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This felt a little different, though. More like frustrated patience with its human.

Maybe not a dog. Whatever it was, they were maybe a thousand meters away, James thought. There was scree and sparse grass all around the front of the cave they sheltered in. The stream was about fifteen hundred meters away, around a curving, steep cliff face. Their particular cave couldn’t be seen from the stream, but if the guy kept looking through all the caves he would find them. And of course, he would.

Matt was drifting in and out of consciousness on the cave floor. “Matt,” James murmured.

“Huh?” His voice was barely above a whisper.

“Going out to check on something.” Matt opened his eyes. He stared at James a second then pushed himself upright, his pack against the small of his back. He nodded wordlessly.

James cloaked himself in the digi-camo and slipped out onto the path in front of their shelter. It was an old deer trail, coming up from the steam bed. It was the only approach for whoever was hunting them.

He found a boulder not too far away from the path that looked like it wasn’t big enough to hide a human. Unless the human was facedown in the dirt and covered in digi-camo. Even nearly prone, James could see a good five hundred meters down the trail.

James concentrated on sending soothing thoughts out to the animal. He was sure animals picked up brain waves from all humans. It wouldn’t hurt to try, and it would help James concentrate on their approach.

He nearly slapped himself on the forehead when their searcher came around the cliff on a horse. Of course it was a horse. And the guy was Red Idaho Mounted Police. The cheap knockoff of the RCMP. Once Idaho had privatized and opened national forests and parks, RIMPs became necessary to keep up with the increasingly nomadic poor population.

It was seriously unlikely the mountie had a partner, especially if the RIA militia had pulled this guy off regular patrol and sent him here for a look-see.

Picking the guy off the horse was easy. James let them pass, then crept up behind the horse silently and pulled the mountie off. “What the—?” James cut off his air and shout, twisting his neck in a practiced move. The mountie’s neck snapped, and he went limp in James’s arms almost immediately. The horse barely shied away. He’d tried to keep a line of mental communication open with her right up until he snapped her master’s neck. She looked at him curiously when he dropped the body.

While the mare nosed the body—not particularly concerned, it seemed—James ransacked the officer methodically. Two RIA com sets (excellent), NV lenses (bonus), various electronic survival and tracking gadgets (meh), but best of all was the semiautomatic DEW rifle. A sniper’s rifle and a good all-purpose weapon. Jesus, it beat his shotgun all to shit. Not that he’d be getting rid of that.

The mare carried cooking equipment, a small shelter, food, survival gear, and NV lenses for her, which was a pleasant surprise. James looked at the mountie’s body. Coyotes and other scavengers would take care of it pretty quickly if he left it, but not fast enough. He’d have to cart it somewhere more remote.

James used Matt’s recoder to locate the mare’s chip, and then to deactivate it. He removed all the tack he could that identified her as RIMP property.

Finally, he threw the body over the horse’s withers and packed it into the brush, maybe two thousand yards from the caves into a deep drainage. He left the unnecessary tack and cooking equipment with the body. By the time he got back, it was almost dark.

Time to get Matt and get the hell out of there.

M
ATT
was mostly alert when James returned with the mare. Alert enough to have concealed himself next to the entrance and be pointing his pistol at James.

“Glad you came back for me,” he joked nervously, removing his thumb from the safety override.

James stared at him. “Your Gramma Anais would
torture
me if I left you here.”

Matt was the tiniest bit hurt. He scowled at James, who looked baffled. Matt rolled his eyes. Fucking painkillers, turning him into a girl. This emotional byplay was getting as confusing as an actual relationship.

“Well, just as long as you’re not coming back ’cause you like me.” Matt was trying for wry, but it came out sarcastic.

James looked even more confused. “Of course I like you. You couldn’t tell?” Then he went red. Instantly, neck to hairline. It was cute. “I mean, I guess I thought I’d been kinda… obvious.”

It was Matt’s turn to stare. Had anyone else ever seen
this
James before? “James. I’m a guy, you’re a guy. We may be gay guys, but emotional cues are still something of a foreign language. I mean, I thought you might wanna fuck me, but….” He trailed off, eyebrows raised.

“Oh, hell yes,” James said roughly. Then he grabbed Matt’s wrist and reeled him in.

Matt didn’t really have any time to process what was happening before James was kissing him. He held Matt’s wrist and pistol awkwardly squashed between their bodies. His lips were chapped, and he had stubble. And he was rubbing all that roughness against Matt’s lips, tickling them in the most erotic way. James kept brushing their lips together, barely touching him.

Matt struggled to get his arm out from between them. James started to step back, thinking Matt was pushing him away. Matt snaked his arm behind James’s neck, grabbing his nape and bringing James’s mouth back to his, banging the pistol against the back of James’s head.

Matt sealed his lips over James’s and forced his way in. James gave him a little groan. Matt pushed up against him harder, rubbing their tongues together and twisting his around James’s. He gave another, louder groan and then he was kissing Matt back aggressively, reaching around his waist, taking control.

Matt reached up with his left arm for James’s shoulders, and the pain brought him up short. “Fuck!” he hissed.

“Shit!” James yelped and stepped back, gripping Matt’s waist in his hands. “Fuck, did I hurt you? What’d I do? God, Matt, sorry. I just got carried away—”

“Don’t, James.” Matt slapped his hand—the right one—against James’s mouth, the pistol bumping his cheek. “I did it to myself.”

James stared into his eyes for a minute. Then he said something, but it was muffled.

“What?” Matt removed his hand.

“Maybe this isn’t the best time for this anyway. But I’d really like to do it again, later.” He leaned forward and gave Matt another teasing kiss. Matt tried to follow James’s lips with his own, but James’s hands on his waist stopped him. He growled a little. James smiled. And gave an “aren’t you cute” snort.

Gah. Big sap.

Matt let out a big breath and stepped away. “Later,” he said, looking James in the eye, so he’d know how serious Matt was. James’s smile grew.

“Oh, hell yes.”

Chapter 11

“
W
HERE
’
D
we get a horse?” Matt stood looking at the mare.

“She was donated to the cause by a mountie. So, think you’re up to it?”

Matt gave James a calculating look. “Who’s got the bitch seat?”

“Um, I actually thought you might be safer in front of me.”

“In front of the saddle?” He’d never fit there.

“’S one of the new bareback-grip saddles.”

“So, I getta operate the beast?”

James snorted. “Definitely not, when you talk like that. How did you grow up on a ranch and not know how to ride a horse?”

“I
know
how to ride a horse. I was being funny.”

“Not laughing.”

Matt gave a little growl then started toward the horse. He stumbled over a rock, and James caught his arm to steady him. Matt sighed. “Fucking painkillers,” he muttered. He slipped out of James’s grasp and walked more carefully toward the mare. “You couldn’t have found
two
mounties? Or one with two horses?”

Predictably, James snorted. “You aren’t up to operating a beast. You’re a one-armed man, for at least another day, and that’s only if the wound isn’t that bad and the nano-menders work perfectly. You’re also drugged up.”

“Didn’t stop you from jumping me.” Matt turned and looked at James when he got no response. James’s face was red, and he was kicking the dirt and running a hand through his hair. Awww, cute.

“’S different,” James finally said, still looking at the ground. He could really work bashful country boy and make it look
good
.

Matt stifled his laugh and tried to work some surly into his tone. “How’s it different?”

“You wanted it.” James looked up into his eyes. Fuck, he was hot when he did that bold thing too. Fuck, he was just hot.

“Want to ride my own horse too.”

“You can’t ride a horse. ’Sides, this way you can sleep and get better faster.”

“How’m I gonna sleep riding a horse?”

“You can lean on me. I’ll hold onto you, make sure you don’t fall off.” James was still red, but Matt thought maybe James wanted that, wanted Matt against him.

And man, did Matt want it too. He suppressed a little shiver. “I could do that,” he murmured, holding James’s eyes. Matt watched James’s Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed.

“Yeah.” His voice was rough.

“We’re a long ways from high school, here, aren’t we, James?”

“Yeah. Thank fuck.”

“
D
ID
you look at the emergency plan vid? You seem to have some idea where we’re going.” Matt knew he was off his game if it took until now for him to remember to ask.

“We’re going to an RCC convent outside of Cambridge. When we get there we ask for Sister Immaculata, aka my Great-Aunt Pearl Hessia.”

“There’s a Blue agent in a Roman Catholic Church convent?” News to Matt.

He could feel James shrug, pressed up against him lightly. “Guess so.”

The moon was on its last quarter, and they were moving along pretty fast, riding cross-country, up and down the drainages. They’d started out heading northeast, but changed course when they found a creek running west. Now they were heading north again. Matt was just glad it was the horse walking, and not him.

The mare had her NV lenses on, which she took with surprising ease. She was strong and built for endurance more than speed. She was much friendlier than Matt had expected. He thought officers’ horses were supposedly attached to their human partner. When he’d mentioned it to James, he’d frowned and said, “I think she was new. Or that officer was new to her. She seems to like us more than him. He wasn’t… affectionate, maybe, with her.”

“James, can you talk to the horse?” Matt teased. He could almost hear James blush.

James cleared his throat. “Kinda.”

“James, were you particularly affectionate with this horse?” He could barely keep from laughing.

“Might have given her a sugar cube. They were in the saddlebag. And, you know, talked to her a little. And, um, I give her little, soothing nudges sometimes.”

“Whadya mean, ‘nudges’?”

“You know.”

“No, James, I don’t know.” James made a rumbling noise in his chest. Was that an answer? “What?”

“I send her soothing thoughts.” James said more clearly.

“Oh. Those nudges.” Better the horse than him. “That’s nice to do for her.” James cleared his throat uncomfortably. They fell silent. Matt knew James was trying to scan for brain waves as they went, and he should shut up so James could concentrate. He was feeling sleepy anyway, and James had said he should rest. Slowly, Matt’s eyes drifted shut.

When he jerked awake a few seconds later, James had an arm around his middle and was guiding Matt to lean against his chest. “’M’okay,” Matt protested, sitting up again.

“You’re falling asleep. I’m trying to keep you from falling off.”

“Not falling asleep. Jus’ resting.”

“Took a lot today, Matt, ’s’okay to be tired. The nano-menders are taking a toll too. Using up your body’s reserves to heal you.”

Matt was too sleepy to point out that yes, he
knew
that. “Should stay ’wake. ’S’you can focus on scanning or whatever.”

“’S fine, Matt. We’ll be fine.” James sounded so sure.

“How d’you know?”

“Lots of other times I’ve picked up brain waves when I’m not searching for them. It’ll really stand out here, where there aren’t any people.”

“What about SAIA?” The thought woke him up a little. Matt suppressed a shudder.

“That’s your job. Your leg’ll wake you up?”

“If there’s a rotor-wing nearby.” He couldn’t imagine ever sleeping through that again.

“’K, Matt. Then sleep.” Finally Matt let James guide him back against his chest. He pulled Matt tighter against his body, his chest pressing against Matt’s back.

Oh, yeah,
that
was going to make sleep easier. Matt could feel James’s breath in his ear, hot and moist, tickling a little. Matt whimpered. James chuckled quietly, and brought Matt’s lower back in even closer with that strong arm wrapped around him. Matt could feel his ass almost resting in James’s pelvis. He wiggled back just a little. James’s breath caught, and there was no more chuckling.

His rough voice spoke in Matt’s ear. “Matty, you need to rest. Don’t want you getting worse, and I didn’t see how bad things were in the first place.”