Page 77 of 10 Days to Ruin

“Did what? Embrace the spontaneity of?—”

“You wanted us stranded.”

My mouth opens. Closes.So much for selling the story, you dummy. Couldn’t even pretend to be surprised?

Then Sasha does something that actually does surprise me. Helaughs.

It’s a low, dangerous sound that curls my toes in their ruined heels. “Next time?” he advises. “Pick a mountain without cell towers.”

He holds up his phone. The screen glows with a GPS dot pulsing safely on the main trail.

My stomach plummets. “You… knew?”

“I know you.” He tucks the phone away. “Now, come. Sunset’s in twenty. We need to find shelter before then.”

“‘Shelter’?” The word squeaks out. “B-but… we’re going back, right?”

“Back where?” He gestures to the labyrinth of shadows swallowing the trail. “You led us three miles into nowhere,ptichka. We’re staying put until dawn.”

Nonononono.

No, sir.

No, ma’am.

This wasn’t part of the plan. The plan was to strandhim,not strandboth of us.

But one look in Sasha’s face says he’s not joking.

Welp, alrighty then.

Unexpected outdoor sleepover with the man I’m dying to get away from, here we come.

We start the climb up the mountain in search of something resembling shelter. Sasha’s phone flashlight beam cuts through the deepening gloom, exposing gnarled roots that claw at our ankles. I’m down to one heel; the other dangles from my hand like a wounded bird.

His back becomes the focus of my attention. Every muscle shifts and stretches with his stride. Shadows pool in the hollows of his shoulders. Keeping him in sight is the only reason I continue putting one foot in front of the other.

Focus, Ariel. Unlovable and unbearable, remember? Just because we’ve veered sliiightly off-course doesn’t mean you abandon the whole plan.

When Sasha kneels to inspect a craggy rock formation for suitability, I stop and inspect him at the same time. Moonlight etches the scar around his neck into something else, something more.

“Here.” He juts his chin at a shallow overhang. “Home sweet home.”

“That’s adirt floor cave.”

“Your five-star suite awaits, princess. In you go.”

Frowning, I hobble inside. If we’re being honest, it’s more of a lip in the rock than a cave. The space is barely big enough to sit without our knees touching.

Which they do. Immediately and unavoidably. He folds his brawny body next to mine and electricity crackles in the centimeter between his thigh and mine.

As I’m settling in, unstrapping my various packs and pouches, Sasha reaches down and pulls a knife from his boot.

I freeze.

Maybe my plan worked too well. I annoyed him to the point of homicide. This is where I die.

He stills, eyes narrowing. “You think I’d hurt you?”

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