Wrapping her arms across her torso, she stared at the ground.
Rachel reached up to the window ledge. ‘I don’t understand, Eloise. What do you want us to do?’
When the librarian spoke again, Allie got the impression she was crying. Her voice sounded muffled. ‘Zelazny gave it to Jerry and then… he took it back. I think he… hid it. Find it. A small, silver key. Give it to Isabelle.’
At her words, Allie’s head snapped up. Her eyes met Carter’s. She could see the shock in his eyes.
Is Eloise saying Zelazny set her up?
Sylvain stepped closer to the window. ‘Why would he do that, Eloise?’
She didn’t reply.
Allie felt drained. They’d toyed with the idea of the spy being Zelazny but none of them had truly believed it. If he knew where the key was hidden…
Anger made her shake.
How could he do that to her? How could he let her be held like this and not say anything?
The only reason for him to do that would be if he had something to hide.
She was so lost in her angry thoughts the faint creaking sound didn’t register at first.
Then the front door thudded shut.
Allie’s heart seemed to stop. She and the others stared at each other in horror. The moment seemed to stretch on for ever.
Without warning, Carter grabbed Allie’s hand and began to run.
It all happened so quickly Allie didn’t have time to react. By the time she thought about Rachel it was too late.
Sylvain will help her, she told herself. He was standing right beside her. Surely he would have grabbed her, knowing she didn’t have training.
She kept trying to look back to see if the others were behind them, but Carter gripped her hand so tightly and moved so quickly through the rough terrain she could see nothing but darkness and blur.
They jumped over the stream and a twig snapped sharply under her foot; she winced and kept going – they didn’t have time to be quiet now. They just had to be fast.
Air burned her lungs like fire and each step sent pain jolting through her knee. Carter’s pace was relentless; they ignored the branches grabbing roughly at their arms and faces, and the stones that skittered under their feet. They crashed through the dried bracken and winter-dead brush. They must have run half a mile and Allie was just beginning to wonder if she could go much further when they reached a natural dip in the ground, shielded by a fallen tree. Leaping down into it, Carter pulled Allie in after him, down to the forest floor.
Then all was still.
For long minutes they lay without moving. Allie strained her ears to hear footsteps but the woods gave nothing away. A breeze blew through the branches high above them, crashing them together in a low roar.
When the wind finally quietened, the only sound was her heart hammering in her ears and her strained breaths.
They were completely alone.
Slowly her breathing returned to normal and she could pay more attention to where she was. She was aware of Carter’s weight – he was almost on top of her, one arm thrown across her shoulders, his head resting in the cold, loamy soil next to hers.
She could feel his chest rise and fall against her with each breath; his body heat cut through the chill emanating from the damp earth.
Slowly, she turned her head to the right – careful not to make a sound – until she could see his face. He lay watching her steadily. She could sense a shuddering tension in his stillness – as if he was waiting for something.
She didn’t know how long they lay there, unmoving – just staring at each other and listening for any sign that someone had followed them. At first she counted her breaths but then she lost track. Carter’s proximity distracted her. She was hyper-conscious of his hand resting between her shoulderblades. And of the way he was looking at her.
Finally, his hand moved, sliding down to the small of her back.
Why did he do that?
Her breath hitched in her throat.
We are just hiding together, she reminded herself. Nothing more. He’s being kind.
But his breathing had become more strained; his muscles tensed.
Allie didn’t mean to kiss him. Later, she wouldn’t even remember how it happened. Just suddenly, somehow, his lips were on hers and she was in his arms.
His lips felt so familiar it hurt her heart. She’d forgotten how good it felt to kiss him. The way he tasted. The feel of his body against hers.
His arms wrapped around her shoulders and she felt instantly warmer – instantly safer. She let herself sink into his embrace as his hands flattened against her spine. He drew her closer.
In his arms, Allie tried to forget everything that had happened – even where they were right now and why they were there. She needed this so much right now. She needed to be wanted. She needed to forget it all and just be the most important thing in someone’s life for a few minutes.
But her brain wouldn’t let that happen.