Zac turned to him. “Ready?”
He nodded. Girl Riley was already talking with Adam and they were setting up a system to check the athletes in.
He and Zac began walking back the same route Riley had used coming in to camp.
They weren’t very deep back into the woods before he had to ask. “When did Riley hurt her ankle? I ran through camp multiple times this morning, and she seemed fine.”
Zac had never been overly chatty, but he was quiet for so long Riley didn’t know if he was going to answer. But that just meant Zac had something further to say about Girl Riley’s hurt ankle. He would’ve already answered if had just been some random fall like she’d said.
“Did you do something stupid?” Zac finally asked.
Riley let out a short bark of laughter. That wasn’t what he’d been expecting the other man to say. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to be a little more specific. Or at least give me a timeframe if you want me to start listing all of my stupid.”
Zac chuckled as he made his way through the woods. It was good to hear the sound. Before his fiancée Anne came along, Zac hadn’t laughed much. Losing a wife and toddler son did that to a man.
“Fair enough. Specifically, I’m asking if you did something stupid like cheat on Girl Riley to make her break up with you.”
“Wow, Cyclone, didn’t realize you had taken over the position of Oak Creek’s lead gossip.”
Zac flipped him off without even looking at him but chuckled again. “I’m a man of many skills. Look, I don’t need details. I was just wondering if you’d been a complete dumbass and that was what had put the look I’ve been seeing on Girl Riley’s face the past few days.”
Riley stopped. “You need to tell me exactly what you’re talking about. No, I did not cheat on Riley. I would never cheat on Riley. I can’t even imagine anyone else in the world capturing my attention the way she does. I would never hurt her that way.”
Zac nodded and started walking again. Riley had to walk or get left behind, so he started walking.
“So you guys broke up because it just wasn’t working for you anymore? A mutual decision?”
He’d worked with Zac multiple times, here in Wyoming and when he’d helped Linear with some missions overseas. So he and Zac had spent their fair share of hours conversing. But this was by far the weirdest, most personal conversation he’d ever had with the man. “If you must know, she broke up with me, and I have no idea why.”
Now it was Zac who stopped and turned to look at Riley. He nodded, no surprise anywhere on his dark features.
“What exactly are you asking, Zac?”
“Why are you here, Phoenix?” the man shot back.
Riley started walking again, this time leaving Zac to follow or not follow. “I’m here to win this race again. To become the first two-time champion.”
“Is that it?”
“Is that not enough?”
“I don’t know, is it?”
Riley let out a sigh. “Zac. Whatever it is you have to say, just spit it out.”
“I’ve known Riley for a long time. For most of her life. She’s an amazing woman. Smart. Independent.”
“You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know and wholeheartedly agree with.”
Zac shook his head. “She’s fearless. Maybe not in the way you are with the stunts, but in life. If I had to pick a single word to describe Girl Riley, it would be fearless. That’s why I always thought you two were a good fit. She would never be scared by your antics.”
Riley raised an eyebrow. “I’m still sitting here parked at the corner of Already-Know-That and No-Duh. What’s your point?”
Zac crossed his arms over his chest. “Last few days, something with Girl Riley has changed.”
“The fearlessness is gone.” The words were out of Riley’s mouth before he was conscious of thinking them. Wildfire’s fearlessness was gone.
Zac nodded. “Thus, my original question about whether you’d done something stupid. I know you being here has affected her, but I wasn’t sure you were the root cause of whatever it is that is weighing on her.”
Riley thought about the look on her face a few minutes ago. “You brought up her ankle in front of me on purpose.”
Zac gave him a one-shouldered shrug. “Yes. I wanted to see how you both would react.”
She’d been scared. Why? That was the question he needed to figure out. They started walking again.
“Most people wouldn’t have caught that I’d done that on purpose.” Zac glanced over at him. “You would’ve made a good Special Forces soldier. You’ve got the physical and intellectual drive it would take.”
“I’ve never been great at following orders. And somehow, I don’t think the army would approve of some of my antics.” Riley ran a hand through his hair as they continued.
Zac chuckled. “Probably not.”
“I’m here to win her back.” He stepped around a fallen log. “Or at the very least find out why she broke up with me to begin with.”
Zac stepped over the log. “Something is hurting her. It might be you. And if that’s the case, you’re going to have to decide whether your answers are worth the pain you’re causing her.”
That was something Riley hadn’t considered. The last thing he wanted to do was cause Riley pain.
But, Jesus, he wanted answers so bad he could taste it.
They continued on in silence.
“Okay, show me where you feel like the puzzle box should’ve been.”
Riley got his map out to make sure he was going to the exact same place. He led Zac back to the tree he’d been at three times already today.
“This is it. Every calculation I did led me right to this point.”
“I’m sure it did.” Zac pointed down to a rock resting against the tree. Sure enough, there was a box, about half the size of a shoebox, in Riley’s color.
He grabbed and opened it, finding the puzzle inside.
“Motherfucker.” Riley looked over at Zac. “I’m telling you, that wasn’t here. I scoured everything in a ten-foot radius of this tree. That box was not here.”
Zac nodded, then looked down at his watch. “If you want to do the puzzle right now, I’ll clock your official time in from the moment you’re done. It’s less of a penalty than not having the flag.”
Riley took out the papers and immediately began working on the puzzle. It was number and logic based this time. When he finally figured out the answer, he used the digits to open the combination lock inside the box and pulled out the flag.
Zac nodded. “Okay. I’ll record this as your official time.”
Riley got up, handing the flag and box to Zac. “I’ll take it. But I’m telling you, that box was not here when I was looking for it.
Zac nodded. “On one hand, I believe you. I really do. You’d have to be damn near blind not to see this thing. Plus, you made it to the fifth puzzle’s location. You never would’ve been able to do that if you weren’t at this spot to navigate from.”
“Thanks.”
“But on the other hand, your brain is not fully in this race, Riley. I’ve seen people make mistakes more stupid than this, and that was just after the normal mental wear and tear of this race. With what’s happening with Girl Riley, you’re going through a lot more.”