“Our trusty mountain steeds,” Jaz announced.
“They don’t look trusty,” said Sebastian. With a steering wheel and two seats, the UTV’s open structure consisted of a roll cage instead of a traditional roof. The vehicles also sported a short snub-nosed body, high undercarriage clearance with higher, large off-roading tires. “And they only have two seats. If someone has to sit on Liam’s lap, I call dibs.”
“Yes, exactly how are we going to explain why I’m squeezing an extra person into a vehicle?” asked Jaz. “Competitors are allowed one support person and belay while we mark the routes. I don’t need to be disqualified before the competition even begins.”
Liam gave her a sideways glance. He’d already discussed as much with Vector Ascent, who’d cleared it with the event organizers. Did she think this was his first detail? “The UTVs only get competitors to the trailhead,” he said with exaggerated patience. “I’ll take my own vehicle. The seven days after that are all hiking and climbing on your own power. I’ll shadow you and Sebastian with my own gear, but won’t interfere or engage with you about anything.”
“How will we ever pitch a tent without your sage advice?” asked Jaz.
“Badly, I imagine.” Getting out of the car, Liam walked around and opened Jaz’s door for her, which he knew would piss her off. Small pleasures.
The rustic hotel was tastefully decorated like a hunting lodge, with rough wooden walls like a cabin, antlers decorating the lampshades, and brown-and-white curtains that resembled legitimate cowhides. The place gave off the scent of leather, so maybe the resemblance was real. They were checked into the event and given two adjoining rooms, each with two double beds. Liam made himself comfortable in Jaz’s quarters quicker than she could offer a protest.
They’d barely gotten a chance to shower and change after the trip before the schedule had them in the hotel’s single meeting room, where a podium for the competitors and chairs for the press were already set up. Behind the podium, banners of the sponsoring brands proudly bracketed large windows with the view of the San Bernardino National Forest. Taking up a post next to the door, Liam watched Jaz stride confidently into the lions’ den.
She wore Vector Ascent’s top gear for the event, the athletic clothing hugging her lithe figure as she smiled for the photographers and smoothly discussed her gratitude for the well-placed jacket pockets and oversized hood that fit over a climbing helmet.
“You know, I almost feel bad for the rest of them.” Sebastian leaned on the wall near Liam, watching the reporters huddle around Jaz while the rest of the climbers shifted their weight uncomfortably. With her smiles, sound bites, and honed yet natural-seeming camera poses, Jaz positively owned each square inch of the limelight. It was difficult to imagine her and shadow-loving Kyan growing up together.
Yet how much of this attention she loved was also fueling the danger against her?
“So when did it happen?” Sebastian crossed one ankle over another.
“When did what happen?”
“When did you fall for my Jaz?”
Liam’s head snapped to the side. “I’m the hired help, Sebastian. That’s where my relationship with her starts and ends.”
“In my experience, hired help tends to have limits. And being set up on a date with me would have crossed them three times over.”
Liam returned his attention to where it belonged—watching the room and his charge. “I’m a professional.”
“A professional owner of an international security firm. Your job is to send teams all over the globe, not play bodyguard. You’re here because you can’t make yourself not be.”
This was getting ridiculous. He wasn’t going to explain his need to get out and stretch his legs in the field to some kid from Jaz’s climbing club. “You’ve got it all wrong, Bastian. It’s you I’m head over heels in love with. Jaz is just an excuse.”
Sebastian laughed, but his rich voice soon quieted into somber tones. “Don’t underestimate how hard she fights to stay strong. She makes it look easy, but she is fighting every moment of every day.”
Liam opened his mouth to ask what the hell Sebastian was talking about, but the whine of a microphone cut him short. The conference was starting, and the five competitors took their seats behind a cloth-covered table. The organizers made a few short remarks, then released the sharks.
“Ms. Keasley.” The first reporter went right for Jaz. “You’re the only woman at the table. How does it feel competing against all men?”
“We are all competing against the mountain,” Jaz answered. “I’m honored to be in the company of fellow athletes who love the sport.” She grinned. “That, and we’re all adrenaline junkies, so there is that.”
The room chuckled appreciatively, but the next reporter was already up on his feet and digging for trouble. “Ms. Keasley, you’re an eleventh-hour substitution for the long-standing champion Roman Robillard. Can you speak as to why the change was made and whether you and Roman discussed the situation?”
“I don’t get told inside baseball,” Jaz said with a self-deprecating grin that Liam would never have managed in her place. “What I can tell you is that Roman is one of the most skilled climbers I know, and it’s my hope to do his legacy—and Vector Ascent—justice.”
Not bad at all.
“What about the rumors that Girls Aflame, which you very publicly support, has garnered unwelcome attention from a certain extremist group?” A third reporter jumped in, tightening the loop around Jaz despite the other competitors starting to shift their weight restlessly. “Does that worry you? Will it affect your ability to focus while up there on the mountain?”
Humor left Jaz’s face as she twisted toward the reporter and held the silent pause just long enough for the air to zing with tension. “Does it worry me that terrorists overseas want to see women and girls denied an education? That should worry every single one of us. Hateful groups spread hate. That’s what they do. Nothing they might say will stop me from supporting such a deserving cause.”
Once the reporters saw they were unable to get under Jaz’s skin, the conference turned technical and Liam allowed himself to relax as the sharks stopped circling. Which brought Sebastian’s comment back to the forefront of his thoughts. He wanted to probe more into this fighting thing Jaz’s best friend thought she was doing, but it was wise to presume that anything he said to Sebastian was going right back to Jaz. Taking out his phone, he tapped a message to Aiden back in the office.
Can you take a quiet look at Jaz?
Aiden: What am I looking for?
Liam hesitated. Skeletons in the closet. Anything that could be used against her. Get personal.
A pregnant pause. Then, finally, a reply.
Aiden: Roger.
Liam put away his phone, his chest tight. He could explain this away with all the logic in the world, but the reality was that he’d just stepped over the line. There was nothing in what he’d seen to warrant that kind of intrusion into Jaz’s privacy, and if Jaz ever found out, she’d be furious. And rightfully so. But fuck it, Liam couldn’t bear to take any chances. Not with Kyan’s sister. Not with Jaz.