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“Maybe they have harvested other fruits. Like acai or Brazil nuts. Or they could be trapping exotic animals to sell. Or. . . oh, jeez. Maybe they’re collecting my Inocea berry. Shit, Hunter.”
“Hey, keep it calm.” His eyes drilled into mine.
“I used the Inocea berry in my burn ointment. It was my unique ingredient and is only found in this section of the Amazon jungle. Neville had been bribing the villagers with alcohol in exchange for them to search for that berry.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” He rolled his eyes at me.
My heart sank. “Sorry. I didn’t think it was important.”
As we hid behind the bush watching the old church, I told Hunter about Neville, who he was, and how he was working for another pharmaceutical company to create a burns ointment. How he’d been living here for four years, and how he’d initially helped me but then became a lazy bastard who gave alcohol to the natives. “He ruined everything,” I said.
“Sounds like an asshole.” Hunter snarled.
“He is. I thought he was dead. He must have known that Cody and I had been captured, and he didn’t try to help us.”
Hunter moaned. “So do you want him dead or not?”
“What?” My jaw dropped.
“We need that boat, and I doubt they’re going to let us take it from them easily. So, depending on how this plays out, some of those men are going to die today.”
“Shit, Hunter, I don’t know if I can live with that.” I tried to keep my voice steady as my heart hammered in my chest.
Hunter peered through his binoculars again and his breath hitched. “Got a visual on another man. Looks like a mean motherfucker too.”
He handed the binoculars to me.
My chest nearly caved in.
“Oh Jesus, it’s Na-lynied. He’s the youngest son of the Manouthiciara tribe’s king. He shouldn’t be here. He should be with his tribe, in the middle of the jungle, hunting and foraging for his family.” I clenched my fist. “Neville has corrupted them all.”
My muscles ached as a wave of utter uselessness washed through me. “We’ve brought this upon them. Those poor villagers.”
Hunter clutched the back of my hand. “You didn’t. That asshole did. So, my question still stands. Do you want me to kill him?”
“No, Hunter, I don’t. He deserves to be punished for what he’s done, but not . . . not that.”
“I’m not making any promises. If I have to choose between saving you or killing him, it’s a no-brainer for me. We can’t waste any more time.” He studied through the binoculars.
“What do we do?”
With each passing moment, the stakes grew higher, and the tension between Hunter and me threatened to consume me. We were about to plunge headfirst into danger and one thing was clear: our lives were on the line. Once we made our move, there would be no turning back.
He shifted his gaze to me. “Would you rather swim or shoot?”
“Depends on what I’m shooting at?”
He cocked his head and didn’t need to say anything else.
“I’m not shooting anyone if that’s what you mean.”
The expression on his face morphed to deadly serious. “I need you to swim to that boat, unhook it, and drift downstream with it.”
I blinked at him, waiting for the punch line. “Shit. You’re serious, aren’t you? What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to shoot anyone who tries to stop you.”
CHAPTER 12