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Chapters (38)
  1. Also by Jennifer Estep
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 1

What did he have to be sad about? It wasn’t like I was going to kill him or even one of his friends. I didn’t understand Donovan’s sudden mood swing, and I didn’t care to stand out here in the dark to try to puzzle it out.

Not with Tobias Dawson’s men lurking around.

“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get out of here before the guards head this way.”

20

20

Even using our rope and gloves, it took twice as long for Donovan and me to climb back up the ridge as it had taken to come down. The drizzle made everything slick, slimy, sloppy. By the time we crested the rim of the ridge, we were both wet to the bone and covered with mud, burrs, briars, dead leaves, and other woodsy debris. It took us several more minutes to reach Donovan’s sedan, which was just enough time for the warm exertion from climbing up the ridge to wear off. The rain had picked up and was now a downpour. Despite the Ice magic in my veins, I still shivered with cold. Besides our squish-squish footsteps, the only other sound was the plop-plop-plop of the rain coming down.

Donovan reached inside the sedan and turned on the interior lights so we could see what we were doing. Then he hit another button, which opened the trunk. “I’ve got some towels and spare clothes in the back.”

I nodded. While the detective dug around in the trunk, I pulled out my cell phone and called Finn. He answered on the third ring.

“Yeah?”

“We’re clear of Dawson’s office,” I said.

A slurping sound came through the phone. Finn drinking another cup of coffee. Sometimes I wondered why his brain didn’t explode from all the caffeine. “Find anything interesting?”

“I think so,” I said. “We’ll talk about it when we get back. Might be awhile, because of the rain. The road we’re on isn’t exactly the best in the world.”

“We’ve moved over to the house. We’ll be waiting for you there,” Finn said.

We both hung up.

Donovan closed the trunk and came around the car to me. He opened the front passenger’s side door and tossed the dry clothes inside so they wouldn’t get wet while we changed. Then he handed me a thick towel. I lifted it to my face and breathed in. It smelled like the detective—clean and soapy. Mmm.