Page 66 of (Mostly) Human Resources

Just perfect.

She’d felt the pain, sharp and immediate, when she’d gone for the purse, but she’d managed to forget about it in the panic of the moment.

Nic sighed.

Pain sang through her fingers and made Alexys hiss and ball both fists against her chest.

“The purse,” she murmured, “I went for it.”

“Are you always thisstupid?” Nic glared at her. “You can’t engage with a creature like that. It’s antagonistic.”

She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t intend tofightit. Don’t be so dramatic.”

He returned her glare with equal force. “You’ve already done more than enough to prove how erratic and unstable you are.”

She lunged for his shirt front and pulled Nic toward her before he could back away again. Alexys stepped in close, one hand clutching his shirt, mentally cursing him for being so tall. Unfortunately, she had not considered just how strong he was, and he made easy work of removing her hand and entrapping both of her wrists within his own.

“Worried I’ll maul that pretty face of yours, huh? I didn’t realize scholars could be so delicate.”

His eyes darted back and forth between hers, close enough to see the specks of gold.

“We’re fragile, basement-dwelling creatures.”

Whether it was the softness of his voice or the tension in her calves from standing on her toes, Alexys became suddenly aware of the position they were in: standing much too close, her hands in his. She rocked back onto her heels at the same moment a peel of thunder ripped through the sky. It echoed against the rock and pulled a yelp of alarm from her.

Nic dropped her hands and slipped an arm around Alexys’s waist, pulling her into his side, his eyes fixed on the darkness beyond the shelter opening. The gesture would have been, Alexys thought, protective, almost romantic, if she hadn’t managed to pull her arm back at the same time and solidly elbow him in the stomach.

Nic doubled over, a groan of pain escaping his lips.

Alexys pressed her hand against her mouth to try and smother her laughter.

“You’re going to be the death of me, Keane.” Nic sat heavily in the dirt, catching his breath. “You and these woods.” He shook his head.

“Don’t fret, Dyre, a little bit of thunder never killed anyone.” Alexys smirked.

“Perhaps, but who is to say my least favorite work associate won’t?” He was teasing, she knew, but she couldn’t fight smiling.

“Least favorite?” She grinned down at him. “I didn’t realize you held me in such high esteem.”

He returned her smile, although it was more of a grimace. “Don’t tell the others.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. What would your poor researchers think?”

“They’d be devastated. Hornsby might actually cry.”

She laughed a little and shook her head. “I’m sorry about your, er, stomach.”

Nic arched an eyebrow. “For elbowing me, or for not doing it harder?”

“Both.” She chuckled.

Alexys sat down next to him and looked out at the rain. It seemed to be letting up. She just had to hope it held through the morning so they could get back on track. Back to looking for Elliot. Alexys looked down at her hands, still banged up from her fall.

“Do you really think we’ll die out here?” She hadn’t meant to voice the question, but it had been nipping at her heels the entire hike, haunting her steps as they ventured further and further away from familiar territory. Alexys didn’t dare look at him as she waited for an answer.

Nic was quiet long enough that she began to wonder if she’d even asked the question out loud, but he finally said, “No, I don’t think we will.”

The smallest amount of emphasis was placed on the word “we,” and it made her stomach drop. They would survive, he had said, but Elliot …