“Ginger!”
My heart leapt. The voice that, until then, I had assumed I, or anyone else on earth, would
never hear again.
“Geez, you’re a sight for sore eyes,” he told me. I could finally see Griff; he had jumped
off the table he was sitting on and grinned from ear to ear as he marched toward me, ignoring
Cameron.
Cameron turned to glance at me just as Griff walked past him. From the sour look on his face, I
knew that he was, one, extremely jealous, and two, warning me to stay in character. With extreme
difficulty, I glanced away from Griff and kept moving with Cameron.
It was painful to watch Griff’s face wince at my snub.
“Open the hatch,” Cameron ordered him impatiently.
“Yes, sir,” Griff bitterly obeyed. He walked to a bale of hay that was loosely strewn in the
middle of the wooden planked floor and pitchforked it to the side, revealing a square door
within the floor. He pulled on the exposed cords and the hatch-door opened. Stairs led down the
uncovered hole to a darker hole under the floor.
Cameron strolled past Griff and started to climb down the stairs.
Griff uncomfortably shifted, deliberating. When he decided, he called after Cameron. “I heard
what happened to your brother,” he said softly, genuinely. “I’m sorry for your loss. He was a
really great kid.”
“Thank you.” Cameron almost looked surprised, but his still harsh voice did not betray him.
I followed him down the stairs and waited until I was sure he was out of sight before quickly
turning to Griff. I smiled at him, only for a moment. The effect was instantaneous—Griff’s
face instantly lit up. He understood the game.
The hatch closed above us, and we walked through a doorway that had been carved out of the
ground. The barn’s floorboards above were soon replaced with rock and dirt as we walked further
into the cave. A few feet ahead was a stainless-steel door. Cameron pressed the yellow button
next to it, and we waited in silence.
A million questions were speeding through my head. Most of which involved Griff’s new job
location. With every inch of my self-control, I resisted the urge to ask any questions. Like he
could sense my fraying composure, Cameron cleared his throat to get my attention, and his brown
eyes quickly glimpsed above. There were glass globes above us with cameras scanning back and
forth. We were being watched.
The door finally opened into a compact elevator. We stepped in and were plunged deep into the
ground. My ears kept popping from the increasing pressure. I had to swallow repeatedly to
prevent the pressure that was pushing against my skull from forcing my brain through my nose.
When the elevator door opened, two men stood to greet us. The man in front was tall and sturdy.
From the wrinkles that were starting to line his olive skin, I guessed that he was in his mid-
thirties. His demeanor was grave. His black hair and dark facial features only enhanced his
severity.
The man who stood behind him was older—much older. Although he had similarly dark features and
skin, he was shrunken by two or three inches, and his face was leathery and worn. Except for the
few black strands that remained on his head, his hair was grayed and went straight down to his
elbows, like dead straw. His tired eyes twinkled—and stared at me without abandon from the
moment we stepped out of the elevator.
“New bodyguard?” said the young leader with a grimace.
Cameron didn’t flinch. “I brought my accountant.”
I almost choked and hoped with every fiber of my being that I wouldn’t be asked to test my
fictional mathematical skills.
“You haven’t seen the need to bring an accountant before. Why now?” the young leader
continued to probe.
“Things change,” Cameron said plainly. And then, in a haughty-tone, he said, “I’m a busy
man, Hawk. If you don’t want to talk business, I’ll take my business elsewhere. I don’t like
to waste my time.”
While Cameron and Hawk stared each other down, the older man continued to look intently at me—
like he was waiting for me to make a mistake. I was trying hard to ignore his stare and keep my
facial muscles tensed and expressionless. But I could feel the corner of my mouth starting to
twitch as the exerted muscles of my face were slowly surrendering. I had no idea that being
purposefully uptight was so much work.
Hawk finally acquiesced and hesitantly turned on his heels to have us follow him and his older
counterpart. They led us through a pearl white marble tunnel. Because of the narrowness of the
tunnel, Cameron and I were forced to walk shoulder-to-shoulder, which made it even more
difficult for me to neglect him. I focused on looking ahead.