Page 96 of Shadow City: Silver Wolf

"Are you sure?" Griffin tucked a stray piece of my hair behind my ear. "I don't mind looking alone if you aren't ready."

"I can't keep letting their deaths impact me this much." I would never get over losing them, but I had to face reality. "Otherwise, these guys will continue to have leverage over me, and that's not acceptable."

"You're stronger than anyone I've ever known," he whispered, placing a hand on my cheek. "You make me want to be a better man."

I couldn't keep the giggle from bubbling out. "Really? You're going that cheesy?"

"Any other girl would've loved to hear words like that from me." He lifted his chin, pretending to be upset. "But not you. You always make me work for it, even when I mean what I say."

"No, that's sweet." Even though he was trying to keep our conversation lighthearted, I could feel a little bit of hurt wafting through our bond. "I'm sorry. I just never thought I'd hear you say something like that, especially since the first time you spoke to me, you informed me you only liked your cream in one place."

He grimaced and closed his eyes. "Please don't remind me of that. That was definitely not my finest moment."

"No, it definitely was not." I pecked him on the lips and smiled. "And yet, here we are."

"I wouldn't trade it for anything," he said, as he winked and took my hand. "Come on, let's go see if we can find anything."

The moment of lightheartedness vanished, and I followed his lead. We did need to finish our search.

I headed to the very last doorway in the hall. My hands grew sweaty as I reached for the doorknob. I wasn't ready for this—I never would be. I was going to have to push through.

Trying not to overthink it, I opened the door. My parents’ bed was made, the navy-blue comforter, wrinkle-free, contrasted with the white bed frame. The sky-blue walls made the room feel too bright for the staggering hole they'd left behind. My heart fractured further, feeling the pain of their loss even more in the moment.

"Any idea where they would hide something?" Griffin entered the room, running his hand along the wall.

"No." But at least there weren't any cabinets or desks to go through.

I scanned the room, trying to think like my dad. He was always so straightforward and said what he meant.

Griffin walked around the room, stepping purposefully on various parts of the floor. He listened to the noises the floorboards made, trying to find a spot that sounded more hollow. He bent over and knocked on a low portion of the wall. His gray boxers peeked out from his jeans.

Some of Dad's words of wisdom played inside my brain. He'd always told me that people's underwear drawers held the best secrets; that they could tell you more about a person than anything else. I’d always thought the comment was odd and would roll my eyes, exclaiming he was weird.

Wait.

What if that had been a clue? I might be losing my mind, but…at this point, what did we have to lose?

I rushed to his chest of drawers. The underwear drawer was at the very bottom. I pulled it open, then moved his boxers out of the way.

Gross. I tried not to think about touching my father’s underwear as the bottom of the drawer came into view. I inhaled sharply as the outline of a hidden compartment became visible. Had I not been looking for it, I would’ve missed it. With a shaky hand, I dug my fingernails into one side and lifted.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Documents and a photo album sat inside.

Griffin's phone rang, startling me back to the present.

"It's Killian," he rasped as he answered the phone. "Hello?"

"There are cars heading this way," Killian yelled.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Dammit.They’d figured out that we were here—but how? My first thought was Carter, but it didn't feel right. He’d seemed genuinely sorry for betraying me, but maybe that was remorse for being caught instead of for helping me get kidnapped.

I could stew on the how later. The looming threat was all that mattered right now. We had to get out of here without any more deaths, and before the enemy trapped us.

"How many vehicles are there?" Griffin asked as he stepped over next to me.

"Four huge SUVs. You two need to get out and into your car, now—they'll be here in minutes. We're heading your way."

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