Phantom Lover

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“Back to Maryland?”

“Back to your room.”

The firm, decisive delivery chilled her. He’d been holding her hand. He broke the contact, stepping away from her, leaving her standing in the dark.

“Troy!”

“Stay there. Don’t move.” His voice was sharp, commanding, urgent, and she froze.

One of his hands clamped on her shoulder, leading her around a sharp corner. “Look!”

In the next moment fire flared only a few yards in front of her face, the sudden light so unexpected after the total darkness that she couldn’t focus. Dimly she saw a burning faggot of straw or sticks fly through the air, arching upward before it began to fall—not at her feet, but far, far below.

With a shock of amazement she realized she’d been so caught up in the conversation with Troy that she’d forgotten about the gaping pit.

The brand crashed onto the rocks, sending sparks flaring upward toward her.

She blinked, probing the darkness—and knew that in the moments when she’d been blinded, he’d slipped away.

“Troy?”

He didn’t answer and she felt a shiver slither over her skin. He’d mesmerized her, made her forget about the dangerous drop-off.

Then, when he’d thrown the burning brand, she hadn’t even seen him at all. She was still grappling with that when his voice drifted toward her, this time from far away.

“Go back,” he said again. And then he was gone.

“Troy,” she called, knowing even as she said his name that she was absolutely alone. “Troy,” she said again, despairingly, softly. “Don’t run away from me. Let me help you.”

Even as she called out to him, she knew he wasn’t going to answer. He had left her here, left her with light. And she knew she should use the opportunity to go back down the tunnel.

But she could also see that there was a short path that led along the rim of the pit and around a corner to some other section of the underground passage—a section that was hidden from view.

He’d slipped away. He hadn’t brushed past her. So the only way he could have gone was in the other direction.

The old Bonnie Brennan whispered that she would be a fool to follow him. He obviously knew his way around here, and she didn’t. The new persona she’d worked so hard to create shouted that she had no other options.

It was clear Troy had sought her out because he was in trouble. Yet, at the same time, he didn’t want to—or couldn’t—give her any information.

What if he’d changed his mind about trusting her and this was her only chance to get some answers from him?

For a long moment she stood with her lower lip between her teeth, torn between safety and urgency. Yet deep down she silently acknowledged that one reason she’d come here was to test herself. To find out if she’d really changed from the timid woman of the past. To prove she wasn’t her old wimpy self, she took a step forward and then another, hugging the rock wall, staying as far as she could from the pit. Although it was only six or eight feet to the other side, the journey seemed endless. She breathed a little sigh as she came out onto a wider space again.