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Anxious to spend some alone time—without Dalton’s eagle eye of disapproval—I took a page from Will’s sneakiness handbook and led him to a small cabin away from the other buildings. Surrounded by trees, a row of unruly hedges, and a low gate we had to climb over, the cabin was dark and more than a little creepy nestled into the shadows.
“What are we doing here?” Will said, his voice low.
“I overheard one of the workers say the colonel wouldn’t be back until sometime tomorrow. So tonight, his cabin is empty.” I turned to Will who had stopped in his tracks just feet from the small covered porch. “You said you wanted to talk to me—alone,” I reminded him.
“How did you know this was the colonel’s cabin?”
“I memorized the layout of the plantation from a map in the hallway of the workers’ quarters.” I rested my hands on my hips. “Do you want to do this or not?”
Will hesitated and then grinned. “I think I’m rubbing off on you.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I have a few tricks up my own sleeve, thank you.” I surveyed the area with my senses to see if anyone was inside or around the building. Other than the crickets chirping nearby, all was quiet. I continued on the walk and climbed the two stairs in one step. I swatted another giant mosquito and scratched at the sting as I studied the door knob.
Will stepped in front of me. “I’ve got this.” He fished a multipurpose tool out of his pocket and raised a small lock picking device.
“I also heard a housekeeper tell a new maid where this was kept.” I lifted a planter next to the door, filled with geraniums, and retrieved a key. I unlocked the door and pushed it open.
“You don’t miss a thing, do you?”
A squeak of the hinges blended with the sound of frogs and the far-off hoot of an owl, the surrounding woods ominously alive.
“A girl needs to keep her guy on his toes, right?” Flirting didn’t come naturally to me, but being alone with Will, I could hardly help myself. I cleared my throat and brushed the hair out of my eyes, cocking a brow at him in challenge for him to enter.
But instead of passing through the doorway, he hesitated and turned, pinning me to the door frame, the pale moonlight casting an eerie shadow across his face. His hands moved to my waist and sent a jolt of electricity from my insides out. His eyes closed for a second and he inhaled deeply, as if catching my scent and pausing to take it in. When he opened his eyes, they were dark blue and intense, a look of desire making his pupils large, his eyes the color of the ocean during a storm. My pulse soared and in an instant Will was kissing me, his lips pressed softly to mine. When I responded, his grip tightened and the kiss grew firmer and more urgent, as if he was starving for connection. I pushed my hands into his chest, disconnecting us so I could think.
“We can’t do this here.” I peered around into the surrounding darkness, nervous about being caught. Will released me and leaned away.
“Sorry. I really...missed you.” His features seemed sharper in the shadow of night and my heart raced.
“I missed you too.” I grabbed the front of his shirt and tugged him into a quick kiss. “Now, let’s get inside. I don’t want to get eaten alive.”
“By the mosquitos or me?” Will chuckled as he followed me into the cabin.
He closed the door quietly, thrusting us into darkness once more. Cool, dry air rose up through the floor vents, evidence of the geothermal cooling systems common to the buildings we’d been in earlier. Moonlight splashed through the trees and left eerie dark images fluttering across the furniture. I found a half-burned candle in a brass holder on the coffee table. I lit the wick and lifted the candle to see light spread through the cabin. Will’s eyes danced in the flickering glow, forcing me to look away or be caught in their magnetic pull. I studied the surroundings, my heart still beating furiously.
The cabin wasn’t much more than a large open room divided into a sitting area with two overstuffed leather chairs and a low table, a small kitchenette, and a sleeping area, the queen-size bed covered with a handmade quilt and several throw pillows. A small private bathroom lay beyond the kitchen. Pictures of old ships hung on one wall over the bed, my gaze drawn to scenes of the long gray naval craft of a hundred years ago slicing through the ocean waters. On another wall was a full-sized grandfather clock, its pendulum swinging and ticking away the hour.
Will followed my gaze, took the candle from me, and set it down on the nightstand beside the bed. “Why don’t we crash here? No one will miss us.” He sat on the bed and kicked off his shoes and socks, the heels both worn through. Or maybe they were the socks he’d cut the heels out of so I could have warm hands on a cold night just weeks ago. So much had happened between us in the few months since we’d met. It seemed like I’d known him for a lifetime. I reached for the hand he held out to me and settled onto the bed beside him.
“Do you think we’ll get into trouble?”
“Says the girl who just infiltrated the colonel’s quarters?”
I nudged him in the ribs. “You know what I mean. I feel weird being here—like we’re invading his privacy.”
“That’s because we are,” he grinned. “We can say we needed a private place to talk.”
“Is that what we’re doing here? Just talking?” I slid my lower lip between my teeth, biting hard enough to bring clarity to the situation. As much as I wanted to sleep with Will—even to make love with him—I still feared the consequences. The moonlight spilling across the floor reminded me that my moon cycle was close and that now wasn’t the time to take risks. Bringing a child into the world in its current state seemed a cruel fate for a tiny human, but a child with mixed DNA would be complicated to say the least. Will had slid closer, his thigh solid and sure against mine. Doubts about the wisdom of being alone with him had my thoughts churning. “Will, I can’t...”
“You can’t what—talk?” He nudged me with his shoulder just as I’d done to him.
Frustrated and nervous, I studied the worn patches in the knees of my pants. “I don’t know if I can spend the night with you here and...just talk.”
With a warm hand on my cheek, Will pulled my gaze to his. “Who said I wanted to do more than talk?”
“The way you kissed me...if you keep touching me like that...” Heat rose up inside me, my words lost to a heavy sigh as I pressed my cheek into his hand and covered his with one of my own to savor the connection.
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, Lily.” Will’s hand dropped, leaving a ghost of his touch behind. “I already agreed we should wait—although putting off anything these days seems crazy.” He released a harsh breath from his nose and shook his head as if clearing away the thought. “The only thing that matters is that we’re together. I didn’t realize how much you meant to me until I thought I might never see you again.”
I wrapped my fingers around his. “Me too.” Warmth spread through my chest, followed by a wave of fearlessness. “I meant what I said when we parted outside of Vegas, Will. I love you. I’ve loved you since the minute our eyes met—when I was staring down at you at the bottom of the pit trap on our property.” We both smiled and Will shot back.
“For me it was the second you popped my shoulder back into place. I decided right then I couldn’t live without you.” I tossed a fake punch at his shoulder. Will’s grin lit his face. “Of course, at the time, I just thought it was the endorphin high,” he laughed when I punched him harder and climbed over to the other side of the bed, tossing pillows at him and creating a comfy spot for myself. He patted the mattress beside him.
I released a defeated groan and unlaced my high boots. I tugged them off with effort, my movements awkward and clumsy. One after the other, they dropped to the floor with a thud. I slid tentatively up beside Will, who adjusted a pillow behind me and rested a hand on my thigh. It was cool in the room and crawling under a blanket sounded tempting, but it seemed safest to stay dressed and on top of the covers for the time being.
“I suppose asking you to behave yourself is going to be futile.”
A quick arch of his sandy brow confirmed my suspicion, but he pulled his hand away. Even if I could trust Will to know the limits of our playing around, I wasn’t at all sure of my own resistance. All I wanted to do was snuggle up against him skin to skin—to melt into him like we were one. I shook off the desire with a sharp breath and crossed one foot over the other. “I do have a few questions.” I relaxed and leaned back, mere inches between Will’s hip and mine. Best to focus on business. I pulled a throw pillow onto my lap and played with a frayed tassel hanging from one corner.
“Ask me anything,” he said. Will held up three fingers as if the old Boy Scout oath meant something to him. “I promise—no more lies—no more secrets.” I flashed him an appreciative grin and considered what new information he might have discovered over the past few days.
We spent the next half hour discussing Will’s unexpected return to Industry headquarters, his encounter with Zeph and Doctor Bartholomew, the release of Agent Simms and the others, and finally, his confrontation with Marcus, the boy with wolf DNA, Neri’s partner, and the father of her unborn child. If his fight with Will was any indication, the boy seemed to be one of the few who were happy being part of Malevich’s breeding program—willing to do whatever was necessary to keep Neri and her unborn child close. With yet one more worry to weigh heavily on my mind, the conversation turned back to Zeph.
“Your brother knew you would never allow him to stay behind if you thought he was there working on the Network’s behalf. He wanted you to believe he had turned to the dark side and was in with Malevich’s plan.”
“Well, he was right. I would have said he was crazy. It’s too dangerous. As much as Malevich needs Zeph to be his trained killer for this insane mission to Mars, that monster wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if he thought Zeph was working against him with the Network.”
Will reached over and covered my hand with his, instantly warming my chilled skin. “Zeph thought he could do more to sabotage Malevich’s plans from the inside. Don’t hate me, but I think he’s right. If anyone can pull it off, Zeph can. He’s super smart, and he’s got sharp instincts. You should be proud of your little brother. Even though he has this crazy amount of power, he’s still trying to do the right thing. You taught him that.” Will met my gaze with a look of warmth and respect that made my heart soar.
“I hope you’re right. And I hope Zeph knows what he’s doing.”
“You have to let him grow up sometime.”
“Trust me, he’s had to grow up faster than most kids.” Will already knew the worst about Zeph and how he’d slowly drawn the life force out of my Aunt Beth and cousin Jackson until the two died of what Sam and I thought at the time was a remnant of the plague or some kind of cancer. But I’d realized the truth and it was a dark secret that Zeph and I had carried for the past ten years. He was too young to have known any better, and Sam had been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, even as Zeph’s abilities grew and bordered on being beyond even Zeph’s control.
“I think your brother is where he needs to be right now. Try not to worry about him.”
“It’s not like I don’t have enough else to worry about,” I said. My throat constricted and the words sounded rough. “I don’t know what I’ll do if Sam, Nora and Maggie...and everyone...are gone.” I looked to Will for reassurance but his face reflected my own doubts.
“All we can do is wait, Lily.” He slid closer and wrapped a reassuring arm around my shoulders.
Without reservation I snuggled into his embrace, the heat of his body infusing me with warmth and a precarious sense of safety. Whatever came in the night, or in the days ahead, Will’s return offered more than a place to escape to. I clung to him and tried to focus on that thread of hope.
“I never thought I’d be saying this,” I whispered, “but I’d give anything to hear Sam yell at me one more time.”
Will blew out the candle, dragged the quilt up over us, and pulled me in beside him. After a soft kiss to my forehead, he whispered, “I think we should give him something to yell about.”
