“No deal.”
He laughed. “No deal?”
“No deal, Rigley. I can’t carry this much weight and still expect to make it back.”
“I see.” He stood very close and very still.
“You don’t get it. When it comes to hiking, every extra bit of weight you carry means you’re expending that much more effort to keep moving.”
“And you don’t think you can carry this much weight?”
I knew what he was doing. I could see right through it.
“I didn’t plan for this, no. With different gear, I could do it, no problem. But you people didn’t say that you were changing things.”
“We changed things.”
“I can see that. And I’m telling you that it’s not okay.”
He nodded slowly. “I understand what you’re saying. But tell me, you have a family, yes?”
Motherfucker. He had gone past trying to push my ego and was going right to threatening my family.
And frankly, that was the only thing that worked.
“They have nothing to do with this,” I said.
“They have everything to do with this, or so I am told.”
“I can carry half of this safely. I can come back and get the rest next time, plus some extra. Just let me plan for it.”
“No,” he said simply.
I knew there was nothing I could do. I knew these men would do anything to keep their drugs flowing, because their drugs were such a huge source of income for their organization. It wasn’t just about me and Rigley, it was about everyone in the mob, and if there was any interruption in the sweet flow of cash, then we were all fucked.
A man like Rigley knew that. A man like Rigley would do anything to keep himself alive, including hurting my family.
“Fine, motherfucker. I’ll carry it.”
I spit the words at him like they were fire.
“Good. Get started.” He smiled at me calmly.
I pulled open my pack and began to shove the pills inside. I barely even had enough space to fit it all, but I managed to fill every single square inch of the pack while Rigley watched in silence.
When I was done, he shut the trunk. Without a word, I turned and walked back over to where my socks were still drying in the sun.
Rigley followed me for a few steps.
“Mister Smuggler?”
I looked back at him. “Reid,” I said.
“Reid. If you ever call me a motherfucker again, I’ll murder you.”
I smiled at him. “I’d love to see you try.”
There was a moment when I thought for sure that he was going to reach for his gun and shoot me right there. And truthfully, there was some quiet voice in the back of my mind that would have welcomed it. Not because I wanted to die, but because I was sick of living at their whims.
Instead, he shrugged and walked back to his car. He got in and drove off. I watched him go, my heart pounding, until slowly I regained some composure.
I put my socks back on, hitched my pack on tight, and started back toward home.
It felt exactly like I knew it would.
The pack was too heavy. There was nothing I could do about it, not without risking retaliation or worse, and so I had to suffer on. I crossed the river with no problem, but the sun was already beginning to dip toward the horizon and I was nowhere near my usual campsite.
It was slow going. Going out with an overloaded pack was one of the biggest dangers a serious hiker faced. People never took into account the sort of toll carrying even an extra pound over an extended period takes on a body, let alone an unplanned twenty pounds. If I wasn’t careful and I pushed myself, that was the sort of weight that could lead to dehydration or heat stroke.
I checked the sun and my compass. I was at least another few hours out from my campsite, and the light was already dying. Frustrated and annoyed, I decided to search out a decent spot to stop for the night.
It took me twenty minutes before I found a small stream, and another ten before I found a flat, sandy stretch good enough and dry enough to set my tent up on. Soon, with only minimal fumbling around in the dark, I climbed into my shelter and bedded down for the night.
My dreams were all about Becca. The only thing I could think about was tasting her lips again, seeing her perfect curves bent over in front of me as I drove my hard cock deep between her legs. I wanted to split her open and let her come rough and raw for hours. Instead, I was stuck in a tent in an unfamiliar spot, tossing and turning in the humid night air.
But eventually, sleep happened, and I found myself waking up just before dawn and breaking down my campsite. My only food had been a tin of beans and some protein bars, and my stomach was rumbling as I set out.
With how far behind schedule I was, and the extra weight dragging me down, I predicted that I would be getting back home closer to sunset.