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“Right,” I said, shaking off the lingering sensation of her touch. “Let’s keep moving.”
Progress was slow, the ground slick with moisture and littered with debris and branches. Thunder cracked, vibrating through the stones around us, dried and wet mud tumbling in front of us.
“Damn,” Grayson swore, stumbling over a loose rock. “This place is a death trap.”
“Stay sharp,” I called back. “The Viper’s got nothing on Mother Nature when she’s pissed off.”
“Comforting thought,” Sofia replied, her voice laced with sarcasm.
“Always here to inspire,” I quipped, but my humor fell flat even to my own ears. The threat loomed larger with each step we took, and not just from the traps or the storm.
The Everglades Viper was still out there, and he wouldn’t be pleased about our uninvited visit to his Orlando hideaway.
“Look at this,” Sofia said, her fingertips grazing a nearly invisible seam in the wall as she shone her light on it. “Another one.”
We all crowded around, our breaths mingling in the confined space.
“An entrance,” Grayson murmured, his voice low.
“Or a tomb,” Teo replied.
“Only one way to find out,” I said, taking charge. Fingers probing for a catch or a lever, I found the cold touch of metal hidden beneath a layer of grime. “Here.”
Pressing down with a firmness born from necessity rather than confidence and ignoring the screaming pain from my legs, I heard the satisfying click of release. A section of the wall receded and then slid aside with a grinding groan that echoed off the walls, revealing the dark maw of a vault beyond.
“Shit,” I exhaled, not sure whether it was relief or fear tightening my chest. The realization hit me like a sucker punch—this was the Viper’s den. Well, at least the one he kept in Orlando, in any case.
“Careful now,” Grayson warned, peering into the darkness with that calculating gaze of his. “No telling what kind of surprises he’s left for us.”
“Always the optimist,” Teo quipped, moving closer to the opening. He let go of Sofia’s hand, which I didn’t realize he had been holding until that very moment.
“Let’s keep it together,” Sofia interjected, her voice steady despite the situation. “We’re here for a reason, remember?”
“Right,” I nodded, feeling the press of responsibility. I had to ensure her safety; I owed her that much. And there was more than just a professional obligation—I couldn’t shake the pull I felt toward her, an anchor in all of this.
Of course she was beautiful. But it was more than that. Watching her joke in all of this, watching the way she smiled and acted…it did something for me.
“Okay, on three,” Grayson said.
It was enough to make me get a grip. This was not the time to be thinking about this. We moved as one into the vault, and as soon as we did, Sofia gasped.
Chapter Fifteen: Sofia
My heart raced as I took in the chaotic scene before me.
I thought I said something, but I couldn’t be sure.
Guns, artifacts, and papers were scattered haphazardly across the room, each one a haunting reminder of the Everglades Viper’s sickening game. Of my fucking father’s sickening game.
It was hard to think of him as anything other than the Viper now, when it was obvious I had never known him at all.
The scent of rot from somewhere made my eyes water.
I could feel my stomach churn as I tried to make sense of it all. How could he be so cruel? My voice faltered as I tried to speak, the weight of the situation crushing me. Everything here was a clue, a potential piece to this twisted puzzle, and I had no idea where to begin.
I put a hand to my mouth, feeling the sweat on my forehead. “This...this is too much,” I whispered.
Grayson tried to put his hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged him off.
