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"Level five? What's the highest-level threat?"
"Five."
"Oh, God." Jacob, Lucas, and her babies disappeared into the waterfall. "Where did they go?"
"There's a cave in there. Come on! We have to be in there before the second whistle."
Disbelief and terror made Phoebe run like she'd never run before. She followed Bella through the spraying water, then ran right into her when she burst through the waterfall blindly into the cave beyond. They both hit the sand, flying across it. Phoebe scrambled to her feet as Jacob handed Annie to her. "Bella's going to show you guys this awesome secret cave. I'm going to go help Colin with his horse."
Lucas handed her Cupcake's leash and a rawhide bone. "It's quiet time for Cupcake," he said. "Keep him quiet."
Jacob gave Annie a quick kiss on the head. "See you soon, Queen Annie." He gave Phoebe a brief kiss, not lingering for even a second, before he and Lucas both sprinted out from the cave, splashing through the water.
Bella scrambled to her feet, her gaze meeting Phoebe's, full of warning. "Annie! This is a secret cave. Promise you won't tell anyone?"
Annie was frowning. "Where did Jacob go? I want Jacob!"
"We're playing hide and seek," Bella said. "We're going to go hide, and then he has to come find us. When you hear the whistle, we have until we count to thirty to hide. Then he's going to come looking, and we have to be sooo quiet, because the girls have to win!"
Annie nodded, her eyes wide. "Girls win," she whispered. She looked at Phoebe. "Mommy? Are you playing?"
"Yes." Phoebe took a breath, trying to pull herself together. "Girls win. Lead the way, Bella."
"All right," Bella said. "Annie, you and your mom start heading that way." She pointed into the depths of the cave. "I'm going to erase our footprints to make it harder for the boys."
Oh, God. Phoebe's heart was racing like crazy right now. What was happening out there? The second whistle hadn't happened yet, which she was assuming would mean that the danger was close. Who was it? Annie's bio dad? Ivan? Or maybe the roar of the waterfall had drowned out the second whistle, and the danger was already upon them.
She wanted to ask questions, to get assurance that Jacob and the others would be safe, but she knew she had to keep Annie oblivious. "Okay," she whispered, "let's go."
"Hurry," Bella said as she began to splash water over their sandy footprints. "Jacob will be looking for us soon!"
Annie nodded and pointed. "This way, Mama!" she whispered.
"Okay, let's go." Gripping Cupcake's leash, Phoebe worked her way over the slippery rocks, heading into the shadowy cave. Was there a back way out of the cave? Or just one way in and one way out? She hated the idea of being cornered, but she had to trust the Harts. They knew what they were doing.
So, she hugged her daughter tight and kept going into the cave, where it was getting darker and darker. Could she pull out her phone to use as a light? She didn’t know if it could be seen from the outside.
Bella caught up with them in few moments. "We'll be able to use our phone for light in a few minutes. We have to get around the bend."
Around the bend. Wow. Deeper into the cave. Phoebe did not like closed-in spaces, especially going into a dark, wet cave with danger hunting them. "Is there a back way out?"
"Nope."
"Okay." She took a deep breath, and tried not to think about how the cave was narrowing, how the ceiling was getting lower. "Did the second whistle happen yet?"
"I don't know. We're too deep to hear it now, especially over the water."
Annie slid her hand into Phoebe's. "I don't like this, mama," she whispered. "It's too dark. I want to go home."
"I know, baby." Phoebe could tell that the game ruse wouldn't work anymore. Annie didn't care about winning. "Can you hold Cupcake's leash for me?"
"He's too strong."
"Not for you! You're a big pillow. Cupcake's a little pillow. He needs your help."
"Cupcake feels like a little pillow?"
"Yep."
