Page 19 of Silent Shadows

“You made it!” she says, like we’re old friends reuniting after war.

Before I can answer, she grabs my shoulders.

“You’re shorter than I expected,” she says—surprising coming from someone a good four inches shorter than I am.

“…thank you?” I’m so caught off guard that I forget to put on the Daisy Bennett charm.

“No, it’s a fun surprise,” she says quickly. “You just have tall girl energy.”

I stare at her, and she grins.

“Taylor,” she says, pointing at herself. “Transport specialist. Happy to have you here!”

“You’d be happy to have anyone here,” calls a disembodied male voice from inside the RV.

“That might be true,” Taylor yells back.

A second later, a guy with light chestnut hair and a camera steps down beside her. He’s wearing black jeans, Vans, and the expression of a man permanently amused by everyone around him.

“Jax,” he says. “I document the bad decisions. Like the one you’re making right now.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me.

"Ooh, good one," Taylor says with a playful roll of her eyes.

“So, you’re Daisy,” he mutters, studying me openly. “Huh.”

“Huh?” I repeat.

“You look expensive.”

I laugh despite myself. “That’s fair.”

Another woman emerges, tucking her dark hair behind her ear as she glances down at the tablet she’s holding, then lifts her eyes to mine. “Hi, Daisy! Sorry we’re late,” she says, her composed demeanor in direct contrast to the chaos surrounding her.

Thank God. A normal person.

“I’m Maya,” she says, hand extended, and I shake it.

“You’re real,” I say before I can stop myself.

Her mouth twitches. “Allegedly.”

I like her.

And then, another figure steps out of the RV.

Tall.

That’s my first thought.

Tall in a way that feels unreasonable in real life, ducking instinctively beneath the doorway before straightening to his full height. His dark hair curls slightly from the heat under his Strange Terrain Division hat. Pale skin, which shouldn’t work but somehow does. Hiking pants. Long sleeves. A ridiculous amount of sunscreen visible on the bridge of his nose, where his glasses sit. For a split second, I expect them to transition to sunglasses and send a silent prayer that he’s not that nerdy. But they stay clear.

He looks like an outdoorsman crossed with a sleep-deprived graduate student.

It’s oddly attractive.

The kind of attractive that sneaks up on you because it’s hidden beneath earnestness and oddball energy.

He spots me and smiles.