Page 102 of Cavern of Silence

"Did you always want to live in Europe?" I ask.

"No. It just happened. I've been away from the States so long, I'm not sure where I would go. My parents are dead, and my only brother died during active duty in the Marines."

I stop walking and put my hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

He nods and puts his hand around my waist and continues forward. "It happened a long time ago."

We amble in silence for a while.

"Where are you from?"

"North Carolina."

"Is it nice there?"

"Yeah. But I haven't been there in years."

A jaguar howls, and I move closer to Ryker. He tightens his arm around me. "It's not close."

Blackness sets in. The clouds hide the moon and stars. Ryker stops and points. "Look."

"I can't see that far."

"It's some sort of structure." He takes his gun out of his backpack, puts it in his pants, and then tugs me into him. "Stay close to me."

"Like I would go anywhere," I mumble.

He grunts. "Good point."

We get closer. Paint peels off an old barn, and the smell of manure and hay fills the air. Ryker says, "There has to be a house somewhere, but I can't see very far."

"I might as well be blind right now," I joke.

He tries the door, and it creaks open.

"This is freaky,” I say and jump when a bolt of lightning crashes through the sky, shedding light on a small ranch home. It sits about the length of a football field away.

Rain pours down, and Ryker pulls me inside. "Looks like we got lucky. Welcome home for the night, my sexy goddess."

16

Ryker

The barn is largerthan the one on Julieta's property in Belize. Six horses and a handful of cows are in stalls lining the walls. Chickens roam free in a coop, clucking. The sweet scent of fresh hay fills the air, and I pull a flashlight out of my backpack.

"Ah. There we go." I take Julieta's hand, lead her to a cabinet, pull out several horse blankets, and motion to the ladder. "Ladies first."

She scrunches her face. "What if there is something up there?"

"I thought you were a country girl?"

"Which is why I understand bats and barns."

It's a legitimate concern. "Do you want me to go first?"

"Yes, please."

I climb into the loft and shine the light around. It's almost full of hay. "All safe. Come on up." I point the flashlight so Julieta can see where she's going as she climbs up.