Read Online The Four Horsemen 3 - Famine by T.A. Chase - Free Book Online Page B

swept over him. He didn’t need a lot of sleep, and usually went days without resting, but it had been an unusual and exciting day. Famine would go back, and watch Ekundayo sleep. Maybe during the night he’d come up with a solution to his problem.
Chapter Four
    Ekundayo grunted as he fought with the trapdoor. He wanted to get out of the tree, and Famine had left him alone yet again. It had been two weeks since Fami had found him, brought him to the stupid tree house, and stolen what Ekundayo had taken in the first place. So far, Ekundayo had searched the entire dwelling, or as much of it as he could with a broken wrist, and hadn’t found the diamond, which led him to believe that Fami had hidden it somewhere outside.
    Struggling with the heavy wooden door, Ekundayo winced as his wrist protested the harsh punishment with shooting pains up his arm and into his chest. Of course, it would take two hands to lift it. Gasping, he dropped the door back into position, and clasped his wrist to his chest. His injured arm throbbed, and he swore silently.
“Did you want to leave so badly, you are willing to risk injuring yourself more?” Jumping to his feet, Ekundayo whirled around to see Fami straddling the windowsill.
    Ekundayo glared at him, and scooted over to the bed where he dropped onto the mattress. “Why are you sneaking up on me? You could have caused me to drop the door on my
foot or something like that.”
Fami rested his ass on the ledge and crossed his arms over his chest. His white teeth
flashed in a bright smile as he studied Ekundayo.
“I didn’t sneak up on you. You trying to open the door blocked the entrance. It was
easier for me to come in through the window. I made sure you had already dropped it before
I said anything. I figured you didn’t want to be stuck in here any longer than you have to
be.”
“I want out. I’m tired out being in here.” Ekundayo pouted and hated the whining tone
in his voice.
“It’s not like I’ve kept you prisoner. I would have helped you climb down if you’d
asked,” Fami pointed out.
“I want to walk around, and see the falls during the day. I’ve never been to Victoria
Falls. I had no way of getting here. Too expensive for a diamond miner.” Ekundayo bit his
bottom lip, hoping Fami would believe him.
“I only keep you up here so the tourists travelling from the resorts don’t see you, unless
you want someone to come and rescue you. If you do, I can set you adrift in the river, and see
if anyone catches you before you go over the falls.”
Ekundayo shot a glance at Fami to see him grin. He dropped his gaze, not wanting to
think about the emotions Fami made him feel. He’d fought the need to touch Fami during the
last two weeks they’d shared the dwelling. He didn’t want to think about how many nights
he’d lain awake, listening to Fami breathe across the room, wishing he could go lie down
next to him. “You wouldn’t do that to me,” he muttered.
Fami’s eyebrows shot up. “I wouldn’t? How do you know that? And don’t think I don’t
know the real reason you want to get out of this tree. You’ve searched every nook and
cranny of this place, and couldn’t find your diamond. You must have decided I hid it
somewhere else, possibly on the ground or in the trees around this one.”
He decided not to act innocent any more. Straightening his shoulders, he met Fami’s
black eyes. “I don’t know why you’ve hidden it. It’s mine, and I want it back. I’m better now,
and I think I should be leaving.”
“Well, if you’ve decided to go, I can’t stop you. I’ll help you out of the tree, and you can
head out.” Fami stood, a frown marring his forehead.
Ekundayo’s heart skipped a beat, and a sudden flare of fear ran over his spine. Why
had he thought Fami would argue more? Now that he could leave, why didn’t he want to
go? He looked around the room, and his eyes landed on one of the chests he’d searched
earlier. Fami had unlocked all of them and