Page 60 of Cold Heir

Chapter Twenty-Two

Corina

We were silent as we drove off, leaving the palace in the rearview mirror. It wasn’t until Silas took my hand that I realized he’d been saying my name.

“Corina.”

I turned. “I’m sorry. Yes?”

He smiled warmly, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. “I asked if you were nervous.”

Breathing deeply, I shook my head. “No, just going over things to make sure we haven’t forgotten any details,” I answered. “You?”

He shook his head without hesitation. “Not even a little. Call me crazy, but I have a feeling we’ll make a great team.”

I agreed with him on that, even beyond this mission.

We were in darkness after a few minutes driving, and when Silas pulled off the road, this assignment became real. The headlights went dim and the engine fell silent.

“Wait here a moment,” he instructed, leaving me inside the car alone. When he came into view again, he carried a blanket with him to the passenger side where I sat. I watched as he carefully spread it before returning for me, unlatching my door and then taking my hand to assist me.

The purpose of the blanket wasn’t apparent at first, but it became clear when my heels didn’t sink into the dirt, keeping my feet and the hem of my dress from getting filthy. He truly had thought of everything, including how to avoid minor inconveniences.

Chivalry was alive and well, as far as Silas was concerned.

Inundated by the sound of lively crickets who’d settled beside the stream that babbled nearby, I waited while Silas popped the trunk. He passed me a set of dark clothes folded neatly into a stack, with a pair of black shoes perched on top. The items would certainly suit me better than the dress I currently wore.

“Should we go over the plan?” I asked, trying to ignore the fact that he’d just removed his jacket, his tie … and then his shirt. If he wasn’t shy, I wouldn’t be either. I eased the sleeves of my dress down my shoulders and shimmied out of it.

“I think I’m good,” he smirked, blatantly checking me out when I was down to my undergarments. “But if you’re starting to doubt me, we can certainly run through it again.”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” I blurted, afraid I offended him. “It’s just—”

“Relax,” he chuckled. “I wasn’t serious.”

The corner of my mouth curved up into a smile as I slipped dark pants over my hips. “Cute.”

His tight midsection flexed when he positioned a dark thermal shirt over his head before sliding it on. I hadn’t gotten a good look at his build before now, but holy sugar, this man was something to marvel at—skin so smooth it looked like liquid velvet poured over a perfectly sculpted, steel frame. Enticing divots carved into his hips, teasing as they disappeared beneath his waistband.

Turning away, I reminded myself that my focus ought to be on, you know, not dying and whatnot. So, I pulled on the shirt and zipped the dark hoodie I’d been given, and then tied the laces of my gym shoes. We quickly gathered our things, and pulled two bags from the trunk that Silas had filled with tools, placing them in the backseat for easy access.

“Here.” He paused to place a com in my hand. “They’re already linked,” he added, pressing a second piece into his ear. “It’s safe to assume you already know how to activate it.”

I didn’t miss what he hinted at, especially when he smirked again.

“I’ve used one once or twice.” Pressing the small button on the outside, we were linked and ready just in case we got separated inside the building.

“And we’ll need to put these on,” he commanded, tossing me one of two black, nylon mask to pull over our noses and mouths to hide our identity. I slipped mine over my head, leaving it to rest around my neck until they’d be necessary.

We waited a moment longer, while Silas took one last precaution to conceal one of his most telling traits—his eyes. He put a set of red contacts in place that was, honestly, jarring to see on him at first, after having gotten used to the silver. But they did what they were meant to do; they allowed him to blend in with the rest of Ianite society. A second set was handed over for me to put inas well, making me look like one of them, and then it was time to press forward.

We climbed back inside the car and continued on our way. The Tine Facility was a mere twenty-minute drive from the palace, and Silas and I were silent the entire way. I liked that he didn’t press me for conversation, liked that he let me get deeper into my zone without asking a ton of questions someone new to the game might ask.

From what I could tell, he actually trusted me.

About a mile out, we parked discreetly, and removed Julian’s license plate just in case. After strapping on our backpacks, we each took a spare flashlight and knife to holster to our thighs. Those had been my suggestion, and Silas didn’t even bat an eye at them. Nor did he question my knowledge of the list of weapons I requested that he secure—most of which were Ianite military-grade.

After raising our masks and hoods into place, we headed straight for the pristine, white structure ahead of us. It was highly secured and heavily guarded, but I knew for a fact it wasn’t impenetrable. Still, that didn’t mean it would be easy to infiltrate.

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