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“Thank fuck, I think we’re going up,” I mutter as another drop of cold sweat slides down my back. Memories of being closed up in tight spaces creep around the edges of my mind, but I bat them back. Now is not the time.
I’m panting by the time a sliver of light breaks through the darkness and it’s not from exertion. The shit from my past is too close on my heels now to escape it fully. I’m practically sprinting as we reach the opening and shove through the board and branches covering the exit. I’m propelled out onto the beach and bend at the waist, hands on my knees as I take deep breaths of fresh air. It’s been a while since I’ve had a reaction like that to a confined space.
Archer is right behind me, but he gives me room, waiting for me to stand back up. I tip my head back and wipe the sweat from my brow.
“All good?” Archer finally gives in and asks. I can feel his assessing gaze on me, but I don’t look at him.
“Yeah. Just need a minute.” My eyes wander out to the ocean, inhaling the salty air and letting the sound of the water lapping against the shore calm me. There are no walls there, no boundaries that close in on you. You can look out over the ocean, and it appears to go on forever, an endless expanse that has no limits. I know that’s not true, but there’s something soothing about all that open space and it calms my racing heart.
That nightmare of an attic crawl space messed me up. Although really it was my father who fucked me up, real good. He used to keep me locked in the attic when he was pissed, or drunk, or just didn’t want to see my face.
I shove those thoughts away, not wanting to give into that darkness right now. Turning away from the ocean, I cross my arms, looking around to figure out where the hell we were.
“Do you know whose property this is?” I ask Archer, who’s looking at the surrounding area. The tunnel isn’t particularly well hidden. The entrance starts on the side of a wall of rock and there are a few feet of brush and trees before the sand of the beach starts. A plywood board has been painted to match the dark rock, but that’s as much effort as someone’s put in to hide the hole. Likely no one ever comes out here so there’s not much risk of finding it.
Whoever owns this land doesn’t own the beach portion, that’s public property, but the brush and wooded areas are most likely someone’s private property. This stretch of beach is empty. It’s not near the main docks and there are no houses nearby, so it’s unlikely that tourists or locals would choose to plop down here for a bit of beach time.
“No idea, but I can find out. Let’s head back that way.” Archer points to the west. At some point, regardless of which direction we go, we’ll end up back at the main docks and beaches, so one way is as good as the next.
“We’ll have to block it from inside the tunnel. Find out who owns this property, but I’d rather not alert anyone to the existence of this tunnel.”
“Agreed.” Archer reaches down and takes off his shoes and socks, rolling up the cuffs on his pants.
“I thought you didn’t mind getting dirty.”
“Dirt is one thing; sand is a completely different monster.”
* * *
Archer went to work tracking down the property owner while I stopped by the library to see if Lena knew anything about tunnels on the island. She didn’t, but she practically vibrated with excitement at the idea of doing research. More power to her. Archer and I also decided the best option for blocking the tunnel was to brick it up and we promptly went to work on getting that done before the end of the week.
Somehow the rest of the week blurred by until the time for the dreaded dinner arrived. Now I’m standing on Miri’s front porch, getting ready to knock on the door. The idea of going to Anthony’s for dinner has been a sword swinging over my head all week, and I’m not even going to acknowledge the flare of anticipation seeing Miri again makes me feel. That’s an emotion I’m not willing to examine.
I lift my hand to knock when the door swings open. Miri’s framed by the door, and I’m stunned speechless by her beautiful face. Everything she’s wearing is black. Black leather pants, a black slouchy sweater that’s slipped down to reveal a delectable shoulder. I only just keep from reaching out and trailing a finger over her exposed skin. Her dark hair grazes the tops of her shoulders in large waves. The urge to drag my hand through it, to fist a handful and yank her head back and kiss her until she’s boneless in my arms, rides me hard.
“I wasn’t sure if you were actually going to knock. You looked like you were about to turn around and take off.” Miri leans against the doorframe, sucking in her bottom lip with mirth dancing in her eyes.
“It was a close thing.”
“The thought of spending that much time with me doesn’t trip your trigger?” She shrugs on her leather jacket and steps outside, pulling the door shut and locking it with a giant iron key.
“I’m not really looking forward to an evening at Anthony’s.”
“Ah, but you’re okay hanging out with me?”
I don’t reply but head off her porch to my bike. It’s an old Honda CL360. I don’t have a car, no one does on the island, but there are other forms of transportation besides pedal bikes. Some people have ATVs or golf carts, there are scooters and a few motorcycles besides mine. It’s not the warmest way to travel in the winter, but it’s better than walking.
“We could walk, but it’s a good 20 minutes to get to the other end of the island.”
“I think I’m going to need to invest in a scooter or something.” I look back at Miri and find her face scrunched up. “Not that I mind walking but sometimes you just want to run out quick.”
“I can probably find you one.”
Warm brown eyes meet mine. “Yeah? You don’t mind?”
I hum, “No problem. You been on a bike before?” I hand her the spare helmet I brought, and she nods her head. “A few times. Enough to know to lean with you.”
“Can you handle someone else driving?” I smirk, totally reading the nerves in her tense shoulders.
“Probably not, but I’ll try not to crash us.” Miri shoves the helmet on her head, watching while I pull on my helmet and get on the bike.
“Just don’t scream in my ear the whole way there.”
“Don’t be a crazy driver, and we’ll be just fine.” She swings her leg around and gets on the bike behind me, her body pressing close as her arms wrap around me. I almost groan out loud because, fuck, it feels really good. Her fresh citrus smell wraps around me like a fog meant to addle my senses. When her fingers dig into the fabric of my jacket, I curse under my breath and kick start the bike. It roars to a start with a rumble that vibrates beneath us.
“Ready?” I call over my shoulder.
“Not at all!” Miri shouts back, arms tightening around me, and for once I laugh with genuine amusement.
Maybe tonight won’t be all bad.
