“What did Paris whisper to you just before the girls left?”GG asked, startling him into glancing at her.Even in the dim light, he was as handsome as sin.
“I’ll tell you what she said to me if you tell me what she said to you first,” he said slyly.
Debating about whether her curiosity was worth the confession, GG decided to take the risk of suffering some embarrassment.“She told me you’re a good man and not to screw things up with you this time,” she said, raising her chin to give him a challenging look.
Dalt chuckled and stretched his long legs out.“Paris told me basically the same thing,” he admitted.“She said you’re not a selfish old cow anymore and that I should give you a second chance.”
“Oldcow?”GG muttered in affront.“I’m only thirty-six, not sixty-six.”
“You don’t look a day over thirty,” he declared.
She gave him an eyeroll, then flinched when she heard raised voices coming from downstairs.“They’re in the building,” she whispered in dread.
“Don’t worry, darlin’,” Dalton said grimly.“I’ll keep you safe.”He reached for the rifle he always carried with him now.
Their gazes were focused on the trapdoor as the voices grew louder.“What’s up there?”a man with a hard voice asked.
“He’s just a human,” GG whispered.A soldier would have sensed them hiding in the attic.
“I have no idea,” Pastor Hogan said.“I think it’s nailed shut.”
Dalton rose to his feet and pointed the rifle at the trapdoor when someone pulled hard on the rope.GG unshouldered her own gun.Her teeth were bared and she was ready to fight to the death if she had to.
“It’s stuck!”the intruder complained.
“I don’t own this place,” the preacher said.“It’s probably been like that for years.”
“Do you have any food or beverages?”the belligerent cop demanded.
“I have a small supply,” Larry replied in a resigned tone he’d perfected by now.
“Hand it over and I won’t shoot you in the leg for wasting my time,” the newly appointed and highly unqualified officer said.
Dalt let out the breath he’d been holding.“We need to move on,” he said.“We’re putting Larry’s life in danger by staying here.We’re lucky Rahab’s soldiers haven’t been back since they performed their first sweep of Morningside Heights.”
“I’m supposed to meet Wynter in two days’ time,” GG said, heart beginning to return to its normal speed now that her adrenalin rush was fading.
“Where did you two arrange to meet up?”he asked, crossing to the window to try to peer downwards.
“At an abandoned skating rink in Brooklyn,” she said.“I saw it on a news program about derelict properties in New York not long before the Rapture.I figured it would be safe enough for us to use as a meeting point.”
“It would be smarter and safer if we found a place in Brooklyn to use as our base,” he mused.“We’ll be close enough to Manhattan to keep tabs on our enemies.”
“I guess we could relocate there for a while,” GG said reluctantly.“But I’m not giving up on rescuing the rest of the women the soldiers are keeping in their base.”
“With luck, we can get the knights you and the Pastor told me about to help us with that,” he said.“I can’t wait to meet one of them.I want to see these supposedly good aliens with my own eyes.”
“Tolas will be with Wynter,” GG replied.“He’s a decent guy.”She’d only met him briefly, but Wynter had completely fallen for him.
“It’s safe to come out now!”their host called out, startling them both.
“Okay, sir!”Dalton called back.“We’ll be right down!”
GG waited for him to unlock the trapdoor and lower the staircase, then climbed down.He followed her with his rifle in tow and pushed the staircase back into position.
“Thank goodness you installed the locks,” Larry said, holding his stomach as if he was in pain.
“Are you okay?”GG asked, touching his arm in concern.
