The air in the cave suddenly shifted.
It wasn't a sound. It was a change in pressure. The wind outside seemed to die down, replaced by a heavy, stifling stillness. The scent of woodsmoke was abruptly sliced through by something sharp, metallic, and hauntingly familiar.
Ozone. Expensive leather. And the faint, cold spice of a cologne that used to haunt my dreams.
My heart didn't just beat; it slammed against my ribs, a frantic warning. I didn't move. I couldn't. My body knew he was there before my mind could even process the impossibility of it.
"The 18-karat gold doesn't handle salt water very well," a voice said.
The sound of it sent a physical shockwave through me. It was deeper than I remembered, raspy and raw, like a blade that had been dragged through gravel.
I stood up slowly, my legs feeling like lead. I turned toward the mouth of the cave.
Reid was standing there.
