Delilah rode in silence, her heart going out to Jake and everything he’d been through with his parents. She didn’t know what to say to make up for everything he’d lost. And she knew better than most that words just weren’t enough. Maybe later, she’d find a way to show him what it meant to her that he’d opened up.
Right now, like it or not, she had a job to do. And she was darn sure not going to let Jake save the day twice. A girl had to hold her own once in a while to earn her paycheck.
The truck bounced over the gravel and she pulled her knee up, checking for her knife where she’d tucked it into her boot earlier. “What are you doing with that?” Jake demanded. She rolled her pant leg back down again and tossed him a glare.
“Hitting the target from thirty feet according to my instructors at the academy,” she shot back.
Jake grunted but didn’t argue.
“And it’s a lot quieter than a gunshot. Although, up here, I guess we don’t have to worry about making noise.” She peered out the window and was met with nothing but thick woods in all directions.
Jake rounded the bend and a small, one-story cabin rose up in front of them in the small clearing. The logs had splintered and faded over the years and whoever lived here hadn’t bothered to keep it up. The green shutters were peeling or missing entirely and the windows were coated in a thick layer of grime. She wasn’t sure whether there were curtains on the other side or not but she didn’t spot any movement as Jake rolled past and pulled a wide U-turn.
Jake parked in front, angling them back toward the main road, and cut the engine. Before she could step out, he reached across her and opened the glove box. “Here,” he said, handing her a revolver. “For when you want to make noise,” he explained.
She snorted and checked it for bullets. Yep, loaded. She got out, lifting her shirt and tucking the gun at the small of her back. She caught Jake watching with brows raised and gave him a smirk. “See something you like?”
She wasn’t sure if he’d appreciate her teasing considering the circumstances, but he just grinned back at her. “Damn straight,” he said and then sobered quickly. “Now, listen. I’m knocking on the front. You’re going around the back. If anyone takes off, follow safely. Do you hear me? Don’t get close enough to get grabbed.”
She shot him a look. “I have done this once or twice, you know,” she reminded him.
He scowled. “Not with me, you haven’t,” he grumbled and she grinned. “I mean it. This is recon only, Xavier’s orders, all right?” he pressed.
“Got it, boss,” she said, rolling her eyes, and he shooed her around back.
Leaves and pine needles crackled under her feet as she went. No point in trying to be stealthy now. They’d already made an entrance anyway, pulling right up in Jake’s truck like that. At least it didn’t have the Blue Bear Search & Rescue logo on it but if there really was someone here making those fliers, they’d take one look out their front door and know who Jake was and what he’d come for.
She made her way to the back of the cabin, reflexes ready, an ear trained on the front door.
She heard the moment Jake knocked and held her breath, pausing to crouch beside the tiny back porch that led straight into the woods behind her.
No sounds came from inside the house.
Jake knocked again. “Hello?” he called.
Nothing.