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Fenn picked up his mug, his eyes searching Kate’s face for any sign of doubt. “You sure about this?”
Kate forced a smile, trying to project a confidence she didn’t quite feel. “I’m sure,” she said, her heart pounding in her chest. “We’ll be right behind you.”
Fenn sighed, his shoulders slumping in resignation. He set down his untouched mug and clapped his hands together. “Alrighty then. I’m outta here.”
A minute later, he was back from the storeroom, kitted out in his parka, facemask and goggles, his duffle slung over one wideshoulder. “See you in a few,” he told her and wrenched open the door to a swirl of dry snowflakes and frigid air.
Kate turned back to Hawk, who was already bent over the table, studying a weather map. “What exactly is this evidence we’re retrieving?”
His brow was furrowed in concentration, his jaw clenched tight.
“Hand me that satellite image,” he said, his voice clipped and cold.
She bristled at his tone but complied, sliding the image across the table. “What are we looking for?”
Hawk didn’t look up, his finger tracing a path on the map. “The evidence,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “It’s in the main control room, according to my source.”
Kate frowned, a sense of unease settling in her gut. “And who exactly is this source of yours?” she asked, her voice tight with suspicion.
Hawk’s eyes flicked up to meet hers, and for a moment, she caught a glimpse of the man she once knew. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by an intense, hard stare. “That’s need-to-know.”
And she needed to know. She slammed her hand down on the table, the sudden noise startling in the quiet room. “We’re in this together. You can’t keep me in the dark.”
“I’m not keeping you in the dark,” he said, his voice clipped. “I’m trying to protect you.”
“Protect me? Since when do you care about protecting me?”
Hawk’s jaw clenched, and he looked away, his eyes fixed on some point in the distance. “Things change, Kate,” he said, his voice low and rough. “People change.”
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but the words spilled out before she could stop them. “You’ve certainlychanged,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “The Hawk I knew would never have treated me like a liability.”
Hawk’s eyes snapped back to hers. Pain flickered in their depths. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by a cold, hard resolve. “The Hawk you knew is long gone. If you can’t accept that, maybe you shouldn’t be here.”
The words hit her like a physical blow. She took a step back, her eyes wide with shock and hurt. “Maybe I shouldn’t.”
She turned away, her eyes stinging with tears she refused to shed. As she busied herself with the gear, checking and double-checking every piece of equipment, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the man standing before her truly was a stranger.
Maybe he always had been.
Could time and experience really change someone so fundamentally? Or had Hawk always been this way, hidden beneath the surface of the man she thought she knew?
As they prepared to set out into the frozen wilderness, she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever really known Hawk at all. And if she hadn’t, what did that say about her own judgment?
She pushed the thoughts aside, focusing on the mission at hand. Whatever lay ahead, she would face it with the same strength and determination that had gotten her this far.
Even if it meant confronting the ghosts of her past and the man who had once held her heart in his hands.
33
Fenn hurriedinto his hotel room, fat flakes of snow flying off his shoulders. The winds might have subsided, but the snow hadn’t decided to let up quite yet. It would be another couple hours, he guessed, before he’d be able to get through to Bridger on the sat phone.
Yet another detail ruining his day.
Muzzy and cranky after a poor night’s sleep, his brain whirled with thoughts of Steele and Kate. He’d seen the way she looked at the guy, the history between them as clear as day. And just like that, the tenuous new connection he’d felt with Kate had snapped, like a rubber band stretched too far.
He shook his head, trying to push away the sour taste in his mouth. Romance and relationships had never been his strong suit. He grabbed a half-full duffel from the corner and emptied it on the bed, the contents spilling out in a jumble of gear. He surveyed the equipment with a critical eye, his mind shifting into strategic planning mode.
Night-vision goggles, check. He had a pair for himself and one for Kate, the latest military-grade tech. Infrared too, just in case. He tossed them into the bag, along with a couple of spare batteries.
