of what Thomas thought of as foothills. Which was a good thing.
Because he and Tash still had hours of climbing up before heading downhill, before heading back up again, toward the peak where the Ustanzian ski lodge was nestled. Thomas hadn’t been sure at first, but now he knew. There was no way in hell they were getting there before the sun went down. Which meant he needed to create a shelter—a hide—for them to use. They’d have to huddle together—God help him—to stay warm through the night.
Although if they stopped early enough, he would be able to light a small fire—dig a fire hole. The smell would be masked by the hazy smoke that still hung in the heavily overcast sky. Something big, somewhere relatively nearby, was on fire, and the recent explosion of the SUV added to the persistent burning smell.
Tasha had been nervous about that at first, and about a potential fire spreading from the still-smoldering SUV. Like Thomas, she’d grown up in California, where a fire in the mountains was a serious threat. But he’d reminded her that this part of the country was called New England for a very cold, damp, rainy reason. She’d experienced it, first hand, all those years living in Boston. Wildfires could happen anywhere, sure, but not here and especially not at this time of year.
“Do you think...” Tasha cleared her throat now, and started over. “I’ve been wondering what that explosion was that we heard earlier. And if...” She couldn’t bring herself to say it.
She was worried about her prince and his family. “The Ustanzian compound’s the most secure location in the area,” Thomas told her.
She nodded, still watching him expectantly, clearly wanting a more definitely-stated reassurance... that he couldn’t give her. Still, he tried his best. “I haven’t been there, obviously, but from the layout and plans that I studied...”
His words weren’t making her happy, so he tried, “The queen’s security team is certainly elite.”
“Oh my God,” Tash said. “Thomas. Really? I’m sure they’re okay is too hard for you to say?”
But he wasn’t sure. “I’ve never lied to you, and I’m not going to start now.”
She nodded tightly at that. “Great. How’s your head? And remember, you’ve never lied to me, so don’t start now.”
Thomas couldn’t help but laugh at that. “My head has been better,” he admitted. “But the headache will pass.”
“I couldn’t believe it was happening again,” she whispered, clearly thinking about all those years ago, when they’d been playing on the rocky shore of that lake, when her mother’s ex had appeared, sucker-punched him, then grabbed her.
“I couldn’t either,” he admitted. Not again... “Tash, I’m so sorry.”
She stopped him, cold. “God, no,” she countered. “It’s not your fault. If we’d turned around, back when you first wanted to—”
“Nah.” Thomas wasn’t going to let her take the blame for this. “Neither of us expected this. You were right when you said this is not Afghanistan. This isn’t your fault either.”
“Well,” she said, “I’m pretty certain that if I’d stayed in San Diego, the way Mia wanted me to, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
He couldn’t argue with that.
Tasha made a sound that might’ve been laughter if they been sitting out on Alan and Mia’s back deck instead of hiking through the New England pines in the waning daylight. “At least this time I’m old enough to know that you’re ridiculously hard to kill. But... why did they take your clothes?”
“Maybe they didn’t want to kill me outright...?” Thomas shook his head. As a SEAL, he didn’t spend a lot of time worrying about why. His focus was on how to successfully complete his mission—keeping Tasha safe—with his current pile of challenges. “I’m just grateful you had something in your bag that fit me, or this walk would be even more chilly.” He made a sweeping gesture down his body. Her over-sized pink sweatshirt was tight across his chest but it was the shockingly loud red plaid PJ pants that really brought the crazy to the table. They ended well above his ankles, which was a strong look with the fuzzy slipper socks that were now sodden from the rain-drenched pine needles. “It’s pure luck that I look so fine, too.”
Tasha couldn’t hide her smile. “The pants are awesome.”
“The pants,” Thomas agreed, “are awesome. I’m loving the pants pretty damn madly.” He started back up the mountain, glancing over his shoulder to make sure she was still following. “In fact, even after Uncle Navy picks us up