“We need to be careful,” he said, meeting her gaze. “This isn’t one of your normal adventures.”
Sadness flashed in her eyes, there and gone so fast he wondered if he imagined it.
“I know that better than anyone, El.”
Before he could respond, a knock at their door made them both turn. Koos stood in the doorway, his expression friendly but his eyes sharp.
“I’m making dinner tonight,” he announced. “To welcome you all and give you time to settle in. Six O’clock, sharp. You won’t want to miss it.”
“Thanks,” Rue said with her most winning smile. “We’ll be there.”
As Koos’s footsteps receded down the hallway, Elliot caught her arm before she could follow.
“Listen to me,” he said, keeping his voice soft in case someone was eavesdropping. “Whatever’s going on here, it’s bigger than what Frost told us. Promise me you won’t do anything reckless.”
Her smile turned mischievous. “Define ‘reckless.’”
“Rue—”
“Relax.” She patted his chest, her hand lingering just a moment too long. “I’ll be the very picture of caution.”
“And, yet, somehow, I’m not convinced.”
“That sounds like a you problem.” She booped his nose with the tip of her finger and slipped past him into the hallway. “Come on, fiancé. We’ve got a welcome dinner to attend.”
Elliot took one last look at their cramped quarters before following her. The bunk beds seemed to mock him with their rigid separation, their clear boundaries. He was an idiot foreven thinking about sharing a bed with Rue, even in the most innocent sense. This arrangement was better. Safer.
So why did he feel so damn disappointed?
He shook off the thought and stepped into the hallway, closing the door firmly behind him. Whatever was happening at Thwaites Station, he needed to keep his head clear and his focus sharp.
No distractions. No complications. No crossing lines with Rue Bristow that couldn’t be uncrossed.
Even if part of him desperately wanted to.
ten
After dinner,Elliot slipped away from the group, claiming he needed to check their gear one more time before tomorrow’s field expedition. It was a thin excuse, but nobody questioned him—they were all too busy nursing cups of Koos’s surprisingly decent coffee and pretending the tension in the room wasn’t thick enough to cut with a knife.
The dinner had been a study in forced pleasantries. Lydia had complained about everything from the temperature of the soup to the quality of the bread rolls. Dr. Keene had peppered the summer crew with questions about the station’s research capabilities until even his enthusiasm couldn’t mask their evasive answers. And Noah Braddock had spent the entire meal watching everyone like he was cataloging potential threats.
Which, knowing what Elliot suspected about the man, he probably was.
Now, as Elliot made his way through the station’s narrow corridors, he let his tactical training take over. The layout was standard for a research facility this size—functional, efficient, designed to maximize space while minimizing heating costs. Butthe devil was in the details, and those details were what had his instincts screaming.
He started with the obvious: the cameras. They were everywhere, tucked into corners and mounted on walls with the kind of professional installation that suggested serious money behind the surveillance system. Too many cameras for a legitimate research station, and all of them appeared to be high-end models with night vision capabilities.
The biometric scanner on Lab B caught his attention next. He ran his fingers along the edge of the device, noting the fresh installation marks in the metal door frame. This wasn’t part of the original station construction—it had been added recently, probably within the last few weeks.
Someone had gone to considerable expense to secure whatever was inside that lab.
He moved deeper into the station, his footsteps muffled by the industrial carpeting that had seen better days.
The communications room was his next stop. He’d noted its location during Koos’s tour, but now he wanted a closer look without their cheerful host hovering over his shoulder. The door stood slightly ajar, and through the gap, he could see banks of equipment that looked far more sophisticated than what a small research station would typically need.
He itched to examine the setup more closely, but the sound of approaching footsteps in the corridor made him freeze.
Shit.
