Page 44 of A Light in the Darkness
“A family emergency?” I cut him off, wondering what family he has that doesn’t question the sort of work he does. He must be as lonely a bastard as me. “I paid you for a job. The job isn’t over yet.”
“The job will never be over.” His voice is dark. “That girl of yours seems like a magnet for trouble. Maybe get her a leash.”
“Watch what you say about her.” I snap. “I’m looking for someone to use as target practice.”
Moose only chuckles, though there’s no humor in the sound. He’s been keeping an eye on Claire for me for months, and usually when I call, he isn’t this tense. “Is everything okay?” I ask.
“Your girl is fine. She’s with your sister. Double fucking trouble.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I meant you. The family emergency. Anything you need from me?”
“No.” He doesn’t even consider it. “I’ve got this. It’s just something with my sister.”
“Okay,” I agree. That, I understand. “Then I’ll send Dimitri to keep watch of her until you get your stuff worked out.”
He laughs drily. “She’s growing quite fond of me. You sure you want me to go back to her?”
“As long as you know I’ll cut your dick off and feed it to you if I ever find out you put in anywhere near her.”
This time, his laugh is genuine. “I know you didn’t ask for advice, but I’m going to give you some.”
My hand hovers over the end call button, but for some reason, I decide to wait and hear him out.
“She’s not good. Claire.”
“You don’t even know her.” I argue. Rhea is her best friend, and she’s assured me time and again that Claire is just fine. She’s close to finishing her degree, she’s happy, she’s thriving… other than in her dating life, which is very much by my design.
“I know her better than you might think,” Moose argues, “and I’m telling you, she’s not good. I don’t know what the deal is between you two. If you didn’t buy her, then I’m not sure why you care so much… unless you’re in love with her.”
“Fuck off.” I end the call before he can insinuate anything else.
Other than keeping her safe—and celibate—Moose has no connection to her. I don’t need to listen to him talk to me aboutfeelings. Honestly, I’m not sure the guy is even capable.
When I look up at Kent, he’s staring right through me.
Chapter twenty-seven
Remy
The sunlight filters in through a hole in the stained-glass mural, casting a prism of colors around our feet and bathing us in a gauzy sort of light.
Something about this place is unsettling in a way different from the other places we’ve been. Maybe it’s because we started in the catacombs, and they were so empty I’m not sure there’s so much as a spider in any of the webs. It wasn’t a comforting emptiness, though. There’s something in the air— a heavy sorrow that seems to try and climb down my throat to suffocate me from the inside out.
People died here. Even if they went on to live through further atrocities,thisis the place where their former lives officially came to an end. Once you’re traded here, there’s no hope of finding you. You’ve already been deleted from your country’s servers, as if you never existed at all.
We could wait. I don’t know how long it will be until the next drop comes, but I don’t have anywhere that I need to be. Kent and I could wait in hiding, catch them off guard when the next crew lands here to offload their cargo. Simon would have to move the plane, of course, to not give us away, and maybe stop at the nearest grocer to get us food and water so we could hold out, but I’m considering bringing it up to them as our flashlights bounce through the dark spaces that are untouched by the sun.
We’ve already checked the catacombs, the chapel, the atrium. All that’s left to do is climb the spiral, stone stairs that tower upwards in a tight circle.
I gesture Kent toward them, and he sweeps the scope of his gun with the flashlight mounted on top toward me, illuminating the space beyond what mine reaches.
There’s a little sound—a gasp or a sigh—and I look up just in time to catch a flash of her as she moves, her blonde hair whipping around the curve of the wall.
My heart pounds in my chest, bile rising to the back of my throat as my brain tries to contend with what I just saw. It was just a flash, but it wasn’t a trick of the light or a figment of my imagination.
It can’t be.
I feel like I’ve just seen a ghost, every hair on the back of my neck standing at attention. I’ve got to be seeing things.
