Page 53 of Hell Storm

With the question, the sound of water rushing down her body and back into the bucket reached me. I imagined her standing in it, bathing quickly before the guards returned to check in on us.

I barely gathered my thoughts to answer.

“I, uh … I realized that I knew you,beforeI knew you.”

Her gentle laugh was almost sensual and my lips parted at the sound of it.

“I couldpretendto know what that means, or you could just tell me.”

More rushing water.

More unclean thoughts.

“You’re Specter.”

The second the words left my mouth, all movement stopped on her side of the room. Had it not been for the few droplets that fell, it would have been completely silent.

“I’ve been betting on you for the past two years, solid. Well, until you unexpectedly fell off the map, that is.” I smiled to myself. “Although, I suppose I now know where you’ve been.”

She seemed to snap out of whatever daze she’d lost herself in after being exposed, making it clear I was aware that tonight hadn’t been her first race.

“I don’t suppose there’s much point in denying it,” she admitted with a deep breath. “I just … the opportunity presented itself when I was younger, and I was good at it, so it just became this thing I did.” Her answer was vague, but I expected as much.

It was easy to sense the discomfort in her tone, having just admitted that. “Your secret’s safe with me, Corina.”

I smiled a bit, imagining the panicked look she must have had on her face. I didn’t see much point in making our circumstances any more uncomfortable than they already were, so I did my best to ease her mind.

“Besides, you’ve made me anunholyamount of money, so we’ll just call it even.”

She paused a moment.

“Deal.” I was relieved to hear she wasn’t going to make this into a thing. She even managed to chuckle a bit at the odd coincidence.

The soft padding of the floor squeaked a bit when her wet feet made contact with it. That urge to glance at her returned out of nowhere, so strong I was a breath away from giving into it. My mouth suddenly felt dry and I was only mildly ashamed at how intently I listened, trying to imagine her drying off with one of the larger towels that had been left.

“And since you’ve agreed to keep my secret, I suppose it would also be okay for you to call me Cori. Only a select few are granted the privilege.” There was no missing the jesting in her tone when she spoke.

A slow smile stretched across my lips. “Does this mean we’re friends?”

I had to imagine the way her face lit up when she laughed quietly, the melodic sound vibrating off the walls of this weary space.

But I felt her. Her warmth filled the room.

“I’m afraid this bond has sped uswaypast the friendzone, Levi, but … I like that my friendship interests you.”

She had a way of making my heart thud more than usual, and this was one of those times. I couldn’t explain this experience, but it made me want to know her more thoroughly than I’d ever wanted to know another being in my entire life.

Her existence had thrown my brothers and I completely off course, righting our paths until we fell into orbit around her. Our sun. The outcome of our circumstances was unclear, but there was one thing I knew for sure.

Cori was now, and forever would be, the center of our universe.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Julian

Three days without so much as a smoke signal had taken its toll.

On me.

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