04 Last Read Online Free PDF Page B

made some hand gestures I didn’t understand then pointed back at the cave. Daniel nodded and touched Jackson on the arm. Jackson didn’t need the touch to know what Reaper had said. He nodded as well.
    Alex and I shared an exasperated look.
    “Ever feel left out?” I asked in a low whisper.
    She rolled her eyes in agreement.
    Jackson tapped me on the shoulder and shook his head, to keep me from saying anything else. He gestured us back in to the cave. I sighed and followed the others. As soon as we were inside again, I was irritable.
    “Why did we all go out there for two seconds?” I asked. “Doesn’t looking at defenses take more time?”
    “That’s as long as it took to see that storming the place is impossible,” Daniel said.
    “I could have told you that when Jackson claimed it was a fortress,” I said.
    “I thought you were supposed to be the optimistic one?” Daniel asked.
    “Why do you need to storm the place, exactly?” Spider asked.
    “To get Han and Beatrice out, of course,” Reaper said.
    Spider shook his head at Reaper’s misunderstanding.
    “That’s not what I meant,” Spider said. “You’re looking at it all wrong. Storming the place is what it’s designed for. They’ve designed it to withstand armies; to withhold a siege. It’s obvious they expected company one day. You said yourself that Marcus is paranoid. But even paranoia can’t account for all the ways in to a building…no place is ever really ‘impenetrable.’”
    “Sneaking in is impossible, too,” Daniel said, his face darkened by the seriousness of his thoughts. “They’ll have sensors and people watching the sensors. We would get caught in a second.”
    Spider laughed. “That’s why I like people as a rule. They underestimate my ability to sneak.”
    “That’s a great reason to like people,” I said dryly.
    “Yup,” Spider agreed.
    “You should listen to the boy,” a new voice added. “No place is without weaknesses.”
    We all spun to face the direction of the voice – it was coming from deeper in the caves. The direction I had sensed eyes on my back. I had my knife out of my boot before I knew what I was facing. The reaction was immediate – I couldn’t have stopped it if I had tried. The others had similar reactions. Reaper had pulled out his gun and had forced Spider behind him before I had my knife half way out. Daniel had pulled out a gun as well – which surprised me. I hadn’t known he was carrying one. He pointed it at the dark, even as his eyes surveyed the space for the enemy we all knew was lurking. Sara had a curved knife as long as my forearm in her hand. I wasn’t sure where she had hidden it, but I wasn’t going to ask – not with the look on her face. Preacher, Jackson and Margaret were the only ones who hadn’t pulled a weapon out. Their bodies were tense, though, as tense as the others.
    “Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” the voice said. “If I had wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”
    It was then I recognized the sultry, accented voice. There was a hint of French in the voice, and it was unmistakably feminine. The playfulness of it didn’t hide the person’s penchant for bringing trouble. It was someone I had definitely never wanted to meet again.
    “You like to use people too much to kill them, Serenity,” I said back, not lowering my knife an inch, despite recognizing the voice. “We both know that.”
    “Hmmm, still charming people with your wit I see,” Serenity said.
    Serenity finally stepped in to the light with her words. She was wearing a snowsuit and a cute, white hat that would have looked ridiculous on me. Her ebony skin was perfect, unblemished, and her golden eyes were pale in the light of the lamp. She didn’t make a sound as she walked, her heavy boots not detracting from her grace at all.
    “Don’t let my charm overwhelm you. I’m really quite annoyed,” I said.
    Daniel stepped in front of me. It was a small step, but enough of one to put his body in