Chapter Eleven

“It hasn’t moved in the last forty-five minutes,” Duffy announced. “It’s time to take a plane ride.”

“You arranged a plane?”

“I have a buddy that’s a pilot, and he owes me one,” Duffy explained, as he dialed and waited.

“Mark? Duffy. Hey, I need a lift, man. You ready? Great. We’ll meet you at Meacham in a half-hour.”

He hung up and grinned at Charlie. “Let’s go.”

***

The quartet firmed up their plans, and Leah insisted on changing out Shannon’s bandages before they traveled to separate sides of the property.

“All good,” she pronounced, giving Shannon the ‘ok’ symbol.

They moved quickly out to the shed to liberate the ATV’s from storage. As they did, Larry tossed Pete a walkie-talkie.

“Channel two,” he said, and Pete nodded.

“Meet you guys back here,” Shannon said with a smile as she climbed up behind Pete, hooking her arms around his waist.

“Wait,” Leah told Pete, and rushed back into the cabin.

She reappeared a few moments later with a pen. “I can’t find my small notepad.”

“Here,” Larry pulled his out and handed it over.

“Thanks,” she said, smiling softly at him, then pivoted and handed both to Pete.

“That way you guys can still communicate,” she confirmed.

Pete grinned as he tucked both items into his shirt’s breast pocket, then turned the ignition key.

With a wave, he surged the ATV forward, and his heart thumped double-time as he felt Shannon’s arms tighten around him. He couldn’t help but grin even bigger when she let out a surprised and delighted Whoop! as he turned to take them toward the blind on the far side of the clearing.

***

Shannon looked back just in time to see Leah settle in behind Larry, throw her arms around his waist and rest her head against his back, and she smiled at her petite but fiery friend.

She’s in good hands. And they look cute together, Shannon thought warmly.

She sighed, snuggling closer to Pete as they traveled along across the valley floor, and tightened her grip when they reached the narrow, barely visible trail that began to lead them upward at a steep angle. At one point she was convinced gravity would win out and they’d go tumbling back down the way they came.

But the anxiety was short-lived as the trail leveled out again, and she realized with satisfaction that Pete had brought them straight to the base of the blind.

He turned off the ATV and patted her hand to let her know to dismount. She reluctantly released him from her embrace and climbed off, standing to one side so Pete could swing his long leg over and dismount as well.

Pete hefted the ready bag across his shoulders by its strap, then gestured to her to climb up first. She paused, looking at the homemade blind with its steep wooden ladder leading straight up. By her estimation, the platform looked to be a good ten feet off the ground, and she felt her hands getting clammy.

Heights. Not crazy about heights, she admitted, and she started to mention it to Pete when she noticed he was holding out the notepad.

Don’t like heights, do you? Don’t worry, I don’t either. We’ll get through it together, he’d written.

“I was hoping it wasn’t on a stand, I’ll be honest,” she confessed. “This makes it a little more… challenging.”

Pete reached over and squeezed her hand in solidarity, and she was amazed at the way his touch both calmed her nerves and made her heart race all at once.

Smiling, she boldly stepped to the base of the ladder, took a deep breath, and began to climb. She’d gotten about four steps up, hugging the ladder tightly, when a protruding nail caught her swinging necklace at just the right angle and ripped the chain apart, sending the locket tumbling to the ground below.

“My locket!” she cried out, risking a look down to see where it landed.

Pete watched it fall and picked it up, holding it in his palm to show her he retrieved it, then gestured for her to keep going.

She nodded and continued to climb, shaking slightly when she reached the platform. In moments Pete was beside her, showing her a note.

Did you know this thing opens?

“Really? No, I didn’t notice that.”

He scribbled some more, then handed her the notepad.

Who gave you this? You need to take a look at what’s inside.

Puzzled, she examined the locket he’d placed in her palm more closely and noticed a tiny notch on one edge. Sliding part of her fingernail into it enabled her to open the locket, and she stared, stunned.

“That…that’s a… microchip?”

Pete nodded.

“Robert gave me this,” Shannon stammered. “At dinner, right before we went to the movie. Before the explosion.”

Pete’s next message was somber, as was his expression when she looked back up at him.

I think your friend was successful in getting those files copied after all. I think we’re looking at what got him killed.

“We have to tell Larry,” Shannon breathed, her eyes huge. “Like, now.”

Pete nodded and keyed the walkie-talkie’s mic.

***

“What?” Larry responded loud and clear, and Pete turned down the volume before he repeated himself.

“Keep it safe,” came the clipped response.

“Roger that,” Pete said, and put down the two-way device to write Shannon another message.

Tuck that locket away somewhere safe.

She nodded, closed it, and shoved it down into the left front pocket of her blue jeans.

“Are you okay?” she asked, noticing Pete’s jaw clenching and unclenching rapidly.

He looked at her for a long moment, then wrote.

Actually, no. I’m furious that a so-called “friend” of yours put you in harm’s way like this. If he were alive, I’d punch him.

“Surely there’s a good reason he did this.”

His reason doesn’t matter. There was NO excuse to tangle you up in this mess. None.

“Pete, calm down. I’m fine, really,” she soothed as she laid her palm against his chest and looked up at him.

There’s no way I can wait until this is over, he realized, as he glanced down at the delicate hand whose touch made his heart surge into overdrive.

Pete looked into Shannon’s eyes, then gently cupped her face in his hands, leaned down, and kissed her. She sighed, moving toward him, her eyelids fluttering closed.

At long last he lifted his mouth from hers, grabbed the notepad, and wrote.

Does that adequately explain why I’m upset?

“Oh,” Shannon murmured, then, “Oh,” in realization, her lips curving slowly into a warm smile.

“Yes, I guess it does. But only if you do it again. You know, just so we’re on the same page about things.”

He smiled and pulled her into his arms, kissing her again, and she parted her lips to give his tongue access as she fisted her hands in his hair and moved even closer to him.

He trailed kisses down her jawline, down her throat, and she shuddered in his arms, gasping with pleasure when one hand snaked up under her shirt to caress her right breast.

“Yes,” she whispered as he lifted her shirt enough to be able to duck his head and trace his tongue over her left nipple. She moaned with desire and could feel his breath against her skin as he growled with want.

Suddenly he stood upright again, gently lowering her shirt, and Shannon breathlessly asked, “Why did you stop?”

He stepped back, grabbed their source of communication, and wrote, I want you, Shannon. Badly. But not here, and definitely not with you injured. I want us to do this right. I want you to be able to hear me, not just feel me. I want our first time to be spectacular. So, it’s better if we stop - for now. But trust me when I say, I really don’t like waiting.

She read his note, then looked into his eyes.

“I agree,” she murmured, her aquamarine eyes filled with passion. “Just so you know – I hate waiting.”

He laughed.

Me too, he wrote to her. But something tells me it will be well worth it – for both of us.