She raised her head, searching the dark for his features and seeing nothing at all, but she knew he could see hers through the NVGs. “George Shaw. He also served in Vietnam. He did his year, and my understanding is it was a rough one. He’d know how to make improvised weapons just like Jeb. And given their friendship, George knew exactly what Jeb had stored in his carriage house. He probably even had his own key.”

Chapter Sixteen

From Jeb’s property, they hiked more than a mile into the forest south of the lake. This area had no roads. No trails. Nothing but rocks, trees, and endless rain. The tent they’d borrowed was a pale moss green, meaning it would be well camouflaged in daylight, and Xavier would cover it with moss and ferns so it would be indistinguishable from the surrounding area.

They needed a place that was remote and untraceable, so they could both sleep without fear. The hike was slow going because Xavier had to ensure they left no mark of their passage. It was clear exhaustion was overtaking Audrey, but she didn’t utter a word of complaint. She put one foot in front of the other like the soldier she never was.

At last, he found the perfect spot—a narrow valley between two downed trees that were in the process of becoming nurse logs. The tent would just fit between them.

He quickly assembled the structure then turned to Audrey. “Get inside and set up the bed. I’m going to hike back a bit and make sure our trail is completely erased. When I get back, I’m going to cover the tent to camouflage it.” He cleared his throat. “Take care of business before you go inside. I’m going to bury the front in ferns and moss. We need to limit trips outside as much as possible during daylight, just to be safe.”

She nodded.

He set out to cover their trail. He hated leaving her even for this, but he had to be certain no one searching for them would stumble upon their tent. They’d been careful, and he was back ten minutes later. He piled ferns and sticks and moss on the shelter.

“Turn on the red light,” he said as he adjusted the covering then stepped back to view it from a few feet away.

There was no discernible light. He used the NVGs. Nothing.

He stepped closer and asked, “Is the light on?”

“Yes.”

He felt a rush of relief. This was going to work. “Good.”

He took a break to empty his bladder, then returned and piled a wad of moss and ferns across the opening as he joined Audrey inside the narrow two-person tent.

He noticed she’d zipped the sleeping bags together. Good. They both needed the shared body heat.