Page 25 of Shadow of Hope
“I do a medieval combat one.” Jamal lifted his chin, issuing a challenge at Buck. “But I live close enough to go to Portland and doubt you’ll find anything out in a rural area.”
“Combat?” Buck sat forward. “Maybe I’m missing out on something. Wouldn’t mind getting into a few battles.”
“We use foam swords, and you seem more bloodthirsty than that.” Jamal laughed.
Buck raised an eyebrow. “Do people get hurt?”
“Sometimes.”
“Then I might be down for it. Who’s in charge of the group?”
“Guy’s name is Phoenix Preston.”
Buck scoffed. “Seriously, is that his real name?”
“Yep.”
Buck shook his head. “No wonder he does weird stuff like LARPing. Must’ve been teased like crazy as a kid.”
They were getting off track here, and Ava needed to reign them back in. “Do you use medieval weapons other than foam swords, Jamal?”
“We don’t use anything dangerous.” He looked over her shoulder as if ending the subject.
So Jamal had another factor to move him up the suspect list, but then, with Buck’s eagerness to engage in combat, that could put a checkmark in his suspect column, too.
She couldn’t very well come out and ask about a catapult without alerting the one who set it. Besides, Ryan rounded the corner and stepped into camp, taking everyone’s attention. She kept an eye on the suspects to see their reaction.
Jamal startled and sat back, his gaze assessing. Buck didn’t move but raised an eyebrow as he watched Ryan. Ernie shifted and ran his gaze over Ryan as did Garrett and Fritz, but they didn’t seem to be worried about a stranger arriving in camp.
“Meet Ryan Maddox, one of the Shadow Lake Survival owners,” Micha said as Ryan joined him at the campfire. “Give me a second to talk to him, and then we’ll get back to it.”
Jamal stabbed a toe into the dirt and watched the cloud of dust rise up. “Hey, maybe he can answer my website question.”
“You can ask him when we get back.” Micha walked away, and Ryan followed him down the path that led to the men’s latrine.
“Wonder what he’s doing here,” Buck said, his eyes narrowed. “Must be some sort of problem to bring him all the way out here.”
“Or he’s just here to do some of the training,” Ernie said.
“If you’ll excuse me.” Ava stood before they asked her any direct questions. “I need to hit the facilities.”
“Like there are any facilities here.” Fritz shook his head. “We might be living off-grid, but the latrine way of life is really off-off-grid.”
Ernie rolled his eyes. “I for one am thankful to learn how to have a proper latrine to stop the spread of disease.”
She left them discussing latrines and slipped away, hurrying down her segregated trail into the forested area. She reached the catapult area and cringed at the sight. But she couldn’t afford to get distracted now, so she moved on, exiting the trail and plunging into the deep shade of the thick evergreens.
She circled back, easing over needles and leaves, hoping she wouldn’t get lost in this small area before she found the guys. Voices filtered through the air, and she followed the sound, until she spotted Micha and Ryan deep in conversation on the trail.
Micha caught sight of her and raised a brow. She couldn’t tell if he was glad or mad to see her.
Ryan watched her approach, his expression sardonic. “So it’s Ava, is it?”
Her face colored at his tone. “Yes, sorry for misleading you.”
“A little more than misleading, but hey, I get it.” He cracked a slight smile.
“Thank you for understanding,” she said and resisted fanning away the burning heat on her face and only drawing more attention to her embarrassment.
