I grunted. “Sure, sure. So why the tactical training?” I crossed my arms and pursed mylips.
“It wasfun.”
I gave him an exaggerated scowl. “Right, right,” I said, drawing out the vowels. “And the hiddenfortress?”
He scoffed. “It’s hardly afortress.”
“It has a secret passageway and super reinforced doors. Are the windows electrified, too?” Iasked.
Griffin burst out laughing with that sexy-as-all-hell, rich, booming laugh of his. “No, no electricity. We do have an attack cat,though.”
That one made me snort. “Shakespeare? Hardly. He curled up on my feet and went tosleep.”
His chuckles stopped short. “You saw Shakespeare?How?”
“What do you mean how?” I asked. “I was in the library reading, and he hopped up in my lap and went tosleep.”
I watched Griffin’s jovial expression shut down. It was like someone flipped a switch inside him. “Shakespeare was Amanda’s cat, and he hasn’t gone to anyone since she died. He’s been arecluse.”
“He’s not the only one, sounds like,” I said. “When was the last time you spoke to someone besides Ellion andChandler?”
That question stumped him. “I talked to my cell phone company last week!” he exclaimed,triumphant.
“I thought you guys didn’t get cell service up here.” If they’d been lying to me, I might kill themmyself.
“We don’t,” he said. “We use WiFi but have cell service for when we leave thearea.”
I pursed my lips harder. “If you say so.” What I saw was definitely not what I got. He was hiding something huge, and I was bound and determined to findit.
Imademy excuses to Griffin and wandered back to my room. There was nothing I could do to help them find Hunter, and it was getting late. I took some more medicine for my ribs and head and drifted off into a dreamlesssleep.
I woke up with horrible dry mouth. My hair was a rat’s nest, but I didn’t care. The thought of a cold glass of milk was too alluring. They must’ve nudged the heat up before bed, because my room was uncomfortably warm—probably why I was sothirsty.
I got my glass and sipped it while looking at the papers stuck on their fridge. An advertisement for a carry-out pizza place. Pizza delivery seemed unlikely in these parts. A flyer for a bait and tackle shop. A list of emergency phone numbers. I paused there, studying thelist.
The names were so familiar. I couldn’t place it, but they went together in some way that irritated my memory. I ambled toward the living room, trying to remember how I recognized the names. Philip, Louis, Blanche, Mary. It was on the tip of my tongue how they connectedtogether.
A light in Ellion’s hallway caught my eye. It was his lab. I walked that way to see if he was still up or if he’d left it on. Voices floated out of the door, stopping me in mytracks.
I wouldn’t normally eavesdrop—much—but they were clearly hiding something, and I couldn’t stopmyself.
“Is there anything lying around the house that could give us away?” Griffin’s distinctive voice soundedtired.
“I don’t think so,” Chandler replied. “As long as nobody lets her in theoffice.”
Ellion spoke after Chandler. “Why don’t you tell her? I don’t think she’s the type to exploitit.”
“We’ve worked hard to maintain our cover. We built that company from the ground up to be a cover, and it ended up being successful. We won’t ruin all our hard work by letting that raven-haired temptress blab to theworld.”
Ellion and Chandler laughed. “Raven-haired temptress?” Ellion said. “Man, you’ve not acted this ridiculous since you and Amandadated.”
I imagined Griffin scrubbing his hands through his hair. “She tempts me in ways I never thought I’d be tempted again. I’m not ready yet,though.”
“You’re not ready, or you don’t want to be ready yet?” Chandlerasked.
“Would you stop? Amanda’s family probably wouldn’t let me remarry even if Iasked.”
My mouth dropped open. What did Amanda’s family have to do with his decision to—or not to—remarry?
