Page 23 of Turn the Tide
“That’s the only way in.” With a hand, he indicated the ledge they’d just jumped from.
“And you’d never know it was here, would you?”
“Exactly.” After setting down the pack, he headed toward the mouth of the cave. “I’ll check it out first. It’s been a while since I spent any time here.”
He shone his light inside what was more a crack in the rock than anything. Left, right, down, up. Nothing he could see, but he’d be shocked if there weren’t a creature or two slumbering inside. “Hey!” he yelled. Sure enough, something scuttled noisily for a few seconds before stilling. Another yell, and a few winged creatures shot out above his head, taking to the skies. Then silence.
“Come on.” He hefted the bag, crouched, and preceded her inside.
“Spooky,” she whispered as they ventured deeper into darkness.
He half laughed. “Not nearly as spooky as whatever the hell they’re doing on that rig.”
“True.”
“You hang out here while I get us settled.”
“I’ll help.”
“All right.” He rooted in his pack for his sleeping gear. “Here. Set up the sleeping stuff, and pull out whatever you find for dinner. I need to take a quick look around. Make sure we weren’t followed.”
“You think—”
“No. We’d have heard them or seen something. Doubt they’d come after us in a safety boat, so I’m guessing we’re good.”For now.He didn’t mention the possibility of backup arriving by air or sea. No point scaring her. Besides, there’d be noise if they brought people in.
He took a quick turn around the area, disturbing only a couple nesting western gulls, which took off with angrily flapping wings before landing in one of the bushes below. Their feathers were almost blue in the light of the full moon. Taking his time, Eric performed a quick 360-degree search of the water. Nothing.
Hoping that they’d be alone until the morning, at least, he returned to find Zoe wrapped tightly in his bag, settled in the doorway to the cave, which faced west, directly toward Polaris.
“Your dinner, sir.” Smiling, she handed him a protein bar and the bag of water, along with a bright-silver Mylar safety blanket.
Between them, he lit a glow stick and threw her a glance. “Ambiance.”
She huffed out what might have been a laugh, then sighed with pleasure as she began to eat. They’d taken a few silent bites when he noticed her shivering.
“Still cold?”
Her teeth chattered. “Fr-freezing.” He eyed her dark hair, dripping wetly over her shoulders. Soaking the shirt that should be keeping her warm. In the weird greenish glow, her skin looked sickly pale.
He shifted toward her and hesitated. “You mind sharing body heat?”
“N-no.”
“No you mind or no you don’t—”
“G-get over here.”
He shoved his bar into his mouth and slid over beside her, suddenly unsure how to go about this. She solved the issue by unzipping, scooting as far to the side as she could, and urging him into the other side. He slid in, sort of behind and beside her, and threw the blanket over them as she zipped up. After a second’s hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her.
In the few seconds of silence that followed, her shivering slowed, and Eric was left with a flooding awareness of the growing warmth of her, the steady weight. He fought to ignore the way his pulse picked up speed. “Never had to survive with a woman before.”
“But you’ve had to survive?”
He shrugged. “Time or two.” His mouth was so close to her ear that he barely had to speak above a whisper.
“So…two changes of clothes, but only one sleeping bag?”
“Didn’t figure I’d have company. Clothes are for an extended stay.”
