Risky Romance (Wolf Security #4)

16. Cody

CHAPTER 16

Cody

I scanned our surroundings, acutely aware of how deadly our situation was. We had no food or water, and if Jewel’s head injury was bad enough to block her memory, I needed to get her to a hospital asap. In which case, we were fucked. “Jewel, you hit your head hard.”

“How long was I out?”

“Don’t know. Twenty or thirty minutes. What’s the last thing you remember?”

She took a deep breath as if steeling herself. “Fighting with you.”

I chuckled. “Of course you do. Do you remember me telling you to slow down?”

“Oh, like you knew I was going to fall down there.” She swept her hand to the tail end of her mudslide.

“This place is dangerous. You increased the risk by being . . .” I didn’t finish my sentence.

“By being what?” She put her hands on her hips, thrusting her perky boobs toward me, catching my attention like a perfect sunrise.

“Look. This isn’t helping. The main thing is that you’re okay and those bastards seem to have gone. For now.”

She was quiet as she studied a cut on her elbow. The blood was already beginning to dry.

“They’re still after us, aren’t they?”

I scowled. “I can’t see them giving up any time soon.”

Her shoulders sagged as if the weight of our situation hit her all at once. “What do we do now?”

Finding water had to be our priority. My stomach growled as if reminding me of how long it had been since I’d eaten. “Can you walk?”

She nodded, then swayed slightly.

“Take it easy.” I reached out to steady her, gripping her arm.

“I’m fine.” She took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders, then staggered forward.

“Shit, lady. Sit down before you fall down.”

Groaning, she flopped onto the soggy ground. “I’ll be fine. Just give me a minute.”

“Let me see if I can find something to eat.” I picked up the rifle.

She hugged her knees to her chest. “Don’t shoot anything cute.” She attempted a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Hell no. I don’t kill animals.”

She frowned, and her jaw dropped.

“What?”

“But you’re a cowboy.”

I huffed, shaking my head. “Where do you get this idea that I’m a cowboy?”

She pointed at my boots. “ And you were wearing a cowboy hat.”

I chuckled. “So that’s your definition of a cowboy? Hat and boots.”

“And you work on a farm.”

“It’s a corn plantation. And for the record, I have never farmed animals, nor would I. I could never raise an animal knowing it would end up being slaughtered.” I shuddered. “I’m a vegetarian.”

A tiny smirk crossed her lips.

“What?”

Her smile grew bigger. “You’re an interesting man, Cody.”

I cocked my head. “Is that good?”

“Yeah, I believe it is. So, what do you use the rifle for? Other than fending off Bruce.”

I pictured that bastard with blood pouring from his shoulder. I hoped he was hurting like hell. “I use the rifle to scare feral pigs away from my crops. Sometimes foxes too.”

“That’s cool.” She nodded at me like I’d crossed some kind of line that she approved of. “I think I’m okay now.”

She pushed off from the ground.

I helped her to stand. “Don’t rush it. I can’t have you going ass over again.”

She curled her hair behind her ear, and did an exaggerated blink, like she was trying to focus.

“You’re bleeding.” I nodded at the scrapes on her thigh.

She pointed her toe, revealing the fine definition in her leg muscles. “I’m lucky that’s all I got.”

“Agreed. I thought for a minute there you were never getting up.”

“It’s weird how I don’t remember falling.”

“You’re lucky. It was no fun getting down to you, that’s for sure.”

Her expression was equal parts amusement and a grimace. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“What? Saved your ass again?”

She shrugged. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

“What’s it going to take to show you that I’m one of the good guys?”

“You could stop calling me lady.” She shrugged her shoulder in a cute move that made my cock pulse. “And finding something to eat would definitely be a step in the right direction.”

I chuckled and peered up the steep cliff she’d tumbled down. “We’re not getting back up there. Come on, let’s go this way.” I pointed to our left.

We picked our way through the dense undergrowth with leaves and vines slapping our faces and our shoes squelching in the mud. Between two towering gum trees, I peered over the edge into a ravine that was so big, I couldn’t see the bottom.

Jewel eased in beside me. “Holy smokes.”

“Lucky you didn’t go over this edge or we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“Huh. I don’t even want to think about it,” she said. “It’s like a massive lightning strike carved a wedge between two mountains.”

I peered farther along the ravine, tracing its jagged path through the landscape. Sometime in the history of this land, a seismic movement had cleaved this earth in two and the result was this colossal scar.

“I hope we don’t need to cross this.” Panic crept into her eyes.

“Unfortunately, we do.”

The sheer walls of the gorge were a patchwork of red rock and ugly plants that must have a death wish. It was a breathtaking sight. I’d seen similar gorges like this during many of my hikes through the Daintree, but this section was one of the more spectacular.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

I pointed toward the mountaintop across the other side. “We need to keep heading east. It’s the only way to make sure we don’t walk in circles.”

She shot me an annoyed look. “Surely any direction will get us out of this jungle?”

I adjusted the rifle in my arms. “True. But this is a mountain range that spreads north-south. The quickest way out is either back the way we came or east toward the ocean.”

Gripping my arm, she eased forward. “Looks like the ravine stretches for miles. How will we get across?”

I rolled my eyes. “How the hell should I know?”

“Well, that’s helpful.”

“Sorry, didn’t bring my GPS.”

“Ha, ha.” Huffing out a breath, she glanced down the ravine again. “I guess we need to get down there somehow.”

My stomach growled so loudly I heard it.

Our eyes met and I was fascinated by how dark her irises were, nearly black.

“My stomach is suggesting another idea . . . finding food.”

“I’m not against that.” Her shoulders softened.

“Good. How are you feeling?”

She touched the back of her skull and winced. “Still hurts.”

“Stop touching it then.”

“Yes, boss.” She waggled her head.

“Ha. Now you’re getting the idea.”

She slapped my arm. “Careful, cowboy, or I’ll toss you over that cliff.”

“I’d like to see that.”

She put her hands on her hips, doing that tit thrust thing that looked mighty fine. “You don’t think I could take you down?”

“Oh, I bet you could. That’s why I’d like to see it.”

She curled her lip into her mouth like she was fighting a smirk.

“Stop mucking around.” She grabbed my shoulders and turned me away from her. “Lead the way.”

“Okay, but do me a favor—keep clear of that edge.” I walked around the massive gum tree trunk. “I won’t be able to save your ass if you go over into that ravine.”

“I won’t.”

Leading the way, I shoved through bushes where possible and wove around them when necessary. On my right, the ravine seemed to be growing wider. Dense rainforest pressed in on my left, climbing up the cliff as far as I could see. Overhead, whenever the sun managed to spear through the canopy, it seemed another foot lower in the sky. It was going to get dark here damn early.

The air was thick with humidity, and the constant calls of birds and insects created a wild symphony that made me feel at home.

Jewel’s sneakers squelching in the soft mud confirmed she was keeping pace behind me and her silence suggested she was deep in thought. I had no plan of interrupting her, I had my own shit to contend with . . . like what the hell was I going to do for work now, and just as troubling, where was I going to live?

I had to duck to cross beneath the moss-laden branches of a massive strangler fig. Draped in shadows, the little alcove was both dark and thick with the scents of damp earth, one of my favorite smells. However, whatever shampoo Jewel used was putting that scent to the test. I had never smelled a woman’s hair before, at least not one that I wanted to keep smelling.

Back in the mottled sunshine, a splash of blue dots covered the branches of a massive tree. I strode to one of the low-hanging limbs and plucked off a branch overloaded with purple and blue berries.

Jewel joined me, and I handed her the bunch. “Eat.”

I snapped off a branch for myself, slid a pile of berries off the stalk with my fingers, and tossed them into my mouth.

“Are you sure they’re edible?” She sniffed the fruit and wrinkled her nose.

“There you go, not trusting me again.”

She shot me a look. “Just answer the question.”

“These are blue quandong berries. They taste . . . interesting, but they’re good for you.”

“Interesting?” She raised an eyebrow.

“You’ll see.” I ate a few more. The sour, bitter taste exploded on my tongue, but I kept my expression neutral as she studied me.

“They’re packed with Vitamin C.” I snapped another branch off the tree. “Keeps the scurvy away.”

“Scurvy? What are we, pirates?” She plucked off a couple of berries and rolled them around her hand.

“Still don’t trust me, huh?” I ate a few more.

She rolled her eyes at me, then tossed four into her mouth. Her expression twisted into disgust and her mouth dropped, revealing blue berry scraps on her tongue. “Oh my god, that’s revolting. Are you sure we can eat them?”

I ate a few more. “Yep. They also have a decent amount of calcium. Good for your bones and teeth. And they have iron, too, good for?—”

“All right. All right. Sheesh.” She forced down the ones in her mouth, then as she ate a few more her eyes watered. “How come you know so much about this stuff?”

I shrugged. “I pay attention.”

“Don’t be so cryptic. I’m serious, are you a botanist or something?”

“Or something.”

“Cody, I’m trying to have a genuine conversation.”

Feeling like an ass, I said, “I’ve hiked through the Daintree a few times. I’m a nerd for plants. That’s all.”

It wasn’t the whole truth, but it wasn’t a lie either.

Nodding, she seemed to convince herself to eat more.

“Do you think you can find something nutritious that also tastes nice?” She pushed out her blue tongue and gagged. “These are disgusting.”

I chuckled. “Let’s keep walking, see what else we can find.”

“Great. I’ll lead. Which way?”

I pointed in the direction we’d been walking. “That way, I guess.”

She snapped off another berry-loaded branch and struck a pace ahead of me, giving me a fine view of her sexy ass. I tried not to stare, but it was hard not to appreciate her stunning body.

“You seem to know this jungle pretty well.” She glanced at me over her shoulder.

I had absolutely no intention of answering that question in any detail. “Like I said, I’ve done some hiking through the Daintree. The area we’re in is part of the Mossman Gorge system.”

“Oh hey, look at the size of that bird.” She pointed ahead and continued walking.

I peered over her shoulder. “Shit! Stop.”

“Why?” Halting, she snapped her gaze from me to the flightless bird.

“It’s a cassowary. Damn things can get nasty.”

Twenty yards away, the cassowary stood taller than Jewel. Its blue neck and red wattles wobbled from side to side as it scraped at the loose leaves with its clawed feet.

We stood shoulder to shoulder as the bird took its time working through the undergrowth, finally disappearing from view.

Whisper let out a breath. “You know . . . I bet they taste like chicken.”

I gawked at her.

She burst into laughter. “You should see your face.”

“Very funny.”

“I thought so.” She poked her blue tongue at me and her eyes seemed to sparkle.

“My turn to lead.” I pushed past her.

“Oh, come on. That was funny. Don’t you think?”

Trying not to smirk, I stepped onto a patchwork of gnarly tree roots. My boots slipped, and just before I went ass over, I grabbed a vine as thick as my bicep. “Watch them, they’re slippery.”

“It’s your boots. Not ideal for walking.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly plan for this hike.” The words came out harsher than I intended.

She made a noise like a whimpering dog. “Sorry.”

Damn it. I’m such an asshole.

Clamping my jaw, I shoved away the fronds on a massive tree fern and held them back so they didn’t slap her face. She smiled, yet it didn’t meet her eyes.

As I continued in the lead, guilt gnawed at me, but I didn’t know how to make it right. I rarely had decent conversations, and definitely not with women. Especially a confident, sexy woman like Jewel.

We walked in silence long enough to have my stomach grumbling again, and every minute, the jungle grew just a fraction darker. We would need to find somewhere to set up camp for the night. Finding better food first would be nice though.

A clearing appeared ahead, and across the giant chasm, the afternoon sun shone on the citrus-colored rocks, making them look like a professional photo on a postcard. I stepped into the clearing but stood back from the edge that went straight down. The ravine had narrowed, but it was still impossible to see the bottom, and there was still absolutely no way of getting down that sheer cliff.

Whisper joined my side, and her arm brushed against mine. “This ravine stretches for miles. We’ll never get across this thing.” She leaned forward, peering down into the depths.

Curious if the chasm narrowed even more, I scanned the area ahead. “Oh, look at that log!” I pushed through the underbrush to reveal the largest fallen tree I’d ever seen. It resembled a massive piece of driftwood, and fortunately for us, it spanned the ravine.

The tree’s exposed roots on our side clawed into the earth, each one as thick as my thigh. Its gray trunk bore the scars of countless storms, while across the other side, a tangled crown of broken branches was stripped bare of foliage. This tree fell a long time ago.

I stood beside the trunk, which was as high as my elbow, and smacked a skull-sized knot in the bark. Grinning at Whisper, I said, “I think we’ve found our way across.”

The blood drained from her face. Her gaze darted from me, across the ravine, and back again. “Are you crazy!”

“It’s our only way. Besides, that trunk is wide enough to be a bridge.”

She shook her head, terror gripping her features—the same terror I’d seen when I found her bound and helpless. “No, no, no!” she cried, backing away. “I can’t do this, I can’t?—”

I grabbed her shoulders, holding her steady. “Whisper, listen to me. We don’t have a choice.”