Page 141 of Risky Obsession

“Same, and yet I also feel like we’re onto something. This is fun. How do we find those steps?” she asked.

“They provided access to the ocean, so let’s find the edge of the cliff.”

Leading the way, I barged through the dense bushes and the air grew saltier with each step, confirming we were going the right way. The ground sloped downward, and in some sections, the angle was so steep it was slippery.

The edge of the cliff appeared. A vast ocean spread out before us, dotted with dozens of ships of all sizes.

Lacey whistled. “Wow! Now that’s a view. It makes sense why the castle was built here.”

“And why the Nazis used it.”

“Yeah, you can see all the naval base now.” Shielding the sun with her hand, she looked toward Cuxhaven Wharf.

“Right, let’s find those stairs.” I peered over the edge of the cliff. Sixty feet below, the ocean met with the rock. “There are no waves.”

“Huh. What does that mean?”

“It means it’s very deep right there. We could probably jump from here.”

“What’s with you and jumping off cliffs?”

“Last time was a castle wall.”

“True, but it was still this high.”

“No, it wasn’t. It was only half this height.”

“Exactly. I wasn’t jumping then. I’m absolutely not jumping now.”

“Come on. Where’s your sense of adventure?”

She waggled her head. “I’m all for some adventure, but you have no idea what’s in that water.”

“You worried about sharks?”

“No, rusty old ships.”

I frowned. “What?”

“When the Nazis knew they were losing the war, they sabotaged a lot of equipment, ships included. They probably drove cars and trucks right off this cliff.”

I squinted at her.

“What?” She pouted her lips.

Her expression was so damn cute I had to drag my gaze away. “How do you know so much about this?”

Her shoulders sagged. “When I first took on this, um, mission,” she said, waving at an invisible connection between us, “I spent a few days at Yasmin and Cole’s place recuperating after that attack. Do you know them? Yasmin and Cole?”

“No.”

“Cole is also Cobra. He works with Aria. Anyway, Yasmin’s father, David, was an expert in military history, and his specialty was Hitler and his war tactics. David had dozens of journals.” She shrugged. “That’s what I studied so I could pretend to be a treasure hunter to work with you.”

“To fool me, you mean?”

She seemed to deflate. “No, I don’t. I worked my ass off learning as much as I could so I could help you find this gold. That’s what you want, isn’t it? To find the gold?” Her chin quivered.

The vulnerability in her eyes was raw and real. And I just about cracked.