Chapter 13 Allegra
ALLEGRA
Marcus leads at a brisk pace, and for once I don’t mind not being at the front. My hand trembles as I grip the GPS. I hold it out in front of me as we walk, my hand rigid as if it will protect me from unseen forces.
The landslide has me shaken more than I like to admit, and Marcus’s insistence on getting out of there as quickly as possible leaves me unhinged. He keeps a fast pace, and I follow him for an hour until the trail dips and lands us back in the forest.
We come to a clearing, and Marcus halts, lifting his hand. He makes a tour of the perimeter, scanning carefully, and when he’s satisfied, he comes back to me and slides his pack off.
“Quick break, and then we keep moving.”
I pull a packet of jerky from my bag, nibbling, trying to get my appetite back. I’m not hungry, but if I don’t eat, I’ll lose energy.
As I dig in my pack, my hand brushes the cool metal of my laptop. I cringe inwardly. All my notes. My work. The only relief is that I still have the sample pouch intact.
Marcus hasn’t even bothered to take his pack off. He’s holding a map and a compass.
“There’s a trail through the forest. We’ll have to spend one more night here, but it will take us out at a town about thirty clicks away from where we were going for supplies.”
I stare at him, the meaning of his words sinking in. “You want me to abandon my research?”
His voice is quiet, steady. “That landslide was no accident.”
My gut clenches. “You think someone did that on purpose?”
“Yes.” His voice is gentle as he scans my face. “Who else knows what you’re doing out here?”
I think back. “Only the board I presented my grant to. That’s three professors. They’re the only ones who knew.”
Other students paired up and shared ideas. But I didn’t want to share. What I was doing felt too special and too dangerous. I was right about that.
He doesn’t say anything, but his jaw tightens. “My sat phone got smashed. We need to get out of here via the most direct route possible. I’m sorry.”
I slump against a tree trunk. If I give up now, it will all be for nothing.
I’ve got the samples from the streams, but if I can’t show what’s happening in the ice packs, those samples won’t matter.
It can be argued that they’re temporary, and a one off.
I need to prove that the pollution has been happening for years. And the ice packs show that.
“I’ve got one more sample to get.” If I can just get one from the ice, it will be worth it.
Marcus shakes his head. “It’s too dangerous.”
I straighten up, my chin lifting. I’m Allegra fucking Simpson. I know how to stand up for myself.
“If I go now, Marcus, all of this will be for nothing. They’ll have won. But if I get that last sample…”
My mind races back to the rockslide. Was it a coincidence that it happened when it did?
If it had happened a few minutes earlier, I would have been sitting on the boulder, and those rocks would have landed on me.
But it didn’t. They waited until after I’d gone to the stream, which means they don’t want to harm me.
“They don’t want to hurt me, Marcus. Otherwise, they would have done it today. They just want to scare me, maybe take my research. They’re scared of what I’m going to prove.”
Which means that I’ll find mineral deposits in the ice. “I need that last sample. I would have liked more, but one sample will do.”
His jaw hardens. “I can’t allow that, Allegra.”
I stare at him, anger rising. “Since when did you decide what I’m allowed to do? You work for my father—you don’t work for me. I’m going to get the sample. You can stay with me or you can go, but either way I’m getting it.”
He runs a hand through his hair and huffs out a breath, frustrated. And I don’t blame him. I’m annoying as hell. But I’m not coming this far to fall at the last hurdle.
He exhales. “Show me where your final sample point is.”
I flick the GPS screen toward him, running my finger along the coordinates.
“Right here.”
He studies the screen, then spreads his map on a tree trunk to pick up the trail.
“It’s half a day’s hike. It was on the way to the next supply town anyway. Just a short detour.”
I trace the lines on the map to the point where the ice will be in packs, where it never melts.
“One sample. Then I’m done.”
He taps the map. “The route goes by the river, which is exposed.”
He steps closer, his shoulder brushing mine as we both peer at the map.
“What about this path? Looks like a deer trail. We’ll stay under the cover of the forest, come out by the river, climb to where you need to be as quick as we can.
You take the sample, no dawdling. Then we take the direct route to the supply town. ”
His finger traces the route. “It’ll take two days. That’s all I allow.”
I bristle at his choice of words but don’t say anything. “Two days,” I echo.
He folds the map, then fixes me with a hard stare. “If we’re doing this, then this time I’m setting the rules.”
The weight of his words makes me pause. He’s not joking. “Like what?”
“Like you do exactly as I say when I say it. No questions asked.”
My mouth opens to protest, but then I see the look in his eyes and I close it again. I’m not used to being bossed around. But the truth is, I want Marcus to stay. I want his protection.
“Okay,” I mutter.
“Good.” His gaze is steady. “Do you have a weapon?”
“I’ve got a knife.”
“Do you know how to use it?”
“I used it on you, didn’t I?”
He doesn’t even smile, which worries me. “Could you have really used it on me?”
His question hangs in the air, and I lower my gaze. The truth is, I have no idea.
Marcus drops the pack from his shoulders and pulls out a gun. Steel glints in the sunlight.
“Do you know how to shoot?”
I shake my head no.
He crosses to me with the gun in his hand and holds it out. “I can’t be everywhere at once, Allegra. You need to learn how to handle yourself, just in case.”
His tone is deadly serious, and I’d give anything for Marcus to make a joke right now.
My gaze drops to the cold steel. “I’m not a gun person.”
“You are now.” He thrusts it into my hands.
The weight drags me down, heavy, like it’s weighing on my very soul.
“Stand up. Hold it like this, with both hands.”
I push away from my pack, and Marcus steps behind me, his hands sliding over mine, adjusting my grip. My body trembles at his touch, though I’m not sure if it’s from holding a gun or from the man pressed close behind me.
“You need to be steady. Point the barrel where you want the bullet to go. This is the safety. This is the trigger. Take your time aiming. Squeeze quickly.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to load this up, and we’re going to practice. The woods will muffle the sound as best we can, and we’ll leave in a hurry. If anyone’s listening, we’ll be gone before they get here.”
He slides in a fresh magazine with a metallic click and hands the gun back to me. “Aim for the big pine over there. Line it up. Eyes down the barrel. Pull the trigger.”
I shoot before he finishes speaking. The gun kicks back, jolting me off balance, leaving my ears ringing.
Marcus steadies me, his hand warm on mine. “Not bad. Try again.”
His voice is calm and reassuring, but the proximity of his body and his breath at my ear is dizzying.
I raise the gun again, aim, and fire.
The bullet rustles the foliage of the pine, but there’s no direct hit.
“Your hand dropped at the last moment.” Marcus moves to stand behind me, and both his arms encircle me as he rests his hands over mine on the gun.
My body shivers at his touch, his warm skin against mine.
“Take a breath and steady yourself.”
His breath tickles my ear, and it adds a different type of tension. Suddenly it’s just me and Marcus and the gun in my hand.
I take a breath, aim at the pine, and fire.
Chips of wood explode from the tree.
“I got it!”
“You did.” He nods appreciatively.
My heart pounds, adrenaline surging through my veins. I don’t know if it’s because of the gun—or because of the man beside me.
“Keep it loaded,” Marcus instructs. “Use it if you have to.”
I tuck the gun into my pack. It’s the heaviest thing I’ve ever carried.
Marcus rolls his shoulder before he heaves his pack back on. “We need to keep moving. I want to find somewhere to camp before it gets dark.”
I nod, shouldering my pack again. Marcus leads us onto a deer path off the main trail.
As we walk, he keeps his phone in his hand, checking it every twenty minutes. Marcus doesn’t like being cut off from the outside world.
I keep imagining wildlife watching us, a bear coming around the corner.
But the bears are the least of our concerns.