Page 84 of Forever Dark
From behind her.
Every muscle in Selena’s body locked at once.Instinct moved faster than thought.She pivoted, drew her gun, and brought it up toward the sound in one clean motion.
A man stopped dead between the trees, both hands raised, two paper cups balanced between them.
Connor.
“Dammit, Connor,” she hissed, breath sharp in the cold.“I could have shot you.”
Moonlight caught the edge of his grin.“Don’t act like you haven’t always wanted to.”
Her pulse took a moment to slow.The barrel lowered, though not gracefully.She reholstered the gun with more force than necessary and stepped toward him to snatch one of the cups from his hand.
“You’re in danger of blowing my surveillance.Why didn’t you text me you were coming?”
Connor took a careful sip from his own coffee.“Good to see you, too.And I did text you.Several times.”
That’s when Selena remembered she’d put her phone on silent, wanting to keep as quiet as possible.She didn’t say anything, merely watched the steam rising between them.The cup was hot against her palms.For the first time in over an hour, warmth touched her skin.She brought it to her mouth, drank, and let the coffee sit bitter and blessed on her tongue.
“You still shouldn’t creep up on people in the woods,” she said.
“You shouldn’t stand in the woods alone at two in the morning.”
“Ugh, now who is the impossible one?”
His shoulders shifted in a small shrug.“I got your car fixed and drove it here.”
Selena looked at him over the rim of the cup.“You did what?”
“Mechanic owed me a favor.It’s parked along a side road.”
The coffee moved through her in a slow line of heat.She hated how good that felt.Hated a little more that he knew it would.
Connor glanced toward the fairgrounds through the trees.“Come on.At least admit you’re a tiny bit happy to see me rather than doing this alone in the cold.”
The answer came out before she could decide not to give it.“A tiny bit.”
He smiled into his cup.“I’ll take that.”
Branches shifted overhead.Somewhere beyond them a night bird made a single sharp sound and went quiet again.
Connor tipped his head toward the road.“There’s a split in the trees where you get a good view of the bus and fairgrounds from the car.Would be a hell of a lot more comfortable if we’re here for the night.”
Selena held still, weighing irritation against practicality.Warmth from the coffee was already fading from her fingers.
“Okay,” she said.“Lead the way.”
He turned without comment and started through the trees.She followed, careful with her footing over roots and old leaves.The side road lay only a short distance off, narrower than the main approach and half hidden by overgrowth.Her rental sat tucked in the shadow of the brush, engine off, dark enough not to draw attention.
Connor opened the passenger’s door, then paused and stepped back.
A small thing.She had to admit to herself that he always had the pretense of a gentleman to him.
Selena slid into the passenger seat with her coffee.The interior held a faint trace of motor oil and the stale scent of the motel air freshener clipped to the vent.Connor got in beside her, shut the door softly, and for a while neither of them spoke.
From here, through a ragged gap in the trees, the view was better.The bus sat clear beyond the branches.The tent rose off to one side.Enough cover to stay hidden.Enough visibility to catch movement.
Connor had been right.
