Lutz backed me up with a nod.
“A group close to the relief stations, and too ‘secret’ for anyone to give you a heads up that they’re around…” Casey still wasn’t on board with our suspicions. “Not the first time agencies didn’t share info. None of the other patrols reported anything strange?”
“They’re not as good as me. I wouldn’t have noticed, except for the mistakes they made covering their tracks. You can bet your sweet ass everyone else definitely missed the signs.”
Lutz gave an eye roll and opened his mouth, but Casey held his hand up to stop him. “She’s not boasting. I’ve been out hunting with her and she never comes home empty-handed. Ever.” Casey let out a sigh. “Okay, so this group stops you, warns you to stay away and to keep your mouths shut, then lets you go. Why would they screw with your car? They had you out where you could disappear and it would take days, weeks, or never to find your bodies.”
“I don’t know. Because it would bring more people into the mountains looking for us?”
“So they rigged your car. Did they screw with yours?” Casey looked to Lutz.
“Don’t have one. Girlfriend’s driving it out next month.”
“Have you been to your room yet?” I darted my eyes around the bar, feeling that itch between my shoulders again as the topic turned to possible sabotage. “You don’t have a roommate and you’ve been gone for four days.”
“No, but barracks room, cars?” Lutz leaned further across the table. “It makes no sense. Attacking us here runs the risk of injuries or deaths. That would put the entire military on alert. Everything we’d done for weeks, months, would be scrutinized looking for motives, including our patrols.”
“Maybe it’s not a bomb. Maybe it’s a tracking device.” Casey tossed out the words, the same thought I’d let cross my mind in the parking lot.
“No.” I shot the idea down. “They shove trackers into a wheel-well or under a bumper. Whatever it is, I don’t want to hop in and find out.” I finished my second beer. Drinking wasn’t a good idea with this crap going down, but Lutz and I both needed them.
“Then we should go take a look at Lutz’ room.” Casey slid his chair out, jerking his head at Lutz. “We’ll go over and look for tampering. You stay here, in case someone is watching.”
“I’m better at looking for that stuff than you are.”
“Yeah, but you’re the probable target. So stay here.” He kissed my cheek, but his hands squeezed my shoulders a bit hard, emphasizing he didn’t want to argue with me. Lutz hoisted his duffel over his shoulder, no arguing either.
“Okay. I’ll order another round, so make it fast.”
I shifted over to Casey’s chair, getting my back to the wall and watched them leave the bar. The lighting over this spot was non-existent, creating more shadow. I could look out across the room and be barely noticeable.
When the waitress walked by, I ordered our drinks. At this hour, with this crowd, it would take a while. Temporary quarters wasn’t far, less than a block. They might even be back before the drinks arrived.
They’d check out his door, maybe talk to anyone who was around. Then head back. I wanted them back here. Both of them. Maybe it was better to get Lutz off base for a few days. He wouldn’t object. Without a car, he was stuck on base until his girlfriend moved out here.
He was eager to see her again and set up house. She’d already be here except for the waiting list for housing. As his common-law partner, they qualified under the revised ‘spousal’ regulations.
While I didn’t share a lot about my personal life, Lutz did. I already knew everything about Sabrina. She was a civilian nurse and they’d met during his first tour of duty, before he got shipped off to Afghanistan. They maintained a long-distance relationship until he got back and was stationed at Quantico. She moved in with him there to see if it worked.
It did and now she was uprooting her east-coast life to relocate to a desert, lock, stock, pit bull and kitty. The wedding was scheduled for November, when their relatives could come out and not be roasted alive. That was the plan and Lutz constantly lamented their forced separation.
“He’s so annoying…” OMG, I’m jealous. The thought was a strange one to cross my mind. Was I really jealous? Casey and I were arguing a lot about our relationship. I didn’t want to leave the Marines and he didn’t want to leave Border Patrol. I’d been here for three years, but the Marines weren’t going to leave a linguist sitting stateside. Betting odds put me back in the Middle-East. Our split was inevitable, something he refused to accept.
Yet, since our run in with the freaks in the mountains, all I wanted was Casey. I wanted him here, right now, even though I could take care of myself. I wanted Casey and every nerve in my body wanted me to get up and run down the street to find him. I rubbed my forehead, trying to dislodge the overwhelming urges. That dreaded itch between my shoulders got worse.
The waitress appeared, putting down our drinks, three cans of cold beer, then a half-filled pint of dark beer and a shot of something that looked like Irish Cream. She set both glasses in front of me and started picking up the empties.
“That’s not ours. We just want the beer.”
“Oh, someone sent it over to you.” She smiled at me. “As if you don’t already have enough admirers.”
“Really? Who sent it and what is it?”
“The guy right over…” She looked back towards the bar. “Dang it, he
