Sam exhaled softly.
We don’t have to do this,
he told me.
We can take turns holding onto it.
No. Here.
I thrust the scroll at him before changing my mind. We did
have
to do this. I did not want Sam carrying this thing around. He might get hurt. And I certainly did not want to give Sam’s little brother the opportunity to get it.
You’re sure?
Yes.
Sam turned away and knelt, placing the scroll at the bottom of the hole. I held the flashlight while he shoveled the dirt over it little by little until it was completely covered. Once done, he spread some hay around and sat Jasper’s feed bucket back in the corner.
Like we were never here,
Sam said.
I looked over my shoulder at Jasper. “Take care of it, okay, boy?” The horse nickered softly like he understood and pushed his muzzle into my hand. “Good boy,” I murmured.
Sam slipped out of the stall to return the shovel and then reached through the stall door, holding out his hand.
Ready?
With a knot in my stomach, I gave the floor one last look before placing my hand in his and allowing him to tow me away. As we crept back toward the house, the sky was lightening quickly. Sam lifted his face to the newly dawning day and smiled.
He was relaxed.
The realization sent guilt crashing through me. All these weeks of tension and stress all revolved around the Treasure Map and my refusal to give it up. Now, just minutes after tucking it away in the earth, I could already feel the difference in Sam. How could I have tortured him for so long like that?
Sam turned from the sky and stared down at me, concern marring his gorgeous features.
What’s wrong?
Nothing. I’m sorry I hadn’t done that sooner. Look at you.
I cupped his face in my palms.
You seem almost… carefree.
His smile was quick and devastating. My heart picked up pace and my mind began to feel muddled.
Not quite. But, it is nice to know you aren’t carrying that thing around today.
Not at all until we go to Italy.
He smiled again, his face transforming into the boy I sometimes forgot he was.
I’m going to go get the truck and ‘show up’ for my morning chores. Help me get them done and we can spend the afternoon together.
How wonderful it was to see that mischievous, light-hearted smile on his face.
A day of fun?
I feigned confusion.
Think we can handle it?
I rolled my eyes dramatically and made shooing motions with my hands.
Go on, then; let’s get the work done so we can play.
His teeth flashed white when he laughed and leaned in for a swift, hard kiss. Then he was gone, running off to wherever it was he hid the truck at night. Before going inside I couldn’t help but turn back, my eyes going to the barn.
The action made me realize that I traded my own piece of mind for Sam’s.
It was a trade I would make again in a heartbeat.
Chapter Six
Heven
The water rippled softly against the shore. The grass shuffled in the breeze and the leafy, green trees jutted out of the earth, creating a soft canopy over the water. It was beautiful and peaceful, yet I couldn’t stop shaking. Why had I agreed to this? Weren’t we supposed to be having fun?
Sam dropped a few towels on the grass and turned to face me, a frown firmly in place. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea,” he murmured, almost to himself.
I wanted to agree, but I couldn’t because as much as I disliked the idea about learning to swim, it was something I needed to do. “No, we should do this.”
He nodded and, in one swift motion, peeled his shirt over his head and tossed it next to the towels. Oh, God what a sight he was. Golden skin pulled taut over lean, corded muscles, his shorts hung low on his hips showing off a stomach that was flat and hard.
Touch.
I wanted—no I
needed
to touch him. I took a step forward, already anticipating the way his muscles would bunch and contract when my fingers slid over his sun-heated skin.
His eyes were golden fire as he watched me approach. My hand started at his shoulder and slowly caressed down his arm and into the palm of his hand where his fingers jerked once, tightening on my fingers before releasing and my hand went over his abs. A purr vibrated his chest. “Heven.” His voice was even deeper than usual and the roughness with which he said my name raised gooseflesh along my arms. I looked up at him beneath half-lowered lids, part-shy part-seduction.
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” he warned.
“What do you mean?” I asked a little confused. I knew exactly what I was doing. Couldn’t he tell?
He groaned. “You’re distracting me.”
“I am?”
He blinked a few times then his eyes swept the surrounding area. I guess burying that scroll hadn’t been enough to make him forget about protecting me. I sighed and stepped away to strip off my sundress to reveal a simple black bikini.
When I turned back he was staring at me with an unreadable expression on his face. “What?”
“I complain you are distracting me and so you take
off
your clothes…”
I laughed, liking that I might have the same effect on him that he did on me. I bent and picked up the dress. “I can put this back on,” I suggested, waving it around.
He laughed, snatching it out of my hands and smacking me on the butt with it. “Don’t even think about it.”
We both laughed as he lunged for me yet again and began to tickle me. I laughed until I couldn’t take it anymore and stumbled away. Sam was laughing so hard his eyes were tearing. It was so good to see him laugh and be carefree this way. After we both caught our breath, Sam looked out toward the water.
“Come on,” he said, taking my hand and leading me to the water’s edge. Hesitation and fear slammed through me and I slowed my steps.
Sam swung around to face me, his chest and shoulders blocking my view of the lake. “I’ll be here with you.”
I nodded. Did I really need to learn to swim?
Sam swept me up like a child and cradled me against his chest. I could feel the steady rhythm of his heart against my side and the feel of his skin against mine made everything else fall away. He began walking toward the water as I rested my cheek against his chest. I heard the water rippling as he stepped in and I tensed. His lips grazed my temple and his arms held me tighter and I forgot to be afraid.
“Look at me,” he said soft.
I did, quickly getting lost in his whiskey-colored eyes.
I love you.
He told me.
I love you.
I answered.
Look down.
I snapped back into reality the minute I did as he asked. I was standing knee deep in the lake. I screeched. “You distracted me!” I demanded.
“Are you afraid?”
I waited for the fear to slam into me, but it never came. It just reinforced what I already knew. I would go anywhere, do anything with Sam and nothing else mattered. I shook my head and he smiled, satisfied with himself.
It took a while for him to coax me farther into the water, but soon I was standing with water grazing my shoulders while I kept a death grip on Sam. I couldn’t help the shaking of my knees and the pounding of my heart. He was patient and gentle with me as he showed me how to move my arms and legs. I didn’t mind the repeated practice because his hands were always firmly at my back and waist. Turned out, swimming was pretty fun. The water was like cool silk against my skin and it was surprisingly easy to keep myself afloat. Splashing Sam was quite fun too.
“I think you’re ready to swim on your own,” Sam declared.
“I don’t know,” I murmured, then frowned.
“The last couple times it was all you swimming. I wasn’t helping you at all.”
I couldn’t let Sam be my life raft forever. I was strong. I could do this.
I nodded briskly. “Will you swim nearby?” Just because I was being strong didn’t mean I had to drown.
I was rewarded with a brilliant smile just like the one he gave me this morning. It made me want to find other ways to make him like this. I fumbled a little bit at first, but with a few gentle reminders from Sam I was soon swimming, hardly gracefully, at his side.
“I’m doing it!” I exclaimed and was rewarded with a mouthful of water. A coughing fit followed. Sam scooped me up, laughing, and patted me on the back.
“The water isn’t for drinking,” Sam said, laughing again.
I reached down and splashed him in the face. He sputtered and spit out a mouthful of water that I managed to land in his mouth while he laughed. “That water’s not for drinking,” I mimicked.
Sam’s eyes narrowed and a naughty grin curved his lips. He held me out away from him, suspending me over the water.
“You wouldn’t dare,” I gasped.
“Oops,” he said and then he let go, and with a light splash, I was in the water.
I pushed off the bottom and broke the surface, wiping the water from my eyes to glare at him. “Are you crazy?” I demanded.
“That was good! You pushed off the bottom and found the surface. I thought you would flounder around like a fish.” He grinned, his eyes sparkling with laughter.
I growled and splashed him again.
After a while of our water antics, I was feeling much more comfortable in the water and we were having the best time. But I wanted to practice my swimming skills a little more.
“I’m going to swim out there and back,” I said, pointing to an unidentified spot in the water. I would go as far as I felt comfortable then turn around.
Sam nodded and I pushed off the bottom and began swimming away. I wasn’t a strong swimmer, but I managed to keep my head above water and, for me, that was a victory.
“You’re doing great!” Sam said from a short distance away.
With every paddle my strokes became surer and stronger. As I swam, something brushed against my leg and I shivered at the thought of a slimy fish getting that close. I made a wide circle and turned back, smiling.
Sam clapped and hollered at my accomplishment.
The fish brushed my leg again. A creepy feeling raised the hair on the back of my neck. I kicked out, trying to propel myself closer to Sam. Why did I swim so far away? When something closed around my ankle the creepy feeling I had turned to panic, and I knew that whatever was down there was not a fish. “Sam!” I screamed, but only half of his name came out because I was pulled violently beneath the water. I struggled wildly, trying to get away from whatever was dragging me down, but it was no use.
Dark, cloudy water swirled around me, and no matter where I turned, it all looked the same. Water filled my mouth and I sputtered, trying to spit it out. With one last attempt to get free, I turned toward whatever was holding me. I peered through the muddy water and I couldn’t see anything.
Except the red eyes.
Those were hard to miss. They glowed with an intensity that shook me to my core. They were inherently evil. I tried to look past the red orbs that stared at me to see who or what they belonged to, but there wasn’t anything there. The eyes seemed to belong to a cloud, a cloud that was only slightly lighter than the water surrounding us. It was terrifying. I looked back at the eyes and I wasn’t sure if they seemed out of focus – fuzzy – because they were or because I had been beneath the water for too long.
Where is it?
a voice inside my head hissed.
I whimpered. This voice didn’t belong to Sam.
Tell me…
What do you want?
I asked.
The scroll, tell me where it is.
You can’t have it.
Blinding light burst behind my eyes and pain seared my head. I couldn’t do anything but endure as wave after wave of pain washed over me.
Tell me.
No.
No matter how much he hurt me I couldn’t tell. I prayed that I would soon pass out.
You’re stronger than I gave you credit for little one.
Who are you?
Your future.
He laughed, the sound churned my stomach. I felt pressure in the back of my skull, like my head was being squeezed.
I screamed. Water rushed down my throat. The demon gave one final great tug and pulled me further into the depths of the lake, further away from Sam.
Further away from life.
Sam
The demon had no shape. It was practically without form at all. I kicked through the water toward Heven and the way her body just drifted with the current scared the hell out of me. I watched her die once before.
I would not do it again.
Airis gave us a second chance and I doubted there would be a third.
My lungs burned and felt heavy, and for a brief second, I began to believe that I couldn’t breathe. My heart started hammering in my chest. I had to breathe!
But I didn’t. And I knew that.
Hellhounds could not drown. We didn’t have to breathe to survive. I was feeling Heven’s emotion—her pain at drowning.
Focus.
I wrapped my arms around her torso and kicked with great force toward the surface. How long had we been down here—a minute? More? How long could her brain go without oxygen?
Even with the strength of my kick, we didn’t burst through the surface of the water. No. We were jerked violently back toward the lake bottom. I twisted and saw a set of red eyes below, the demon, whose shape I couldn’t really see—was holding her at the bottom.
I released her body and attacked it. I wasn’t sure where it began and ended, but I threw the hardest, heaviest punch I could. My fist cut through the dark water like butter. I connected with something solid and it shrank back. Then I looked at Heven’s ankle where a thick green vine was wrapped. I yanked it from the lake floor and towed Heven to the surface of the water. When my head broke free, I heaved in a huge gulp of air and rushed for the shore.