Renick came in before I made it outside.

  "I see you got out of the heavy lifting, princess."

  "Is everyone outside?" I asked.

  "Yeah, I'm supposed to come and get you. Boone's worried you might stub a toe or something."

  I didn't wait for him to say anything else and instead walked past him, trying to pretend he didn't annoy the crap out of me.

  He grabbed my arm and I stopped.

  "You know what you have on your team, don't you?" Renick asked.

  "An ass? Because that's what you seem like," I said, glaring at him. "Let go."

  He held up his hands in mock surrender. "Sure thing, princess. Wouldn't want to get on your bad side."

  "If you grab me like that again, you better have a good reason. If not, you'll see my bad side."

  He chuckled, which made me want to ball up my fists and punch him. Instead, I rolled my eyes and stalked outside. It was obvious he didn't think much of Vincent, so maybe I could take Gran's advice now and stick close to him.

  But no, that seemed too much like hiding. Renick would get tired of being an ass at some point. At least I hoped he would.

  Renick jogged to catch up. "Plane's over here."

  Boone was loading a bag into a plane, so I made a beeline to him.

  "If you need me for anything, princess, you let me know," Renick said with a wink.

  Like that's going to happen. "Right."

  Boone didn't say anything until Renick headed back to the hanger. "Want me to have a talk with him?"

  "What? No! You can't do that."

  "I don't want any trouble between your team and mine."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I mean that Vincent isn't allowed to kill him."

  "Don't worry about Vincent. I don't think Renick is stupid enough to say much in front of him."

  "You may be underestimating how far Renick is willing to push things."

  "Fair enough. But I am allowed to hit him, right?"

  Boone grinned. "If you feel the need. That's between you and him."

  "They seemed pretty surprised to discover that Vincent was a Walker." I left the question unasked.

  "I was kind of hoping they wouldn't find out right away. Not that I can blame Vincent for getting annoyed. Renick has that effect on just about everyone."

  "And the rest of us?"

  "They know you all are unique and that they should expect the unexpected. Nothing else."

  "Why didn't you tell them?"

  "I want to gauge their reactions. It's important to know how they'll respond in the field if faced with something they don't know about or don't like."

  "What do they think about you not telling them?"

  "They know that you all are out of the ordinary, and why I'm not telling them anything more about you."

  "They know they're being tested."

  "Of course. Listen, they're a good team and we all need to trust each other in the field."

  "You do trust them, then?"

  "Of course. I don't know how they'll work with others, though."

  I couldn't tell if Boone was saying that because he meant it or saying it because he thought they were listening. He seemed pretty sincere.

  "There's a few more things I need to take care of before we take off," Boone said.

  "Where are Vincent and Rider?" I asked.

  "On the plane. The rest of us will join you shortly."

  I watched Boone leave, but when I noticed Renick walk out of the hanger, I casually turned around and went inside. The idea of spending a few days with that guy agitated me, so I decided to do what I do best. Ignore it.

  It was significantly cooler in the little jet plane despite the door being open. This plane was altogether different from the others. It was custom made, from the look of it, and there was plenty of leg space. Even Rider would be able to stretch out.

  Rider was sitting in one of the seats and Vincent was standing in the aisle—if you could call the space that. The seats were in an odd configuration. It was as though every other row had been taken out. There was even a couch toward the back, although the plane seemed smaller on the inside.

  I slipped past Vincent to sit diagonally from Rider. Vincent shifted to include me in their conversation.

  "Vincent was telling me what to expect in the rainforest," Rider said.

  "I've never been to one," I admitted.

  "My knowledge is research-based only," Vincent said. "I never made it to the forest itself."

  "They have a spider—"

  "Stop," I said, cutting Rider off. "I think I'd rather be surprised."

  Rider grinned.

  “Speaking of animals, you’re going to need to make sure you’re prepared out there,” Vincent said to me.

  “Prepared?” I asked.

  “There are a lot of predators where we’re going,” Vincent said. “We’ll keep an eye out, but you’ll need to be on your toes.”

  “I do not think that will be an issue,” Rider said.

  “How is that not an issue?” Vincent asked.

  “It’s not important right now,” I said. “But Rider doesn’t seem to think it’s an issue anymore.”

  “You two have worked everything out, right?” Vincent asked, giving Rider an uncertain look.

  It took me a minute to realize that Vincent was referring to Rider’s one tiny stray thought while I was trapped in another world. Due to a misunderstanding, he thought I wanted him to leave. While I was trapped away, he thought that he wouldn’t have to leave if I never made it back home.

  At least I hoped it was only a tiny thought.

  It sucked to think about, but I wanted to move past it. I hoped that Vincent was over it as well.

  “Everything’s good with Rider and me,” I said.

  Rider looked uncomfortable when Vincent still stared at him.

  “Cassie will be no worse off than any one of us,” Rider said.

  Vincent nodded, but he didn’t look entirely convinced.

  "Mind if I take a seat?" Vincent asked, indicating the spot next to me.

  "You can sit here," Rider said. "There is plenty of space."

  Vincent looked blank faced at his partner.

  I scooted over, leaving the outer seat empty. "It's okay, Rider. Vincent and I have some things to talk about."

  Rider nodded.

  Vincent turned his back to me. Rider looked at him, puzzled, leaving Vincent shaking his head while he took his seat. Even I had to look hard to see the smallest of smiles on Vincent's face. At least until he turned to me.

  "I should have called," Vincent said.

  It took everything I had not to sigh. "You did call."

  "I am going to help Boone," Rider said, standing up and practically tripping over his own feet to get out of the door.

  "He got your hint," I said.

  Vincent did sigh.

  I couldn't help but smile, though I tried to keep it to myself.

  "I should have called more often," Vincent said. "Or talked more or something."

  "Or talked at all."

  Vincent nodded, but said nothing.

  Thinking about what Gran had told me, I wanted to take back the words. My brain raced to try to think of a way to fix it.

  Before the silence could get awkward, I tried to fill in the blanks. "Will you call more often next time?"

  "I'm not good at this," Vincent said.

  "At what?"

  "You and me. I shouldn't have—" Vincent stopped.

  My chest seemed to freeze and it was hard to keep my breathing steady.

  "I'm making this worse," he said after a too-long pause.

  "Yeah." It was all I knew I could say without letting my voice betray how I felt.

  "I don't think we need to check again, Rider," Boone said, coming in.

  Vincent moved to stand up.

  "Where are you going?" I asked.

  "I thought I'd give you and Boone a chance to talk on our way there." His voice was resigned.

  I let out an exasperated breath. "Sit down." I tugged lightly on his shirt.

  Boone stood to the side as everyone filed in.

  "I don't mind," Vincent said, keeping his voice quiet.

  "I do."

  He didn't move.

  "I'd like you to stay," I said.

  He relented and sat back down. I could feel his mood shift, becoming stonier as the others sat down around us.

  It was a start. Not the best one, but at least he stayed.

  Davis passed us, looking unsettled, though she did return my smile.

  Rider took his seat and Boone joined him once Logan settled in near Tolman.

  "What do you think of the plane?" Boone asked, swiveling around to talk to us.

  "It's great," I said. "Do you all go everywhere in this?"

  Vincent seemed to tense next to me.

  "Pretty much, except when we drive," Boone said. “There’s containment in the back if we need to prevent someone or something from hurting themselves or others. The whole thing is pretty roomy.”

  Without thinking, I put a steadying hand on Vincent’s arm, trying to get him to relax. "And to think, it took me forever just to get a new phone."

  It was as though Vincent’s stress fractured when my energy reached out to his and mingled.

  "You dropped the phone into a river," Rider said.

  "To be fair, I dropped myself into the river right after it," I said.

  Boone laughed and Vincent raised an eyebrow in my direction.

  I smiled and let go of him, but shifted so that my arm rested against his.

  "And now you've taken my phone away from me again," I said to Boone. "We are going to have some sort of communication on this trip, right?"

  "We have a sat phone," Boone said. "Sorry to pull you all in on this, but I think we need the backup for what we're up against."

  "I'm happy to help," I said.

  "I'm sure there were other things you'd rather be doing," Boone said, grinning with subtlety of a sledgehammer.

  "It'll be okay, but I do appreciate you bringing all four of us in on the case," I said.

  "Rest up," Boone said. "In about fourteen hours, our boots are going to hit the ground in the middle of nowhere."

  I nodded, and then Boone turned around. He started talking with Rider as the plane took off.

  No one was paying attention, but then again, Vincent and I were within hearing range of pretty much everyone. Talking hadn't ended very well earlier, so it was probably best that we stayed silent.

  Boone's whole team was asleep not long after we left. It had been a long day—actually a long two days—without sleep, so I decided to take Boone's advice to heart. The seat lay almost completely flat. Reluctantly, I reclined, losing contact with Vincent. Then energy flow between us was cut off and I instantly missed the connection.

  I almost sat back up again, but Vincent went to the front of the plane. When I peeked over the seat, I saw that he was chatting with Logan.

  Getting comfortable in the seat wasn't easy, despite its size. Or maybe I wasn't comfortable because Vincent had walked away.

  To my surprise, a few minutes later, Vincent slid back into his seat. He didn't look at me when he laid down, but after a moment, he moved his arm to lay against my own, which I had conveniently stretched in his direction when he sat back down.

  I closed my eyes and felt the steady push and pull of power inside us. His soul reached out to the small part of it I had inside me, while mine reached out to the small part in him.

  It was as though a circuit had been connected. One that I didn't want to see break.

  I dozed off and on during our trip, making small talk when others were awake. When we arrived, Vincent was the first to pull away.

  "Okay," Boone said, standing up while the plane taxied off the strip. "We have a helicopter waiting for us. Renick and Tolman, you two grab the equipment. There will be a loader available."

  As soon as the plane came to a stop, Renick pushed open the door and Tolman followed him out.

  "There is no safe place to land where we're going," Boone said. "Do you all know how to rappel?"

  "What is rappel?" Rider asked.

  "You hook yourself to a rope and jump, using the rope to slow yourself down," Boone said.

  "I have never done that," Rider said.

  "Me either." I couldn't believe that he’d waited until almost the last minute to ask if I knew how to jump out of a helicopter.

  "Vincent? Logan?" Boone asked.

  "I've done it a few times," Logan said.

  "Same here," Vincent said.

  "Good," Boone said. "Rider and Cassie, you are each going tandem with one of us. Rider, you're with me. Cassie, Davis is going to get you down."

  I looked over at Davis and she gave me what she probably thought was a reassuring smile.

  It didn't work.

  "When we find our spot, Tolman and Renick are going to go down and evaluate the immediate area. Logan, do you want to go with them?"

  "I'll join their rodeo," Logan said.

  "Great. We'll send the bags down. While you work with Tolman, Renick will secure the supplies. Once that's done, Vincent will go, and then the rest of us will follow."

  It was hard to believe we were relaxing on the plane minutes ago.

  "Any questions?" Boone asked.

  My mind went blank. I'm sure I had many of them, but I couldn't think of even one at the moment. The idea that he was asking me to jump out of a helicopter was taking up too much of my focus.

  "If it's okay with Logan, I'd like Davis to take Cassie and Rider over and get them set up."

  "Vincent will go with them," Logan said. "I'll help here."

  "Okay, let's get moving," Boone said.

  Davis practically jumped into her gear then hustled out of the plane. Vincent, Rider, and I went at a much more sedate pace. Logan and Boone followed us out, but went to the back of the plane. Davis was waiting for the rest of us on a vehicle very similar to the one at the base.

  Previous base, I corrected myself, looking around. This one was much smaller, but it was definitely a military establishment.

  Davis took off across the worn pavement. The sun was still hanging high, but working itself down for the day. It might have been better if it was night. The heat where we left was dry heat, which didn't seem as bad as the thick air around us now.

  "Have you been here before?" I asked as we zipped toward the helicopter.

  "No," Davis said.

  "But you seem to know your way around so well," I said.

  "Maps," she said with a smile. "I studied lots of maps to get ready for this."

  "Did you study a map of the forest as well?"

  "A topographical map, yes."

  "I have zero sense of direction," I admitted. "Even with a map, I'd probably get lost."

  "Stick with us," Davis said. "We'll get you in and out."

  "I'll try to keep up."

  "From what Boone said, I figured it was going to be me trying to keep up with you."

  "I can't imagine why. The only reason I'm alive is because of him."

  "Whatever he saw, he was impressed by it."

  Chapter Seven

  What has Boone been telling people?

  I knew it probably wouldn’t hurt to ask Davis, but it felt strange to ask someone I didn't know.

  "It's not as hot as I expected," Davis said as she pulled to a stop well away from the helicopter.

  "The rainy season is about to start," Vincent said.

  Davis glanced at him with a slightly nervous look. "It definitely feels like it."

  "Doesn't it rain there all time?" I asked.

  "Yes," Davis said. "It just rains a little more during the wet season."

  "You guys can get on board," Davis said to Rider and Vincent. "We'll catch up."

  Vincent didn't look happy about that, but went on anyway.

  I wondered what Davis wanted with me, though I didn't have to wait long.

  "So," Davis said, "tell me about Vincent."

  "What about him?"

  "You work with him."

  "Yes." I couldn't help but start to feel defensive.

  "And he's a Walker."

  "Yes."

  "We're worried about him being on the trip."

  Well, that was blunt. "Why?" I asked.

  "He takes people’s souls. Doesn't that bother you?"

  "Just because he can, doesn't mean he will," I snapped. "You have a gun right now. You could easily pick it up and shoot me in the head. Should I be worried about that?"

  Davis looked uncertain.

  "Vincent's not a bad guy," I pressed. "He doesn't always give a great first impression, but I think Renick aggravated him. You don't have to worry about him."

  "Renick has that effect on people," Davis said, seeming to relax.

  "He really does."

  Davis grinned, but looked as though she was trying to suppress it. "Are you sure you aren't a little biased about Vincent?"

  "Why?" I asked, already feeling my face turn red.

  "You two seem... close."

  I looked over to the helicopter to see if Rider was listening in. If he was, he wasn't letting on.

  "We're getting that way. Slowly."

  "He is cute," Davis said.

  It was impossible for me not to smile. "He is."

  "Well, Boone trusts him, I guess, or he wouldn't be here. Not on this mission.

  "Vincent saved our lives. He's saved mine countless times."

  "Sorry if I said anything I shouldn't have."

  "Sadly, it happens a lot." I watched Vincent moving around on the helicopter. "You see a lot of things in this job, but we're all just people, like any other."

  "I'll remember that," Davis said.

  Another vehicle was fast approaching. I could see Renick behind the wheel.

  "I guess we should go," I said. "Time to wave goodbye to civilization for a while."

  "Sounds good to me," Davis said, walking away.

  Davis might have preferred the wilderness, but I liked my creature comforts. Maybe it was a soldier thing.

  I knew I didn't have to duck my head when going toward the helicopter, but with the whirring blades not that far away, it was hard to resist the urge.

  It wasn't as bad being inside, at least until Davis started strapping me into some sort of harness.

  "This is awkward as hell," Davis said. "But the drop doesn't last long. You'll basically be on my back. We'll secure ourselves with a safety line, step down, and then Boone will hook us together."