Back before her parents died, she did sometimes get hold of an old paperback novel and drift into another world. But she wasn’t about to tell these big, burly dudes what kind of books those were and face their teasing.
She turned her face aside so they didn’t catch her expression. “Whatever you can find will do.”
Archer nodded stiffly. “We’ll be back soon.”
Cannon gave her a nod of dismissal. “You can find your way back to the main part of the base?”
“Yes. Thank you.” She set off, following the sound of Archer and Rome’s footsteps that quickly faded and left her alone. As she wandered out of the corridor, she looked left and right, getting her bearings.
She located her room again and plunked down on the edge of the bed. Questions whipped through her mind like the wind back on that tower.
Where exactly was this base? The ride from the tower had felt short, but the hood had stolen her sense of direction, and now she wondered how Archer and Rome could gather new books for her and be back soon. She had a feeling the answer would surprise her as much as the real silver cutlery and chafing dishes warming her food.
Passing time calmly was impossible when she was so worried about her siblings. Jake with his big smiles just like their dad’s and that lock of hair that never stayed in place. Tanner had been so lanky growing up, all arms and legs, but he’d grown into them and now he worked an IT job in the city.
And Lara. The youngest of the Simms family. After their parents died, she didn’t speak for two months. Now it was hard to shut her up. She’d graduated high school this past spring and just entered nursing school weeks ago.
Tears stung the backs of Jolie’s eyes. If Archer and Cannon weren’t lying, her siblings were informed she was safe. But safe didn’t mean they wouldn’t worry. She imagined them pulling together an emergency search budget instead of the adventure fund they’d surprised her with on her last birthday.
She folded her arms and looked around the room. It was sparsely decorated with only a bed, table, lamp and desk. The heavy coat she’d purchased for this trip hung on the back of the chair and her boots were lined up neatly beside the desk, and the box and suitcase she’d rummaged through in attempt to cobble together a wardrobe sat in the corner.
She stood up, paced to the door and back to the bed again. She looked at the door. She looked at the clothes. She waited and worried.
She worried about her siblings because it was muscle memory by now. Were they eating their vegetables? Were they taking care of themselves?
She worried about her job and her friend Stina at the restaurant, who had been on and off again with her boyfriend for months and had crashed on Jolie’s couch more than once.
She snatched up the sharing shirt and thought about forcing Archer and Rome into it when they returned, making them endure being locked together the way she’d made Jake and Tanner share one of their dad’s old shirts when they argued.
She wondered what books Archer and Rome might return with and why a military base had books at all, let alone such an extensive collection.
But one thing made her relax a little bit—if these guys were really dangerous, they would have harmed her by now.
Instead, they’d offered her cocoa and spare clothes and accepted a mission to find her books to keep her busy.
Two weeks felt like too long.
It felt like enough time for her life to change.
THREE
The door sealed behind Archer and Rome with a heavy click, cutting off the base and dropping them into a world that was cold, dark and forgotten.
Archer didn’t slow as they moved through the narrow service corridor, his steps sure. He didn’t need to see it anymore. He knew the distance between walls, the turns, the open spaces—everything was locked in from walking it over and over in the dark.
The corridor opened into the remains of the ski resort above the base, a place built for a lot of people and ski equipment. A place for fun-filled family vacations and the upper-middle class.
Now it sat hollow, stripped to the bones of what it once was.
A wide lounge area stretched out in front of them with tables scattered across the floor, some tipped on their sides. Others looked like whoever used it last had just walked away, leaving chairs haphazardly pushed in. A glass vase with a single dead flower sat in the center.
A long bar ran along one wall, empty racks where bottles had been. Even though it was dark and hard to make out these shapes, Archer knew they were there and moved without hesitation.
Behind him, Rome slowed. “You know where you’re going?”
“Yeah.” He’d been up here every night since he arrived on Sierra’s base. “The library’s this way.”
He also knew there was an entire shelf of romance books. He’d seen the look on Jolie’s face—the quick flicker when he asked her what kind of books she liked. Archer knew that look.His sister Ellory used to hide paperbacks in her room, tucked in her drawers out of sight, because if one of her three brothers caught a glimpse of a cover, they’d tease her mercilessly and never let up. Archer hadn’t joined in much, but he hadn’t stopped it either.
