Page 23 of Cheyenne

They walked inside, and he headed right to the bathroom. She went to the doors that overlooked the ocean. Maybe she would go take a run. She loved the ocean so much.

Eli came out after a minute, and Cheyenne moved into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. She turned around to give it to him.

He was holding the amulet. “What’s this?” he asked, turning it over in his hands.

She rushed toward him and took the amulet, replacing it with the water. “Nothing. Just a knickknack I found today.” She put it into her pocket.

He looked suspicious. “Did that guy buy it for you?”

It annoyed her that Eli acted like he had a right to be jealous. “What if he did, Eli? We are not together.”

Eli took a sip of water slowly. He put the glass back on the counter. “You have made that clear, Cheyenne.”

She moved toward the door. “I’m tired. Good night.”

He passed her on his way out. “I know that there is no you and me, but Cheyenne, just be careful with that guy. Things don’t always appear as they are.”

“What does that mean?”

Eli shrugged. “I don’t know. I just have a feeling about him, and it’s not a good one.”

They said their goodnights and he left. It wasn’t long before Cheyenne was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep for what felt like a long time.

She turned onto her side and grabbed her phone. She noticed a missed text from earlier.

It’s Micah. I think I’ve discovered something. Can you talk?

She froze, then sat up. It was almost eleven-thirty. Should she text him back? Was he still awake?

She texted him.Hey, what did you find out?

She waited for a while but got no response. Maybe he was asleep.

Did you find anything out about another map?she asked, trying again.

It took a minute before she got a reply.Let’s talk about it tomorrow. I’ll see you at snorkeling at noon.

More irritation pulsed through her. She texted back.Okay.

She stared at her phone, but there was no other interaction.

She put the phone down, threw the covers off, and moved toward the window, staring out at the ocean. Why was Micah Jamison such a mystery? He’d seemed so happy earlier today when they were treasure hunting together—so brave.

She paced back to the bed and picked up her phone, hoping that Micah would talk to her more, but there was nothing from him.

As if the universe could sense that she wanted to talk to someone, her phone rang. It was Porter.

“Hello,” he said when she picked up.

“Hey. How are you?”

“Is there anything I should know about today?”

She froze. Wait, had Micah told Trey something? “No.”

“Really?”

She wouldn’t give away new information. “Micah showed up to go parasailing with me.”

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