Free Drifters' Alliance, Book 3 by Elle Casey

screwed and weaponless.
    I see the spot where I fell up ahead. Holding out my arm, I block Mason’s progress.
    “What’s the plan?” he asks, bending down behind me to whisper in my ear.
    It tickles, so I reach up to flick at his face and get him to back off. I catch him in the nose and he inhales sharply.
    “Not so close,” I say in a loud whisper. Then I point. “That’s where it is. Somewhere in there.”
    “In where? That’s just a pile of plants.”
    “No, it’s not.” I stand there chewing my lip, trying to figure out how I’m going to find out if that guy’s in there. I don’t want to surprise him and end up getting stuck with a blade for my efforts. But we can’t stand here for too much longer or we’re going to get busted by Lucinda gathering her food, or by her father coming back to hide, assuming he’s not in there now.
    “So, go get it.” Macon pushes me. “What are you waiting for?”
    I turn to face him so he can see how frustrated he’s making me. I can feel my face going red. “I told you … it’s a small chamber. He could be waiting.”
    Macon’s eyes widen. “You think he has your knife?”
    “I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not. It’s really messy in there.” I look over my shoulder. “I need to find out if he’s there.”
    Macon stands up straighter, looks at the spot, and steps around me. “Let me handle this.”
    He’s gone before I can stop him, so I quickly slide in between two towers and watch him from behind a clump of leaves. He’d better not screw this up. I’m not as panicked as I could be, though. Lucinda would probably expect to see him in here more than she’d expect to see me. I told her I’d send him to help, so if she busts him walking around without boots on, she’ll probably just write it off as Macon being Macon and not get too suspicious.
    Macon acts like he’s messing around with the plants above the hidden chamber and then kicks at the roots at little. “Hey, what’s this?” he says in an exaggerated and extra loud tone. “What a mess. I should cut these roots away. Lucinda will thank me for it later.” He grabs a hunk of them and moves them to the side. Looking back at me, he waits, standing there like an idiot. Apparently, he’s not worried about a Romanii guy who has everything to lose reaching out and stabbing him in the nuts.
    I shake my head at Macon’s idiocy.
    He bends down and sticks his head inside. “Wow, look at this. It’s empty under here.” Then he stands and smiles. “All clear!”
    I stride out from my hiding place and push him away. “Go. Find Lucinda and keep her away from here while I look for it.”
    “You got it, Captain.” He salutes before he leaves me there. I watch his retreating form for a few seconds, wondering how in the hell he survived all these years out there in the Dark alone. He must have had a guardian angel looking out for him or something.
    Saving the mystery that is Macon for later, I duck down into the chamber and wait for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Slowly, things come into focus, and everything appears the same as I left it. Once I can see, I waste no time pulling up the materials on the pallet and searching every inch of the place for my blade. As the first minute ticks by, I hold on to hope, but as I move into the second minute with no success, I start to panic. It’s not here! Where could it be?! I had to have lost it in here. Those frigging roots were all over me.
    I quickly comb through the plant parts in my last ditch effort to calm my racing heart, but it does me no good; the blade isn’t there or in this bed, and I’m running out of time before Lucinda comes back in this direction. I just don’t have the kind of luck that’ll keep her away for very long.
    I shove the roots aside and step outside the chamber, holding the plants out of the way until I can stand upright. I let them go as I move to straighten my posture, but then I stop abruptly when I find myself staring at the