Page 89 of Heir of the Beast

Tarren is taunting him, and it gives me a thrill that Apollo is acting that possessively over me. I will bet a thousand pounds this silent feud is not over Laura.

“I think that is fair,” Apollo says carefully, still holding Tarren prisoner with his stare.

Tarren holds his gaze with a nod. “Perfect.”

I clear my throat, trying to break up this alpha-male energy. “We just enter through there?” I point to the massive stone wall entrance with overgrown vines.

Laura glares at me and takes off her coat, throwing it on the ground. “We don’t have to stick together, do we?”

Apollo unties his necktie like he is getting ready for a chase. “You can do what you want, my dear.”

I see her shoot me a look before walking to the entrance. “May the best lady win then.”

My heart starts to pound when I see Apollo take off his black coat and start cuffing up his white dress shirt, exposing his muscled forearms. “I will give you twenty minutes,” he says in a breathy tone.

I look away, feeling lightheaded, and walk to the entrance, feeling a bit threatened. It is thrilling and a little terrifying. My lady parts are behaving like escaped lunatics in a lightning storm.

I peek back, and he mouths, “Run fast, Angel.”

I glare at him, and he raises an arrogant brow. “Maybe I will let Tarren catch me,” I say in a stupid taunt and turn fast, not wanting to see his expression.

A shiver licks its way down my back, but I refuse to look at Apollo.

Heart pounding, I glance at Laura. “Ready?”

She glances back and smiles. “Don’t follow me.” And she takes off into the entrance, taking a sharp right.

I hear Tarren’s laughter as I run through the entrance in the opposite direction. I am running blind. I will be damned if Laura beats me to the end. I just hope this direction will not screw me.

The walls are towering with overgrown vegetation everywhere. Immediately I am transported to the ancient Mayan ruins of Mexico. A lot of stone and weird engravings carved into the walls.

Panic hits me.

Someone could really get lost in this place.

I keep running, turning left and right without pause. I jump over a large crack in the stone floor and keep up my pace.

The thought that Apollo will soon be on my tail makes me go faster. I would hate to see the arrogant smirk on his face.

I do not want him to catch me.

I want to catch him.

Breathing hard, I stop and think. Apollo is inhumanly strong and smart and probably knows this maze by heart.

“Shit,” I mutter. He will catch me. There is no way I am outsmarting him in his territory, let alone anywhere at all.

I glance around at my surroundings, trying to think fast.

Here’s an idea. I have always been quite the actress and could probably talk my way out of death row. I walk over to the stone wall and grab a vine, testing out the sturdiness of them.

“Oh crap,” I say as I try to break one. These are probably stronger than a rope, which gives me a brilliant idea.

A thrill shoots up my spine as I work out my plan in my head. This is either stupid or very smart, though I think I know which one it is.

Smart, duh.

I quickly work the vines, getting a nice little pile ready.

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