Page 59 of Craving Sin (Touch of Evil 13)

Brook quickly began to study the open chamber. Fortunately, this one was smaller than the previous one. Her headlamp sliced through the darkness as she examined every inch of the junction where Jacob had made his decision.She even ran her gloved fingers along the crystalline walls where the passages diverged, looking for any disturbance in the ice.

Nothing.

The surface was smooth. Unblemished save for the natural formations that had developed over centuries of freezing and thawing.

As intelligent as Jacob was, there were too many twists, turns, and identical-looking passages for anyone to memorize a single route. The task would be nearly impossible.

“So, how are you doing it?” Brook whispered aloud, her breath clouding before her face.

She crouched down, examining the ice floor.

Brook had learned long ago that crime scenes often held their secrets in plain sight. People tended to look straight ahead or down, but rarely up. She tilted her head back to inspect the ceiling of the junction. At first, she thought there was nothing to find.

It wasn’t until she straightened and went to take a step forward that the white beam caught a slight irregularity in the smooth ice overhead near a stalactite.

She narrowed her eyes, focusing on the spot.

The mark was barely visible unless one was specifically looking for it. It was a small notch in the ceiling. A deliberate groove gouged into the ice, pointing toward the right passage.

Directing her light more carefully, she examined the ceiling at the entrance to the left tunnel.No mark.

“Son of a bitch,” Brook breathed out as realization clicked into place.

Jacob had marked the route through the ice caves by creating small, easily overlooked grooves in the ceiling at each junction. The whistling was Jacob's way of distracting them so that they wouldn’t notice the marks.

It was ingenious in its simplicity.

No one looked up in a cave like this one. They were all too busy watching where they stepped.

Jacob’s patience in identifying an escape route didn’t surprise her in the least. The profile that she had spent years drafting on her brother had highlighted such resilience.

“Brook!” Russell called out, letting her know that Jacob had noticed her absence.

She hurried down the right passage after intentionally pulling the fabric of one leg up over her boot. The tunnel narrowed briefly before opening into another chamber where Russell, Victor, and Jacob waited for her. Jacob’s gaze fixed on her immediately, studying her with that penetrating stare that had always made her feel like a specimen under glass.

“Problem?” Jacob asked, his voice deceptively casual.

“My boot lace came untied,” Brook replied, adjusting the bag in her hand. Jacob’s gaze lowered slowly.

“Seems that your jeans are caught on the top of your boot,” Jacob pointed out, though she wasn’t sure he had bought her excuse.

Brook took her time leaning down and tugging the fabric free of her boot, using the time to compose her expression. A faint sound reached her ears that had nothing to do with the three men. She could only describe it as a subtle crack, like the click of a glass being set down too hard on a table.At first, she thought she had imagined the sound, but then it came again, slightly louder.

“Shall we continue?”

“Don’t move,” Brook directed as she slowly stood. She kept her voice measured to avoid startling anyone into sudden movement. “Everyone, stay perfectly still.”

Victor had already taken a few steps ahead of Jacob after her brother had nodded toward the left passageway. He had come to a complete stop when Jacob hadn’t directly followed behind. Her brother’s curious gaze was on her.

“Do you not trust me, dear sister?”

“Listen,” Brook murmured as she tilted her head to hear better.

In the ensuing silence, the sound became unmistakable—a creaking, groaning noise emanating from beneath their feet. The ice was under stress.

“What the hell?” Russell muttered as he stared down at his boots.

“We need to back up,” Brook said, taking her own advice with three steps. “Russell, come toward me. Victor, try to walk around, and bring Jacob this way, slowly.”

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