Page 164 of New Storm Rising
“Cease tickling my jaw!”
“Yes, Sir!”
Regretfully, I retracted my hand from his face. I did not, however, retract my gaze from the distant canyon entrance. I stared at the entrenched outlaws and cocked my head, deep in thought.
“Mrs Ambrose? What are you plotting?”
“Me?” Turning towards my husband, I batted my eyelashes up at him innocently. “Why would you think I’m plotting something?”
“Because you have not yet been replaced by a doppelganger.”
“You…! Are you saying I’m always plotting?”
“Aren’t you?”
“Notallthe time.”
“Like when you are sleeping, for example?”
I jammed my elbow into Mr Ambrose’s ribs. Not that he looked like he noticed. “Hey! I’m not that devious!”
In answer, he just met my eyes and said nothing. Damn him for making silence so bloody expressive!
“Tell me.” He leaned over, and his deep, dark, sea-coloured eyes bored straight into my soul. “I will not let you put yourself in danger. What. Are. You. Plotting?”
“How can I possibly already have a plan to deal with this if even you, my amazing husband, haven’t figured something out yet?” Oh my, was I good at bullshitting. I should set up my own fertilizer company. “Let’s sleep on it, all right?” I gave him a sweet smile. “Who knows, by morning we might have gotten an idea.”
His eyes narrowed infinitesimally. “Is that so, Mrs Ambrose?”
“Of course, Mr Ambrose, Sir.” I blinked innocently up at him. “I’ve often had amazing inspirations during the night. For instance, there was this one night right after my wedding when I got the idea to strip off all my clothes and—”
“Mrs Ambrose!”
“Yes, Sir?”
“Come here!”
A hand grabbed the back of my neck and I wanted to yelp, but the next moment, all words were abruptly cut off as his lips came down on mine.
That night, many marvellous inspirations came to me.
***
Several hours later, when darkness had descended over the desert and everybody but the guards had fallen asleep, a silent figure crept through the shadows. Strangely, even though this figure was dressed in a shirt and trousers, whenever a beam of moonlight fell upon it, it seemed to possess a feminine silhouette.
Yet it wasn’t often the moonlight hit the figure. Unseen and unheard, it moved across the land. The closer it came to the canyon, the more difficult it became to see. There were guards marching around the oasis, true, but they were all blinded by bright camp fires, and didn’t really pay attention to anything beyond a couple of yards around them. Why would they? They were safe behind their barricade. And if anyone dared shoot at them, those fools would be mowed down!
The silent figure did not shoot.
It did not approach all the way.
Instead, it stopped some distance away from the barricade and reached into its pocket. A moment later, its arm began to move, twirling in the darkness. Faster. And faster. And faster. And—
The figure let go.
Something flew through the air, high, high above the guards’ heads. And then…
Plop!
