Page 67 of Citadel

Nothing is. No one is acting any different than they did the moment before except Breanna is glancing up in our direction, evidently curious about the sound.

It’s too much. Irresistible. She’s looking right at us. I dart my head out from the bushes for a couple of seconds before Cole drags me back down with a low, growling sound.

Yes, it was stupid, but someone had to do something. We had to let Breanna know we’re here.

She does. Now she does. Her whole posture tightens, and she turns quickly to look back at the camp, obviously checking to make sure no one else saw.

They didn’t. There are no signs of warning or shift in activity. Breanna must see the same thing. She takes the small pile of clothes she hasn’t yet washed and moves farther up the creek, closer to where we are.

She hasn’t gotten very far when one of the guards calls from the camp. “Hey! Girl! Get back here!”

Breanna has always been a quick thinker and a lot better at deception than me. She sounds perfect—annoyed and bored and slightly resentful—as she replies, “Well, I’m sorry. I’m stuck washing all these smelly clothes, and the water was getting dirty.”

The dirty water is a somewhat flimsy excuse since the creek is fast moving, but it will probably work on a guy who doesn’t have a lot of experience washing clothes.

The guard doesn’t question it. “Deal with it. Don’t go any farther.”

“Fine.” Breanna kneels down where she is, still too far from us to have a covert conversation. As she starts working on a man’s shirt, she says to the guard, “I’m just trying to get this done today since I have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to leave. But at least I get to ride in the Jeep instead of walking the whole way like most of you.”

I suck in a breath—startled and appreciative and deeply impressed that she managed to let us know everything we need to know in the space of one slightly whiney comment.

“Nice,” Cole breathes.

I feel the compliment as much as if he were praising me.

We stay where we are until Breanna finishes the washing. By then it’s starting to get dark, giving us even more cover to climb back up the hill, skirt around the perimeter, and head back to the shelter of our camp.

“Okay,” Cole says when we get there. “Your sister is damn smart, so at least we know what we’re dealing with now.”

“She’s leaving in the Jeep, so I assume that will mean there are fewer men with her to guard her.”

“Yeah. The only problem is they’ll be moving a lot faster than we can. It sounds like they’re heading somewhere specific.”

I gulp. “Well, they’ll have to stop some or they’ll run out of gas. They didn’t seem to siphon off all that much from the other vehicles.”

“No. They didn’t. So either they’re going somewhere close or they’ll run out of gas or they’ll keep stopping to look for more. So I guess we’ve got a chance. If we can catch up with them, we’ll have an opportunity. With a plan, I can take on four or five guys, no problem.”

He’s not boasting. Just speaking basic facts. And I know from experience that what he says is the truth.

“At least we have some hope now. More than we had before.”

He nods. “It’s still gonna take a lot of luck, but we’ve got a shot. She said they’re leaving at the crack of dawn, so we’ll need to get up even earlier than that so we can be waiting when they leave. You should get to sleep early.”

“I don’t feel very tired. I’m too excited. We’ve got a little jerky left if you’re hungry.”

“I’m fine. We better save it for tomorrow since I don’t know if I’ll have time to hunt.”

That makes sense to me. I go over to the stream to wash up as best as I can. Cole watches me, and for some reason scrubbing down my face, arms, and legs feels a lot sexier than it should since I know his eyes are on me.

I stay in my tank and panties as Cole washes up. He walks back from the creek, wearing nothing but his worn boxer briefs. His eyes rest on my face. “You not going to sleep?”

“I told you I’m not tired.”

It’s not entirely true. I’m exhausted from so many days on the road. But I’m not sleepy at the moment.

His eyes narrow slightly. “You wanna fuck again?”

I can’t help but snicker at his tone. “I wouldn’t say no.”

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