Chaos Theory (Nerds of Paradise #2)(28)

Everyone who heard Howie laughed. Well, except Will.

“I’m gonna hit the little girl’s room,” Melody told him.

He nodded and headed off to the men’s room.

Five minutes later, they reconvened in the center of the warehouse, and Melody did a double-take.

“You’re wearing glasses,” she said. And they looked fabulous on him.

Until he frowned. “I usually wear contacts. Not a lot of people know that. Don’t tell anyone who isn’t here to see them.”

Melody blinked and shrugged. “Why? Does it make a difference that you wear glasses?”

He hesitated, then said, “It does.”

That was nowhere near enough information to go on. “Why?” she pried, trying to sound cute and harmless as she did.

He exhaled, evidently not buying it. “It just does, okay? So keep quiet about it.”

They headed toward the door, where the row of backpacks started. “Um, I think that once everyone here sees you in those glasses, word is going to get around.”

“Let’s try to make sure it doesn’t.”

Baffled but willing to let it go for the time being, Melody walked with Will along the perimeter of the warehouse until they found two huge hiking packs with their names on them. They were the kind of backpack that had multiple compartments and an aluminum frame to help distribute the load and make them easier to carry. Melody went to lift hers and was surprised by its weight.

“So much for worrying that we’ll run out of food,” she said.

“Or socks?” Will asked.

A grin spread across Melody’s face. “So you were listening to the conversation.”

Will hefted his pack onto his back and secured the straps around his waist and chest before stepping forward to help Melody with hers. “I’m not completely oblivious. And I agree that dry socks can make a world of difference.”

“I’ll have to remember that,” Melody chuckled. Will showed her how to fasten the straps around her middle, and at once the weight of the pack aligned with her center of gravity. “I guess these won’t be so much of a pain after all. Although we should have trained with much heavier packs than we did.” Although they’d barely done any training with backpacks to begin with.

“They’ll get lighter as we use the contents.”

“I can’t wait to open them up and see what we’ve got to work with.” She bit her lip to stifle a mischievous giggle. “Maybe just a little peek?”

Will sent her a stern frown. “It’s against the rules,” he said, though what his expression said was “Are you already not taking this seriously?”

“Once you have your backpacks, head over to the helipad,” Jonathan called to them from the door.

As soon as he said that, Melody recognized the distant thrum of helicopter blades. They flared ten times louder as soon as she and Will stepped outside. Melody’s heart caught in her throat as they walked around the corner of the warehouse and saw two huge, military helicopters primed and ready to go.

“Oh, crap,” she said, barely able to hear herself. The closer they got to the helicopters, the more her hair tugged its way out of her braid and whipped around her face.

“What?” Will asked, practically shouting as they joined the queue waiting to board.

“It just dawned on me. We’re going to have to ride in helicopters to get to our drop points.”

“So?”

“Come on, you two.” The woman who was coordinating the helicopters gestured for them to board the one on the left.

“Helicopters go up,” Melody said, dread pooling in her stomach.

Will nudged her to walk on. “And?”

“And I don’t do very well with up.”

Her steps faltered. Not even Will’s irritated look could make her move another inch forward. He had to grab her arm and escort her to the helicopter, then hand her up amid ear-splitting din. The good news was that she only had to sit there in the interior of the chopper that looked like it was designed to fly soldiers into combat missions before Jonathan hopped in to join them.

“Okay, folks,” he said, holding up several strips of black knit material. “Time to put your blindfolds on.”





Chapter Eight





He’d gone almost twenty-four hours—okay, maybe more like eighteen hours—without succumbing to frustration over Melody’s capabilities as an orienteering partner, and then right there, at the last minute, Will was plunged into doubt all over again.

“It’ll be okay,” he said, settling her on the bench beside him. Like other transport helicopters he’d flown in, this one had two rows of benches along the outer edges that faced each other. It was hard to sit comfortably with the packs strapped to their backs, but he didn’t suppose they’d be there that long. “You can do this.”

Heights. Melody was afraid of heights. Part of him was determined to be angry with that. Strangely, though, another part of him, one he wasn’t used to hearing, wished he knew how to comfort her. She reached toward him, hand flailing, and he caught it and squeezed it. That would have to do. But seriously? Being afraid of heights could hurt them in the competition, depending on the terrain. Either way, it was a weakness, and weaknesses weren’t to be tolerated.