Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 126823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Eve and Felicity Garner smiled and waved excitedly. They had their backpacks with binoculars attached and were almost jumping up and down, happy to see her. According to both women, their fitness level was fairly good. They’d hiked extensively but weren’t used to steep terrain as of yet.
Shabina checked off their names and went on to view the four men from the university. Jules Beaumont from Belgium was present, and her heart dropped. He stood just a little apart from the other three students. Today he was dressed in hiking attire. The other three men, Emar Salhi and Jamal Talbi from Algeria, and Deniz Kaplan from Turkey, were also dressed in loose clothing. These men were climbers and backpackers, according to the brief information they’d provided about their state of fitness.
Three women had come from Washington together, vacationing. Two were in their late thirties, with one, Theresa, being in her early forties. Theresa Nelson, Val Johnson and Janine Hale. All claimed moderate to good physical condition and appeared to be. The three kept looking at Edward, Bale and Sean and then smiling at one another.
A family of four, Oscar and Leslie Myers were attending with their teenage daughters, Pamela and Cindy. The parents were early forties in moderate physical condition, and the teenagers, one sixteen and one fifteen, were in good shape, both athletes. The girls eyed Sean and giggled quite a bit.
The last two on the list were Ellis Boucher, a thirty-six-year-old physically fit man, and his thirty-four-year-old business partner, Rhys Cormier, claiming equal fitness, both from Paris. These were the two men who had come into her café. Up close to them, she realized their features were familiar to her. She had been with Scorpion for six months and studied his every expression and his mannerisms. She could have sworn that both men had his all-too-familiar mannerisms. She told herself she was paranoid, but her heart beat like crazy. Worse, their eyes and foreheads seemed more familiar than ever.
Shabina’s breath caught in her lungs as she raised her gaze to take in the two men. She’d asked Raine to look back through the security footage to see if she could identify them. Shabina knew she’d seen their features before. They claimed they were from Paris. Just the fact that their mannerisms and expressions reminded her of Scorpion, and they spoke French, it was all she could do to keep from having a panic attack. Twice she saw them laughing and talking with Jules Beaumont, all three speaking French.
Harlow had decided to come with her on the tour, and she was grateful. Vienna had taken Raine back down to Knightly. Zahra and Stella had returned to work since Shabina assured them she was going home after the tour. At least she had Harlow with her. It made her feel not quite so alone. Was she being paranoid or were those men Scorpion’s men? Her head was beginning to pound.
She knew Bale was there to cause trouble. No way would he ever want to go bird-watching. He’d brought Edward and Sean along to aid him in harassing her. She decided the best way was to circumvent the problem before it began. She just needed inspiration.
She gave her talk on safety, sticking together, staying quiet and letting her know if anyone was having a difficult time with the terrain. She asked if anyone had any questions.
Bale was the first to make himself heard. “I read that there’s no degree to be a bird expert, so how do you get to call yourself one?” He smirked at her, looking pleased with himself.
Shabina flashed him a high-wattage smile. “Thank you for bringing that up, Bale, I always forget to explain to everyone. Just so everyone knows, we have three locals taking the tour today. We’re very lucky to have them. Bale Landry is one of our most prominent senior members of Search and Rescue. He’s a diver, skilled climber and skier. If any of you have a problem today, rest assured, Bale is quite able to help you.”
The ladies and the two teenagers all murmured appreciatively. Bale looked a little shocked and lifted his hand, not quite knowing what to do.
“Next to Bale is Sean Watson. He works for Fish and Wildlife and knows Yosemite inside and out. He also is a valued senior member of Search and Rescue. Sean has incredible skills when it comes to climbing and bouldering. He also dives and skis, and, Sean, you work with avalanche control, don’t you?” She poured admiration into her voice.
Sean dipped his head to acknowledge that he did.
Shabina beamed at him. “Sean is another man you can count on if you have any problems. And Edward Fenton is with them. He is also a local and a senior member of our Search and Rescue team. Edward is a helicopter pilot, and his skills are invaluable when we have rescues requiring a helicopter. He owns the local flying service. If you want to learn to fly or book a really cool trip to see Yosemite from a bird’s-eye view, he’s the man to call. He also climbs, dives and skis. I think we’re in good hands today.”