“I bet it’s spectacular in the fall.”
She beamed. “Nowhere else in the world is better.”
I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d ever have the opportunity to see it. Part of me hoped I’d be long gone by autumn because our mission was finally over. Another part hoped I’d still be here.
It didn’t take long to get to Redstone, so we decided to take a walk on one of the trails before dinner.
“Are there any bears around here?” I asked when we were a quarter mile into our hike.
“You really aren’t much of an outdoorsman, are you?” Flynn asked.
“Not so much.”
“To answer your question, yes, there are black bears in these mountains; however, they usually keep their distance, and so do we.”
With Ink leading the way and the other guy following, I doubted any bear would be able to get to Flynn or me, which made me wonder if shooting them was legal.
We didn’t see many people on the trail. In fact, just one, but there was something about the way the guy, who appeared to be in his twenties, looked at Flynn that I didn’t like. What’s more, she reacted.
“Is that someone you know?” I asked when I believed we were far enough away that he wouldn’t hear me.
“Just someone I went to high school with.”
“I take it he wasn’t a friend.”
“No one was,” she mumbled. “Can we change the subject?”
None of us said anything for quite a while, not that the two bodyguards would have. Finally, when we reached a clearing and I saw there was a small lake, I asked if we could sit for a minute.
When I believed Ink and his teammate were far enough away that we could talk privately, I asked what she meant.
“High school wasn’t a fun time for me. I didn’t have a lot of friends. Actually, I didn’t have any friends.”
“Why not?”
“I was bullied a lot.” She took a deep breath and stood. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
“We don’t have to.” I looked at the time. “Should we head back?”
Flynn didn’t answer, but she did walk toward the trail.
Given we were going downhill rather than up, it took us half the time to get back to the inn and resort where the restaurant was. We were still an hour early, so I went inside to see if we could bump up our reservation. From the hostess’ stand where I waited, I could see the guy we’d passed in the woods working behind the bar. I hoped his being here wouldn’t ruin Flynn’s evening, given she’d had such a strong reaction to seeing him.
“I have a table out on the veranda if you’d like. Are there four of you dining with us this evening?” the woman asked, looking out to where Ink waited with Flynn.
“Just two.”
As I’d anticipated, Flynn stiffened when she saw the bartender. I’d intentionally walked between her and the bar, not that it helped.
We were the only diners in the place this early, so when the man said, “Hey, heifer,” under his breath, I could hear him loud and clear. Based on her reaction, she did too.
“What did you just say?” I asked the man.
“Paxon, don’t,” Flynn whispered.
I might’ve done as she asked if the guy hadn’t come around the bar. “I recognize you from the news. You’re the guy they arrested for spying for China.”
Ink moved closer while Flynn grabbed my arm and pulled me in the opposite direction and out of the restaurant.
“Figures the cow would hang out with the likes of you.”
When Flynn flinched as though someone had physically assaulted her, I spun around on the guy and drew my hand back to punch him, but Ink got between us.
“Out,” he said to me under his breath. “I’ll handle this. You get Flynn to the SUV.”
I did as he asked, knowing that if I ignored him, I’d only be making his job more difficult.
Flynn put her face in her hands once we were in the vehicle. “I’m so sorry.”
I pulled her hands away. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“I ruined dinner.”
“You didn’t ruin anything. The asshole guy behind the bar did.”
“Can we please just go?”
I saw Ink on his way to the car. I’d ask him later what happened with the bartender. Flynn already felt bad enough.
I suggested we eat somewhere in Crested Butte when we came down the mountain and drove through town, but Flynn said she’d lost her appetite and just wanted to go back to the ranch.
I wished there was something I could do to make her feel better, but the harder I tried, the more she retreated into herself.
When a few days passed without my being able to reach her, I asked Buck about it when he came over to my cabin about something else.
“I don’t know much about Flynn’s high school friends since I’m so much older than her. Holt might, though.”
“Why’d you stop over?”
“Right. Burns Butler is next door and wants to brief you and Cope on something.”
Nothing could’ve prepared me for what the man told us.
28
Flynn
It was all I could do to come out of my bedroom, let alone get dressed and go to the dining hall. What I really wanted to do was disappear into a black hole, never to be seen again.
I’d never been so humiliated in all my life, even when it happened every day at school.
Paxon heard that asshole Trent call me a heifer. Every time I thought about it, I was sick to my stomach. Trent had made it even worse by saying he recognized Paxon from the news.
Why had I suggested we go to Redstone? That was an easy answer; because I’d thought there’d be less chance of running into someone I knew. Of course, the opposite would happen. Not only had we seen someone I knew, but that person had to open his mouth and let all the ugly shit I’d grown up with spew out of it.
Paxon had tried to contact me several times, but I ignored
