His kisses moved along her jaw in answer. Her legs moved restlessly against his.
“I do,” he said, before his mouth covered hers.
It was a long moment before their lips parted enough for him to say, “Try to be quieter this time.”
There was a long moment, one where her eyes were slightly glazed, before they widened in realization. Then his lips were back again, and he was putting her fury to better use.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
SHEA GUIDED her horse around another pile of rubble, careful not to venture near any of the buildings hovering over them like hulking beasts. Fallon’s army was nearly through the abandoned city. He’d made the choice to have them move out this afternoon when no sign of Clark or Fiona had been uncovered. Several of his men had also disappeared during the search.
Shea had tried arguing. She’d even gone so far as to suggest Eamon, Buck, and a few others remain behind with her to continue the search. Both Fallon and Reece had vetoed that idea. She understood Fallon’s reasoning but couldn’t guess what was in her cousin’s mind.
He’d grown increasingly tense the further they ventured into the city. Any other man she would have called jumpy. Reece, however, just seemed on edge, like a sudden noise might be responded to with extreme violence.
There was an itchy feeling on the back of Shea’s neck, like they were being watched. It had started while they were still camped and gotten worse as they traveled deeper and deeper into the city.
The men in Fallon’s army had started whispering of ghosts, eyeing the buildings around them with suspicion born of fear. Shea didn’t often find herself falling victim to such a mentality but even she was on edge.
If not for Clark and Fiona being missing, she would have advocated leaving this place far, far behind.
Fallon was just ahead of her, his Anateri forming a shield between them and the rest of the city. She knew from the pinched look on Caden’s face that he distrusted the buildings around them, probably only slightly more than he did the men following them. He and Fallon had decided that the clan leaders would ride with them. That way they could keep an eye on their potential saboteurs.
Shea had been on edge for the entire ride, watching for the slightest sign an attack was imminent. So far, the clan leaders seemed perfectly normal if a little tense, but that could be attributed to the current surroundings.
A scrap of cloth hanging from a stray post caught Shea’s attention. It was located behind two buildings and only visible because she passed by what could have been an alley between them in some long distant past. She pulled on her reins, forcing the horse to step in a tight circle.
Trenton slowed his horse, his face a grimace of pain as his ribs protested. Chirron might have kept him alive, but he had several broken ribs that reminded him every time he moved of how close a call he’d had of it.
“What is it?” he asked.
She didn’t answer. She stood in her stirrups to get a better look. That jacket was a familiar green. It was one she might have worn once upon a time. Clark had been wearing his as protection against the chill of the caverns when he’d gone missing.
Her first reaction was to rush for the jacket as if it might tell her where he’d gone, if she could just reach it. She quelled that urge, knowing that it could be a trap. Probably was a trap.
It seemed too simple for his jacket to turn up here—miles away from where he’d disappeared.
“I see something,” she said.
Trenton’s head snapped around, looking in the direction that seemed to draw her attention. He was quiet as he searched. It didn’t take him long to spot the jacket.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” he cautioned before giving a sharp whistle.
Fallon and the Anateri came to a stop. Fallon looked back. Noticing Shea and Trenton, he urged his horse toward them.
“What is it?” His words were sharp and abrupt, but Shea didn’t take it personally. He was on alert like all of them. This was the Warlord speaking, someone expecting a report.
Shea tilted her head to the jacket.
His sharp eyes fastened on it and he frowned. He’d seen the same thing she had. Such a nice present. It was practically wrapped with a bow.
Eamon rode up on her other side, his gaze already fastened on what held her attention. He let out a low curse when he caught sight of the jacket.
“What are your orders?” Trenton asked.
Fallon was silent for a long moment, his body tense.
Shea urged her horse forward, bypassing the alley between the buildings to ride around front.
