“Is your rifle loaded?” Caity asked.
Spense, too, had been wondering what kind of firepower the ranger was carrying.
“Tranquilizer darts. Just in case we come across a critter we don’t want to harm,” Pandy answered.
Too bad she wasn’t carrying live ammo. No telling what situation they might encounter, and Spense had been hoping he could pair Caity off with Pandy. They needed to divide and conquer to cover the most ground, and he didn’t want to send either one of them off alone.
Ranger Pandy pulled her jacket aside, revealing a holstered pistol. “Here’s the good stuff.”
Spense released his breath, relieved to know Pandy was armed and ready after all. The tension in his shoulders eased up, too. Caity had her Glock, and he knew she knew how to use it, at least from short distances. The women could safely team up, leaving him free to focus his attention on the search. He wouldn’t have to worry about Caity—much.
No matter how small the risk, fear for her safety inevitably coated moments like these with a razor’s edge. It was one of the un-perks of his and Caity’s on-the-job romance.
“Let’s fan out,” Pandy said. “Not much daylight left, but we can make a good start. Once the light runs out, we’ll meet back at the cabin. I’ll go east. Cassidy and Spenser, you go west.”
He respected the ranger’s authority, but that wasn’t the best plan. “Caity will stick with you. We’re on the buddy system.”
Pandy tiptoed up to a good four-foot ten, at least. She got in his face, or as close as someone her height could manage. “She’s your buddy. She goes with you.”
“I can move faster alone.”
“We can all move faster alone.” Caity stepped between him and Pandy. “Let’s forget the pairs. We can cover more ground that way.”
“Absolutely not.” It was Hatcher. “The women should team up. Don’t want them out there alone.”
Spense tried not to show it, but he was damn glad Hatcher had backed him up. It wasn’t that the women were less able, it was just that if anyone out here had to travel without a safety buddy it was going to be him. He would’ve felt the same if it were a male ranger. Or if Caity were a man, which thank God in heaven she wasn’t.
Pandy spat on the ground. “I get it. I’m small. I look like a little kid. But I’m not a child. I can handle myself in the mountains without an escort—and I’ve got the record to back it up. I am the escort around these parts.”
“This isn’t a standard lost hiker search, Pandy. There could be an armed madman—or madwoman out there,” Spense said.
“I assure you, I know how to handle myself around predators of all varieties.”
Caity stretched her hands to arm’s length, bridging the distance between Pandy and him. “We’re wasting time. I don’t give a fig about your ego, Pandy.” She shot him a look. “Or yours either, Spense. Pandy, I’ve got your back, and I’d appreciate it if you’d get mine.”
Pandy nodded. “Deal.”
Hatcher dusted his palms as though washing his hands of them, turned his back and went inside.
“Let’s do this,” Pandy called over her shoulder, already jogging east.
Chapter 16
Thursday, October 24
5:20 P.M.
Frank’s Cabin
Eagles Nest Wilderness
Colorado
Caitlin took off behind Pandy, a few yards to the side to increase coverage, making sure to keep Pandy’s bright orange hair in sight.
Despite the fact Caitlin hadn’t had any formal search and rescue training, she’d been put in some pretty tough situations on the job—like playing hide-and-seek with killers while searching for a lost teen in a blazing corn maze. Plus, she’d always been an outdoor girl and thus could easily spot something amiss on a mountain trail.
Her confidence level was high.
She could’ve gone without a buddy, but if Spense felt better knowing she was paired with Pandy, she wasn’t going to fight him. Though she had her Glock, and could use it in a pinch, she wasn’t a trained marksman, and she’d been in enough close scrapes to know her own limitations. More importantly, she wanted Spense to focus on finding Laura. If he was distracted by worry over her, she’d be a liability rather than an asset, and she was determined not to let that happen.
But mere moments later, she lost sight of Pandy.
She picked up her pace.
For someone with such short legs, that ranger could haul.
A flash of red hair appeared up ahead.
Good.
It wasn’t easy to keep up with Pandy. Every breath Caitlin took was like a blast of frozen buckshot to her lungs.