Page 72 of Afraid to Hope

She studied everything her flashlight illuminated, which was little but disappearing black voids. Blacker than black. Bane followed her light with the camera. A panicky feeling came over Natasha—the lack of light was definitely unsettling. The wet, sulfurous-smelling black cave that haunted her dreams came roaring into the present. Natasha’s heart raced and her throat began to close. “I have to get out of here,” she croaked. “I can’t breathe.”

“You’re okay. Focus on me,” he said, helping her scramble up the steps to the room with the crates. “Breathe, Nat. I’m right next to you. Look at me. Breathe with me.”

Natasha focused on Bane, matching her breathing to his. The panic subsided.

He pushed her hair away from her face tenderly. “Keep breathing. You’re doing great. In and out, nice and slow.”

“I feel better.”

His brows rose. “Are you sure?”

She inhaled and nodded.

“Let’s go then.” He took her hand and they walked through the foul-smelling shed and into the sunshine where Bane pulled her next to his hip and walked her to their Jeep. He helped her in and secured her seat belt, then cupped her chin and gave her a long kiss. When he pulled back, his expression was one of concern. Bane pressed his forehead to Natasha’s before giving her one last kiss and getting into his seat. They put their guns in the glove compartment and pulled out of the property, leaving a ribbon of dust in their wake.

Natasha rubbed her upper arms briskly. “I’m sorry. That’s never happened to me. Oh my god.” She sat back and closed her eyes and took another deep breath. “Dammit! Leaving is driving me crazy. I wanted to explore more, but…”

“You really didn’t want to go in them, did you?” His eyes darted to her and then concentrated on the tree-lined, curving freeway.

Natasha shook her head. “No.”

“They make you think of the cave in Guatemala?”

Natasha nodded hard once. Her breath was shaky as she inhaled.

Bane reached over and squeezed her knee gently.

“How could the team that went in and found the key and took the photos have missed that hidden door?” She opened her eyes and sat up in the seat.

“Remember they were called out.”

“That’s right, and it was suspect.” Natasha frowned as she considered the possibilities. “I think a team should come back out and check the farm, find out where those tunnels lead, what they were used for.” She slid her phone from the front pocket of her khakis. “I’m calling Emmet and giving him an update.”

After trekking through the magnificent cedar trees, Natasha and Bane arrived at the waterfall and looked for a spot to eat their lunch.

“This is beautiful. A nice break in what’s going to be a long day,” Natasha said, sitting on the mostly flat surface of a large boulder bordering the bank. To her right, shallow water rushed over low rocks, burbling and glittering where the sunlight shone, enhancing the scent of cedar.

“We have company.” Bane sounded amused and sat next to Natasha, his hips grazing hers, sending tantalizing chills racing over her skin that had nothing to do with the occasional spray sprinkling her exposed arms.

Natasha followed his gaze, observing a small troop of Barbary macaque monkeys approaching them, their facial expressions evident in the soft-pink skin of their faces—curiosity and confidence. “Unfortunately, they have no fear of humans and sometimes they’retruculent. People have been feeding them forever. They’re a big tourist draw here.”

“Great. They’re cute, but I wasn’t planning on entertaining or getting into it with apes.”

Natasha pulled a medium-sized white paper sack out of her rucksack.

“What are you doing?” Bane grabbed at her leg and steadied her. “Sit.”

“Keeping them at a distance.” Her hand dipped into the sack and came out with a handful of unshelled peanuts. She threw the peanuts past the monkeys. “That should keep them busy for a while.” She dug into her lunch with gusto—smoked aubergine dip, bread, olives, hard-boiled eggs, dates, and figs. “Thanks,” she said with her mouth full, then swallowed. “The next round is yours. I’m betting you can throw farther than me.” She handed him the bag, which he stuck under his thigh.

Bane wiped a spot of dip off the corner of her lips and sucked it off his finger, the wicked glint in his eyes sending delicious tingles rioting through her body. He smiled knowingly. “Where’d you get the peanuts?”

She cleared her throat. “You love doing that, don’t you?”

“What?” he asked innocently.

“Toying with me.”

The timbre of voice deepened. “Am I? Or is it you thinking about what we do when we have private time?”

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