Page 90 of The Eagle's Vault

She shrugged. “Friend?”

I stood with her. “I’ll give you as much chocolate as you want if you don’t get caught.”

She pointed down the hallway, the way we’d come. “In case you didn’t see it, there’s an alcove about twenty feet back. You hide in there until we pass you.”

“You’re the best.” I squeezed her arm. “Will, get their attention with the drone, then stick with Jayce. Brie, you may have to guide her. Keep her on the known path.”

“We’re good to proceed, Scar?” asked Brie.

“I told Leigh she was on our team,” said Scarlett. “And we never leave anyone behind.”

The drone’s blades began spinning and it lifted from my hand, whirring quietly, the barest puff of wind blowing against my cheek. A pinprick of light cast out from one end.

“Give me until the count of twenty to get into position.” I flicked my red flashlight back on and hurried to the alcove Jayce had pointed out, where I’d wait in the blackness for my chance.

We’re coming, Leigh. Be ready.

Chapter 35

Leigh

“Cursed?”Asifthingscouldn’t get any worse. I stared at the little plaque beside the vault door. What did cursed mean to a sixteenth century pope?

“Keep working,” snarled Pavel. “A curse is the least of your worries. Ferraro knows we have the notebook, and he won’t sit on his hands much longer. We need to get this done.”

So much for having all night.

I closed my eyes, remembering Declan’s room. When he’d picked me up and tossed me on the bed. The laughter and smiles. His thoughtfulness and care. His warm breath on my cheek as I lay naked on top of him.

Same screaming heart rate. Very different cause.

I reopened my eyes, scanning the notebook and photos, the frescoes and terracotta tubes that held the key to unlocking the vault. Something didn’t add up. Flat pentagons I could have understood, but these three-dimensional figures were an anachronism. I cast my mind back, skimming through memories of dusty textbooks and intricate blueprints.

Talk it out, Leigh. Show them you’re working.I knelt by the tool chest and rummaged through the contents. They had everything I could have used for Edoardo’s vault or switching out a lock on a standard home safe, but a stone door?

Isaac joined me. “What do you—”

“Che cazzo!” Enzo shot out of his seat, gun in hand. “Chi è?”

I spun to find out what he was looking at. A flash of light shone in the corridor we’d entered from. A flashlight?

My heart leaped. Was it Declan?

It bobbed four feet from the ground and vanished down the hallway. Would Declan run if he found us? If it wasn’t him, who?

“Andiamo!” Enzo kicked Pavel’s chair. “No witnesses.”

A wicked grin spread across Pavel’s face as he stood. “I’ll find whoever it is. A body or two won’t be hard to dispose of down here.”

Pavel turned on his industrial flashlight and took off at a jog. How well did he know the maze surrounding us? Surely, he wouldn’t have gone so fast if he didn’t have his bearings.

“Stay here and do what you’ve been told.” Enzo’s gaze swept across the rest of us, finally landing on Isaac. He jabbed a threatening finger at my brother. “Get that vault open, or we all pay the price.”

As Enzo left to join Pavel on the hunt, icy tendrils of fear crept down my spine.Iwas a witness. I looked at Isaac. So was he. I whispered, “I’m not dying down here. We need to get out.”

Daniel ran a hand over his head. “I know a way out they don’t.”

“No,” hissed Isaac. “You heard him. We need to open the vault. They know these catacombs too well. They’ll find us if we run.”

---