Page 39 of Shephard

“Shit. There are two well-known cliffs just up ahead.” She made the statement absently as she stopped and pulled the bottle of water from the holder attached to a special belt holding several pieces of equipment. She came prepared, but almost too much so.

When she started to elaborate, I threw out my hand. “Listen. Quiet.”

Pepper also responded, the low-slung, very deep howl indicating we weren’t alone.

Denise’s first instinct was to give me shit, but it hit her what I was saying. Of course we were met with quiet at first, only the sound of night creatures doing the talking.

“Marcus!” she called, her voice echoing. She started to shrug as if she didn’t hear anything when we both obviously heard a muffled sound. She headed deeper into the forest, stopping just as there was a cracking sound that had nothing to do with the trees surrounding us.

A laugh.

Someone was fucking laughing.

The look she threw me was highlighted by my flashlight and I knew she was about ready to break bad. Not that I blamed her. She stormed forward, not bothering to do so carefully. Chuckling, I trailed behind her. I was eager to see what she’d do with the jerk who’d yanked everyone’s chain.

We found the completely inebriated Marcus sitting on his butt nursing a liquor bottle.

I came close to dragging him off his feet and punching the kid until I knocked some sense into him. Denise seemed to read my mind, shaking her head as she glared at me. She did kick the guy in the leg, not hard but enough to try to grab his attention.

Marcus did nothing more than laugh his ass off, pointing at the two of us as he squinted from the light. “Wook at wu. My herwos.”

I certainly liked my liquor, but smart people never allowed a single weakness to get the better of them. Myself included.

“Get up, Marcus. You have people looking for you,” she told him.

I knew the bastard couldn’t walk. Certainly not that far.

He rolled onto his back, staring up at the trees. “What’s up?”

That was it. I bent over, gathering the pudgy guy into my arms and slinging him over my shoulder. “Let’s get him back to the vehicle before he pitches his guts.”

She stared at me and while I didn’t have the flashlight directed on her, I sensed her disdain.

And maybe her appreciation, although she’d never say the words.

“Agreed. Don’t piss on my parade, Marcus,” she snarled, as if the guy knew what the hell she was talking about. She took a second to swing the flashlight around in an arc before heading back the way we came.

Her markers were helpful, our time cut in half returning to the Jeep.

She continued to look back every few steps. I had a feeling she was half expecting a monster to crawl out of the forest. I remained on edge and it had everything to do with her reaction.

The entire time we traipsed down the mountainside, the guy was laughing hysterically. He was also doing his best to get out of my hold. A part of me wanted to drop the jerk on his face. I wouldn’t do that to her. Not fair.

But maybe later I’d hunt the shithead down.

I grinned from the thought though, which reminded me I was an asshole most of the time.

With the Jeep in sight, I heard a hitch in the kid’s digestive system. Well, fuck me. The jerk was going to toss his cookies after all.

After placing the dude on his feet, I spun him away from the front of the Jeep, holding his arm as I bent him over slightly. “Go for it, buddy. Just miss my damn boots or I’ll kick your motherfucking ass.”

Denise planted her hand on her hip. “I don’t get paid enough for this shit. Tourists. Wedding guests. You need to do something about providing rules when you rent the place out.”

I laughed for the first time in a while. “Whatever you say, Little Miss.”

“Fuck off.” Her quick, tart reply surprised even her.

The agonizing guttural sound as Marcus emptied his guts was enough to cause a wolf to howl. I didn’t blame the creature. The kid sounded like he was losing his stomach in the process of pitching its contents.

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