Page 53 of (Mostly) Human Resources
“Great, a hand, then?”
Nic and Alexys divided up the gear. She wasn’t thrilled that Nic’s latest additions made her bag five times heavier than it was before, but she promised herself not to complain. She wouldn’t givehim the satisfaction. Besides, she had enough to worry about: Elliot, the woods, monsters and ghouls …Nic Dyre.
She did her best to suppress a yawn but it slipped out anyway.
“Am I boring you?” Nic asked, smirking.
“As riveting as this is, I’m exhausted. Woods, a Haint, running for my life, remember?” Alexys shook her head.
“Wait, you were out in the woods? Odd, you didn’t mention it.” Was he actuallyteasingher? Right now? Had he completely lost his mind?
“If we’re heading out at dawn, I should get to sleep.” She chose to ignore his banter. He nodded, turning his attention back to methodically organizing his backpack. “And you should too,” she added, her voice erring on the side of concern. He looked up at her, surprise in his eyes.
He cleared his throat. “Don’t worry about me, Keane. Go get some rest. You’ll need it.”
Infuriating, yes, but also right.
“Well, goodnight, then.” Nic nodded, turning to glance at the sofa. They hadn’t discussed it, but there was zero chance Alexys was letting him have the only spare bedroom. “Sleep tight,” she mused, flashing him a grin.
Alexys retreated to the back bedroom, dumped her bag and sat down on the mattress. Its worn springs squeaked beneath her weight. She sighed.
Everything ached. She was incredibly anxious and stressed out. But she’d have to put that all aside tomorrow. Right now, nothing else mattered apart from Elliot, and she felt more confident now that together they actually stood a chance of finding him.
Nic woke herbeforedawn. She could have killed him.
She waited for him to check his bag for the fifth time, pulling out her phone to search for service. She waved it around hopelessly.
No bars.
“Who are you trying to call?” Nic asked.
Alexys rolled her eyes. “Your mom, Captain Nosey.”
Nic snorted. “Tell her I said hello.”
“Why don’t you tell her yourself?”
His expression soured, and she immediately realized she’d hit a nerve. Alexys backpedalled and said, “It doesn’t matter. There’s no reception, we couldn’t call anyone even if we wanted to. You might as well leave it here.”
“If you’re trying to call Natalie, I already used Opal’s landline to call the office yesterday and informed her of our …situation.Kristin should have received an email from Natalie notifying her of your amended return date, next week.”
She shoved her phone into her pocket and tried to muster up a little gratitude. “That would have been nice to know before I spent ten minutes wandering around the yard staring at my phone.”
Nic smiled despite her tone. “It’s okay. I know the ‘thank you’ was implied.”
“It absolutely was not.”
“Such poor manners. How does Kristin put up with you every day?”
“Quite well, thank you.” Alexys squared up to him, poking him in the chest. “That’s why I’m not the one sequestered in the basement.”
“Oh, sequestered, eh? That’s a big word for you.”
She groaned and walked past him to Opal’s front stoop.
The witch was waiting for them by her front door, her thick shawl engulfing her boney frame.
“Are yens leaving now?” she drawled.
