Page 53 of Sutton's Shadow

Bethany jumped up beside him and grabbed his arm, the darkness she’d glimpsed quashed for now. “She’s taken hundreds of pictures, and they’re all fascinating. I don’t see how you all are going to narrow them down for the website.”

Sutton smiled at her enthusiasm. “We’ll figure it out, and you’re going to help.”

“Really?”

“Really,” she promised. Bethany’s sudden joy was so infectious that Sutton couldn’t help but laugh. Wyatt had to restrain her from jumping up and down before she hurt herself on The Pile.

“Come on, you two,” he began, pulling Bethany with him as he made his way back to solid ground. “I want to show you what I’ve been working on.”

They reached the edge where there was a slight drop-off. Before Sutton could jump down, Wyatt’s hands had spanned her waist and lifted her. Her hands automatically went to his shoulders to brace herself as he lowered her slowly, her body sliding down his. As soon as her feet met the ground, they both froze. Their eyes met, and his flared with so much heat the flames licked at her skin, and her panties flooded instantly.

What was wrong with her? She’d never had such an immediate and insistent reaction to a man before. With one simple touch from Wyatt, she wanted to throw her clothes off and let him have his wicked way with her right there on The Pile. And if the intensity in his midnight eyes was any indication, he would happily acquiesce.

“So, what do you want to show us?” Bethany asked. Sutton dropped her hands and stepped back. She lowered her head, allowing her hair to fall into her face, hiding her blush... again.

Wyatt crouched next to a black case on the ground, and like the wanton harlot she was becoming around him, her eyes went to his fine ass.Ugh.She needed to pull herself together and not entertain fantasies of licking the man all over.

The sound of the latches flipping open brought her attention to the box in time to see him lift the lid. Sutton peered down into the case and scrunched her face, unsure of what she was looking at. It looked like a collection of electronic junk that needed to be disposed of: wires, circuit boards, cables, metal pieces and parts. But as she stared closer, she started to make sense of the chaos.

It was made even more clear when Wyatt reached in and pulled out a miniature device. He held it in his open palm to show them.

“What is it?” Bethany whispered, just as in awe of the little thing.

It looked like a metal tarantula. The carapace in the middle was oval and moved like a gyroscope inside a protective cage. The articulated legs flared out from the cage. It was a remarkable piece of engineering, but she didn’t know why he was showing it to them here. It looked almost like a very expensive toy for an arachnid loving kid.

Bending, Wyatt placed the curious device on the ground, then moved to stand behind the laptop that sat on a nearby table. After a few clicks, the tarantula crept across the grass. Bethany gasped, her eyes wide as she watched it scurry toward The Pile. Sutton sidled closer to Wyatt to peek at the screen on his computer.

“Holy shit,” she exclaimed, unable to hold in the reaction. Wyatt chuckled, his fingers moving over the keys, piloting the little gadget. The screen was divided into quadrants, each one showing a different camera angle. She watched the real time arachnid-eye view as the thing climbed into the debris. It was small enough it could slip through gaps in the mess.

It effortlessly maneuvered into spaces that went unnoticed by the humans. At one point, it seemed to stumble and flipped upside down, but because the cameras were on the gyroscope section, the picture remained upright. Sutton thought for sure that was it for the thingamajig’s trip and Wyatt would have to go dig it out, but the legs adjusted, turning over so that it could continue.

“Whoa, how’d it do that?” Bethany marveled from Wyatt’s other side.

“It’s what I designed it to do,” Wyatt answered simply. Both women stared at him in amazement.

“You made that thing?” Bethany asked, her voice filled with wonder.

“Holy shit,” breathed Sutton, shocked, imagining all the amazing uses a device like that could have for the search and rescue community.

Wyatt chuckled. “Language,” he scolded without any heat.

“Holy shit,” Bethany repeated, still staring at the screen. Wyatt sent her an admonishing glance, and Sutton shrugged. “Jeez, Wyatt. It’s not like I haven’t heard it all before. I lived with mom, remember?”

Wyatt rolled his eyes at his sister before turning his attention back to his creation. A brief moment of painful regret flash through his eyes before he blanked his expression. He was just as adept at hiding things as his sister. It made her wonder what the siblings had been through together over the years.

Eventually, the metal creature reached the area where the trainees had been lowered to rescue the victim. She had no idea how it had maneuvered down that deep. She could clearly see the men working to strap their victim into the basket to lift him out of the hole.

They laughed when Finch, who was playing the victim, broke character and waved at the doohickey. Wyatt picked up a radio and asked Finch to grab it before they lifted him out to bring it back to him. He turned the screen off just as Finch’s big hand reached out to snatch it.

“Wait a minute. I thought you were afraid of spiders,” Bethany revealed.

Wyatt winced, shooting a glare at his sister. “This is different,” he insisted. “It’s bigger and doesn’t have those creepy eyes and hairy legs.”

It was Bethany’s turn to roll her eyes. “Whatever. Fraidy cat,” she coughed into her fist. Wyatt gave her a little shove. Sutton watched the interaction between the siblings in wonder. There were so many years between them, but they acted as if the gap in their ages didn’t exist. She couldn’t help but admire that and knew it was all because of the type of man Wyatt was.

“Hey, take it easy on Little Bee,” Jude teased as he approached them.

“Fuck off.”

---