Page 3 of Explorer’s Revenge

TWO

MAEVE

I stride into Venture Enterprises, the company who scouted me five years ago after I freebased from a skyscraper and gained internet fame, grinning and waving at Bob, the security guy behind the desk.

I scared the shit out of him five years ago.

I did go back and apologize after, but he laughed it off, telling me he’d framed the news article, and then he asked me to sign it.

When Venture came knocking, offering everything on a silver platter, I brought him with me.

He loves his new job, even if he sometimes finds me doing crazy stuff.

I was overjoyed and slightly starstruck when they approached me.

Once a boring business, Venture gained notoriety for its new CEO, Ajax Howard.

He’s a sexy as hell adventurer who stepped up when his father died.

He brought the company into the modern century, and I had been dreaming of working for them for years, but I still brought my dad with me to read the contracts, needing his approval and knowledge.

I don’t do anything like that without his approval, and despite his condition, he said yes and was overjoyed, and my dad made fast friends with Ajax, even if he did threaten him and tell him to look after his baby girl.

It’s been five amazing years, and I get the best of both worlds.

My bills are paid, and I have the freedom to follow the wildness my father said we were both born with.

I do the events they ask, like cliff diving, climbing, racing, and so on, and then in my free time, they pay me to explore.

Their dick squad hates that. Wilder, Merrick, Way, Logan, and Aiyaret are five sexy explorers who were already signed with Venture.

I think Ajax hoped I would join them, but they made it very clear they are a family and no one else will ever be allowed to work with them.

I hate them. The cocky assholes look down on me. They clearly think I am nothing more than a woman trying too hard to be like them. They have made it known that they find me lacking, so yes, the dick squad might be sexy as hell, but I’d rather punch their smug faces than sit on them.

One day, I’ll show them and get my name out there before theirs as the best explorer of all time, and then I’ll shove it in their pretty boy faces as I drive off in my Ferrari toward my mansion.

My dad always says it’s good to have dreams, but I don’t think that’s quite what he meant. Oh well.

Pushing all thoughts of those assholes away, I take the stairs to the top floor, racing my last time as I leap and drag myself up until I break out onto the floor.

I grin at a startled businesswoman as I straighten my blouse and pants.

That’s about as good as they will get. I still have my sneakers on, and they will never get me in heels no matter how much they ask.

They are death traps meant to slow women so men can catch them.

I hurry to the boardroom we always meet in.

They are all waiting inside as I enter like a ball of chaos. Ajax grins at me as he hugs me. “Fashionably late, as usual, Maeve.”

“Sorry, I was exploring an abandoned hotel.” I shrug as I sit, flinging my shoes onto the table, ignoring the disgruntled looks from some of the board dudes.

They don’t have to like me. Ajax holds all the votes and he does.

He sits down and watches me, uncaring about my lack of manners or business sense.

“Of course you were. I hope you recorded it.” He raises his eyebrow, and I nod.

“You know it.” I grab some water and down it as I peer at him. “So, what’s with the formal meeting? I didn’t start any international fights or sink a boat again.”

“No, no, nothing like that. You aren’t in trouble for once. We actually have another job for you.” He waves, and I groan.

“Not another picture-perfect event,” I grumble, hating them as much as they love them, but it’s part of the job to be the face for the adventure units like the dick squad. They said they wanted to get more women into the sport, but to me, it’s just torture.

“Not this time.” He grins, making me eye him worriedly. “This time you’ll be doing what you do best, exploring the unknown.”

I sit up, excitement beginning to course through me. “Don’t tease me.”

“I’m not. This is an all-expenses paid trip—no limits or rules. You can take a team if you want or go alone . . .” He waits, knowing I’ll bite.

“What’s the job?” I ask.

“To find and document the infamous lost city of Apear.”

“Oh shit,” I mutter. Not many people know, but my love of exploring came from tales about that city. “They found it?”

“Maybe. A man was shipwrecked, and he swears he stumbled into the ruins. No one else knows yet, and he didn’t claim the discovery. You are going to, aren’t you?” he asks, smiling at me.

“You bet your sexy ass I am. Where do I sign up?” He laughs with me and starts clapping his hands. “Let’s get you started. The quicker you leave, the better, right?”

“You know it.” I leap to my feet, grinning.

This is it, my chance to prove I am better than all others.

The world will always remember Maeve Carter, the first solo woman to find the lost ruins of Apear.

Eat a bag of dicks, Adreno Squad, because I’m about to be your daddy.

“Dad!” I yell as I slam his front door, kicking off my shoes.

“Kitchen!” he calls back, laughter in his shaky voice.

Grinning, I head past the living room and find him sitting in the kitchen with a cup of tea and a book.

For a moment, I just stare at the man who raised me to love the world.

I grew up in different countries, seeing everything the world has to offer.

Some found it weird and said I had a bad childhood, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Other girls got to go to prom, but I got to swim with sharks, explore ruins, cross the world on sailing boats, climb mountains, and dive into the deepest parts of the ocean.

We did everything together until he got sick.

Now, it’s just me representing everything we love.

I wanted to quit, unable to do it without him, but he wouldn’t let me, saying it’s in my blood and now I need to do it for both of us.

It still hurts seeing him like this when he should be doing it with me, knowing it causes him pain as well as joy when I do things he can now only dream of.

“Hey, baby girl,” he says as I sit and take his mug, sipping it and gagging. He laughs. “Green tea. Apparently, it’s good for me,” he jokes as I wipe my mouth.

“Or Sandy is trying to kill you,” I tease as he laughs.

“Speaking of, where’s the monster in law?

” When he married, I joked she would be a monster, but I was so wrong.

She’s an incredible woman who loves both my father and me.

She shouldered the burden of having a kid who wasn’t hers and a husband who preferred to spend his weekends doing dangerous shit that gave her sleepless nights, yet she never once complained.

She came with us to every ceremony and was there for me in a way my own mother never was since she’d abandoned me as a kid.

When Dad got his diagnosis, she quit her job and became his full-time caregiver despite the fact that he isn’t as bad now as he will be.

She learned everything she could about MS.

Dad was diagnosed a few years ago after many bouts of lost balance, blurry vision, and his body just generally not doing what he wanted.

Seeing such an incredibly strong man who’d spent his days climbing mountains reduced to this breaks my heart, especially knowing he’s still an adventurer at heart.

We got unlucky—or lucky, depending on how you look at it—because he has primary progressive MS, which means it will only get worse, and the years since he was diagnosed have only proven that.

He now walks with a cane and sometimes struggles with balance and seeing, and his coordination is disappearing while his brain becomes foggy.

He hates it, but just like anyone with a lifelong condition, he has his good and bad days.

It ended his explorer career though.

That’s something we both resent, even if we have learned to live with it.

He changed, but he found happiness in the mundane, creating a life with the woman he loves.

When he reaches for the mug, I see his arm shaking, and I swallow as I hand it over, knowing better than to point it out.

It will only upset us. Plus, he’s happy, and I don’t want to ruin that.

“So what has you bouncing around like a bunny, kid?” he asks.

“How was treatment yesterday?” I ask instead, tempering my excitement.

“The same as always. Spill it, kid. Nothing exciting happens in my life?—”

“Not true, you found a dog and rescued it last week. Sandy said so!” I tell him, and his eyebrows rise in his iconic expression I always get, which is why I could never keep secrets from him. He’s always been my best friend, and his only rule was that we do it together.

Now we can’t, though, and it hurts because we should be, but I’ll do it for both of us. I’ll get our name out there, so they remember him for his achievements, not just his illness.

Dexter Carter will go down in history as the best explorer ever. I will ensure it.

“Ajax gave me the opportunity of a lifetime.” I quickly dive into where I’m going and why, holding nothing back despite the secrecy of this job. My dad will always know everything and help me plan. He’s my best friend and my teammate, even if he’s stuck here now.

He nods, asking questions and giving me ideas for equipment I might need. I see the excitement in his eyes before it dampens with a little pain—because he won’t be there with me. His longing is clear on his face, even as he tries to hide it so he doesn’t hurt me.

I guess you never think about getting old or sick when you’re young and in your prime. He never thought he’d be anything but an explorer. That’s where his heart lies and it always will, but I know he’s proud of me and wouldn’t want me to keep it from him.

“So when do you leave?” he asks, holding my hand tightly, but I can feel the weakness in his grip.

“Tomorrow. I came to say goodbye.” I cup his hand. “I’m doing this for us, Dad. You should be there, but I will find it, and when I do, I’ll make sure everyone knows you helped me.”

“No, kid, you are doing this. You were always destined for great things, so don’t diminish that.”

I kiss his hand. “But without you, there is no me.” I blink and look down. “I wish you could be there.”

“I will be, kid. Remember my lessons, and I’ll be right there with you, cheering you on, and when you come back, I’ll be waiting.” He grabs me and pulls me in. “I’m so proud of you, Maeve. Show the world what a woman is capable of . . . what you are capable of. Give them hell.”

“Always, Dad.”