Page 72 of Coerced

His calm, even tone didn’t hide the fact he was chastising us.

“You need tothink. This is the Real World. It’s life and death and sometimes only one decision stands between the two. There are no classroom walls around you out here. You can’t second-guess each other.”

I hung my head. He was right.

“And if you didn’t trust Kerry, you never should have agreed to be on his team. You can’t be a cohesive unit if you doubt your leader.”

“Wedotrust him.” Travis’ eyes were fastened on his feet.

“Doesn’t look that way to me. To Kerry, either. When he gets back, you need to say sorry and hope he accepts your apologies, or this team is destined to fail before it finishes its first mission.”

I bit my bottom lip. I didn’t think Kerry would be willing to even hear us out, let alone give us a chance to apologize.

He must be feeling so betrayed right now! And byme, of all people. He said he trusted me completely, and I failed him at the first challenge. After I promised myself I would protect his heart. If anyone is a monster, it’s me!

“Should I go after him?” Spin jerked his head in the direction Kerry had disappeared.

“No.” Rome sighed and eyed the horizon. “Like Jax said, he’ll be back when he cools off. Right now, we need to deal with the situation at hand.”

“What if he runs into whatever killed the human?” Spin didn’t let it go. “He could be in danger.”

Rome hesitated, and I wondered if he was seriously thinking about sending someone after Kerry. That would be a disaster.

“Don’t,” I said. “As much as I want to go after him myself, it would not be a wise idea. He’d hurt you without meaning to. That’s why he left.”

“And he can take care of himself.” Travis lifted his eyes from the ground.

“With the mood he’s in,” John added, “we’ll hear it if he’s attacked.”

“So will half the mountain.” Jax tried to smile, but I could tell he was upset.

I drew in a shaky breath, willed my tears to stop, and made myself listen as Rome dished out orders.

“Tara, go with John back down the trail until you get a signal on your phone and call emergency services. Tell them we found a dead hiker, give them these GPS coordinates, and get back here. If they ask, say it looks like a bear attack to you.”

He asked Spin and Maddy to look around for any Diabolical residue, then sent the rest of us to search the area for anything else connected to the hiker or the attack. He gave us strict orders not to touch anything suspicious and, if we came across Kerry, to leave him alone. He told us to return in an hour, but also to listen for his shout in case he needed us back sooner than that.

As I carefully searched the leaf litter and low-hanging branches, I worried about how much damage my thoughtless reaction had done to Kerry’s fragile self-esteem, not to mention our relationship. He’d spent the last six months learning how to be human again; he must feel his efforts had been wasted. We’d let him down.

Ihad let him down.

And now he would go right back to thinking we only pitied him.

Iwillmake this right.I have to. I was stupid and silly and screwed up. I know that. But I won’t give up until I prove to him that he is more than an object of pity. No matter how long it takes.

#

Rome

The human authorities arrived within the hour and conducted a cursory investigation. They were easily convinced it was a bear attack, despite the time of year. Tara had suggested the unusually warm weather may have fooled one out of hibernation early, and Jax reminded them bears didn’t sleep through the entire winter. They were known to get up and leave their dens for brief forays.

And it helped when Spin “found” a bear track heading toward the west, where the trees grew thicker on the mountainside.

“You kids be careful as you go,” the park ranger said when his team was finished bundling up the corpse and had started down the trail.

“Yes, sir,” I nodded. “And thanks for the bear pepper spray.”

“The trail traffic won’t pick up in this area for a few more weeks at least, but if you’re through-hiking, just pass it off to a northbound soul if you don’t use it before you’re done.” The ranger shook my hand. “Enjoy the rest of your hike.”

---