to go to their rooms for the night. Torie’s heart fell. She wouldn’t have time to go to the old house and do the investigating she’d planned to do. Even if she could lose Marc, it was just too late. The others would be looking for her.
She gazed up at his face, surprised at how he seemed to get better-looking by the hour. Was it really him? Or was it her?
“I’d better get back,” she said.
He nodded, but as she began to turn away, he caught hold of her arm and pulled her around to face him.
“Promise me one thing,” he said huskily, his gaze hooded. “Keep your door locked tonight.”
Her eyes widened. “You mean...?”
His grip on her arm tightened. “I mean keep your door locked. I don’t trust Carl.”
“Oh no. He would never...”
Something flickered in his eyes. “He’s a man, isn’t he? And you’re a very attractive woman. I don’t trust him. Lock that door.”
She took a deep breath. For some reason, her heart was beating wildly. She didn’t think of herself that way, and she didn’t really believe he meant what he said about her. But still...
“Okay.”
“I’m going to check it. I’ll give you a knock like this...” He demonstrated against a handy tree trunk. “So you’ll know it’s me. Just checking.”
She searched his eyes and shook her head. “Why are you doing this?”
He thought for a minute, his brow furrowed, and then he shook his head too. “You got me,” he said. “I guess it’s for old time’s sake. After all, you’re sort of like a baby sister to me. Aren’t you?”
She laughed shortly. “No,” she said emphatically.
He shrugged and his hand loosened on her arm. “Okay. I guess I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
She nodded. “Fine. I can accept that.”
“Good.”
He looked down and for one, heart-stopping moment, she was sure he was about to kiss her. Marc Huntington was going to kiss her. How many times had she dreamed of this moment? She waited, ready, lips slightly parted, heart beating like a jungle drum. He stared down at her for a long moment, and then something changed in his eyes and he turned away.
“Good night, Victoria Sands,” he said gruffly. “Sleep well. I’ll see you in the morning.”
And he melted into the shadows of the trees.
Her breath was coming fast, as though she’d just been running hard, and her face was burning. She felt like a fool. When would she ever learn? Marc Huntington was not for her. Never would be.
* * *
Back at the house, she managed to evade Carl as she passed the fire pit and made it all the way to her bedroom before he caught up with her.
“Hold it,” he said, thrusting his shoulder in the way of her closing the door. “We’ve gotta talk.”
“Carl, it’s been a long day. I need to get some sleep.”
“You can sleep all you want, but I need some help first. I need you to update the map.”
She sighed. The map she’d drawn of the Shangri-La estate was rough at best. She’d done it from memory and given it to him back when they were first planning this little adventure. In some ways it had been a labor of love and she’d enjoyed dredging up all her old stories as she worked on it.
“What’s missing?” she asked.
“The caves.” He pulled a folded paper out of his jacket and looked at her quizzically, his gaze cold. “I’m just wondering. Why did you leave out the caves?”
That was a good question and she wasn’t really sure what the answer was.
“Listen Carl, just leave the map with me and I’ll get them sketched in by lunch tomorrow.”
“No,” he said, a hint of anger beginning to surface in his voice. “I need it tonight. I need...”
“Is there a problem?”
They both jumped and turned to find Marc coming down the hall toward them.
“Something I can do to help?” he asked silkily, staring at Carl.
Carl grabbed his map back and shoved it into his jacket, shaking his head and looking resentful. “No. It’s nothing.” He began to retreat toward his own room. “Okay, Torie. We’ll deal with it in the morning. See you then.”
She looked at Marc and he raised an eyebrow. “I know,” she told him. He didn’t have to say it. “Lock my door. Don’t worry. I will.”
And he was right, she mused as she prepared for bed. Carl had seemed so harmless when she’d agreed to come on this trip, but he’d changed. There was an intensity in Carl she’d never noticed before. She wasn’t sure if she could say that she trusted him any longer.
She knew Marc didn’t. But then, he didn’t trust her either, did he?
Later, as she drifted into sleep, she thought she heard shouting. She sat up and tried to analyze what it was, but the sounds had faded by the time she was awake enough. Maybe she’d dreamed it. She lay back down but what little sleep she got after that was fitful. It was hard to let go when she knew that she was planning to get up and go exploring in a couple of hours anyway.
* * *
Plans that looked easy to execute from a distance always looked so impossible once you got face to face with the time to act. It was 1:00 a.m. and Torie’s eyes were wide open, waiting for her little buzzer alarm on her cell phone to sound.
She felt as if she hadn’t slept a wink. A part of her tried to justify just rolling over and going back to sleep, but she’d come all this way and she knew she couldn’t miss this chance.
Her heart was beating in her throat. Was she really going to do this? Was she really going to start sneaking around, looking for information? Maybe it would be better to wait until morning when the light would be better and she could just be casual and find people to ask questions of.
“Coward!”
She said the word aloud, goading herself into action as the buzzer sounded and she reached out to stop it. She couldn’t let this opportunity pass without taking advantage of it.
“Carpe diem,” she added firmly, just for fun. Yes, she would seize the day. What else had she come for, anyway?
TORIE slipped out of bed and reached for her clothes, pulling on leggings and a heavy sweatshirt that came down almost to her knees. She tied her
