Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
STASIE
Ileaned against the railing behind me and tilted my head back, closing my eyes.
Rays of sunlight danced behind my eyelids, and I sucked in a breath.
A gentle breeze brushed over my face, and I let that deep breath go in a slow, easy release.
I always found calm in the anticipation of the hit of adrenaline I so dearly craved.
What was life without a little adventure, a little excitement?
The adrenaline filled that space within me, the space that was never satisfied and always yearning for more.
It was the darkness in me. A darkness I fed the only way I knew how .
. . with a hit of adrenaline. I could fill that void for the barest second and perhaps I would see .
. . him. The man who haunted my dreams. I peeked my eyes open, gazing out over the steep mountains on either side of the bridge.
The forest rose up from the mountains in a blanket of green.
A wide river wound between the two mountains and under the bridge.
The sun glinted off the surface, and from this height, it almost looked like glitter moving across the water.
From this height, I couldn’t even hear the water, but I would soon enough.
“You’re looking good. Step right on in.”
I pushed away from the railing and walked over to the instructor bent down on his knee in front of me.
I stepped into the two loops on the floor before me and he pulled the harness up to wrap snuggly around my waist. With jerky movements, he strapped me in, securing the buckles.
He gave a final tug on the straps, then gave me a nod. “You’re all set, bro.”
I nodded and moved closer to my launch point.
“No, oh hell no. I’m not going first.” One of my friends, Kate, shook her head and took a step back. She was already harnessed but was slowly backing away from the edge.
Kate backed up and bumped into our other friend, Jen, and waved her forward. Jen held her hands up and shook her head. “Well, I’m not doing it. Go right ahead, Amy.”
Amy’s eyes widened. “You guys are so funny. Just go. I’m right behind you both.”
“In other words, you’re gonna go last.” Jen lowered her voice and leaned closer to the other two. “You know who will go first?”
They all swung their gazes back toward me and I chuckled. “You guys are ridiculous.”
I stepped right past them to the platform that jutted out from the bridge.
The instructor there fastened two large cuff-looking things around my ankles, then walked me even closer to the edge and attached the bungee cord to me.
I turned around to face my friends. Their wide eyes followed every move I made.
The instructor began to count down. “Three . . . two . . .”
I didn’t wait until he got to one. I leapt off the edge and spread my arms out wide.
The wind whipped by me and my hair flew out of my face.
My stomach rose up into my throat as I fell.
Just when I thought I would smash into the surface of the water, everything around me slowed to nothing, and there he was .
. . standing right on the edge of the river .
. . watching me. Always watching with those vivid blue eyes that were so pale they were nearly as white as his hair.
His full lips were turned down into a scowl, giving his already chiseled face an even sharper appearance.
I’d grown used to that disapproving look.
I memorized it and saw it in my dreams. The robes draped around his body hung over only one shoulder, exposing his chest, arms, and part of his well-muscled torso.
That white-blond hair drifted in the wind, and I wanted to reach for him, to grab hold of him and never let go.
He was so close yet so far. Everything in me yearned for just a second longer, a moment just to get a glimpse of the man who I only saw in my own mind.
Was I crazy? Probably. Did I care? Not in the least. The bungee pulled tight slowing my progress toward the river below.
Water surrounded me and I forgot to suck in a breath before my entire upper body went under.
My arms drifted above my head as the cord caught, and I was ripped from the freezing river.
The world flew by in a blur and my eyes went back to the riverbank, searching for him, but he was gone and that empty darkness returned once more—a yearning so deep it made me restless even as my body swung like a pendulum from the bridge.
My heart barely sped as I hung there upside down.
They started to lower me toward a small boat that churned its engines to hold its place on the rushing river.
Three other guys guided me down onto the deck of the small boat.
They held on to the bungee as they unhooked my ankles.
I popped to my feet and threw my arms up in triumph.
My friends at the top of the bridge gave excited cries that I barely heard this far below.
I sighed and put my hand up to my face, shading my eyes to look up at them.
“Did you get what you want?”
I whirled around at the deep voice coming from behind me. A smile tugged at my lips. “Don’t I always get what I want?”
“Fair point.” Jack winked down at me.
“What are you doing here?” I put my hands on my hips and took a step closer. “More importantly, how’d you know where I am?”
Jack seemed to always know where I was and how to find me, even though I used a different alias to travel. I made it a habit to travel alone and meet my friends, so I didn’t draw attention to them or myself. His emerald eyes danced with humor. “You underestimate my abilities.”
Strands of his sandy blond hair fell over his forehead into his eyes. I shook my head. “I never do, my friend.”
I didn’t know if we were actually friends or more like colleagues, but Jack found me years ago when I signed up for my first skydiving lesson.
He’d been standing to the side and just watching me as if he knew me.
The oddest part about it was I felt like I knew him too.
He shoved his hands into his pockets and watched as Jen leapt off the bridge next.
She shrieked the whole way down with her eyes shut tight.
Jen’s voice cut off as her head dunked into the water. She came back up sputtering and coughing. The next flick of the cord sent her flying up once more. Jack sighed, “I never understand the appeal of throwing oneself off a bridge to dangle by a thin string.”
“It’s different for everyone I suppose.” I tried to give a nonchalant shrug.
Jack’s gaze turned to mine. “What’s in it for you? You’ve been the adrenaline junkie since we met.”
If I told Jack I did it for a glance at a vision that only existed in my head, I knew he’d think I was crazy in a way that would no longer benefit business. I forced my lips to curl into a smile. “Oh, you know me. I like the excitement.”
“And what about the danger? Death is a thing, Stasie.” His face turned deadly serious.
“If I was scared to die, then we’d be out of business.” I chuckled. “Good thing I’m not.”
His lips pressed into a hard line. “Yes, good thing.”
The guys in the crew grabbed on to Jen and guided her down onto the deck of the boat.
“We have business.” He lowered his voice low enough for only me to hear.
As the boat swayed with the rushing water, he kept his balance perfectly—never swaying or reaching out to catch his balance.
The warm tan of his skin always gave me the impression that he’d spent his life under the sun and at sea.
I glanced around at the small crew and lowered my voice to match his. “Here?”
“Later.”
They unhooked her ankles, and she scurried to her feet. Water sloshed down her body and soaked her tank top. She flipped the dark strands of her hair back from her face and hurried to me.
“I don’t know how you talked me into that.”
“She has a habit of doing that,” Jack offered.
Jen’s eyes widened, and her gaze darted between me and Jack. “And you would know that how?”
Jack gave her an easy smirk, but that was always the way with Jack. He’d smile and turn those dark, emerald eyes on a woman and she would be putty in his hands. “Anastasia and I go way back. She told me she was coming here, and I thought I’d stop by.”
Jen wrinkled her nose. “Anastasia. He called you Anastasia. He must really know you.”
“Feels like for forever.” Jack chuckled.
“So that’s why you just showed up?” Jen gave him a leisurely once-over.
I added, “He likes to surprise me like that.”
Jen nodded. “Well, if I had a friend who looked like that, I’d be happy to be surprised too.”
“I’m Jack.” He offered her his hand.
Jen took it and Jack pulled her closer to him. He lifted her hand to his mouth. Before he kissed her hand, he caught her eye. “We’re just friends.”
“Well, in that case,” she nearly swooned, “I’m Jen.”
Jack kissed her hand, and I rolled my eyes. Yet another woman caught in Jack’s trap. “Lovely to meet you, Jen.”
When he took a step back from her, she just kept staring at him in a daze. “Come out with us tonight.”
The smile dropped from my face. “He’s busy—”
“I’d love to,” he spoke over me.
Jen beamed at me. “Great.”
I narrowed my eyes at Jack. “Yeah. Greattttt.”