The Lair Read Online Free PDF

though there was no way a Tick could get at her, it still made my skin crawl having her out in the open like this.
    “What’s up?” I asked.
    She had her hands shoved into her pockets, and rolled up onto the balls of her feet. She grinned, tipping her face toward the weak spring sunlight. “Merc said you were driving up the mountain today. I thought maybe I’d tag along.”
    “Are you kidding?” But her good mood was infectious and I couldn’t help smiling.
    She sidled closer to me, stopping just a few inches away. Her fingers tiptoed up the front of my shirt and she looked up at me with her head tilted to the side, an impish smile on her face. “A solid two to three hours alone? Out in the sunshine? Away from Base Camp? No way I’d joke about that.”
    My head swam in response to her words. Base Camp was safe, but it was almost impossible to be alone. Yeah, we could catch a minute here and there. Like this, this moment out in the sunshine, with the chaos of Base Camp a whole twenty yards away. But two to three hours? I hadn’t had that with Lily . . . well, since that night we’d slept side by side for a few hours on the Farm, right before we’d escaped. And, oh man, I wanted her alone.
    I trailed my fingers up her arm. She had on a couple of layers of clothing, but, hell, layers could be peeled off. Her smile widened, like she knew just what I was thinking. And that combination—the smile, the hint of intimacy, the lure of time alone with her—it was like a mind wipe. There was some reason this was a bad idea, but for the life of me I couldn’t think of why.
    “Hey,” a voice called from behind me. “We heading out soon or do I have time to grab some food first?”
    I turned around to see Taylor walking toward the Hummer. He did a little double take when he saw Lily peeking out from behind my shoulder.
    “Oh, sorry, man. Didn’t realize you were . . . occupied. I’ll just grab a bite to eat and be back in a minute, okay? Then we can head out. ’Cause we should get started soon. I mean, if you still want to . . .”
    No. I didn’t still want to. I didn’t want to drive up the freakin’ mountain to install more solar panels. I wanted just five freakin’ minutes alone with Lily.
    “Fine. Be back in five minutes.”
    Taylor trotted off and I looked back at Lily. She smiled sheepishly. “I guess that means no three hours alone.”
    “Yeah, I guess not.” I blew out a breath and stepped away from her. “Just as well.”
    She frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Come on, it’s not like I’m going to let you go traipsing around on the mountain with me.”
    She took a step back herself and did a double take. “Not going to let me go?”
    “You know what I mean.”
    “Maybe you better tell me.” She propped her hands on her hips. “Because it sounded to me like you think I need your permission to leave Base Camp.”
    “Of course I don’t think that.”
    “Good.”
    But that stubborn look in her eyes sent fear dripping down the back of my neck. “But just to be clear, you’re not leaving Base Camp.”
    She arched an eyebrow.
    “I have to leave Base Camp eventually.”
    “No, you don’t.”
    “Yes, I do.” She stepped closer and dropped her voice, so that even if someone was out in the parking lot with us, they’d have a hard time hearing our conversation. “Have you noticed the way people treat me here?”
    “Yeah. Everybody loves you. They think you’re great.”
    “Right. I don’t know if it’s because they think I’m an abductura or just because I’m your girlfriend or what, but the Elites all treat me like I’m a friggin’ China doll and the Greens act like I’m Joan of Arc or something.”
    “So?” She’d had a hell of a time on the Farm. And she’d lost Mel. If anyone deserved an easy time of it now, it was Lily.
    “So, I need to be doing something.”
    “You do plenty. You do KP duty nearly every day and—”
    “I need to be doing