Chapter Thirty-One
“EVER BEEN SPELUNKING?”
“I . . .” A response dies on my tongue. I’m not sure what spelunking is, and quite frankly, I don’t care. My head throbs, red and hot behind my brows, and being alone with Greeley adds another layer of strain. She is downright terrifying. Even when she’s not snarling at me.
Especially when she’s not snarling at me.
She nudges me in the ribs. “C’mon, try saying it five times fast. Spelunkingspelunkingspelunking—”
“Can we move on?” I rub the heel of my palm against my eyes. As I pull away my hand, Greeley thumps me on the forehead. Her thumb is a mallet.
The two of us stand before a dark, dusty hole carved into the side of Macoby. According to my body’s clock, usually accurate, it’s six in the morning. But like the moon, trust in my own judgment is waning.
Greeley snuck into Jasper’s home before dawn and dragged me out of bed. And I . . . apparently let her? The memory is hazy, and I must have been half-asleep, because why else would I not run screaming from Greeley?
The wine.
Oh, god, I drank so much wine.
I don’t remember much of what happened last night, but I do know Jasper drank more than me. Is that how she snuck past him, too?
The clay is soft under my feet, and I sink deeper into the ground as I turn to Greeley. The cold air has turned the tip of her nose red, visible even in the dusk. I’m tempted to whack her right between the nostrils, but I doubt that will end well for me.
I opt for a simple question instead. “Any chance you’re going to tell me what we’ll be doing in there? In a place that’s better suited for stashing corpses?”
Not mine, hopefully.
Greeley chuckles. Her warm breath turns the air white as she whispers, “What you’ll be doing in there.”
“Come again?”
“I prefer the fresh air.”
“And I don’t?”
Greeley steps closer and shoves me toward the tunnel’s black mouth.
The entrance is wide enough for maybe three people to fit into, but the darkness that stretches beyond looks much smaller.
The tunnel itself quickly fades into darkness, and my heart hammers in my chest as I consider how cramped the space may become.
I stumble backward, and my head spins. I’m never drinking wine again.
Greeley gives my back another nudge. “In you go, Blondie.”
I whirl around. “Hands off, Greeley.” I ignore her glare. “Why should I do what you say?” If Greeley wants me to do her bidding, I need something in return.
Greeley jabs a finger in my face. “Because if you don’t, I’ll fucking skin you like a—”
“I’m not scared of you.”
“Is that so?” She steps toward me and bares her teeth. I was lying through mine, but I can’t let her know that. “Whatcha gonna do without Big Brawny Jasper?”
Where the hell is Jasper? “How’d you get inside his house without him noticing?”
She pulls a mini flashlight out of her pocket and hands it to me. “Can’t spill all my secrets.”
“You’ve spilled a grand total of one secret since I’ve known you.”
Chandler and Greeley, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.
She narrows her eyes. “Seems like you and Jas got a little wine drunk, huh? Counted about three empty bottles on the ground when I snatched you this morning.” Wish I grabbed one to smash against your head.
“Anything else the two of you did I should know about? You know, sleeping with your superiors is a conflict of in—”
“Tell me the plan,” I say, hoping she can’t see the blush I feel spreading to my ears. We didn’t sleep together. I’d remember if we did. Right?
Greeley sniggers, delighting in my ignorance. “Get in the tunnel. She’ll explain everything.”
“She’ll? Who is she?”
Greeley balls her fists as she steps toward me.
“Last time I’ll say it: The answers await you inside.
You did this to yourself. Made it too easy for me to haul your ass out of bed.
” She pulls out a pocketknife, and I flinch as she snaps it open.
The blade is sharp enough to slice through glass.
So is her gaze. “Now get in the goddamn tunnel. I will cut you.”
I believe her. Not only will she cut me, but she wants to. The manic smirk on her face says it all.
“What’s in it for me?”
She lowers the knife and flings it at the cave wall behind me.
It plunges into the clay with a clean thwack.
“I’ll take you hunting.” I raise my eyebrows.
“What? You need food, don’t you? Stuff to trade?
You’re in Macoby now, and that means you’ve got to provide for yourself.
Last time I checked, you don’t have the means to do that. ”
“And you do?”
Greeley flinches, no doubt catching my meaning. Her precious Jeep is dead and gone. She recovers quickly, a wicked smirk spreading across her face. “I’ve got this knife here, two more at home, plus a few guns. I don’t need Nancy to protect me.”
“Well, I need protection from you. I’m not stupid enough to go hunting alone with you and your stockpile of weapons!”
“So you admit you’re stupid.”
“Greeley.”
“Fine! Jasper can come.”
I huff. She’s got me there. Jasper won’t let Greeley murder me. And at the end of the day, she’s right: I need to learn how to fend for myself.
“Fine,” I repeat. I flick on the flashlight and shine the bright light right between her eyes. “I’ll go in the tunnel.”