She must have seen the surprise and acknowledgment on his face because she laughed—or started to. Apparently, that hurt, too. After a long, low groan, something like a smile tilted her lips.
She was beautiful, even in her current state.
“Is he even here? Turner? She begged me to…” Her mouth went tight. “You know what? I don’t think she once mentioned his name. The old biddy tricked me.” There was admiration in her voice. “I fell for it hook, line, and sinker.”
“What’d she say?”
“Told me these guys had his location.” She snorted. “But she didn’t say that, did she? She said…” Her brows lowered in concentration. “She said she could give me the location of the man we were looking for.” Her eyes flew to his. “Not Turner’s. Her godson’s.Yourlocation. Turner’s not here, is he?” At his head shake, she grimaced. “Crap, my head hurts.”
“I’m sorry.”
“About my head or your godmother?”
“Both.” A warmth worked its way through him.
“Well, thanks.” She appeared to hesitate. “Can I count on you not killing me? For now at least?”
The feeling took hold—part relief, part something too painful to consider. “Guess so.”
She looked up with a grimace. “I can’t get up.”
“Here.” He squatted, loosened the pack’s shoulder straps one at a time, and helped her to slide out. “Sorry about the trap.”
“Want to make it up to me by explaining what’s going on here?” He couldn’t bring himself to respond. “Didn’t think so.” She stood with one hand balanced against the wall. “We heading out?”
“No. Squalling out there, which is a complication.”
She looked around, eyes wide, as if she’d just noticed where they were.
“You all right?”
“Whatisthis place?”
“Glacier cave.” He’d forgotten what it was like to see it for the first time.
“So, we’re inside a glacier?”
He nodded and surveyed their surroundings, trying to picture it through her eyes.
“It’s like…” Sounding out of breath, she stared up at the slick shapes curled above them. “Like the ocean just…flash froze or something. Like a rogue wave that’ll never crash.”
He cleared his throat. “Should see it in daylight. Blue’s electric.”
She opened and shut her mouth a couple of times and, despite the blood crusted along her hairline and the smudge of something dark on that sharply carved cheekbone, there was a softness to her face that he hadn’t noticed before. Not that he’d had the opportunity to look—running for their lives wasn’t conducive to rubbernecking. Now that he’d taken a second to look, though, he couldn’t stop seeing the velvet plumpness of her lips. He liked the symmetry of her perfectly sculpted head, the crown round and high, while her chin came to a tiny, sweet point.
“I always figured people messed with photos to make stuff like this more impressive.”
“Some things don’t need to be messed with.” He had to drag his attention from her mouth and the blue-black sheen of her skin in the glacier’s light. He wiped a hand over his face.The hell’s wrong with me?“I’m a… I’ve got to, uh…” He stood, reached for the wall for balance, and lost his footing. His arms pinwheeled as he slid ungracefully onto his ass at her feet.
He’d just opened his mouth to cuss when a sound like choking hit him. No, not choking. Suppressed laughter, which bubbled up and out of Leo’s mouth. “Ow.” She moaned, grimaced as if in pain, and got the laugh under control before giving him a sheepish look. “I’m so sorry. I don’t usually laugh at other people falling. Are you okay?”
He worked his way back to standing. “Fine.”
“I’m…sorry. It wasn’t even that funny, except you’re just so…” Her eyes made a trip up and down his body. The kind of look that would speak of appreciation, under better circumstances. Or maybe that was wishful thinking.
“So what?” The question just popped out.
“I don’t know. Sure-footed? Able-bodied?” Christ, he knew that wasn’t meant to be a come-on line, but it hit him low and hard. She squinted at him. “Sure you’re not hurt?”
