Page 47

I read the message once and lock the screen. By now, I know what that usually means.

Five minutes later, I slip out through the side corridor and find Ross waiting near the old east stairwell, half concealed by the curve of the stone wall. His jacket is buttoned, his expression composed, and anyone passing would assume he is standing there for some entirely legitimate reason.

I stop beside him. “This had better be important.”

His eyes move over my face. “You came.”

“You’ve used that line before.”

“It worked before,” he says.

I glance toward the corridor.

“If this is another thirty-second kiss, I’m going back to work.”

The corner of his mouth shifts.

“Come with me.”

“That wasn’t an answer.”

“No,” he says. “It wasn’t.”

Ross opens a narrow paneled door I have passed dozens of times without realizing it is a door at all.

I stare at him. “Where does that go?”

“You’ll see.”

He steps through first, and curiosity wins. The passage beyond is narrow enough that my shoulder nearly brushes the stone wall. Small recessed lights have been added along the floor, but the space still feels older than the rest of the estate, with uneven masonry and a low ceiling that forces Ross to duck slightly in places.

“This is ridiculous,” I say as I follow him.

“What part?”

“The secret passage.”

“It isn’t secret.”

“You just opened a wall.”

“That doesn’t make it secret.”

I laugh softly. “You really will argue anything.”

Ross looks back at me. “You like that about me.”

I hate how easily he says it now.

“What was this used for?” I ask.

“Originally? Staff access between the older wings.” He slows at a turn in the passage.

“Sebastian and I found it when we were eight or nine and decided it belonged to us.”

I smile. “You hid from the staff?”

“Constantly.”