve come himself.”

“Dean just left.”

“What?” She yanked the binoculars back. “How could he just leave?”

“We’re not supposed to be here until tomorrow.” He needed to get to a phone, needed to talk to Ethan—now.

“Oh, yeah, well that makes sense.”

Hunter put the binoculars in his pack. “We have to get out of here and find a phone.”

“How are we going to do that and stay hidden?”

“I’m not sure yet, but sitting here isn’t solving the problem.”

He waited for Morgan to roll up her cushion. They put on their packs, walked away from the crowds, deeper into the trees beyond.

A mile into the hike, they came upon a campground. Hunter spotted an older couple sitting outside their mid-sized RV, playing a round of cribbage. A cell phone lay next to the woman’s elbow on the card table.

Hunter walked toward them. “Play along.”

Morgan glanced at him. “What are you going to do?”

“Get us that cell phone.”

As they got closer to the older couple, Hunter picked up a dingy metal o-ring that had fallen from someone’s camping gear long ago. “Put this on your ring finger.”

“Why?”

“Just do it,” he said through his teeth while he smiled. They approached the elderly couple. Hunter watched for a reaction, wondering if the police had shown up with flyers warning guests about ‘the dangerous criminals’. When the couple only smiled, he began the show.

He glanced at Morgan’s hand. She had put the dented metal on her finger, holding it in place by closing her fist. He slung his arm around her, bringing her toward him warmly. “Good afternoon, folks.”

The couple set their cards down. “Good afternoon to you, young man,” the woman with the mop of madly curling gray hair said.

“Beautiful day to be camping,” Hunter went on while he casually scanned their surroundings, looking at all of the other RVs parked close by.

“Sure is.” The man with more wrinkles than hair and a hawk-like nose gave Morgan a friendly wink.

Hunter nudged her slightly. Morgan cleared her throat, gave him her knock- ‘em-dead smile. The elderly gentleman sat up straighter.

“We sure are sorry to bother you, but my fiancé and I—” Morgan’s eyes widened as she slid him a glance “—broke down about half a mile back.”

“Oh, now that’s a shame. Is there anything we can do to help?”

Hunter added more charm to his smile. “Actually, if I could use your cell phone to call my brother. I was so nervous trying to plan the perfect romantic getaway I forgot mine.” He shook his head. “I was a wreck the whole drive here, trying to think of just the right way to propose. And then, I worried myself sick—would she say yes? What would I do if she said no... Thank goodness she put me out of my misery and said yes.” He hugged Morgan tighter against him.

The older woman’s eyes softened. “Now, Earl, isn’t that just the sweetest thing you ever heard?”

“Sure is, Ida, sure is. Of course you can use our phone, son.”

The woman’s gaze wandered to Morgan’s hand. “Can I see your ring, honey?”

Morgan looked at Hunter again.

“Go ahead, sweetie, show them your ring.” Hunter gave her a small shove forward.

Morgan hesitated before she held out her hand. The woman’s eyes dimmed as she stared at the tarnished piece of metal.

Hunter grinned. “Pretty awful, huh? I forgot the ring too. Can you believe it? I planned the trip to propose and I forgot the ring. I found that on the road near the campsite we stayed at. I hoped it would be good enough until we got home. It’s the feelings behind the symbol that count, right?” Hunter gave Morgan a quick, intimate kiss.

The older woman smiled as her eyes misted. “That’s right, honey.” She directed her attention to Morgan. “I see you were smart enough to say yes even though you have a hunk of ugly metal around your finger.”

Morgan smiled at Ida, looked at Hunter. “I sure was. It wouldn’t have mattered if he hadn’t had anything to give me. This made the moment all the more romantic.” She glanced down at the tarnished metal, then at Hunter again. “When you find someone amazing, you grab them up before they get away.” She kissed him warmly, and he felt a jolt that shook him to his core.

Hunter grabbed her arm in reflex, dropped it. He stared into Morgan’s warm, smiling eyes as he remembered Jake saying the same thing moments before he married Sarah.
“If you’re smart, when you find someone amazing you’ll grab her up before she gets away. That’s my advice to you, man.”

Ida spoke again. “Aren’t you a smart little thing? He’s a handsome one, honey, good for you.” She winked.

Morgan struggled with a smile for the older woman before she glanced back at Hunter. Questions replaced the warmth in her eyes.

“Here’s the phone, young man. You call your brother.” Ida dropped the phone in Hunter’s hand. “Your fiancé and I are going to go in and have a nice glass of iced tea.”

“Oh, I really shouldn’t. I don’t want to put you out.”

“It’s no trouble, dear. You look like you could use something cool to drink, and we don’t get a lot of company around here.” Ida held out her gnarled, wrinkly hand and Morgan took it.

While Ida and Morgan drank iced tea, Hunter continued the show for Earl. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”

“Not a problem, son. Go ahead and call your brother. Get your beautiful bride-to-be out of here.”

Hunter gave a nod, tried a smile as he walked away. Morgan’s words still buzzed through his mind. His jaw clenched and his stomach jittered as he thought of the deep, intimate look she’d given him. It was as if she’d actually meant what she said to Ida.