Her Own Best Enemy (The Remnants, Book 1) (8 page)

Keith brushed past her, his left shoulder scraping her right, obviously unaffected by the sheer magnitude of the drop that separated them from life and death. Which left her to stare at his back until he rounded a bend in the trail and disappeared.

She clenched her hands, stiffened her spine and hurried to catch up with him. Pebbles crunched under her feet, her worn tennis shoes kicked up reddish dust that billowed over their tips and settled across the white leather.

Keith came into view, his strides long and controlled as if the hike was nothing more than a leisurely stroll. She stared at his back and kicked her pace up a notch until she narrowed the space between them to several paces.

“You could’ve waited up top,” he said.

Yeah, he’d have liked that wouldn’t he?
“No, I couldn’t.”

She needed Keith’s help to track Ryker, but that didn’t mean she trusted him with her son’s life. He shrugged, an infuriating, calm, gesture that had her gritting her teeth.

They walked in silence for close to a half an hour, the only sound between them her ragged breathing. Keith’s, of course, was still perfectly even. Damn him.

Her damp hair clung to the sides of her face. Sweat plastered her t-shirt to her skin. She shifted the heavy pack, settling it deeper against her tense muscles. With only the occasional caw of birds and the scuff of her shoes along the rocky terrain for company, her thoughts returned to Ryker.

Was he safe? Was his asthma giving him problems? Would she find him with Mark, or in the hands of men with guns?

Would she find him alive?

God, Mark, why did you have to take him?

Her hands shook. She curled them around the wide straps of the backpack, and remembered the gun Keith insisted she add to her pack. Could she use it? Oh, yeah, if someone tried to hurt her baby she’d have no trouble blowing a hole through them.

Sweat pooled between her palms and the polyester fabric she clutched. She dropped her hands, rubbing them along the edges of her jeans.
Don’t think about it.

She had three—possibly close to four—more hours of this hike. She’d lose her mind if she thought about Ryker hurt, or sick, or God forbid—

“Why did you join the Army?” She quickened her pace to walk shoulder to shoulder with Keith, unable to listen to her thoughts a moment longer.

He ignored her. In fact, he sped up.

Her heart clenched.
Let him go. Just let him go.

The sound of Ryker’s scream echoed in her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the image of her baby held at gunpoint. It didn’t work. The picture had branded itself against her eyelids.

Not to mention the tiny, yet important, fact that she needed to see the stupid trail.

She looked to Keith who was now a full length ahead of her. Loneliness and desperation ate their way up her esophagus.

“What? You’re not going to talk?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

He reached up and ran his hand across the back of his neck. “I didn’t think this was a leisurely day hike.”

“It’s not.” Her stomach jumped.
Oh, baby, please be safe.
“I can’t stop thinking about—” She swallowed past the gritty dust that had accumulated in her throat. “I’ll go crazy without some conversation.”

He didn’t look at her, but suddenly his back was close enough for her to reach out and touch. He’d slowed down. Grateful tears stung her eyes. Bless him.

His shoulders lifted and a bark of coarse laughter vibrated against the red rocks. “I didn’t wake up one morning and say, ‘I think I’ll join the Army’, that’s for sure.”

“So...?”

“So, I made a stupid choice one night, reacted with my gut, not my head, and paid for it. I was lucky enough to be allowed to pick my punishment. Army or jail. I chose the lesser of two evils.” His boot kicked a rock and sent it skittering over the edge. “Although sometimes I wonder if prison time wouldn’t have been the easier choice.”

Prison? Yeah. Prison. Why was that so surprising? She knew he lacked scruples. All Grace had to do was look at her sister for a prime example.

She couldn’t stop the hard edge that crept into her voice. “What did you do?”

“It’s what I didn’t do.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I didn’t walk away from a fight.”

She shook her head and a bead of sweat dripped off her nose. She swiped at it with the back of her hand. “People fight all the time.”

He turned to shoot her a hard impenetrable look, as if deciding whether to censor his words. “I could’ve killed him. At the time, part of me wanted to.”

Her feet froze in their tracks. “What did he do to you?”

His jaw tightened, he angled his head, squinting against the sun. “Nothing. It’s what he did to someone else.”

And with that bombshell he gave her his back and resumed his trek down the narrow path.

She quickened her strides. “Defending a girlfriend’s honor?” Grace couldn’t keep the sharp tang from her words.

Since when had Keith developed a conscience? He’d certainly had no trouble destroying her and her sister’s reputation with his lies. Did he lose any sleep when he thought of how he’d thrown Becca to the wolves? Surely he’d known his friend’s intention towards her. Why hadn’t Keith done something instead of taking active participation in her destruction?

Helpless frustration ate through her veins like acid. If she had to look at Keith’s back for one more minute she’d...she didn’t know what she’d do, but it wouldn’t be pretty.

She brushed past him on the right side careful to measure her steps. But her foot caught a rock underneath the sole of her shoe and slipped sideways, inching across the edge of the trail.

She gasped and threw her arms wide to shift her balance. Fear clawed its way up her throat obliterating her attempted cry for help. Her heart raced, muscles burned from their attempt to keep her from catapulting forward.

Suddenly, Keith’s fingers dug into her upper arm and tugged. Her body righted itself and she yanked her foot from the edge. Stumbling against his solid body, she sagged against him, her cheek pressed against the hardness of his chest. Through the damp cotton of his T-shirt, she could feel the steady beats of his heart and her own slowed in relief.

He gripped her arms. The warm strength of his rough hands prevented her from moving. “You okay?”

“I...yeah.”

She lifted her head and met his shadowed hazel eyes. Was there more to Keith than what was found on the surface? Once upon a time she’d thought so. He may have been a jerk in high school, but even then there had been something about him—a deeper, hidden something that made her want him to take notice of her. And on that long ago prom night when they’d sat outside on the bleachers sharing bits and pieces of themselves, she’d thought she’d found it.

It had all been a ruse. The whispered conversation, the heady kiss, all of it. Yet even as she’d let her resentment fester over the years she’d always wondered what it would be like to look into his soul and find the very thing that always drew her to him.

What would it be like to understand him, the way he was now? To understand the bitter cynicism that chiseled his jaw.

It would be like staring in the mirror.

The thought jolted her. Ridiculous. She was nothing like Keith. No way in hell.

She stiffened and pulled back, but Keith tightened his fingers that still circled her biceps.

“I’m fine,” she insisted.

Silent, he narrowed his eyes on her. His jaw clenched in obvious annoyance and his lips tightened briefly before he dropped her arm. “Good.”

He adjusted his pack and started walking again.

She followed close behind him, her stomach quivering with the need to prove just how different she and Keith were.

“How old were you? When you joined the Army?”

He shot her an irritated glower over his shoulder. “I’d just turned nineteen.”

And kept right on walking.

Good. That was good, right? He was rude and insufferable. See? Nothing like her.

The canyon walls rose higher on each side, blocking out all other sounds but theirs as they descended deeper to the canyon floor. A jagged boulder jutted from the rough terrain and forced the path before them to thin and twist.

Keith navigated the uneven ground in one fluid motion then turned to guide her through the rough spot. Their eyes locked. He frowned at her.

Add moody to the list.

She frowned right back. But even their mutual frowns couldn’t dispel the sudden charge that crackled the air.

“Why did you stay?” she heard herself whisper. “In the Army, I mean. Why did you stay if you didn’t like it?”

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it.” His hand came up between them and she sucked in a breath, so sure he was going to touch her. But then he shook his head and dropped his hand back to his side. “I’m good at it. The Army looks for people like me.” His voice lowered, taking on a hollow tone. “Someone without family ties who doesn’t care if they die for their country.”

Her throat ached. Did he truly have no one who worried about his safety? She tipped her head, feeling as though she’d barely scratched the surface of Keith’s persona. “So. Tell me how you really feel.”

His brows furrowed, he shrugged. “It’s a job, okay?”

He jerked his gaze from her face and trudged down the trail, leaving her speechless for a moment.

She regained her wits, threw up her hands and followed. “It’s a job. Unbelievable. You know, you could open up a bit more here. Have an actual conversation.”

Help me remember what kind of person you are.
The Keith she knew was the life of the party. Mocking and cruel with a strong compulsion to remain at the center of everyone’s attention. The very core of him couldn’t have changed.

Yet, she still couldn’t deny he seemed different now. Quiet. Wary. Intent on deflecting attention away from himself. Oh, yeah, and dangerous. That one topped the list.

Maybe conversing wasn’t such a hot idea.

“I thought we were talking,” he said, his voice filled with genuine puzzlement.

This was his idea of talking?

“It’s a job. I almost killed someone. I was exceptionally talented,” she mimicked.

Keith arched a brow at Grace and forced himself to stop. Again. “I didn’t say I was exceptionally talented.”

She was going to drive him crazy with her yammering. And yet, he instinctively knew part of her desire to talk was based on her nervousness and her impatience to get to her son. He didn’t understand it, but he definitely appreciated it.

Had his own mother ever once stood up for him? Had she ever taken his side or spent sleepless nights worrying when he’d neglected to come home?

No. She’d never wanted him in the first place. After thirty-two years on this earth, he could finally admit that much.

But here was Grace, prepared to walk through hell and back to get to Ryker. How could he not admire her for that?

She was still staring at him, eyebrows creased into an intent frown—almost as if angry with herself for being interested.

Fascinating. “The Army recognized my...focus and attention to detail and recommended me for Special Forces right after my basic training.”

She cocked her head, threw her hands out. “We’re you thrilled? Excited? I mean most people don’t get recommended for that kind of position, right? How did you feel?”

Like he wanted to kiss that disgruntled expression right off her too serious face.

He swallowed. Holy mother of bad thoughts. Where did it come from? He mentally shook himself, but the urge, unfortunately didn’t go away.

Her wide green eyes sought his and sparkled in a way he hadn’t noticed before. Her cheeks were flushed from the heat and her mussed, windblown brown hair, swirled around her face in a soft, sexy cloud.

As he stared at her, he briefly lost all thought. Until he realized that her eyes had changed from curious to wary.

He cleared his throat. How did he feel? His eyes slid to her lips. “I felt good.”

Her teeth grazed her upper lip. “Yeah?”

He’d never been so turned on by the motherly type before, but now he couldn’t stop imagining he and Grace intertwined in all sorts of un-motherly positions.

He forced himself to look down and noticed that his feet had somehow propelled him forward until the tips of his boots touched her dusty tennis shoes.

“It felt good to have someone believe in me for once. The Army’s where I belong.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. An honest admission he’d never dared express to anyone.

His chest tightened and he forced his gaze back to hers. Bad mistake. Her sweet kissable lips were parted—whether in horror over their proximity, or surprise, he didn’t know her well enough to decipher.

From somewhere in the distance, a bird let out a loud screeching, and they both jerked their gazes to the sky.

She stepped away and shot him a watered down smile. “That’s all I wanted to know.”