surgery. That dead limb did a pretty good job on me. It took me four months to get back online again after that.”
“I couldn’t do that,” she whispered, her eyes huge. “You have such courage . . . I had no idea, Chase.”
“Does it bother you? Am I telling you upsetting things from my past? I can stop it. You’ve seen enough, and I don’t want to contribute more to your nightmares.”
“No . . . don’t ever keep anything from me. I’m shaken emotionally by your courage under fire and amazed how calm you are under such dire threat of death. It doesn’t scare me or upset me, otherwise.”
“You were calm under threat back there at the restaurant when Dirk came in. Do you realize that?”
She managed a partial laugh. “No, not even!”
“If Bannock had ID’d you, your life would have been in real jeopardy. You knew that, but you kept your head, you thought through everything, and you didn’t bolt or run. You’re a lot more like me than you thought, Cari.”
“I don’t see it. I just remembered what you taught me, was all. And I was so grateful you did, believe me. Otherwise, I think I would have frozen, my mind blank.”
“That’s one of the strategies of staying alive for animals, too, so don’t knock it,” he told her wryly, turning onto I-80 and heading west toward Utah. At Salt Lake City they would turn south and head through Utah and into Arizona. From there, he’d get to I-10, and after passing into California, he’d pick up I-8, which would lead them to Old Highway 80, which would take them south, toward the border of Mexico. The raptor facility was located fifteen miles north of that border.
“You must have put water and food in your go-bags?”
“Well, there’s two go-bags, one for each of us.”
“Okay . . . what else is in them?”
“Water, protein bars, a sewing kit—”
“A sewing kit?” she asked, stunned. “In case you rip your clothes or something?”
He kept his face expressionless. “No, not that kind of sewing, Cari. If I got a cut or slit in my body, I could sew it up to try and keep infection out of it and also slow or halt the bleeding.”
“Oh . . . did you have to go to medical school to learn how to do this?”
“No. There’s an Army Special Forces school for people like myself who go there to learn how to handle bullet wounds or other types of injuries out in the field when instant pickup or medical help isn’t possible.” He wasn’t about to tell her any more of the gory stuff. Chase wanted this to be a quiet time, a time where they could get to know one another without threats or violent details from his past life as a sniper.
“I see.” She sighed and studied the horizon that was beginning to lighten up, announcing a coming dawn. “So you’re handy to have around if I get hurt?” she teased, trying to lighten the conversation.
“You could say that,” he murmured, smiling over at her. “Weren’t you in the Brownies or Girl Scouts growing up?”
“I was, yes, but I didn’t take any medical training. I was interested in bees, beekeeping, and agriculture.”
“I see.”
“I do know how to apply a Band-Aid, though,” she joked, and they both laughed. “What else is in these bags?”
“A map of the area we’re traveling through,” he said. “And a good compass. If you don’t have a map or compass, your senses and mind can play tricks on you and you won’t go the direction that has water or help or bushes and trees to hide you.”
“Wow . . . ” she uttered. “I’ve never thought of that, Chase.”
“They train you for this in the Marine Corps,” he said, shrugging. “This is all part of becoming a sniper. They’re spending about a quarter of a million dollars training us, so we’re expensive assets and they don’t want to lose us out on a mission.”
“Seriously?” she gasped. “That much money?”
“Well, it costs a million dollars for each pilot in the military to learn to fly.”
“I didn’t realize any of this.” She frowned, glancing down at the go-bags. “So, what else?”
“A good Swiss Army knife in each bag. Can’t leave home without one. They are the most versatile tool on earth, as far as I’m concerned.”
“I noticed earlier when we were in the house, that you put a leather sheath on your belt and it looked like a knife.”
“It’s my old