Page 153 of Wild Like Us

I smile into my Ziff.

Off to the side of us, I hear Banks say, “Greer, nice beard.”

It pulls my attention to my sister’s bodyguard. Sure enough, Greer has grown a somewhat thick beard. It’s the same copper-red as his hair. He has a muscular build, and his left earlobe is bitten off.

When I was little, he used to tell me a shark bit him. Eight-year-old me was very fucking fascinated by that fact. As I got older, I called him on his bullshit, and he admitted it was a bar fight at eighteen and some drunk guy took a chunk out of him.

He won the fight apparently, but it’s still horrific in my mind. And that’s also when I realized why my parents didn’t try to force him to tell me and Nona the truth when we were kids.

It’s kind of hard to believe Greer had been my bodyguard for eight years. Since he was twenty-two and I was only eight, we weren’t friends. But he wasn’t a jerk, and he’s still really nice to my sister.

More so, I think Akara and Greer were friends at a certain point. Honestly, I can’t say for sure. It’s hard to grasp the bodyguard relationships from my vantage. But I can’t imagine they weren’t at least friendly before Kitsuwon Securities. They spent a whole ton of time together on my family trips.

“But theydidground you?” I ask Winona since that part has been vague.

“Sort of. Dad said when I get back, I can’t be on the internet for the weekend.” She shrugs with a smile. Our dad has to know that’s not much of a punishment for Nona. She’s rarely on the internet. “Mom said he smiled when he heard who I punched. But he’s all like,I’m not trying to fucking promote violence in this household.” Her imitation is spot on.

I laugh. “So they didn’t want to fly out with you?” On this trip, I’ve talked to my parents only a handful of times, mostly to check-in, say hi andI’m alive. Our phone calls have been nowhere near the almost daily that I’m used to, so I don’t know where their heads are at.

Winona sips the sports drink, then wipes a dribble down her lip where a scar lies. “I wondered the same thing. I thought they would’ve wanted to see you climb.” She begins to smile. “But Mom told me this is your great, wild adventure, and you need this time without them.”

My eyes burn and well with emotion.

She knew—my mom knew this trip would be more than just the spirit of climbing. That it’dbecomeso much more.

I smile into a soft laugh.Thanks, Mom.I feel like I’m on the right path, even if it’s an uncertain one.

36

AKARA KITSUWON

Sulli isat least a hundred feet off the ground. As she ascends Rattlesnake Knuckle, the crack in the slab of rock widens so much that her legs stretch further and further apart. Firmly rooted between the fissure, she releases a hand off the rock to shake out her right arm.

She still has on a harness.

And rope.

She’s solo climbing, placing safety gear up the rock face, and once she reaches the top, she’ll rappel down and clear it all.

I remind myself that she’s safe if she falls—because the nervous audience watching her climb right now is makingmemore edgy and apprehensive.

There might not be a football stadium of people gawking at Sulli, but there are alotof eyes and even a few cameras.

From Jane, Maximoff, Charlie—to Farrow, Thatcher, Oscar—to Jack Highland-Oliveira, his sixteen-year-old brother Jesse—to Greer and Winona—and we can’t forget about the baby and the puppy.

And I saved theshittiestfor last: Team Apexdecided to observe Sulli for the day like they’re suddenly fans. They’ve parked their asses on a hill. Adding to a broiler of intensity that burns up inside of me. My gaze cuts between so many people.

When really, I wish I could just focus on Sulli. It wouldn’t be that bad if everyone knew we were dating. Because at least I could’ve kissed her before she ascended. Shit, I’ve watched her climbcountlesstimes throughout my life, but it’s hitting me how different it’s been in Yellowstone.

I want to smother her with affection. To hold her cheeks and whisper dirty things in her ear. To put my lips to hers before she climbs four-hundred feet in the air.

But with everyone here, it’s like I’m only her bodyguard.

Her friend.

Like we’ve shot backwards, and I can’t paddle to the place I want to be. That feeling settles inside me like a chainsaw.Just friends.

Only friends.