The Cipher (Nina Guerrera) by Isabella Maldonado

Author:Isabella Maldonado [Maldonado, Isabella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-10-31T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27

Twelve minutes later, Nina left the locker room at a dead sprint, desperate to escape the claustrophobic confines of the building. Her feet turned toward the trail of their own volition, giving her direction and purpose.

The infamous FBI obstacle course dubbed “the Yellow Brick Road” consisted of 6.1 miles of wooded terrain through the Virginia foothills at Quantico. Anyone who successfully completed the course had to conquer physical and mental challenges along the way.

She leaped over a tree root thrusting up from the ground and kept going, her footfalls varied on the uneven ground. Along the way, she jumped through a simulated window, maneuvered across a cargo net, and splashed through standing water. Then she arrived at the rope climb and gazed up at the jagged stone cliff high above her, calculating. Wrapping her hands around the thick corded rope, she hoisted herself up until she found a toehold in the craggy rocks. She worked her way up, pulling with her arms and pushing with her legs against the sheer rock face until her shoulders and quadriceps burned. When she got close to the edge jutting overhead, she heard a shuffle. She tilted her head back to squint at a looming silhouette peering down at her.

Wade squatted. “You gonna climb up here or not?”

She did not want or need company. “How did you find me?”

“It’s where I would have gone,” he said. “I started at the end of the course and worked my way toward the beginning. Figured I’d run into you sooner or later.”

“Go away.”

“Come up here and let’s talk.”

She put her foot against the rock face and pushed off, using her arms to pull herself higher. “I don’t know what kind of head-shrinking bullshit you’re trying to pull, Wade, but I’m not in the mood.” She grunted as she heaved again. “I don’t need help, and I don’t want company.”

Wade didn’t move.

Cursing, she pushed with her feet and pulled with her hands until every muscle fiber in her arms twitched. When the ridge was only inches above her, she looked into Wade’s eyes again. He could easily reach down and haul her the rest of the way to the top of the outcropping, but he merely watched her.

Maybe he did understand.

She flung an arm up to grasp the ledge above her. Gritting her teeth, she flexed her unwilling biceps until her chest flopped onto the hard surface. After a moment’s breath, she rolled her legs up and over as well.

Still squatting, Wade gazed down at her, an impassive expression on his lined face. “I’m not here to carry you, Guerrera.”

“Leave,” she said, gasping. “Go. The fuck. Away.”

He pointed toward the main building. “I’ll leave if you go back in there with me.”

She sat up. “Why do you care what I do?”

“Because I’m the only other person who wants this guy as bad as you do.”

She let out a derisive snort. “So it’s about you.” She got to her feet and brushed the dirt from her hands. “You’re

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