Page 98 of Chasing Paradise

I couldn’t put my finger on a reason why, but I could justfeelthat we were close, that we only had a few more hours of walking ahead of us.

We’d still have to be careful on the road back toward civilization. Our pursuers could be anywhere still.

But I didn’t plan to be on the road long. I wanted to get Vi the biggest, fanciest hotel room possible. Then I was going to get her every bit of food her heart desired. And coffee. And orgasms.

That motivation kept me going even as sweat slicked my body, my shoulders screamed, and my fingers got chewed up and bled.

Little by little, I clawed down the rock wall that separated us from—hopefully—outside.

The more rocks I removed, the more thick, heated air crept in, warming the cool alcove we’d been huddled in.

There was no light, so I figured there was a longer tunnel to get through to escape. But I didn’t want to go anywhere without Vi when she was so freaked out.

Tripping over the scattered rocks in the pitch-black space, I made my way over toward Violet, who was asleep on my pack.

“Duchess,” I called, voice soft. Then, remembering how deep she slept, I raised my voice and gave her a little shake. “Duchess, wake up.”

“Leavemealone,” she grumbled, swatting outward, making a smile stretch across my face.

“Wake up, duchess.”

“No,” she said, burying her face in my backpack.

“There’s a bird-eater spider right—”

She flew upward, flinging her hands out.

“Whoa. There’s not. I was lying,” I assured her. I got a hard whack to the chest for that. “You wouldn’t wake up,” I told her.

“I thought I was dead.”

“Not today. Not on my watch,” I told her. “I got an opening. But I don’t want to explore anymore without you.”

“Oh, okay,” she said, letting me help her to her feet as she let out several curses as her body cracked and objected to the tight sleeping conditions.

We got our packs then I moved forward ahead of her, making her grab the back of my shirt so I knew where she was as we stumbled through the dark.

“God, it’s hot,” she said as we walked further down the tunnel, bodies hunched down thanks to the low ceilings. My legs were burning. But if she wasn’t complaining, neither was I.

We met a fork and went a few yards down a dead end before circling back and choosing the other direction.

The more we walked, the heavier and hotter the air got.

Then, finally, a hint of sunlight.

Behind me, Violet gasped.

I turned, pressing a finger to my lips.

We didn’t know where we were coming out. Or where our pursuers were. We had to be careful.

But we kept moving and, finally, we came to a small hole in a wall, the greenery from outside creeping inward slightly.

We were going to have to crawl through once again.

It wasn’t ideal. If someone was on the other side, slipping back in would be hard, if not impossible.

“Let me go first,” I whispered before lowering myself down and carefully making my way through.

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