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I heard Knight’s sword strike metal. Fuck, this was getting serious. I ran back in his direction, determined to get to him. I couldn’t sacrifice his life to possibly save Cap. Then I would have his life on my conscience, too, and yet another wife ready to chop off my balls.
“I’m coming!” I shouted, leaping over a downed tree limb. My boot caught on a branch sticking up in the air and I fell flat on my face. Leaves stuck to my tongue and I spit them out, looking up right into a huge patch of weed. God, I really hoped it was weed.
I grabbed the machete that I’d dropped and sliced it through the base of the plant, then held it in the air. “I’ve got the weed!”
Knight slashed his machete through someone’s stomach, then turned to me with a nod.
“Look out!” I shouted, but he was already turning and swinging hard, slicing through the man’s face. I winced as blood spurted from the man’s head. I wasn’t squeamish, but that had to really hurt.
“To the RHIB!” Knight shouted, striking one last man before taking off through the trees. I ran parallel to him, hoping none of the natives caught up to us. I would hate to have to fight them off while holding the weed in my hands.
“Ow!” I shouted as something lodged in the back of my thigh. I kept running, but my leg was starting to feel numb. I started stumbling as I ran, just hoping this wasn’t the end. Was I shot with a poisonous dart?
Suddenly, Knight broke through the trees, catching me right as I stumbled and almost fell to the ground. I dropped the machete, choosing to hang onto the weed since that’s what I risked my life for. Knight practically dragged me to the RHIB as Lola laughed her ass off. By then, nearly half my body was numb and growing weaker by the second.
Knight tossed me overboard and I rolled, staring up at the sky. My eyes started to drift closed as Lola shook her head at me. “I hope the weed was worth your life.”
I hoped so too, and right before my eyes closed, I realized Cap really was my Danny Zuko.
17
ROB
I sat at the airport all by myself—watching the luggage—because apparently, I was that guy. I was fully trained just like all of them, but I was left behind. And for what reason? Some chick thought it would be a good idea to spread the rumor that I had slept with Cazzo’s wife—which I totally hadn’t. I may have thought about it, but no one was stupid enough to even chance Cazzo’s wrath.
It was the dead of night, and I was the only one here. I sat on my luggage, leaning against the wall as I tried not to fall asleep. It had been days. Days. Who ran off into the jungle and left a man behind? It wasn’t right. Hell, I was supposed to have a sweet setup in some hut in the middle of the jungle, but instead, I got the smelly old man who was sitting in the corner behind the service desk with a cigar hanging out of his mouth.
I groaned and closed my eyes for a moment. I knew I should stay alert, but damn, days on end of this shit was killing me. I sighed heavily, letting my shoulders sag as I tried unsuccessfully to relax the muscles in my neck. If I wasn’t at the tiniest airport in the world, I would at least stretch out on some chairs.
They had no chairs.
The bathroom was the size of a porta-potty, barely leaving me enough space to take a shit without needing to wear a gas mask. There was a single vent that I was pretty sure was clogged from lack of cleaning, and the door didn’t shut all the way. At least I could kick my shoe up against the door to keep it shut since the bathroom was so tiny.
I grimaced as I shifted and smelled myself. The heat was stifling and since there was no air conditioning—and no fucking shower—sweat was permanently soaked into my shirt. And fuck, did I smell. I didn’t even want to be around me right now.
My phone rang and I jumped to answer it, thinking it was Cap finally getting back to me with a plan. But when I pulled out my phone, I was disheartened to see it was only Maggie.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t yeah me. Where is my husband?”
I frowned, unsure how to answer that. Did I really want to tell her that I had been left behind to watch the luggage? “He’s…uh…”
“Don’t even pretend to lie to me. I know he’s fighting for his life right now. Who the hell gets bitten by a snake? It’s the fucking jungle. Bring some snake bite shit!”
I jumped up from my seat and glanced around, trying to figure out what to do. “No, he’s uh…he’s totally fine. I just heard from him a half hour ago. I’m meeting him at the next drop point.”
“Really? You expect me to believe that?”
“I wouldn’t tell you that if it wasn’t true,” I lied, hoping I could save some face here.
“Let me talk to someone else.”
“There’s no one else here.”
“You expect me to believe that they just left you behind?” she said incredulously.
I rolled my eyes because that was exactly what they had done. “I stayed behind to monitor the situation. I came under attack and had to hightail it out of there,” I quickly came up with an excuse. “I need to get to a secure location, and then I can give you more details.”