Page 47 of Boxed In

“Yes,” he clipped out.

She glared at him. “I see.”

“It was to protect you.”

“So you say.”

“What does that mean?”

“What do you know about the box?”

“My boss, Frank Decorah knows it has powers that must be protected.”

“How?”

“I don’t know.”

oOo

Interesting. I did not pick up on that before, Zabastian said inside Luke’s head. And you don’t know the source of his knowledge?

No.

He is dangerous.

No. He’s a good guy, Luke shot back.

So you think.

Olivia was speaking again. “Why should I trust you now?”

“Because we’re in a shitload of trouble. And we need Decorah Security to get us out of it.”

You will not contact them. I forbid it.”

We’ll see about that.”

Zabastian broke off the argument, as though his edict was final. Reaching down, he pulled on his shoes and tightened the laces.

When he straightened he addressed Olivia. “Come on. We can’t stay here.”

oOo

“Wait a minute.”

Olivia moved quickly across the cave.

Frigid air was seeping in around the edge of the curtain, and she felt goose bumps pepper her skin. Not just from the cold.

When she pulled the flap aside with her free hand, she gasped as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings.

Spread before her was a scene that could have been filmed in the Colorado Rockies. Only this was no movie. It was real. And she was viewing it from the vantage point of a high ledge cut from the native rock.

She could see a valley far below her, with a river of very blue water. Jagged peaks and sheer rock faces surrounded the sheltered valley. Above her, the sky was an impossibly crystal blue.

The air felt different. The light was different. And how had they gotten up so high without flying?

She had never seen this place before, but she was certain it was nowhere near the state of Maryland, where they’d been before they’d wound up in the cave.

Underfoot, the rock was slick with ice, and the man beside her tightened his grip on her hand. For several heartbeats, the scene held steady. Then it wavered, and Olivia tried to catch her breath again. They were hundreds of feet in the air. If she lost her footing, she was a dead woman.

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