Page 41 of No Hope of Rescue

It takes Riley a beat to join us. Ross and I scrunch up in small chairs in the rear of the cafeteria. Though the sign above the cash register says it stays open twenty-four seven, it’s late enough that only one young teen is left, wiping down tables and trying to look bored. He doesn’t make eye contact. He’s probably worried we’ll place an order if he does.

“You’re former what?” I say to Ross. “There was no time for resumes.”

“True that,” he says and smiles. The guy is taller than me. He pushes up his waffled thermal underwear sleeves before he sits down, and his forearms are massive. He’d give me a run for my money in an arm wrestle.

“Airman.”

“Rank?”

He grins. “Captain.” Then leaning in, he squints a little. “You too?”

I nod. The tattoo on his forearm is HUA. It’s our battle cry: Heard. Understood. Acknowledged. I swallow as the door opens, and Riley starts toward where we’re sitting in the back.

“You left the Air Force?” I ask.

“Yeah. I wanted to do something else.” He shakes his head as if remembering something. “You?”

“Discharged,” I say, sitting back.

“Medical?”

I nod again.

“Got it,” he says, which means he’s not going to ask. Riley pulls out a chair and sits. She’s released her hair from the ponytail and brushed it out. Even after three days of being in the mountains, she looks amazing. Her face is flushed pink and her lips, stained darker. I suddenly imagine what it must be like to kiss her and feel those heated lips pressed to mine.

I catch myself. I don’t need to imagine it. It’s as if it’s already happened, like I know what that’s like. Shit. They’re both looking at me. I imagine I taste her.

Letting me recover, Ross picks up the conversation. “I don’t know what you want to do, how you want to handle this, but those guys are stuck there. We should contact law enforcement about the artifacts.”

He’s right. There are two issues: Codie’s kidnapping and smuggled goods.

I clear my throat. “Riley?”

“Nothing’s been reported about the crates. I don’t think Codie has said a word. I’m not even sure she knows anything. What do you want to do?”

What I want to do is go up there and beat the shit out all three of those motherfuckers. But I can’t. That’s the wrong road to take.

Riley, sitting on her hands, leans toward the two of us. “Your mom says they’ll probably bury the artifacts if they haven’t already and if they do that, they may never be found. She says given what we described, that stash represents more than one job. There could be several museums involved. Or theft from actual sites.”

And then there’s whatever they dragged through the snow. A body? A fourth person?

“Whether they bury it or leave it in the cabin, they’ll be looking for a pilot to go back and get it. They’re going to need transport to and from. Maybe that’s when we get the police involved.” I watch Ross’s face. “How long can you stay?”

“Indefinitely.”

I straighten up. “Really?”

“You bet. I don’t have any place to be. I’ve only been out three weeks, and I’m kind of bumming around.” He jerks a thumb over his shoulder. “I was up in Maine when Finn told me what was going on and asked me to fly out here.”

I’m too busy and too tired to put it all together.

But Riley does. “So, you’re not working? You’re not contracting?”

“Nope. I’m a free agent.”

I rub my eyes. “And you’re willing to stick around for another week or two, until we see this thing through?”

“I’m in.” Ross pauses. “If you have a plan.”