Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23289 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23289 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
So far this morning, I’ve acted like nothing happened. He’s been playing along even though the air around us feels charged with a sexual energy.
“Do I have to worry about your bear if he comes out?” I ask. “Would he hurt me?”
“No,” he says with a fierceness in his tone. “Never. He’ll be protective of you. He adores you already, I can feel it.”
“You can feel it? Where?”
“Everywhere. I feel his happiness radiating through my body. I feel all of his emotions and he can feel all of mine. He can’t wait to meet you. He’s already obsessed.”
A grizzly bear obsessed with me? I’m not sure how to feel about that.
“Five minutes,” the driver says in a thick accent.
I touch my tingling neck which keeps getting worse for some reason and check that I have my notes and the camera for the hundredth time.
Ryker notices my fidgeting and he puts his big comforting hand on my bouncing leg. It calms me immediately.
“I got you,” he says. “You just focus on doing the best interview you can.”
“Thank you,” I whisper as I look up at him. I’m so happy he’s here.
I can tell he’s going to do what he can to keep me safe. If anyone can protect me from these dangerous men, it’s him. I think I’ll be okay.
Now that my heart has slowed, I relax in the seat a little and look at him. He’s wearing black cargo pants, black boots, and a white buttoned-up shirt with his sleeves rolled up. He looks like a total badass.
Maybe we should turn this taxi around, head back to the hotel, and break my bed. We could have the best two days of our lives before we have to head back home to different parts of the country. It’s a tempting thought…
“We’re here,” the driver says as he pulls into a private airport. “No pictures.”
I look out the window as we pass a row of planes of all different sizes. One propellor plane that catches my eye has bullet holes in the fuselage.
Ryker takes my hand and gives it a comforting squeeze as the driver parks beside a helicopter. The pilot is already inside and the rotor blades are spinning. It’s very loud.
“You go in there,” the driver shouts, pointing to the helicopter.
“Thank you for the ride,” I say as I grab my bag and step out. Ryker hurries around the car and is quickly by my side. He leads the way and opens the door to the helicopter, keeping his hands on me while I get in.
I’m expecting the pilot to hand us those headphone things so we can talk, but he doesn’t even turn around. As soon as Ryker closes the door, the helicopter lifts into the air and we fly away.
“Oh shit,” I whisper to myself as I look out the window at the busy highway below. “This isn’t like my interview with the CEO in his cushy office. This is a whole other world.
And there’s no going back now.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Ryker
Idon’t like any of this. A tenseness is gripping my muscles as we fly deeper and deeper into the rainforest. It’s an endless canopy of bright green trees as far as the eye can see.
We’re further from civilization than I thought we’d be. I should have tied Gracie to the bed when I had the chance.
“How much further?” I shout to the pilot as I lay a firm hand on his shoulder.
He turns and says something in Spanish.
“Do you speak Spanish?” I ask Gracie over the roaring of the helicopter.
“A little, but I didn’t understand that,” she shouts back.
The pilot points to a clearing up ahead and says another long string of words I don’t understand.
“I guess we’re going there,” Gracie says.
I shift in my seat as my bear paces around inside. “I guess so.”
My grizzly doesn’t know what’s happening, but he can sense my tension and it’s making him uneasy. The closer we get, the more alert he becomes.
We land in the clearing in waist-high grass.
“Where is everybody?” I ask as we look around and see nothing but jungle.
“Salir,” the pilot shouts over and over. “Salir!”
“I guess this is the stop,” Gracie says as she looks around. “Over there!”
She points to a wicker basket propped up on a rock and then hops out of the helicopter and runs over with her black hair flying around her head.
I grab the pilot’s shoulder and squeeze it until he winces. “Stay here,” I warn. “Sin licencia.”
My pulse is racing as I run out after my girl, but as soon as I’m clear of the rotor blades, the fucking prick takes off into the air and leaves us.
The roaring dims as the helicopter travels further away. I’m glaring at him while thinking of all the painful stuff I want to put him through for ditching us in the middle of the damn jungle. He better pray I never see him again.