Page 18 of Speak No Claim

The silence between us stretched. For one impossible moment, I wondered if he felt it too. His eyes searched mine, yet they were unreadable as ever.

Then, without warning, his grip loosened as he broke the spell. “This doesn’t change what’s coming. If anything, it’ll only make you run faster from me.” And just like that, he demanded, “Next time, listen.”

Before I could say a word, my uncle shouted, “Hennessy!” His voice echoed, tearing through the woods.

In seconds, the forest erupted with flashlights cutting through the darkness from every direction, bouncing wildly between the trees as boots stomped around us.

Unsure of who I was informing, I whispered, “They’re here.”

Onyx didn’t look. Instead, he started moving, and I didn’t have to be told twice to stay in front of him that time. I climbed down exactly the way he originally wanted, with him behind me, still feeling the warmth of him every time I reached the next rung.

His tone hardened. “Eyes on the ladder.”

Of course, I looked down anyway.

My uncle burst through the trees first, his flashlight sweeping frantically across the night until he stopped right under the ladder beneath us. As soon as we reached the grass, my uncle grabbed my arm, yanking me away from Onyx, barely giving me time to react.

Tío’s palms cupped my face. They were freezing against my skin. Almost instantly, he began to look me over from head to toe.

“I thought…” He swallowed hard. “I thought…” He couldn’t finish his sentence.

Instead, his arms wrapped around me so tightly my ribs protested. For a second, I let him. Allowing myself to disappear into his embrace I’d needed right then. His heartbeat thundered against my cheek. It was fast and wild, utterly terrified of what I did. I hated that I worried him, though it didn’t stop the instinct that my purpose there was much more important than I thought.

It was only then I realized how truly afraid he’d been. When he pulled away, his hands stayed on my shoulders and relief vanished from his face. His expression swiftly shifted into one I was more familiar with: anger.

“What were you thinking?” he bit.

There it was. The question I knew was coming. I looked past him, not recognizing any of the men surrounding us. Onyx was behind me. I could no longer see him, but I still felt him, standing there, observing.

All eyes were on me.

“I asked you a question, Hennessy…”

“I heard you,” I muttered.

“Then answer me.”

I nodded, shrugging. “I just wanted to be alone.”

“You don’t disappear into these woods after dark, do you understand me?”

“I wasn’t disappearing.”

He let go of me. “You climbed a hundred feet up a tree, young lady!”

“So.” I shrugged again. “You ordered your men to find me and look, here I am.”

His jaw clenched. “Hennessy…”

“Why do you have men following your orders anyway?”

“The Academy is family, and that’s what we do for each other.”

“Family?” I mocked. “That’s rich coming from you.”

“Ay dios mío,” he murmured, “Oh my God,” shaking his head. “You’re as stubborn as your mother.”

“No.” I stepped back. “I’m not doing this here, not in front of your audience. I’m done being put on display like I’m some sort of doll for your precious Graves Academy.”