Audrey sat on one side of the double sleeping bag, her boots hanging off the end. “So—how do we sleep? Do we need to keep our boots and everything but our coats on?”

He paused to consider the question. If she were trained for this sort of thing, the answer would be yes. But she wasn’t, and she was shivering and had been off and on for hours. She needed to get warm, and she needed sleep. The best way for both was to strip down to their base layers so body heat and the warmth from the bag would cocoon them. And the stiff, wet leather boots would be uncomfortable enough to keep her awake, especially if her toes were already cold.

“We’re well hidden, and you need to get warm. Remove everything but the long underwear. Keep your socks on too if they’re dry.”

She let out a sigh of relief. “Good. I’m grateful for these boots, but they’re chafing and uncomfortable at this point.” She set to work removing the boots, followed by her outer layers.

He unclipped his tactical vest and set it aside. He then unholstered the Glock and set it at the top of the sleeping pad before doffing his coat, rolling it up, and placing it over the weapon. He turned to her. “Use your coat as a pillow, but don’t put your gun under it. Not a good idea for you to be taking shots in the dark.”

She let out a whoosh of relief. “I’m so glad you said that. I wouldn’t begin to know what to do.”

He did know what to do, but his standard operating procedure was skewed in this situation. Never in his wildest nightmares did he imagine being on an op on US soil with an untrained civilian as his backup while Russian mercs hunted them.

She rolled up her coat as directed, then finished removing her outer layers.

The long underwear she’d borrowed fit her like a glove, and he was glad she’d worn them for the last few hours. He imagined she’d be blue as a Smurf by now without them.

She placed her outer layers in the sleeping bag and pushed them to the foot. She caught him watching her and said, “Fieldwork trick. They won’t get wet if they touch the sides of the tent and they’ll be warm when I pull them on when we dress again.”

He nodded. “Plus they’re easy to grab in a hurry.”

She burrowed into the sleeping bag as he finished undressing. He copied her actions and rolled up his combat uniform. When he reached to put it in the bag, she took it from him and pushed it to the bottom with her clothes.