Page 13 of Moonlight Hearts

I rested my chin on my hand.“So soon?I thought we were going to explore a little more?”I looked around.“There has to be more to this place than a food truck, right?Did you see that ad for the cocktail place?Dazzle?”

Soyer groaned, his shoulders sagging.“You’re killing me here, but fine.You do need to get out more.Does it have to be the Dazzle?”

I shrugged.“I don’t know what else is there.Or here.I don’t know how deep these tunnels go.”

His eyes twinkled when he looked up at me.“I have something in mind.I think you’ll like it.Go ahead, finish your food so we can go.”

If Soyer was excited, so was I.We both ate our Bohemian potato pancakes in silence, the underground bright and strange all around us.Almost as strange as Soyer dipping the fried goodness in altogether too much applesauce.

Chapter Five

Theundergroundwassurprisinglywalkable.It was also surprisingly busy, but then again, if you lived down here, I wasn’t sure day and night made much of a difference in your everyday life.I saw people grocery shopping at small stores that offered a surprising selection of fruits and veggies, snacks, and street food.There was even a pet shop that looked like it specialized in smaller animals, like fish and hamsters, bunnies and canaries.

I was holding Soyer’s hand.Probably a good thing.There was too much to see here, and it was distracting me from really looking at where we were going or what turns we were taking.People kept staring at Soyer as if he were some sort of scary gangster, but no one made any comment at all that I saw or heard.

After a few more turns down smaller side tunnels, we came to a staircase with an old-fashioned elevator set in the center of it—the kind that had one of those metal grates that always made me worry for people’s fingers.To the right of it, a staircase went down, spiraling around the elevator.

“Stairs or elevator?”Soyer asked me.

“Stairs.We can’t go that much deeper, right?”

“Can’t we?I might drag you to the underworld, to all the circles of hell where the best parties happen.”

“Oh, you’re not that bad.You know that.”

“My heart, what did I tell you about not saying such things where people might hear?”

He’d turned toward me and placed his palm against my cheek.It wouldn’t take much effort to kiss him, or for him to kiss me.

“Something about your reputation, maybe?”

“Hmm.Being feisty again, are you?Kiss me, and I’ll let it slide.”

The melody of his voice had gone down a few notes, and his dark eyes were my universe, the night sky I was trying to measure.

“What if I don’t?”

His jaw tightened.“Oh, Amory.My Amory.You’re temptation made flesh, aren’t you?Maybe I should have fired you so I could keep you all to myself.”

I kissed him then, just a quick kiss.It was more than I’d have been comfortable with half a year ago, but I’d changed.So much.And I liked the person I had become.I was excited to discover who I’d be in the future.

“Don’t joke about that.Besides, you’d need Dwayne’s okay to fire me.”

“Stop being reasonable and frustrating at the same time.”He sighed and turned toward the stairs.“Down we go.”

The stairs were metal, and our footfalls echoed, mine more than Soyer’s.The stairwell, even with the elevator in the center, was so narrow that I could see it making people feel claustrophobic, especially if it got busy.But we were the only people there.

“Where are we going?”

Soyer whistled.“Now you ask.You know, when someone leads you into the darkness, you’re supposed to ask where they’re taking youbeforeyou follow them.That’s reasonable behavior, but you just do what you’re told and head into the dark.”

“You’re not someone.”

“Hmm.”

“And I trust you.”

“Enough to let me fire you?”