He sensed another argument brewing and knew she wasn’t ready to budge on this one, so he let it go. She wandered around the hut, searching more corners for treasure troves, then leaving them as they were.
“I guess I have a lot of things to figure out,” she said. “Where I should go next and what I should do with my life.”
“Yes.” His voice was steady, but his heartbeat spiked. “In the meantime, you stay with us. You will always be welcome with us.”
“Thank you, Nico.”
He waved it off but couldn’t quite wave off the sense of loss, even if it hadn’t happened yet. The idea of her leaving drilled into his skull until it was all that he could envision. It brought an ugly truth he didn’t want to face, so he turned, hungering for air and space. He stepped out of the hut and inhaled the breeze. He froze.
Nico was back inside and covering her mouth before she could utter a word. Her gaze flew to meet his before she froze, too, finally sensing what he had: a presence. He flattened against a wall without touching it, claws out and ready to swipe. The energy grew, larger and larger, scattered enough until it dawned that it wasn’t just coming from one source. Footsteps followed, not even bothering to be quiet. The lightness of the careless steps screamednot humanin his head while his beast roared to be let out.
“Oi, Sam, are you done? I don’t even know why we are here.”
“Can it, Jay. You know why we are here. And stop making unnecessary noises.”
Two men. Not an army, and he surmised they could still get away with the element of surprise. But one glance at Anne and he reconsidered, noting her rapidly paling face. She looked like someone who had heard a ghost…and perhaps she had.
Just like that, he knew it was them: her clan’s attackers. Anger burst through and had him moving. Her hand snapped forward to grip his shoulder as she shook her head. She held out her other hand and gestured a higher number. Sure enough, more footsteps were heard, but the original ones were now in their clearing and would reach the hut in less than a minute.
She let go of his shoulder and backed away—but not to cower. Instead, Anne crept to the corner and pulled back the chest. Then she wrenched back the tile under it, showing him the hole that led to darkness. She dove right in.
Nico gawked. Then he brushed off all hesitation and dove in with her.
Chapter 12
They made the right call. That much was clear as noises resounded from above and the corresponding footsteps amounted to more than Anne had predicted. There was no time to keep counting as she continued leading Nico down, the path still as distinct as when she had last used it.
“Once the tile clicks into place, every sound below is muted as long as it’s at a minimal level. No shouting or loud noises. That’s what my clan leader, Bruce Leonard, taught us since we were young.”
Nico didn’t ask questions yet, perhaps focused on traipsing through the dark. Below, she found better footing when she reached a flat surface, where she blindly searched the walls until she found prominent dots. She counted in her head, then pushed one, holding on to his arm while she braced for the results.
Nothing happened at first. Then a panel slid open from the wall, where a screen shone to provide them ample light. It also showed them a view of the hut upstairs, which was still empty.
“An emergency bunk,” Nico said in awe. “How many do you have here?”
“Just this one. This was for Bruce, but we all knew how to get here and how to operate it. It was supposed to be big enough for all of us in case we needed it.” She gestured to a side doorway leading to more paths below. “But they never made it here.”
He looked up at the muted sounds, gaze narrowing. “Wires.”
“They lead outside,” she confirmed. “Buried underground to detect sounds.”
“Crackling sounds. Some of the wires did burn.”
“Yes.” She marched closer to the screen, watching the hut. She tensed when a pair of legs became visible in the hut’s doorway. The slow entrance spoke of caution, but there was a confidence to it that stroked her suspicion. When the figure walked to the other end of the hut, the camera caught the rest of the body.
“The chest has a camera.”
Nico’s words felt so far away as she devoured the sight of the man, no longer in a suit and not as distinguished in his denim pants and black shirt. The sunglasses hid the eyes, but she could still remember how they looked when he had finally dropped his guard: dark, darker than anything she had seen in her life. Smoldering with intention, and there had been no defense for how calculated that intention was. Instantly, she was hauled back to that moment of her discovering she had fucked up.
Thank you for this opportunity, Anne. I’m not even sorry for your stupidity.
Anne. Anne…
“Anne.”
Anne blinked and looked at Nico. Worry and understanding swirled in his features.
“Yes,” she replied, letting him know that she was still here.