Which meantyes. It was as I suspected. Creed really had orchestrated his own disappearance. I would have been furious with him for worrying us like that, but I was also grateful for the outcome.
Clearing his throat, Creed pulled out something from his pocket and held it up to the light. “Anyway. More importantly, what is this?” He held out the wooden dowel that had been hidden inside Poppy Milford’s vault.
Grabbing the dowel, I turned it over in my hands. “I forgot about this. It was stored inside Poppy Milford’s vault. Ellis and I were both almost killed for this damn piece of wood.”
Even up close, it still didn’t look like anything important. A part of me wanted to chuck it down into the deepest depths of the mine, where it could remain lost forever, but I resisted. Even if it didn’t look important, it must have been stashed in that vault for a reason.
As simply as we could, Magnus and I explained everything to Creed. He was just as confused as we were about the situation, and none of us had any idea why the sisters had gone to such great lengths to hide such a random object.
We still hadn’t come up with any answers when Deputy Hillard came up to us, saying that the rest of the tunnels had been searched and so far, there didn’t seem to be any other cult members lurking around.
I quickly stashed the dowel in my pocket before Deputy Hillard or any of the officers could see it. Just because I didn’t know its importance yet, I also wasn’t going to relinquish it to anyone else. Ellis and I had almost died for it, so as far as I was concerned, we were the most deserving to keep it.
So many questions still remained, but it was clear we weren’t going to get any more answers. We were free to go home, safe in the knowledge that our attackers had been stopped and the danger had passed.
For now.
CHAPTER 14
Ellis
After finally getting backto Brody’s house, the two of us immediately fell into bed. The short nap we’d taken in the middle of the tunnel was the only sleep we’d had for nearly a day and a half, so we were exhausted. We didn’t even have the energy to wash off the dirt from the tunnels.
So, when we finally woke up and felt like functioning people again, our first order of business was a bath.
Together, of course. When building his house, Brody had installed a particularly large tub in his bathroom that was big enough for both of us, and I was eager to take advantage of it.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken a bath with another person. Maybe when I was a young child, when my mother bathed my brother and me at the same time.
It was a bittersweet memory, but I was finally able to think about my brother without immediately wanting to break out crying—or punch something—so I figured that meant I was making progress.
Plus, bathing with Brody was much more enjoyable.
The bathtub was completely circular, so there was no right way or wrong way to sit in it. We were positioned facing each other, legs tangled together as we lounged among the hot water and bubbles floating on the surface. Steam welled up around us to the point that the rest of the bathroom was barely visible.
“So, I’m still not entirely sure what happened,” I said as I idly stirred my fingers across the surface of the water. “So, the Milford sisters were born intoThe Tamed Soulscult. Escaped that cult. Stole something from the cult leader on their way out. Came to Emberwood, where they were adopted by the Milford family, and a new cult was formed around them when they predicted a fire, found resources to mine, and other ‘miraculous’ things. Then the previous cult leader comes looking for whatever they stole, ends up dead, and his body turns up buried in the foundation of your property. Do I have that right?”
Brody nodded while keeping his head leaning back against the edge of the tub. “That’s about right.”
His red hair was wet and looked darker than normal, making it contrast more starkly against his pale skin. I was distracted for a moment, watching water droplets slowly slide down his neck and chest.
My arousal twitched in the hot water, and I shook myself back to my senses.
“But we still don’t know what the sisters stole, why they tried so hard to hide it, and why the cult leader—what was his name? Angus Grieve—wanted it back so bad. Nor do we understand themeaning behind the coffee beans in Rose’s locket, or the wooden dowel in Poppy’s vault.”
Once again, Brody confirmed that I’d gotten everything right.
Somehow, despite having all the right information, I still felt like I didn’t know anything. It was like finally putting together all the edges pieces of a puzzle, but still having no idea what the final product was supposed to be. Even if I didn’t have all the pieces in place, I should at least be able to tell what image I was trying to create.
Brody rubbed his leg against mine under the water, distracting me from my thoughts. “Don’t worry about it so much. We’ll figure things out. For now, just take time to relax.”
That sounded like a good idea, but then, as Brody’s leg brushed against me again, an even better thought came to me.
I climbed across the tub, moving slowly to avoid disturbing the water too much, until I straddled his lap. “Or we could do the opposite of relaxing.”
Apparently, it was an easy decision because Brody didn’t think very long before he grabbed me. Water splashed over the edge of the tub as he pulled me into a kiss. My knees slid against the bottom of the tub under water, and I braced my hands against his chest for support to keep from falling right on top of him.
Pretending to support me, Brody grabbed my ass hard enough to bruise. He then slid one hand down to my thighs to squeeze the generous flesh there, while he pressed his other hand between my ass cheeks to slip one finger inside me. Warm water followed his finger, making me gasp from the strange feeling, as if my muscles were liquefying.