When the third breath has passed, I take a piece of fresh paper from the pad in the desk and write my letter, folding it before placing it in my pocket.
On the second sheet, I write only three words:
Frozen solder distraction.
I keep the second note in my hand before I turn to Cornetto, who sits at my side, his russet brown eyes tracking my expressions. He lets out a soft whine and I caress his silver fur, resting my head to his.
“You can’t come this time,” I whisper, and he whines again. Somehow, he always knows when I go hunting without him. “You have to look after Jack. Go back to bed, Corndog.”
With a final whimper, Cornetto turns and trots away to head back upstairs.
I turn off the light, and for a long moment, I simply sit in the comforting dark.
When I’m finally ready to go, I place the second note on the kitchen counter. Then I leave Jack Sorensen’s house and stride away into the star-riddled night.
OceanofPDF.com
TWENTY
OceanofPDF.com
ARROWS
OceanofPDF.com
KYRIE
“You came,” I say as Jack approaches from the narrow path, the brittle leaves of beech trees scraping one another as he moves low-hanging branches out of his way. There’s no controlling the smile I beam at him as he enters the small clearing and draws to a halt to take in the log cabin behind me.
“You scared the fucking shit out of me, Kyrie,” Jack says, pinning me with a glare. “I nearly missed the note.”
“But you didn’t,” I say, trying not to let his concern burrow too deep into memory. My smile brightens and I spread my arms wide. “And here we are.”
Jack’s glare finally softens a little when he looks toward the cabin. I turn on my heel to follow his gaze, admiring the dark lines of wood and the weathered porch, original features paired with my own modifications of solar panels and hidden cameras. When I face him once more, Jack is watching me, a gleam in his eyes as though he’s seeing me for the first time.
“You built this?” he asks, nodding toward the cabin.
“No,” I say with a little laugh. “No, this belonged to my grandfather. But I’ve made some changes over the years.”
Jack nods as his gaze lands on one of the more visible cameras bolted beneath the overhang of the roof. When his attention returns to me he takes a careful step forward, and then another. Maybe he thinks this is some kind of trap. Maybe there’s something in the excitement I can barely contain that’s a little too feral, a little too suspicious. So when Jack stops in front of me, his hands still buried deep in his pockets, I’m the one who closes the distance between us, rising on my tiptoes to fold my hand across his nape and draw him into a kiss. I grip the edge of his open jacket with my free hand, the metal teeth of the zipper digging into my palm as I pull him closer. My tongue runs across the seam of his lips, demanding entry to lavish his mouth with a taste of the desire that coats my chest in flame.
He can’t resist me.
I already know he doesn’t want to, even if he’s tried for so long to stand in his own way. Jack’s hands lay on my face, bringing warmth to my cold skin as he traces the chill in my cheekbones with his fingertips until the tingle of his touch starts coursing through my body. I have to force myself to do it, but I’m the one who breaks the kiss. It’s my enthusiasm for my surprise that pulls me back, and the fear too, if I’m being honest. There’s an exhilaration in following my instincts, but an awareness that I could be wrong, though that carries its own intoxicating desire that pulls me away like a tide.
“What are we doing here?” he asks, moving to take a step toward the cabin. I tighten my grip on his jacket to keep him from getting closer.
“I have a little present for you,” I reply, my grin unstoppable as I turn away to the expedition pack lying at the edge of the clearing. The wary look he shoots me proves he recognizes this backpack, but instead of some grad student’s severed limb, I take out a tablet, turning it on to select a thumbnail view that I enlarge before I hand it to Jack. His eyes hold mine for a long moment before he looks at the screen, his lips parting as he takes in the live image. “Do you like it?”
“Colby Cameron,” Jack whispers, his voice a reverential prayer. I give him time, staying quiet until he’s ready to look up from the screen. “You have him here.”
I nod before I return to my belongings, drawing a rusted metal chain from the backpack. “He’s in the basement. But you can’t go in. It will ruin our fun.”
I wink as I pass by with the chain looped over my shoulder. It’s what dangles at my back that catches Jack’s eye, and he follows every movement of the metal contraption as I head to the mouth of the path he just emerged from. I drop to a knee and lay the foothold trap on the narrow, worn track, opening the jaws and setting the spring levers before I cover the area with fallen leaves. It’s not perfect, but I know Colby will be too desperate to take much notice of anything on the ground.
“Don’t go wandering. There are more like it surrounding the property, and these traps are both ancient and unforgiving,” I warn as I return to my pack and the camo print case that lays beneath it. I toss the expedition pack to Jack and he catches it, his brow furrowing when his gaze collides with mine. “There’s a garrote in there. Some knives too. Hopefully something you’ll like. I’m just here as a contingency plan.”
I flash Jack a grin and drop my gaze to the case I’ve unzipped, unfolding it to reveal a compound bow and twelve arrows. I’m pulling out the first arrow and double-checking the fletchings when the backpack lands next to me.
“You do it,” Jack says. When I look up, his gunmetal eyes are hooded, the shadows burning with an unnamed fire, igniting my veins like fuses.
“But he was yours,” I reply, leaning back on my haunches to study him.
“We’re even then, since I took one of your targeted victims.”
“Right,” I say with a breath of a laugh. “Ryan Young. I was looking forward to that one. And you never even gave me any details of how that all went down. What prompted you to go for him, anyway?”
Jack’s shoulders tense as though he’s bracing for the unknown. “I was irritated. A certain colleague was worming her way beneath my bones. I needed to let off some steam.”
I huff a laugh. “What a shocker. You find me irritating. How romantic,” I quip with a broad smile that only spreads as the crease between Jack’s brows appears. My attention returns to the arrows as I pull another from the case.
“No, Kyrie. I was irritated I couldn’t shake free of you, no matter how hard I tried.” Jack takes a step closer, drawing my gaze from the work of my hands. He approaches with slow and methodical progress, a hunter hoping not to provoke an attack from an unpredictable animal. When he’s within reach, he squats to study me, balancing on the balls of his feet. “I was irritated that I couldn’t carve you out of my thoughts, and the harder I tried, the more impossible it became. You’re the one person I couldn’t stop. The only person I couldn’t overcome.” Jack reaches out and curls a stray lock of hair behind my ear, resting his palm on the side of my face. “I was frustrated because I didn’t think I could have you, the one thing I truly wanted.”
I lay my hand on Jack’s and press my cheek into his cool palm. I wish I had the bravery to say it out loud, to tell him how I really feel. That I love him. I wonder if he’s ever heard it before. If he has, did the person really mean it? Or was it a deception? Would Jack know that my words are true? Would it scare him away if he did?
