Page 32 of Men of Fort Dale: The Complete Series

God, he hated the cold.

And now he was all but tossed into it.

Matt huffed. “Where the fuck are we?”

Matt jerked his head toward him. “Seriously?”

Aidan thought about it, letting his mind drift to their flight.

They’d slapped the blinders on them pretty quickly, but he’d been paying attention to their direction.

There had been a few changes in their cardinal direction, both in the plane and the helicopter.

At first, he’d thought they were dropping them in the northern United States, but the trip was a little too long for that, even if he accounted for them purposefully trying to throw him off.

Aidan nodded. “Almost completely sure.”

“How do you know?”

“I paid attention.”

“That’s about as clear as mud,” Matt snapped.

“Enough. Knowing where we are is a good start, but arguing over it isn’t going to solve anything. Get your heads in the game,” Sean barked.

Aidan turned to him. “What’s our objective?”

Only the team leader had been given their objective, while the rest had been left in the dark. Why that was the case was anyone’s guess, though Aidan suspected, just like blindfolding them had been an attempt to keep them confused, the secrecy was another means of keeping them guessing.

Sean cleared his throat. “There’s a camp, about twenty miles out from here, to the north-northeast. We’re to find it and report in within five days.”

“We have five days to get through this shit?” Matt asked in horror.

Ricardo snorted, kicking at the snow around his shins. “Reminds me of home.”

Aidan snapped his head toward him. “You’re used to this?”

Ricardo shrugged. “Grew up in northern Minnesota. This was the sort of shit you saw during winter.”

Sean glanced at Aidan. “Why?”

“If you’re taking point, then Ricardo should be at the back. If he’s used to this, then he’s our best bet for watching our asses,” Aidan said.

Sean watched him for a moment, his bright jade eyes fixed on Aidan’s face for what felt like an eternity.

They were finally being thrown to the wolves, made to test themselves and one another.

Each of them was used to the desert and its harsh demands.

This frozen wasteland was something else altogether, and Aidan prayed Sean wouldn’t continue the same trend as before.

Please, let the man Aidan thought he’d glimpsed in his room back at the barracks be the one that was truly Sean.

Sean turned to Ricardo. “Advice?”

Ricardo pointed at Aidan. “That one’s got a compass in his head. If we follow his directions, your lead, and stick to the trees away from the wind, then we should manage to reach the target in a few days instead of five.”

Aidan looked off in the distance, frowning thoughtfully.

He didn’t know what brought him greater relief, the fact that Sean never questioned him or the fact that Ricardo had faith.

Either way, he could feel the team growing in confidence.

Unity and strength were the only things that would get them through this, especially since they hadn’t been given anything to communicate with the outside world if they got into trouble.

His eyes rested in the direction he was sure was north-northeast, and grimaced. “We’re going to do a bit of climbing.”

Sean turned in the direction he was facing. “Those peaks?”

“Not the peaks, but we’re going to have to make it along the side of the mountains to make good time,” Aidan said.

“We don’t have the gear to go mountain climbing, Sean,” Ricardo warned them.

“And we can’t call for backup,” Matt reminded them uneasily.

Aidan chuckled, clapping his hand on Matt’s shoulder. “Feeling naked without your gadgets?”

“Maybe,” Matt said sullenly.

Aidan pulled him along. “Well, when this is all over, we’ll get you a nice new phone to go with the other dozen you’ve broken.”

“I haven’t broken the last one!”

“But I have faith in you. And then you can break the next one and the one after that.”

“You sound like Nick.”

“This might surprise you, but he does have a good idea every now and then.”

Nick turned to them. “Hey!”

Aidan shrugged. “I’m glad you’re awake back there, but it’s the truth, man.”

“Who the fuck could sleep in this cold?” Nick grumbled.

“Freaks of nature,” Matt said.

It was Ricardo’s turn to frown. “Seriously? I just said I grew up with this.”

“I said what I said,” Matt shot back.

Sean sighed. “Alright, that’s enough. We’ve got a long walk ahead, so if you ladies are done arguing, we’re heading out.”

“If Princess can get through it without his phone, sure,” Ricardo grumbled as he turned away.

“Hey, fuck you!” Matt shouted after him, stomping through the snow.

Aidan chuckled, eyeing Sean. “And just like that, they’re acting like idiots.”

“Because of you,” Sean said.

“Yeah.”

Aidan walked off, smirking, even though no one would be able to see the expression under the thick cowl he wore.

What he found most interesting wasn’t that the rest of them were managing to ignore the cold as they bickered back and forth but the fact that Sean hadn’t seemed quite as irritated as normal.

Even his ‘accusation’ hadn’t carried much weight, and after Aidan walked off, their team leader hurried forward to keep up with the rest of the group.

Aidan flopped back against the wall of stone behind him, letting out a deep sigh. He was exhausted after a full day hiking through snow that was often up to two feet deep. Between that and the bitter cold, it felt as though he’d had the life drained out of him.

“Doing alright over there?” Ricardo asked, looking over at him.

Aidan groaned. “I’ll live. But I’m telling you, I’ll take the desert sun over this shit any day.”

Ricardo chuckled. “Why do you think I moved?”

“I figure because Minnesota has to be about as exciting as...well, this frozen shit hole, actually,” Aidan admitted.

“True. I come from this little as hell town, Rose. Weird name since most of the year, roses aren’t growing for shit. Everyone knew everyone there, and by the time I was eighteen, I was ready to get the fuck out and find the rest of the world.”

Aidan smiled, nodding his head in understanding. The five of them had made camp against the wall of one of the nearest mountains, with a thick line of trees blocking the wind. They’d gathered what they needed for a fire, letting it build up and warm the area they’d temporarily claimed as their own.

Matt laid down the branches that would serve as their cots. “I’m a city boy. Chicago.”

“The Windy City,” Aidan mused.

“Not as windy as this,” Matt said with a chuckle.

As though Mother Nature heard him, Aidan listened as the wind howled fiercely somewhere far away. The top of the huge fir trees lining the space shook as the wind threatened to make them bow. He would give Ricardo this much, he certainly knew the places to stay safe.

“I take it you did a bit of camping when you were young,” Aidan guessed, glancing at Ricardo.

Ricardo nodded. “With my dad and brother when we were kids. Didn’t matter what time of year it was, and with hunting season, you got used to getting stuck in miserable weather every now and then.”

“Handy,” Aidan said, looking up at the miserably dark sky above.

“If you want to survive in the snow and ice. Sure,” Ricardo said with a shrug.

However, the pleased expression in his eyes wasn’t lost on Aidan, but he left it without comment. Ricardo bent down to help Matt, explaining quietly how to lay the branches so his body would be separated from the cold ground. Aidan’s attention drifted to the other side of the fire where Sean sat.

Their team leader was looking thoughtfully into the flames, and Aidan didn’t doubt the man was thinking carefully about what they were going to do next.

They’d made good progress on their first day, but there were still several miles to go.

With everyone working well together, Aidan wasn’t worried about how well they’d do.

He was more worried about how much the entire situation was wearing on Sean.

Their team leader hadn’t said much during their trek despite the ready conversation between everyone else.

As much as Aidan didn’t trust Sean’s potential mood swings when it came to him, he knew it was important to make sure Sean was at least functioning.

Heaving himself up from the fallen tree he was seated on, Aidan made his way over.

Sean didn’t notice his presence until Aidan plopped down next to him.

Sean’s eyes, brighter in the light of the fire, widened and flicked to him in surprise.

Aidan smiled, saying nothing as he waited patiently beside him.

“Something on your mind?” Sean finally said, raising a brow.

Aidan couldn’t help but notice it wasn’t said with the same rancor and hostility Sean normally reserved for him.

It was a relief, knowing they could manage at least something close to civility when it came down to it.

On some level, Aidan couldn’t help feeling a little confused, wondering what had changed that Sean could look at him without wanting to strangle him.

“Doing alright?” Aidan asked casually, keeping his eyes on the fire.

Sean eyed him, letting out a huff. “I don’t need you to check up on me.”

Aidan’s nostrils flared, blowing out a cloud of mist as he tried to keep himself in check. It wasn’t until he glanced at Sean and watched him quickly avert his eyes that Aidan found the real check to his temper. Aidan bit back his response without thinking, looking down at his feet.

Now, he knew what was making Sean so awkward and wary around him.

Aidan sighed, speaking quietly. “I meant what I said.”

Sean looked up. “What?”

“Back in the barracks. That was between you and me. No one else.”

No way in hell he would ever dream of going behind Sean’s back and telling General Winter.

Sean hadn’t abused his power of authority to make Aidan do what he wanted.

Aidan had been a willing participant the whole way through.

Nothing would ever convince him that he needed to tell anyone what had happened between them in that dark alley, no matter what.

Sean looked up, eyes darting about nervously. “I know.”

“I don’t think you do,” Aidan said.

Sean frowned. “Excuse me?”

Aidan forced himself to look Sean in the eye. “I think you heard me, but you didn’t believe me.”

“You think so, huh?”

The attempt at arrogance didn’t fool Aidan.

Behind the snide tone and the attempt at anger, Aidan could see the small nugget of fear lying at the back of Sean’s eyes.

For all their fighting, for all their feuding, and how often they’d slammed their heads together, Aidan could see the man who was terrified of the power he thought Aidan had.

Worse, he was terrified of the power he thought Aidan might be willing to use.

All too aware of Sean’s pride and the nearby team, Aidan bit back his first response.

Despite how much the other man infuriated him, driving him to the edge of madness, Aidan wanted so badly to reach out and take hold of Sean’s hand as a show of support.

Maybe once he would have thought the idea of Sean being unnerved by him, maybe even scared of him, would have been enough to give him pleasure.

But not like this.

Aidan smiled, looking down. “I-I won’t go into it. I can’t. But I can promise you, Sean, from the deepest part of me, I won’t use that against you. I never would.”

Sean looked up, brow creased. His bright eyes searched Aidan’s face, and Aidan couldn’t help the ache in his chest as he saw the desperation to believe, to hope.

Sean had already had so much torn from him, and his place in the military, his team, was all he had left.

Even if Aidan hated Sean with every inch of his being, could he really have been capable of ripping the last shred, the last handhold of sanity and reality from him?

No.

“You mean that,” Sean said softly.

Aidan smiled, still fighting the urge to reach out to him. “I do.”

Sean continued to gaze at him with wonder. Aidan watched him, still holding the smile he hoped was comforting on his face. It was like watching Sean wake up to something he thought was only a dream, and Aidan had a hard time pulling his eyes away.

Matt’s voice rose up over the fire. “Oi, Aidan!”

Aidan pulled his eyes away. “What’s up?”

“Got a sec? Ricardo’s trying to tell me we’re still twenty miles away, according to some bird.”

“Probably by the crow,” Aidan said with a chuckle.

“Go sort them out before they start arguing again,” Sean grunted, turning his eyes back to the fire.

“Yes, sir,” Aidan said, pushing himself up.

Leaving Sean to his thoughts, Aidan waded into the argument that had somehow embroiled Ricardo and Matt. He wasn’t sure if he’d managed to get through to Sean, but he hoped he’d at least given the man something to think about.

And maybe he’d given himself food for thought too.