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He was quiet for a moment. “You’d make them pay or buy them a drink?”
Georgia arched a brow and scowled at him. “I’m undecided.”
Ash grunted. “You’d make them pay. You like me. You just don’t want to admit it.”
“I don’t hate you. And you have saved my butt once or twice.”
“Five times.”
“There’s no chance it’s that many. And I’ve gotten you out of a few messes.”
“Once.”
“At least twice. Probably more. But I’m not petty enough to keep count.”
“And I am?”
“You said it.” She pointed at the scanner he held. “Any sign of our animals?”
“Nothing yet. Let’s head to the location Cleo’s intel identified. We could find something useful there.”
They walked in silence for the next twenty minutes, both on the alert for any trouble. But other than the faint sounds of a few animals, nothing disturbed them.
“It’s this way.” Ash cut off into some trees and over to a rock face.
“Where’s the entrance? Please don’t tell me we have to climb this thing?”
Ash pointed at the ground. “How are you with small spaces?”
“They don’t bother me. I used to go caving when I was in college.”
“Then it’s time to go down with me.”
She shook her head at the gleam in his eyes.
He grinned. “Look for a small entrance that’ll take us inside the cave network. It’ll be tight, though. Are you sure you don’t get claustrophobic?”
“Don’t worry about me. You just focus on fitting those bulky muscles through such tight spaces.”
He grinned again, his gaze suggesting he was thinking about something other than caving.
Ten minutes of searching revealed the location of the cave entrance.
Georgia inspected it. It wasn’t so small. If they stood close enough, they could even walk alongside each other.
As usual, Ash went first. Georgia took up the rear, slipping on night vision goggles as the faint light from the planet’s surface faded the deeper they went.
The passage quickly became narrow, and several times, the roof of the tunnel brushed the top of her head.
“Is everything good up ahead?” she said.
“All good. And I’m picking up faint signs of life.”
“Is it the white tails?”
“No, it’s something else. What kind of animal would make a home in these networks?”
“I’m going for a giant, carnivorous eight-clawed mole.”
