He didn’t need to close his eyes to remember the shock of horror on her face when the guy came at her on the cliff or when she’d spotted Jeb slumped over the power meter. He guessed she was taking a survive now, panic later approach. He appreciated her ability to compartmentalize. Hell, he’d spent weeks of BUD/S training trying to achieve what she’d managed in just a few hours.

But then, she’d had a crash course in the real world, while his training had been a facsimile of the real thing. Grueling and brutal, absolutely. But still, deep down, he’d known it was fake.

He’d thought she was pretty damn amazing the night they met. Now he upgraded that assessment to include remarkable.

It was a short distance from the stream to the first inholding after the yurt, a small cabin that was cinched tight against winter storms. Xavier would have peeked in the windows to see if any electronics glowed with power, but the windows were all shuttered and the detached garage locked.

Three cabins later, they slipped through a barrier of blackberry vines and reached the outer perimeter of the Jamison cabin. Audrey’s suggestion had been a good one. It was a fair distance from the lodge, and the lake curved in a way that it couldn’t be seen from the yurt or lodge.

The cabin was one of the older structures in the area and constructed with thick logs, making it more bulletproof than newer cabins made with drywall, insulation, and siding. As with the other older structures, the windows were shuttered tight for the winter.

“What are you doing?” Xavier asked as Audrey ran her hand down a corner where the cut ends of logs were notched and joined at the rear of the home.

“Getting the key to the back door.” She stood and held up something small. He saw her smile in the glow of his red light.

He couldn’t help but smile back, a strange pride blooming in his chest. He’d worried about breaking a window—it would be both a signal and entry point for the enemy, but of course, Audrey had access to the key. “What, it’s not a color-coded one on your magical key chain?”

She laughed softly. “No. I don’t know the Jamisons that well, and this cabin doesn’t belong to ONP.”

But clearly, she knew them. Like she knew Jeb. Like she knew this park.

And his lie could have taken it all away from her.

When they got out of here, he would call her boss and the ACHP. He would tell everyone he’d lied. The blowback on the Navy would be bad—no doubt it would end his career as a trainer—but it was fitting and the only way to make things right. He couldn’t hold his career as more valuable than hers.