Running Back (New York Leopards 2)

“I was thinking... You can dig Kilkarten.”

A thousand needles pricked my body and I swung back in her direction. “Wait, what?”

“Anna and I talked it over. If there’s some lost city there, we want it uncovered.”

I gaped at her. “But... I thought it wasn’t a democracy.”

One of her brow’s winged up. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Just... Have you talked to Mike? I thought all three of you had to agree.”

“Oh, yeah, that. Well, it is a democracy. It’s not Mike’s decision.”

My heart seemed to be pounding at twice its normal pace. “You can’t make him sign.”

She smiled. “Oh, yes, I can.” She raised an arm and hollered over the pub’s noise. “Mike! Get over here!”

My head whirled even as every second passed in slow motion. I charted Mike’s path toward us with each step he took.

Lauren and Anna wanted me to excavate Kilkarten.

I could see the whole future spread out, a future I’d turned off months ago when Mike first refused to sign. I could see the dig, the discovery, the report. The articles in

journals, the news segment I’d dreamed up for mainstream media.

And then I heard Mike’s voice in my head, saying he would never let me excavate Kilkarten, because of “personal reasons.”

Now the real Mike stopped before us, beer in hand, smile on his face. His gaze kept touching mine. “What’s up?”

I placed my hand on Lauren’s arm. My voice came out faint. “Lauren, I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

Mike looked back and forth between us. “What’s not a good idea?”

Lauren pushed off her bar stool. “Natalie’s excavating Kilkarten.”

Mike swung a surprised look my way. “No, she isn’t.”

Lauren crossed her arms. “Yeah. She is.”

Mike looked at me. “What’s she talking about? You can’t dig.”

“That’s right.” My head felt like it was floating off. “You said that. But I don’t know why not.”

He stared at me. “Because.”

I beseeched him with my gaze. Because why?

Lauren’s voice was unyielding. “Mike, you’ve been saying ‘because’ since I was fifteen. It’s not going to cut it anymore.”

“Dammit, Lauren!”

Several people looked our way. Anna caught sight of us and hurried over. “What’s going on?”

Mike’s jaw and fists clenched. “I’m not having this conversation here.” He turned and walked out the door.

Lauren’s mouth fell open and then tightened into a white line, and she strode after her brother with clenched fists. Wide-eyed Anna followed in her wake.

I hesitated a moment before also pushing out through the heavy wooden door. While the pub stayed brightly lit, mist hung throughout the rest of the village, and when we stepped onto the path leading back to the inn, the white fog faded out the swaying cypresses and the sea. Goosebumps rose on my exposed skin.