Page 52

“Yeah, well, you’re not.”
I sat on a boulder that was as big as a garbage can. Mud and dirt covered my skin in different levels of thickness, making me look like I had a nasty disease. The bruises covering my thighs were the color of storm clouds with an ugly yellow tinge around them, and the cuts down my shins looked like I’d wrested with razor wire.
Hunter strode to me, offering his water bottle.
“Thanks.” I took a sip and handed it back.
“I still can’t believe you survived that fall from the chopper.” His gaze was on my legs.
“Me neither. I could have broken every bone in my body.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. It would have been a bitch carrying you all this way.” A tiny smile crossed his lips.
“You think I’m that heavy, huh?” I grinned with him.
He shook his head. “Not heavy, just a pain in the ass. I knew you were trouble from the moment I laid eyes on you.”
“Oh, really? Back in the hospital, you mean?”
He pulled me to my feet. “Yeah. Way back then.”
My heart fluttered at the sparkle in his eyes. “I think you remember it wrong. You’re the one who was trouble.”
He gave my bottom a light smack. “Come on, troublemaker, get those long legs of yours moving.”
“Troublemaker, huh? Where are we going?”
“I have no idea. I just hope we find a way across this river before it’s too late.”
As I set a pace in front of Hunter, I pictured him checking out my ass and my heart swelled like a balloon. I hadn’t had many men in my life. I’d never had time for relationships, let alone love. I was married to my research and my volunteer work that enhanced my research. And when I wasn’t doing either of those, I was catching up on sleep.
But there was something about Hunter that wanted me to change all that. For the first time in my adult life, I’d had a shift in priorities. I wasn’t quite sure how he would fit into my life, but I wanted to make that happen. And that meant something else had to give.
As I led the way, our only constant was keeping the water on our left. We reached a section where a huge landslide had dropped a massive chunk of land into the river creating a sheer cliff that we would have no hope of climbing.
“Shit.” I peered up the steep face. “What do we do?”
Puffing out his cheeks, he swept his gaze from the rocky wall to the dirty water. “We have three choices. Go back and find a way around, climb up this giant divot, or swim around it.”
“Okay, you pick.”
He blinked at me, and I could practically see his mind churning. “We’re going to make a swim for it.”
I groaned. “I was worried you’d say that.”
“We’ll stick to the edge and move fast. At least the current is working in our favor.”
I nodded.
“Good girl.” He swept his rifle around to his back. “I’ll go first. If you slip, I’ll catch you.”
“You better.” I sat down to undo the laces on my shoes.
“What’re you doing?”
“If I can help it, I’d rather not get my shoes and socks wet. It’s no fun walking in wet boots.”
“Your call,” he said as he slotted the GPS and a few other items into a waterproof bag. “I’d rather my feet were protected in that river.”