20. Whisper
CHAPTER 20
Whisper
I blinked my eyes open, trying to shake the fog from my mind. My body was stiff and just moving my neck hurt. As I struggled to make out shapes in the dim light, the curved roof of the plane cabin formed above me. Memories came flooding back like a tidal wave, giving explanations behind the stings dotting my flesh and the burning sensation along my thigh. And then I remembered Cody and the incredible things he’d done with my body last night.
I rolled my head to the side, hoping he was still in the seat beside me. He was.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” His voice was low and husky. He smiled, and in the pre-dawn light, his teeth were so white they seemed to glow.
I grinned. I could wake up to him every day.
Woah, calm down.
I cleared my throat. “Did you sleep?”
“Like a log.” His eyes crinkled at the corners, and I realized I had no idea how old he was. It was just another question in the massive list of questions I wanted to ask him.
“Same.”
His gaze skipped over my mouth and back to meet my eyes, and I loved the way he looked at me.
“We were both exhausted.” His tone hinted at amusement.
I curled my lip through my teeth, trying to stifle a grin. “Uh-huh.”
We lay there, just looking at each other, yet it wasn’t uncomfortable or awkward. Little butterflies danced in my stomach. No man had ever done that for me before.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
I raised an eyebrow. “Do you mean my ant bites and bruises?”
“Interpret my question how you want.”
I grinned, and playing his game, I said, “I’m good, thanks.”
A smirk danced across his lovely lips. His trimmed beard had grown thicker and darker overnight, and he had a little scattering of freckles over his nose that I hadn’t noticed yesterday. Cody was, without a doubt, the most handsome man I’d ever met.
“What’s the plan for today?” I asked.
“Same as yesterday.”
“Minus the tumble down the cliff and the bull ants, I hope.”
He chuckled. “Yeah. Minus them.”
“But everything else is okay.” His eyes dazzled, and my insides fluttered.
A charged silence stretched between us, and it was so wonderful I was tempted to climb onto his lap and have a repeat of our incredible moves last night.
A beam of sunlight pierced through the missing window, lighting up a shard of shattered glass that framed the cockpit windshield.
Cody scratched at his chest through his shirt, his eyes meeting mine. “We should get a move on.”
I nodded and a twinge of sadness tugged at me as our quiet moment slipped away. I leaned down to pull on my socks and sneakers, noticing he still had his boots on.
“Do you always sleep with your boots on?” I asked.
“Only when I need to be ready,” he replied, his voice carrying a hint of seriousness that made me pause.
“Ready for what?” I tugged on my second shoe and tied the laces, looking up at him.
“Anything,” he said, standing up and ducking his head to avoid the cabin roof. He extended his hand to me. “My lady.”
I chuckled, taking his hand. “Well, that sets the tone for the day ahead, cowboy.”
He hauled me to my feet in front of him and gave my bottom a light smack.
“Hey.” I spun to him, unable to stop my grin.
Feigning ignorance, he put his hands on my hips and guided me out of the plane wreck and into the open air.
Cody pointed to the right, in front of the plane. “Excuse me for a minute.” He strode into the bushes.
Heading in the opposite direction, I found a discreet place to pee. I was dirty and smelled of sweat and mud and my entire body seemed to throb and sting. I had never been so disgusting. But as I wiped my hands using the dew on a few enormous, lush leaves, I caught a whiff of Cody’s manly scent still on my skin, and a fuzzy warmth washed over me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had an orgasm, but I knew for certain that it was nowhere near as spectacular as the one Cody had given me.
By the time I returned to the plane wreck, Cody was waiting for me with the banana bunch at his feet, the rifle hooked over his chest, and a dark expression on his face. “You ready?” In the space of a few minutes, my smiling cowboy had morphed into serious Cody.
“Yes. Is everything okay?”
“Yep. Let’s go.” He hoisted the bananas onto his shoulder and strode away.
I hurried after him, and fortunately, the rising sun gave enough light for me to push branches and leaves out of the way before they slapped my face. The jungle seemed alive this morning and the animals made sounds that I’d never heard before.
A bird released a long, drawn-out call, and then an ear-splitting crack.
“Oh, hear that?” I said. “It’s a Whip-poor-will.”
“Actually, it’s the Eastern Whipbird.”
“I love their whip-cracking sound.”
“It’s a duet between the male and female.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. The male does the starting long note and the crack, and the female finishes the call off.”
“Huh. That’s fascinating.” I breathed in the cool morning air. “So, you know about plants and animals.”
“I guess.” Cody was a man of few words, and I was grateful that he’d opened up to me last night. My heart ached for him, and I couldn’t even begin to imagine what he went through as a kid.
He walked ahead with the bananas slung over his shoulder. As he navigated the dense bushes, I admired his broad back and strong shoulders. His boots left imprints in the mud and the carpet of fallen leaves, and I followed closely, trying to mimic his footsteps.
The sun climbed higher, casting a warm glow over the area, and the heat it produced intensified the rich damp-earth aromas. I hoped Cody had an idea of the direction we were walking, I couldn’t even tell if we were going in a straight line. The sun seemed to jump positions—in front, over my shoulder, back in front. For all I knew, we could be heading back toward the plane wreck.
My stomach growled. “Do you think we could stop for a snack?”
He halted and swung the bananas off his shoulder. “Knock yourself out.”
He strode away.
“Where are you going?”
“Need a piss.”
Alrighty then, cranky ass. I plucked a banana from the bunch. What was his problem? He was moodier than my boss, Ryder, before he met Piper. Back then, we all walked on eggshells around him. Thank God Piper snapped that funk out of him.
I had no idea what Cody’s beef was, but this hike was long enough without his brooding silence.
When Cody returned, I handed him a banana. “So, what’s your favorite food?”
He shrugged. “Right now . . . bananas.”
“Very funny. I’m serious, as a vegetarian, what’s your favorite meal?”
He tossed the peel into the bushes. “Roast potatoes.”
“Great choice.” I waited for him to ask about my favorite meal. When he didn’t, I said, “I love prawns.”
He plucked off another banana.
“I’ll eat them cold, or on the barbeque, or in a curry. Have you always been a vegetarian?”
“Yep. You ready?”
“Sure.” Sighing, I gestured in the direction we’d been heading. “Lead the way.”
He scooped the banana bunch up and kept walking.
“So, what’s your favorite movie?”
“Don’t have one.”
“Oh, come on. Everyone has a movie they love.”
“I told you, I don’t have time for TV.”
“Okay then. Do you have any pets?”
He groaned and ducked beneath a low-hanging branch. On the other side, he picked up his pace.
His silence only made me more determined to get an answer.
I increased my strides, so I was right behind him. “Let me guess. I bet you have a dog. No, two farm dogs. I’m guessing cattle dogs.”
He spun to me, and I crashed into his chest. “Shit. Sorry.” I peered up at him and the dread on his expression scared me. “What?”
“Will you stop with the questions?”
“We can’t walk through this stupid jungle in silence.” I put my hands on my hips.
“Yes, we can.” His blue eyes seemed to pierce right through me.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing,” he snapped.
“Bullshit. You were all lovely and smiley in the plane, and then we stepped outside, and you go Duncan Downer on me.”
His lip twitched, and I was certain he was trying not to smirk.
I placed my hand on his chest. “Did I say something to upset you?”
He rolled his eyes. “No”
“Did I do something then?”
“No. You haven’t done anything.”
“What is it then? Don’t make me pull our honesty pact on you.”
He swept his attention to the bushes, stalling.
“Come on, Cody. Tell me what’s wrong?” The air seemed to grow warmer.
He clamped his jaw.
“Okay, then. How about you ask me some questions? Go on, ask me anything.”
“Okay . . . will you stop talking?”
“Haha. Doesn’t count.” I kept my tone upbeat. “Aren’t you curious about me?”
He made a small shudder.
Wow, something really is eating him up.
“Yeah, I’m curious.”
“Great.” I gave an exaggerated grin. “So, ask away.”
He blinked at me, seeming completely lost for words.
“Alrighty then, you had your chance, but I’m going to keep on asking.”
Groaning, he turned on his heel.
“Right. Well, you still haven’t answered my question about pets. Was I right about the two dogs?”
He made a noise like he had a bellyache, lowered the bananas to the ground, and faced me again. “Yes. Okay. You’re right. Two dogs. Rusty and Bluey.”
“Ha. I knew it. Are they cattle dogs?”
“They were cattle dogs, yes.” He clenched his jaw.
My hand went to my mouth. “Oh God. I’m sorry. What happened?”
“Bruce killed them.”
“What? Bloody hell!”
“He poisoned them.”
“Jesus. Why?”
“Fucked if I know.”
“What did you do?”
“I rushed them to the vet, but I was too late.”
“But what did you do to Bruce?”
“Believe me, if I’d had concrete proof, I would have strangled that bastard.”
“Oh, Cody.” I wrapped my arms around him and as I squeezed my body to his, he was as rigid as a tree trunk. “I’m so sorry that happened to you and your dogs. So, so sorry.”
As I listened to his thumping heartbeat, tears welled in my eyes. He’s been through so much.
And now he doesn’t have a job or a home because of me.
I eased back. “I’m so sorry.”
He shook his head. “You didn’t do?—”
“No. Because of me, you’ve lost everything.”
The anger in his eyes flared darker. “You may have been the catalyst, but things weren’t good already.”
I frowned. “Because of what he did to your dogs? Or something else?”
“Come on, let’s keep walking and I’ll fill you in.”
I cocked my head at him.
“Do you want to get out of this place or not?”
“All right. Jeez, you’re bossy.”
“Me?” He bulged his eyes at me. “You’re the one who jumped my bones last night.”
I half giggled, half gasped. “Are you complaining?”
“Hell no.” His face softened and a hint of a smile played at the corners of his mouth.
Grinning, I wriggled my eyebrows. “Okay, but no more of this silent business, or I’ll hit you with some of my really tough questions.”
He turned me by the shoulders. “Get moving, lady.”
Laughing, I took the lead, pushing through the dense foliage without any real idea which way to go. The humid air clung to my skin and sweat beaded on my forehead.
“I do have a question for you,” Cody said behind me. “Tell me about Dane.”
Frowning, I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Dane? Why?”
“If you’re correct about him, I’m curious about what makes a young man get involved in organized crime.”
And with that, all the fun vibes I’d been riding evaporated. “To be honest, I have no idea.”
“How old is he?”
“He’s nineteen, nearly twenty.”
“And you say he drove that semi?”
“Yeah. He’s the youngest man at the wharf to get his truck license.”
“That’s impressive.”
“He was so proud of that.” I couldn’t keep the sadness from my voice. I had a terrible feeling that Dane was going to pay for his stupid decision to haul that truck for a very long time.
We entered an area where the trees seemed to grow taller, and their canopies blocked out most of the sunlight. The undergrowth thickened, forcing me to either bulldoze through the dense shrubs or try to step over them.
“Why would Dane risk his job?” Cody asked.
“I don’t know, but I have a rotten feeling that maybe his boss is in on it, too. That terrifies me. I know Roger and I was certain he was one of the good guys. He’s been working at the wharf for fifty years, running the place for about fifteen. There have already been a few wharf workers convicted for their involvement with Scorpion Industries. But if Roger is involved, then who knows how far the corruption extends.”
“Would Dane do it for money?”
I shook my head. “I doubt it. He lives at home with Mom, just like all of us, and he’s paid well. And Mom only asks us to pay a hundred bucks a week to live there. So, he shouldn’t have any money problems.”
The air grew warmer and more humid, and I wiped away the sweat trickling down my forehead.
“Does he have a car?”
“No. He gets lifts from me and my brothers all the time and I’ve been hounding him to get his own car.”
“Why doesn’t he?”
I shook my head, wiping a trickle of sweat away from my eye. “He says he’s saving. Which was why I was angry with him when he bought an Apple Watch a few months ago.”
Cody was silent for a moment. “So . . . he doesn’t need money. And you say he has a good job.”
“Yes, he loves his job.”
“Hey. Hold up.”
I turned to Cody. He’d put the bananas down and was plucking red and yellow fruits off a small shrub.
“Bush tomatoes,” he said, tossing two into his mouth.
“I hope these taste better than those blue thingies yesterday.” I sniffed one, and after he’d eaten a few more without pulling a face, I tried one and nodded. “That’s much better.”
The tomatoes were sweet, with a slightly tangy taste.
Cody swept his wavy hair back from his brow and I imagined he did that every time he put on his cowboy hat. “Has Dane been in trouble before?”
“No. Never. He’s a good kid and a hard worker.”
“Do you have a theory behind his actions?” he asked, frowning.
I huffed out a breath. I loved how Cody was trying to figure this out with me, but I only had one theory. “I think he’s being blackmailed.”
Cody nodded. “In what way?”
“I don’t know, but it’s the only thing that makes sense.”
A kookaburra started a rolling laugh nearby, and several more joined in. Their upbeat chorus seemed to mock the seriousness of our conversation.
“Could it have something to do with you?” Cody asked.
“Me?” I palmed my chest.
“Yeah. Do you think it’s odd that he rang you, and not one of his older brothers? Or even the police? How close are you?”
“He’s six years younger than me, and my next older brother is two years older than me.”
“I mean, would he open up to you?”
I paused, considering. “I think so. I don’t know. But I guess he messaged me because of my job. I was able to get up here fast.”
After we had devoured all the tomatoes on the bush, Cody hoisted the bananas onto his shoulder again. “Let’s go.” He nodded at me to lead the way.
As I pushed through the knee-high shrubs, my mind raced. Why did Dane contact me specifically? Was it because of my job? Or my access to friends in law enforcement? I couldn’t shake the feeling I was missing something crucial about Dane’s situation.
God, I hope he’s okay.
The jungle grew denser with each step. Trees towered so tall that craning my neck to see the canopy made me dizzy. We trekked through a sea of ferns, pushing past their unfurled fronds and the ground began to slope downward, gently at first, but it quickly grew steeper.
“Am I going the right way?” I called back to Cody.
“Yep.”
Loose leaves and twigs shifted under my sneakers, making every step a balancing act. I had no idea how Cody was keeping upright with those bananas on his shoulder and those cowboy boots on.
A grin teased my lips as I pictured him naked. His body was incredible. His muscle definition was off the charts, yet his touch had been so tender.
I pushed aside a massive surfboard-shaped leaf and skidded to a halt. Three feet ahead the ground dropped away, creating a massive crater and sheer cliff face where the forest floor should be. “Jesus. Lucky I saw that in time to stop.”
“Careful.” Cody grabbed my arm, pulling me back from the edge. “Don’t want you going ass over again.”
We backtracked, climbing higher to skirt around the massive basin. Cody paused between two trees with trunks as wide as my Mazda. From our vantage point, the devastation below was even more staggering. Giant uprooted trees were scattered about like matchsticks and some of their trunks were snapped and splintered like they were mere twigs. Boulders and debris littered the crater.
“What the hell happened?” I asked, trying to see where the damage ended.
“Looks like a massive landslide.” He shook his head. “Must’ve been recent, too. The exposed earth still looks fresh. Let’s keep going.”
“Your turn to lead.”
Angled away from the landslide, we headed up the steep hill. My legs were becoming tired, but he didn’t slow down. His boots slipped a few times, yet he managed to remain upright even with the extra weight on one shoulder. I was grateful for the grip on my sneakers.
At one point, the slope was so steep that Cody had to grab my hand and haul me up. His strength was incredible, and his stamina was impressive.
I liked to think I was fit and strong, but I was feeling muscles that rarely got a workout. Maybe it was from my tumble down the hill. It was hard to believe that was yesterday, it felt like a week ago already.
Cody pushed on like a machine until, finally, we found an easier angle to navigate down the hillside. As my footing steadied, my mind drifted back to Dane’s motives.
“Thanks for asking about Dane earlier,” I said. “This is so out of character for him, and I have no idea what he was thinking. I just hope I’m not too late to save him.”
Cody stepped over a fallen log and offered his hand. “Which wharf does he work for?”
I clutched his palm to mine and jumped onto the log.
“Rosebud Wharf.” As I landed, my sneakers were nearly swallowed by mud. “Damn it. I like these sneakers.”
“Don’t have that problem with my cowboy boots.” He gave me a cocky grin.
“Ha! So you admit you’re a cowboy.”
“Just my boots, lady.”
I giggled, and a spectacular grin lit up his face.
“Want a banana?” He wriggled his eyebrows.
Laughing harder, I nodded. “Sure.”
He plucked one for each of us. “You want to lead for a bit?”
“Okay.” Munching on my banana, I eased past him. My sneakers were heavy with mud and every step made a squelching noise. Thankfully, the angle of the terrain became less steep, and I didn’t slip so much.
It seemed like we’d been walking all day. How much farther did we have to go? Days? Weeks?
Navigating down another steep section, I clung to trees to lower myself, and each time Cody readied to catch me. The end never came into sight. It was like walking to the bottom of earth.
“Hey, do you hear that?” Cody said.
Frowning, I stared into the bushes ahead, trying to hear what caught his attention. “Water.”
“Sure is. Sounds like we finally found one of the rivers.”
The sounds of rushing water grew louder as we continued downhill. After what seemed like hours, we reached the edge of a narrow river that flowed at breakneck speed.
Cody offloaded the bananas and his rifle, and kneeling at the side of the river, he scooped handfuls of water and drank.
I knelt beside him, cupping my hands to drink, too. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I’d been. The water was cool, and so fresh.
Cody splashed water on his face and droplets clung to his beard. He ran his wet fingers through his hair, pushing it back from his forehead and when the water glistened on his skin, my breath caught. He was impossibly sexy, and I was fairly certain he didn’t know it. I couldn’t drag my eyes from him.
“What?” He grinned, taking his stunning looks to off-the-charts spectacular.
I cleared my throat. “Feel good?”
He scooped some water and splashed me.
Giggling, I tried to splash him back, but he scrambled to his feet and stepped back.
“Chicken.” I laughed as I dabbed handfuls of water on my face and washed my arms.
I felt Cody watching me wash and my insides had a little party. It wasn’t unusual to feel the stares from men watching me, but with Cody, I welcomed the attention.
After washing off some of the jungle stickiness, my skin was somewhat normal again. Standing, I ran my wet fingers through my hair and winced when I touched the lump on the back of my skull.
“Still sore?” Cody asked with concern.
“Not too bad. So what do we do now?”
“Find a way across.” He shouldered the rifle and bananas and set off along the riverbank.
I inhaled deeply. After days in the dense jungle, it was nice to be out in the open.
“We can swim across,” I said. The current was a fast-flowing torrent but doable.
“Hell no. Too dangerous. That current’s too strong.” He picked up his pace, striding ahead.
He glanced at me over his shoulder, and his expression was unreadable like he was nervous about something.
“Did you say Dane worked at Rosebud Wharf?” he asked. “I’ve never heard of it.”
His comment caught me off-guard. Rosebud had one of the biggest wharves along Queensland’s eastern seaboard. “Really? Where did you think that truck was going then?”
“Townsville Wharf, where all our product goes.”
“Well, I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think all your product goes the way you want.”
He halted and turned to me, and although I couldn’t see his jaw, I had a feeling he had clamped his teeth. “How far away is Rosebud?”
“About an eight hour’s drive from here.”
“Then Dane will definitely be there by now. But you don’t have to worry, that truck was loaded with canned corn.”
“You still believe that, don’t you?”
He leveled his gaze at me. “I have no reason to believe otherwise.”
“I pray you are right.”
“I am. I don’t know what’s going on, but it has nothing to do with my canned corn.” He turned. “We need to keep moving. I want to get across this river before nightfall.” He strode away, and his footfalls sounded heavier, angrier.
Despite my belief that something criminal was going on at the Baxter Creek Plantation, I also had come to believe that Cody had nothing to do with it. Either he was kept out of the drug operations on purpose, or he was very na?ve.
“Hey,” I called, jogging to catch up. “What does it matter if the current is strong? As long as we keep swimming, we’ll get to the other side.”
He didn’t reply.
“Worried about getting your boots wet, cowboy?” I called ahead. My attempt at humor fell flat. Cody didn’t laugh or turn to look at me. He just kept striding forward.
“Cody?” I tried again, confused and a little worried. “What’s up?”
What has him on edge this time?
Was there something about this river, this place, that I was missing?
Attempting to break through his wall of silence, I asked a random question. “So, which school did you go to?”
Cody shot me a look over his shoulder that clearly said, don’t go there.
He didn’t know me well. I increased my pace. “Come on. Tell me. What school?”
“I didn’t,” he blurted.
My jaw dropped.
“You didn’t go to school?” I asked, shocked.
Cody spun to me and his expression turned bitter. “No. My only education was working my ass off on that farm and look where that’s got me.”
“Oh shit. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. Me too.” He stormed ahead, and I jogged to chase after him.
His words floored me. How could our education system abandon him after what he’d been through? And why the hell didn’t his uncle make sure he went to school?
I didn’t know what to say.
The rushing water seemed to grow louder, drowning out any attempt to have Cody talk to me. He dodged around trees and strode over loose rocks, but he didn’t slow down.
We rounded a bend where the river narrowed to half the width, hemmed in by a series of giant boulders. A waterfall spouted between the rocks and dropped about ten feet to churning white water below. That explained why the river sounded like it was roaring.
“It’s beautiful,” I shouted over the waterfall.
“We cross here,” he said, nodding like there was no discussion needed.
The giant rocks created a path across the river. However, we would need to jump from one to the next, and with the amount of water flowing over a couple of them, they would be slippery.
Cody stepped onto the first rock.
“Cody, wait! Let’s talk about this.”
He stepped onto the next rock and wobbled a fraction.
“Cody! Will you at least take your boots off?”
Ignoring me, he jumped across to the next rock.
“Bloody hell.” Tucking my hair behind my ears, I stepped onto the first bolder.
Cody leaped to the next rock. His foot slipped. He tried to step back. The bananas went one way, and Cody plunged into the waterfall.
“Cody!”
My heart launched to my throat as I stared at the frothing water, praying for him to surface.
His head appeared and his arms flapped all over the place.
When his arms continued to flail, dread filled my chest.
“Oh shit!”
He can’t swim.