Her Dirty Archeologists by Mika Lane

11

FLEUR HOLMES

It was the end of a long day of doing pretty much nothing when I went to the kitchen area to fill up my water bottle. But before I rounded the corner, I heard something that made me stop in my tracks.

“Jonas, I’m telling you, the danger is minimal. But if you’d let me hire the guards I’d initially suggested, you’d definitely be sleeping easier at night,” Drake said.

Danger? Guards? What the hell?

“I don’t know Drake. We’re like sitting ducks here. And I worry for Fleur. God knows what could happen to her.”

Oh my god. What the hell did that mean?

I didn’t move a muscle. I wanted to hear everything.

“Drake, I’ve told you repeatedly, there was no budget for guards. The department can’t pay for stuff like that. The administration would say that if an area isn’t safe, then we plain can’t go there. It’s that simple. So I kept my mouth shut about the risk, on your recommendation.”

Okay. That had definitely been Jonas, since he was in charge of things like that.

Long inhale. “We don’t have anything to steal, anyway. I mean, we’re just surveying the area and creating a grid at this point. There’s nothing to come after. Yet.” Drake said.

Holy shit. Did they think people were coming to rob us?

Someone got to his feet with a loud yawn. “Well guys, arguing isn’t going to solve anything. And I’m tired, sore, and sunburned. Goodnight.”

Pretty sure that had been Penn.

When I heard his footsteps, I stepped into the shadows until he passed, then walked into the kitchen as casually as I could.

“Hey there. Just getting some water before bedtime,” I said cheerfully.

If they weren’t sharing this information with me, there must be a reason. Right?

“Okay, Fleur. Sleep well,” Jonas called after me.

Yeah, right. I’d sleep just great after overhearing that conversation.

But as I walked back to my tent, I realized I not only wanted more information, but I deserved it. If there was some sort of danger lurking, who the hell were these guys to decide they could keep it from me?

And what was this danger anyway?

As I walked past Penn’s tent, I saw his light was still on. Maybe he’d share some information with me.

“Penn?” I said softly.

He unzipped his tent and poked his head out. “Fleur?”

“Hey, Penn. Do you think we could talk for a sec?”

He held his tent flap open. “Sure. Come in.”

I stepped through and took a seat on the end of his sleep mattress. There was nowhere else to sit except the floor, where he grabbed a place opposite me.

“So, I have a couple things to ask you about.”

He waited.

I dove in. “I’m going to get right to it. Hope you don’t mind. So… I heard you and your brother saying I was essentially useless. Do you really think that, Penn?”

He sighed then looked down, slowly shaking his head back and forth. Then he looked back up. “I always tell my brother to keep his goddamn big mouth shut. But he never does.”

Now it was my turn to wait.

“Look, he’s got a bit of a chip on his shoulder about women at the moment. You can’t listen to anything he says. He’s a good guy and means well but sometimes doesn’t think before he speaks.”

Easy for him to say.

“Well, it didn’t feel good to hear that.”

He reached for one of my hands, surprising me. “I can imagine. I’m sorry. I’m sorry we were talking about you. It was wrong.”

I gave him a little smile. With him holding my hand, I wasn’t sure what else to say.

So I moved on.

“Another thing, Penn. I heard you guys talking about looters.”

His eyes widened, and he shook his head again.

“Well, shit.”

“Yeah. Well, shit. So, what is this looter talk about? I deserve to know. I’m part of this team just like you and the other guys are.”

“You really shouldn’t worry about it, Fleur.”

Holy fuck. He was going to shut me out, too?

“Penn, I don’t want to be afraid the rest of my time here. I need to know what’s up.”

“You’re afraid? That’s what’s going on?” he asked.

And against my will, my bottom lip began to shake, and my eyes watered until everything was blurry.

Goddammit. I did not want to cry in front of this man.

“C’mon. Here,” he said, moving to the edge of the bed next to me and putting his arms around me.

I let my head fall onto his shoulder while he held me.

I had to say, I felt pretty damn safe.

But the tears kept coming.

“I… I’m sorry. I didn’t think I was going to get… emotional on you.”

He turned my head to face him. “Hey. It’s okay. We’re a long way from home. We need to support each other.”

At that moment, I knew I should look away. The longer I gazed at him, the harder it would be to get to my feet and back to my own tent.

And when he kissed me, it became clear I wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

Sure, I’d kissed his brother a couple nights earlier. But guys did shit like this all the time. Why shouldn’t I have my fun?

And any reason to stop flew right out of my mind as Penn ran his fingers through my hair, his hand cupping my ass to bring me closer as he ran his lips down my neck.

Yeah. I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

* * *