Slowly, carefully, she and Baz slipped out of the false bottom and into the interior of the hearse. Those who’d removed the coffins were smart and had left the flowers against the glass to either side. The view from the outside’d be obscured. They crawled slowly through the hearse, taking care not to jostle the flowers. At some point, Kumar had unlatched the door at the back.

Baz opened it a little at a time, likely hoping to avoid any squeaking from the hinges. Soon enough, it was open enough for them to slip out. The hearse sat very near the wall surrounding the churchyard, angled so the back end wasn’t visible. Kumar had managed the positioning brilliantly. They were able to alight to the ground and carefully close the doors again.

Directly to the side of the hearse was a small shed. Moving slowly so they wouldn’t draw attention, they made their way there. Gemma stepped in first, followed by Baz, who closed and latched the door.

A small, dingy window sat at the top of one wall, letting in a dim, brown-tinged light, enough to navigate by but not enough to see much. Anyone who managed to get to the high window wouldn’t be able to see a deuced thing through it.

A perfect hiding place.

They sat on the dirt floor and leaned their backs against the wall. For the first time since climbing into the casket several hours earlier, Gemma truly breathed. Baz put an arm around her and held her to his side. She leaned against him, exhausted, trying to feel relieved but knowing they weren’t out of the depths yet.

“We’ll have to wait until dark to sneak out,” he whispered. “I don’t know how long the onlookers intend to stay.”

“I’d rather sit in a shed than lie nailed in a coffin.” She sighed. “This’ll do for however long it’s needed.”

“I was having a lot of trouble prying the lid off. I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to get out,” Baz said.

“It were harder to do than I’d expected, but I’ve pried a few lids off. I knew I could do it. And if I could get out, I could get you out. That were all the motivation I needed.”

He pressed a kiss to her temple. “Do you ever wonder how we went three years without even seeing each other, without being together? I can’t imagine doing that now.”

She twisted and kissed his cheek. “If we can manage to hop the jig out of this churchyard, we never need to be apart again.”

His embrace tightened. “And that is all the motivation I need.”

She closed her eyes. Though they were far from safe, she felt much of the fear and tension ease from her. They’d managed the trickiest bit of it. What remained was to wait.

Chapter 31

Chapter 31