She shook her head, making her curls brush over her cheeks. "Usually I just go on to another project and give my brain time to work things out on its own. If I focus on the problem too hard, I just can't seem to find a solution. I have to let it be for a while. But..."
"But?"
She looked right into his eyes. "We don't have time for that. Do we?"
If he was disappointed by her inability to break the code, it didn't show in his expression. "We have all the time you need. I'll keep you safe."
Her shoulders sagged a little in relief. She suddenly felt fragile. Exhausted.
"Why don't you get a nap? You're probably just too tired to think."
"I need to distract myself for a while and let my brain work in peace."
"You don't need a distraction. What you need is sleep."
"I can't sleep, David. I've tried."
"I know. I've heard you shifting in your sleeping bag last night, trying to sleep."
She looked up at him, her cheeks warming with embarrassment. "I'm sorry I kept you awake."
David shrugged. "I'm a light sleeper."
"I'll try to be quieter," she promised.
"I don't care about that. I'm worried about you. You need to take a break."
"I can't. I need to—"
"Take a break," he insisted. "You look like you're about to fall over."
Noelle rubbed her eyes. They felt gritty and hot, while the rest of her was bone cold. It felt like it had been a long time since she'd truly been warm. She promised herself that if she ever got out of this mess, she'd take a weeklong shower so hot it would melt the ceramic tile.
David lifted her bodily off the stool by her arm and handed her her bulletproof vest. "Time for a walk. Maybe some exercise will get your synapses firing or at least help you sleep."
"At this point, I'm willing to try anything."
She saw his jaw clench for a brief moment as if biting down his frustration. Then it was gone and he offered her a faint smile as they walked out into the sunshine.
The air was cold, but clear. The wind had picked up over the past couple of days, bringing with it the clean scent of frost. She had no idea what time it was, other than daytime. In a way, it was kind of freeing not to worry about schedules or classes or meetings. If it weren't for the single, monstrous deadline looming over her, she would have been enjoying the freedom.
But she did have that deadline and so did nameless others who were unknowingly depending on her for their lives.
"No you don't," warned David with a sharp tone. "You're going to stop thinking about whatever it is you're thinking about right now. I've been watching you for days, and I know that look."
"What look?" she asked.
"That look that tells me you're not going to eat my cooking, no matter how many times I reheat it for you. The one that makes your eyes fill with fear and your skin go pale."
Noelle didn't realize she'd been so transparent. Or perhaps he was simply that observant. "I try not to think about it, I really do."
"You'll solve this puzzle. I know you will. You're just too close to it right now. Give yourself a break."
"I wish I could." She stopped, her legs suddenly no longer able to propel her forward. "You know what's at stake."
He nodded slowly, making the silver strands in his dark hair glitter in the sunlight. "You can't let yourself think about that. One step at a time. That's all you need to think about."
"Is that how you do it?".
He reached out and rescued a lock of hair that was trapped under the shoulder of her vest. "I'd be overwhelmed if I stopped and thought about helping you crack this code, then getting you out of here, then rinding the mole on Monroe's team, then getting the information back to Monroe, then finding a safe hiding place for you while we used the info, then—"
Noelle covered his mouth with her hand, unable to hear any more. "I see your point. One step at a time."
He wrapped his hand around hers and pulled it from his mouth. His fingers were warm against her chilled skin, making her wish she had his internal furnace.
Rather than letting go, he held her hand in his, warming it. "The point is that you can only do what you can do right now. The rest has to wait its turn."
She looked into his blue eyes and wished she'd found him under different circumstances. He'd proven he was a caring man. He put others before himself—even to the extreme of risking his life for a living. And he was so fun to look at. His face was masculine, with sharp angles and deep ridges under his cheekbones. His mouth was soft and hot, and she could still remember the way it felt—firm and demanding against her lips.
Just the memory was enough to help warm her, starting with the blush spreading out from her cheeks.
A faint smile curved his lips as if he'd been reading her thoughts. "We're not going there, either," he said with mock sternness. "Come on. I want to show you something."
Since he had her hand captured, she had no choice but to follow along behind him. He kept his stride short so that she could keep up, her weary body pushing her forward. They headed through the trees, his movements sure and focused. A couple of times, he led her around a section of ground, pointing out that he'd set a trap here and there to ward off any unwanted visitors.
They were going straight uphill, and Noelle had to stop several times to catch her breath. "I really need to get more exercise," she panted, embarrassed that she couldn't keep up.
A strained look crossed his face, and he turned his back before she could figure out what she'd said to cause it.
They reached the top of a ridge, and David stopped. The wind whipped around them, tossing her hair into her face.
Noelle shoved it inside the neck of her jacket with an irritated jerk of her hands. She'd forgotten to cut it for, oh, the past four years or so, and it was becoming a hassle.
"There," he said, motioning with his hand toward the horizon.
Noelle looked and her breath caught in her chest. The view was magnificent! From here, a series of spiky mountains stretched out as far as she could see. In the valley below, the trees had not all lost their leaves yet. A few held on to brilliant swatches of reds, oranges, and yellows, which blurred together into an image even Monet would have appreciated. A silver ribbon of river slid through the valley, looking calm and silent from this distance, even though she knew it had to be seething with frigid water, bubbling and churning as it ate away at the rocky banks.
From this view, everything looked different—softer and more continuous. Rather than individual trees and rocks, everything merged together into one giant whole-Pieces lost meaning, rendering the entire landscape into one single work of art. Individual, discrete objects making up one continuous whole.
From a great enough distance, discrete objects looked continuous.
Just like the ciphertext.
Time stopped for Noelle as the import of her thoughts rang loud and clear in her mind. That was it. She figured out the key to the puzzle. Thanks to David and his mountain view she'd found the answer. She could crack the code!
Noelle went pale, and David thought she was going to faint. He grabbed her and pulled her toward him, easing her down to the ground before she could fall.
The look of awe on her face as she surveyed the mountain view had been well worth the uphill hike, and he was sure that the fresh air would clear her head like nothing else could. With the exception, perhaps, of hot, wet sex.
But that look on her face now scared the hell out of him. He was sure something had gone terribly wrong. Maybe she was afraid of heights or something.
"Noelle? You in there?" He kept his voice low and calm, even though he wanted to scream and shake her into responding.
Finally, she pulled in a breath. Her eyes were wide and unfocused and a fine sheen of sweat had broken out over her forehead. David touched her skin and it felt cold and clammy. Quickly, he stripped off his coat and draped it over her to keep her warm. She didn't have enough damn insulation to be out here in the cold, sweating.
"Noelle?" He sounded more frantic this time, even though he tried his hardest not to.
He pushed her head down toward her knees to keep her from passing out and cursed himself for not forcing her to eat like he should have. What was he thinking, dragging her on an uphill hike when she hadn't had a decent meal or a good night's sleep in days?
"I've got it," she said, her words muffled by her awkward position.
"What?" He bent down to hear what she had to say.
Noelle pushed against his arm and he let her sit up. "I figured it out. The ciphertext. I figured out what I'd been missing about the code."
David wasn't sure she was completely coherent, but he wasn't about to question her here. He needed to get her back to the cabin, where he could get her warm.
"I need a pen, paper. Something!"
David patted his vest pockets for something she could use to write and found a forgotten ballpoint pen, but no paper. She snatched the pen and started scribbling across her hand.
David watched the strange symbols she scrawled, unable to make any sense out of it. It looked vaguely mathematical, but there were no numbers, only the Cyrillic script he'd seen on the paper Monroe had given them.
She ran out of room to write on her hand and started ripping off her clothes to get to her arm.
"Here, use mine," he offered, pushing up his sleeve and stretching out his bare forearm to her.
The tip of the pen tickled, but he didn't dare make a sound for fear that he might interrupt her train of thought and mess up whatever epiphany she was having.
Minutes flowed by in chilly silence, with only the howl of the wind and the rattle of dry leaves to tarnish it.
When she had nearly filled up one arm, David offered the other, breathing a sigh of relief as her scribbling began to slow.
She stopped, and the look of elation shining in her features made him want to lean down and kiss her, just to see what victory tasted like on her lips.
"We need to get back. Now. I can do this, David."
Her smile made her look younger, more vulnerable and totally desirable. If he could resist her when she looked at him like he'd just handed her the world, he could resist any woman.
Careful not to smudge her work, he pushed his sleeves down, buttoned his coat securely around her and took her hand as he led her back down the mountain.
Owen walked through the empty cabin Noelle was sharing with David to check on the girl's progress. He'd seen them hiking up the mountain, waited until they were far enough away he'd have a safe measure of time to snoop around, then proceeded to do just that.
He flipped through her notes, taking photographs of each page of indecipherable garbage. If something happened to the girl, then at least he'd have some notes to help the next brainiac pick up where she left off.
He had no idea how far along she was toward a solution, but a quick inventory of their supplies told him that they only had a few more days of food left until someone would have to run into town for more.
Owen was a patient man. He could wait. Chances were good David thought she was safe up here with all those traps laid to protect her. When it was time to go into town, David might even leave her behind to work.
That was when Owen would make his move. Without David, it'd be a simple thing to swoop in and pick up the girl along with all of her work. Once he had her, his position in the Swarm would be solidified. He'd move up in the organization and earn his seat by Mr. Lark's side. They'd no longer look at him and see only his burn scars—they'd see the man behind the scars and come to appreciate his vision for the Swarm. With Owen behind the helm, the Swarm would no longer have to work in the shadows. They'd become a force to be reckoned with and feared.