Page 14 of Fence

He grimaced. “We’re explorers.”

“Explorers.” The word fell out of my mouth and hit the floor with a thud. “I thought that line of work went out of style with Magellan.”

To my surprise, he chuckled. But his pals didn’t. I had to be careful of them. Why did they freak me out the way they did? I simply didn’t have a good feeling but couldn’t put my finger on why. Not that it mattered—I’d learned to trust my instincts. Trusting them had led me to the mountain.

It had also led me to what could be my doom, depending on what these three had in mind for me. So maybe it wasn’t such a good idea, after all.

I focused on Scruffy. He might be a deranged rapist, but he seemed to be on my side. I might be able to get past him and get the hell out of there. “Seriously. What are you doing here, for real?”

“My cousin was serious when he told you we’re explorers. Perhaps not professionally, but we were exploring this area because we have ties to it.” The one kneeling to his side winced—briefly, so fast I would’ve missed it if I’d blinked. He didn’t like that much information being shared. Why? What was their story? Did I even want to know?

I forced myself to take a few deep breaths before my head started spinning out of control. “Okay. That’s really cool. Maybe you could even help me with my research.”

Scruffy smiled and looked suspiciously warm and human. I reminded myself that I had no idea who he or the other two were, and I couldn’t allow myself to get pulled in by that smile. “I think there’s something you need to turn your attention to before that. Something very important.”

“What?”

He touched his forehead, indicating mine. “You have a nasty bump there. The bruise is spreading.”

And it hurts like hell, genius. He was right, though, and I was only babbling, reaching for anything I could use to appeal to them.

I sensed a ton of animosity from the other one who was kneeling. He looked like Scruffy, only without the beard. And he looked like he’d gotten his hair cut at some point in the last year, too. He didn’t like me. What could he have against me?

“I know. It’s pretty painful.” I looked to my left, where I’d made a dent in the sheetrock. “Oh, my God. That’s definitely the most damage I’ve ever done.”

“You sound like you’ve done damage before,” the one who stood remarked.

“You have no idea. If they give awards for coordination, I’m at the bottom of the list.” I ran my fingers over the damage. Somebody was going to be seriously pissed with me for doing that.

“I think you should come with us.” Scruffy stood, holding his hands out. I guessed he thought he was going to help me up. He thought wrong.

“Excuse me?” I couldn’t help but laugh, but it wasn’t a happy laugh. “What makes you think that? What makes you think I will?”

He blinked like he was surprised to hear me disagree. “You’re injured. I thought you’d need help—I mean, we thought you would.” I glanced at the others and saw that they agreed. Or they wanted me to think they did. What was it about them that made me second-guess everything they said?

Three men who looked like they could be fitness models, exploring the same cave that I’d been exploring. Telling me they had ties to it. Acting protective, too. Giving me the third degree, like I was the one with the burden of proof on my shoulders. The only one of the four of us who was trespassing.

“Are you sure you aren’t just a little more concerned with why I’m here, and what I saw?” Might as well pound the final nails into my coffin, if they were as sketchy as they appeared to be. Why bother wasting time? I pressed my hands to the wall and used it to help myself to my feet. I was a little woozy, but I didn’t want them to see my weakness. There was something funny about them, and not “funny ha-ha.” More like ominous.

“What do you think you saw?” The one who looked most like Scruffy stood by his side, glaring at me. They had to be brothers. Scruffy stretched out his arm, holding it against his brother’s chest.

“Whatever she saw, it doesn’t matter. We don’t know anything more about this place than she does. It shouldn’t even be this way. We’re all a little confused. Maybe we can figure it out together.” He looked at me. “What do you think? You think we could put our heads together and find out what’s going on with this place? Because it’s pretty insane.”

“Insane’s a good word for it. Only I don’t think it’s any of our business. Do you?” I looked at the three of them. “Whoever was here, whoever did all this… it’s their business. Not ours. Definitely not mine.”

I had never wanted anything more than to get out of that cave and never go back. It was more trouble than it was worth. I’d finish my thesis with what I’d already found.

“You’re not even in the least bit interested? I mean, you’ve already said you were doing research. What about all the work you’ve done?”

“I don’t care about that right now. I just sort of want to get out of here.”

“Relax…” He raised dark, heavy eyebrows in a silent question.

“Ciera,” I supplied.

“Ciera.” He smiled a little. “That’s a beautiful name. Well, relax, Ciera. Nobody’s here to hurt you. I get the feeling you think that’s the case.”

“I can’t imagine why,” I muttered, looking at my feet.

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