Page 37 of Out of Peril

“What's wrong, Lindsey?” Maya asked when she yawned for at least the third time since I arrived.

“Nothing,” she said a little too quickly. “I just didn't sleep well last night.”

I grinned from ear to ear, making my dimples genuinely pop without trying.

She punched me in the arm and scowled before stomping over to the sink to rinse and dry her bowl.

I took a bit of sick pleasure knowing she had been every bit as affected by the kiss we'd shared as I had been. It was definitely a step in the right direction.

“So, what's on the agenda today?” I asked, taking a bit of the heat off of her.

“I'd like to show you guys the library and maybe dust it in there,” she surprised me by saying. “It's my favorite room in the house,” she confessed.

“Okay. We can do that. You said the panthers lived nearby. Do you think you could point me in the right direction?”

“What? Why?” she snapped.

“I lost my cell phone somewhere along the way and I need to reach out to my team. Kian will know how to contact them.”

“No,” she said.

“Linds . . .”

“No!” she yelled. “We don’t talk to anyone outside the four of us. Am I clear?”

I understood she wasn't very trusting of people, but I had to make her understand.

“I understand you don't trust them, but I do. They'll help us.”

She scoffed and made a crazed laughing sound.

“Sure, they'll help us,” she mocked me.

“Babe, my team will be looking for me.”

“Don't you babe me.”

“Lindsey,” I said with just a hint of the exasperation I felt. “I have a tracker on me. It's only a matter of time before they find me. And we aren't the bad guys. They'll help us.”

“You're so naïve. They will never help someone like me. If you want to leave, then go. But don't you dare put the kids and I at risk by bringing them here.”

“But Lindsey, they're coming for him. I told you. I've seen it,” Dante said. “And no good will come from it.”

He looked so sad and beat down as he said it.

“Hey, it's okay. Everything's going to be okay.”

“No, it won't,” he said softly. “I think we should do all of your favorite things today, Lindsey. We can start in the library.”

He jumped down and took her hand in his as he led her from the room.

Maya sobbed softly.

I pulled her into my arms. “Hey now, it's okay.”

She shook her head. “He won't tell me, but whatever he saw, it's bad. Really, really bad. He always tells me, but not this time.”

I had an eerie feeling she was right.

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