Chapter 496 Chapter 496
He refused to step back. He wasn’t afraid of her, cautious maybe, but he wasn’t intimidated by the little female. He nodded, “a lot of females don’t—” when she stepped right up in his face, he stopped talking, not out of fear, but because his cat was losing his mind and Tripp had no idea why.
“More often than not a female is overlooked just because she doesn’t have,” she reached and cupped him between the legs, “these,” she dropped her hand.
Tripp’s eyes widened, but he didn’t move an inch.
“I can do anything a man can,” she smirked, “except pee standing up, and I haven’t even tried that yet to see if I can.” She turned and went back over to the body, then stopped and looked at him, “give me a hand moving him.”
Tripp started to open his mouth and then snapped it shut. He picked up the man under the arms and waited for her to get his feet. Thankfully, the cold had slowed the odor from getting too bad. “I’m not doing the he-verses-she thing, but a lot of women prefer having a family to what we do.” He hoped she noted he’d said we.
She ducked down and went into the tent backward, “that’s true, and all the power to them.”
Tripp waited for her to get out of the way and then heaved the upper body in and dropped it. He didn’t agree with her or disagree for that matter. He knew he should just nod and let it go, but his mouth was never good at doing the right or easy thing. “I think gender has nothing to do with it, if a body wants to do something, then they need to prep for it and get good at it. Then do it.”
She stepped out of the tent, and he almost put his hand out to make sure she didn’t trip over a body part, then grabbed the canvas and held it back instead. Now was probably not the time for any move that could be construed as chivalrous.
“Right. That’s it there, but the higher-ups don’t see it that way, do they?” She frowned, “why is the king always in charge? Why not a Queen?”
Tripp bent down and did up the tent, almost relishing the strong scent of the ointment burning his nostrils so he’d have to pause before he thought. “Well,” he moved from the tent quickly, “in my experience it is the woman leading, the man is just the face of that leadership.” He shrugged, “most of the population is more comfortable being led by a male than a female.” He flashed her a grin, “whereas I don’t like to follow either.”
Amari stood there, hands on her hips, and looked him up and down. “I guess we agree on a few things then.” She bobbed her head once. “Good, saves me stabbing you for being a jerk.” She spun on her heel and went over and started kicking snow at the fire. “You going to do the chip thing so they can find this location?”
The snow started again, making him pause to debate if tying their friend to a tree was a good idea. What if the cleanup was busy? Tripp turned to look at the captive and went over to zip up his tent as well. The man looked amused, and Tripp thought it was too bad, in different circumstances he might like the idiot. “It was a pleasure meeting you, the team won’t keep you waiting long.” He zipped it up and turned to go get his bag. “I plan to walk out on two legs,” he glanced over to see her bending down to lace up her boots, “easier to find a good spot that way.”
She looked over at him as she switched feet, “yeah, the cats move too fast to find the best location.”
Tripp nodded like it was important they’d settled that, of course, he planned on shifting and booking it to where he got a signal as soon as possible so the team could come to clean up this campsite. He needed to talk to Kenzo because damn, he was at a crossroads with this she-cat and didn’t know which way to turn. Technically she should wait here and go out with the team, but after the comments yesterday, he wasn’t stupid enough to voice that out loud. He needed to clear it with his leader though, because of who her father was, he didn’t need a landslide of shit landing on him for her not returning home right away.
An hour and a half later, he stopped and dropped the pack off his back. He was impressed as hell right now and that annoyed him further. She’d kept up with him, actually came close to moving by him. The gun was secure in her hand the whole time, and she hadn’t said more than three words. In fact, a few times, he’d had to look back to see if she was still behind him. Pulling the hat off his head, he jammed it into the jacket pocket and bent down to get a bottle of water. He looked at the sky as he drank it, not needing to check his phone to see what time it was. They still had roughly an hour until dawn.
Amari stopped a few feet away from him and took the pack off her back, she squatted down and opened it.
Getting out another bottle, he did a quick count to see there were five left. He held it out to her. “I’m going to book it ahead and see if I can get a signal.” He glanced back up in the direction they’d come from, “if the animals are hungry enough that stench won’t hold them off long.”
Amari took a drink and then nodded. “Makes sense.” She motioned into the trees off the trail, “I’ll keep heading that way and try to get higher and see if I can find a spot to ambush that jackoff when he comes back to collect the prize.”
Tripp looked at her, then to where she’d pointed. For some reason, he thought she’d just chill and wait for him to come back. Looking down at his pack, he was just about to say she should wait, when she chuckled.
“Don’t worry I can haul your gear for a little while.”
He looked back to her and nodded, literally clamping his tongue between his teeth so he couldn’t speak. Taking the jacket off, he opened his bag and stuffed it in. Pulling his run pack over his head, he set it on top and stripped his shirt off, then put the pack back on. When he looked up, she was eyeing him like he was her favorite flavor of candy. Normally he wasn’t shy around a woman, but the way she looked at him, made him uncomfortable, to say the least. That was a very foreign and strange feeling for him.
“Sorry,” she motioned up and down his body, “I appreciate the work that goes into making a body that fit.”
It wasn’t said in a derogatory or sexually suggestive way, so he shrugged, “the job helps a lot,” he motioned around them, “lots of running, climbing, and carrying.” He pointed to the bag.
Nodding her head, she capped her bottle and came over. Taking the shirt out of his hand, she jammed it into his bag, then smirked at him, “don’t worry I’ll turn my back while you get naked.” She stood up and rubbed her hand across his chest, “if we weren’t on the clock, it might be a different story.”
Tripp honestly didn’t know whether to be turned on or offended. His cat was right there and all for any play that might take place. He had never realized his cat was such a pervert before. “Thanks.” He smirked, “I’m shy.”
Amari laughed and turned around, so her back was toward him, “I’m sure you are.”
Tripp made fast work taking off his boots, socks, and jeans. He shifted so fast he was almost dizzy from it.
She glanced behind her and then turned around and bent down to pick up his stuff. “Make sure you reach out to Jesse or your guy, let them know that they’re onto our new tracking.” She paused after she did up his pack and stood there holding his boots by the laces. “You are one fit cat. Maybe once this is done, we can go for a good run.” She smiled and then tied the boots to his bag.
Tripp’s cat had the insane idea of going over and rubbing against her, but he wasn’t having any of that. Swinging his head around, so his cat had no choice but to follow, he took off down the snowy trail.