Lara could not recoil as she bumped into the wall of the passage. When she saw the face of the stranger, suddenly she forgot about everything else. She did not look around where she was, but kept staring at his features that were not at all unknown to her. On the contrary. Despite the few years that passed by, she remembered this face very well.

"Kurtis" – she whispered softly and went back to him. Squeezing her lips together, she sat on the floor next to him with an anxious expression on her face. Did he get hurt? How could this be? All these years she had thought him to be dead and now he was lying in front of her unconscious? She reached out and her fingers touched his face. Ever so gently. His skin was warm, sweat appeared on his forehead. Lara could imagine those blue eyes so well, even though she could not see them. Moving her fingers to the back of his neck, she tried to feel if he was injured. There was blood on her hand when she pulled it out again, but it did not look very serious. He groaned softly at her touch.

When his eyes opened, he tried to focus on what he was seeing. Some light was coming in from the opening above them, so he could make out a face looking back at him. The first thing he realized was the pair of brown eyes. And the sadness in them. Then he saw the light arch of her brows, the curve of those gorgeous full lips, the long, brown hair put together in a ponytail. Damn, why did this dream linger on his mind again and again, he thought in irritation, but deep inside he did not mind it. Seeing her face in front of him every night brought him relief. The one and only beautiful thing in all that madness.

He closed his eyes again, trying to keep the image in front of him as long as he could. To his biggest surprise she was still looking back at him when he blinked again. How could that be? He bolted up from the floor, almost bumping into her. Lara reached out, putting a hand on his chest to keep him there.

"Are you alright?" – she asked in a soft, caring voice. They were just staring at each other for several minutes without saying a word.

"Yeah, sure" – he cleared his throat, moving his gaze around to see where they were. He had to. Looking at her any second longer was dangerous. "What the hell is this place?"

"You're alive" – she wondered in amazement, not taking her eyes off him. Several seconds passed again before she talked. "How could you do that to me?" – she burst out and with a sudden move she punched him in the face.

"Ouch… what the hell… why did you do that?" – Kurtis groaned in pain, rubbing his aching jaw. "Are you out of your mind?" – the sadness disappeared from her eyes for a moment and fury took its place. Lara forgot about her pain, the threats and everything around her. The delight she had felt seeing him alive turned into anger about the fact that he had let her believe for years he had been dead. She simply turned away and left him there, not wanting to talk about her feelings.

When Kurtis finally struggled to his feet and followed her down the passage, Lara was already standing in front of an abyss. He still could not believe his eyes when he saw her there. She had not changed a bit. Her tempers either, he thought, moving his jaw. Why did women always have to be so dramatic?

"Would you tell me what we're doing here?" – he stopped beside her, still not knowing what to think. Lara gave him the cold shoulder. Getting irritated himself, Kurtis grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. He felt her fight against it, her muscles tensed as she tried to free her wrist, but he did not relent. "Tell me what's going on!" – he murmured, holding her close.

She kept staring daggers at him, but could not get away. Her lips quivered in anger and anticipation she felt being so close to him. "Take your hands off me!" – she hissed threateningly. More afraid of herself what she would do if she could not break free from his embrace.

"What if I don't?" – he looked at her defiantly. He felt her steady heartbeat, her chest heave as she was breathing in and out. God, he forced his mind to other thoughts and abruptly let her go. "Please tell me." – he leaned against the cold, dusty stones of the wall to clear his mind.

"You have no idea why you're here?" – Lara asked back surprised. When Kurtis shook his head, she sat down to the dusty floor, watched him do the same. "I don't know much." – she started. "There is a guy called Wellington, who brought me here against my will. I need to find an artifact for him within fifteen hours."

"What do I have to do with all this?" – Kurtis rubbed the back of his neck where he had been hit.

"That I don't know." – she declared, standing up again. "I need to keep going." – she backed a few meters, started to run and jumped over to the other side of the abyss.

"Wait a minute…" – Kurtis did not even grasp what she was doing. "How can someone be so pigheaded?" – he muttered under his breath, running after her.

Lara came to a halt when she heard Kurtis land behind her. Damn it, she thought. She needed to be alone, to do this alone.

"Please go back and leave me alone!" – she turned around to face him. "This is my job, my responsibility. You have nothing to do with it." – fear ran through her at the thought of losing him… again. To lose someone who was important to her even though she did not know him really well. There was this connection between them she had felt right away when they had first met. Pushing him away from her, out of the danger seemed like the right solution for the moment. She could not lose anyone else. Not again. Not after Alistair.

"What are you talking about?" – he looked at her in disbelief. "No way, I leave you alone here. There must be a reason they brought me here, too."

Yes, to torture me with it, Lara thought, but did not say it aloud. How could they find the connection between them? They hardly knew each other. Why did she count him to her friends at all? She blinked back the tears that threatened to run down her face. If only there was someone to console her. If only he held her again… just for a few moments. Drawing in a deep breath, she steadied her voice.

"Please Kurtis. I don't want to explain. Just go." – she turned to continue down the passage, but he stepped behind her.

"What happened to you?" – he gently brushed a curl of hair out of her face. "I want to see you smile again." – he whispered.

"It's not the time for smiling." – Lara lowered her head and wanted to walk away when some loud rumble shook the corridor. They both looked up in horror.