Nope, that was going to stay buried deep.
“Yeah, among other things,” he replied.
We sat there in silence for a few seconds, the quiet kind that only felt awkward because I didn’t know what to do with the fact that Prime had somehow known exactly what I was thinking.I went back to eating, and Prime worked on cleaning the dishes.
When he was done, he turned fully toward me and leaned against the counter.“You done?”he asked.
I shoveled the last bite of egg into my mouth, followed by the corner of toast left.“Yeah.”
“Good.Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“Off to Pearl’s cabin.”
My stomach dropped.“Like, right now?”I was kind of hoping to have a second to, I don’t know, gather my wits?
“Yeah, babe.I have things to do, and I need to make sure you’re safe before I do that.”
He rounded the table and grabbed my hand.He pulled me off the stool, and I followed him willingly because it felt nice having my hand in his.
And also, I didn’t really have much choice.
Prime led me toward the door, his grip warm, firm, and way too steady for a man who barely slept.The screen door creaked when he pushed it open, letting in a rush of cool air that smelled like damp pine and lake water.
He stepped out first, scanning as he always did: left, right, treeline, roofline, shadows, movement.I’d watched him do it so many times now that I knew the silent pattern of it, the way his body changed shape when he was in protect mode.
Which was… always.
“Come on,” he murmured, and tugged gently.
I stepped out onto the porch.
Somewhere in the distance, a bird screeched over the water.
The fog that had clung to the lake earlier was lifting now.
Prime took us down the porch steps and onto the small dirt path that wound toward Pearl’s cabin.
I didn’t know Skull Island well, but I knew this stretch from when we went to visit Bernice two nights ago.The narrow trail that ran between two leaning pines, the lake on our left just barely visible through the brush, and the dense undergrowth on the right that looked like it hid every bad thing imaginable.
The ground was soft, damp, and uneven under my shoes.Moss-covered roots twisted across the path like they were trying to trip us, and Prime kept tightening his hold every time he felt me stumble even a little.
“You good?”he asked without looking back.
“Yeah,” I said.“Just trying not to face-plant into nature.”
“Nature’s the least of your problems.”
“Wow.Motivational and creepy.”
He snorted, the sound low and almost fond.“Just stay close.”
I already was.
Prime walked half a step ahead of me, not letting go as he guided me around rocks, over roots, and down the slight slope that led toward the cabins by the water.
Pearl’s was the one with the rocking chair and the chipped white railing, tucked beneath a crooked maple tree like it had grown there instead of being built.A soft trail of smoke drifted from the chimney, faint but enough to say she was inside.
