Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
But after a brief conversation on the CB, Phillip announced there weren’t any signs of rhino in the reserve that afternoon. The controversial decision to take down the fences around Kruger National Park had been made years ago, and it allowed game to roam freely.
Plus, there was the issue of poaching.
“Last year was the worst,” Phillip said. “More than three a day, all for a horn made out of the same thing as your fingernail. No medicinal quality, but in the black market in Asia, it’s more valuable than heroin. The price is so high, it’s worth the risk to the poachers.” His expression was resigned. “It’s extremely difficult to prosecute someone caught poaching, but at least the rangers are now allowed to shoot to kill.”
He’d said it like he might have been pleased.
We drove to a herd of elephants. Phillip brought the Land Cruiser so close, the trunk of one of the gigantic beasts wandered over the hood as it searched for the best leaf. Behind its mother’s legs, a tiny elephant’s ears wobbled on its head. Its toenails were still white, and Phillip explained that it would darken to match its hide in another few months as it grew to adolescence.
It was incredible, and yet somehow not enough for Giovanni. He checked his phone. Instagram. Really?
When the sun sank behind the landscape, the Land Cruiser rumbled to a start and headed back for the lodge. It got dark fast, and being in the bush, surrounded by these men and other predators, was perilous and exciting. The vehicle unexpectedly skidded to a stop.
“What’s happening?” Nathan’s alert voice came from behind me.
“Here,” Phillip said. He hopped out of the driver’s seat and darted to a nearby bush, retrieving something from a branch. “Give me your hand, miss.” He clicked on a flashlight.
I held out my hand, hesitant, and then felt a smile widen on my face. A bright green chameleon, half the size of my phone, crept cautiously across Phillip’s hand onto mine, its L-shaped hands tickling my skin as it gripped onto me.
“Oh, my God, it’s so cute,” I whispered like a child. The chameleon’s independent eyes scanned me as if the description offended it. I watched it walk, lifting its limbs up and over, making its way slowly to my wrist.
“Signore?” I asked, turning to allow Giovanni the opportunity, but of course his attention was on the glowing screen of his phone. It left me with no other option. “Nathan? Would you like to?”
The moon was bright, and the high beams of the Land Cruiser illuminated the area around us enough so I could see him. He wasn’t looking at the adorable little lizard. His eyes were fixed on me, even as he put his enormous, rough hand over my wrist.
Oh, holy shit. His expression was empty, but beneath it, there was a sliver of interest. Desire?
As the chameleon followed a path onto the back of his hand, Phillip talked about the camouflage characteristics, but I found it difficult to pay attention. Nathan’s rough hand on my wrist was shocking and wonderful, and I could feel his touch in places . . . elsewhere.
Oh, I was in big trouble. I had way more than just a sliver of interest in the American seated behind me.
“How did you see him?” I asked Phillip. “In the green bush, and just headlights?”
“His green is a shade too bright. Once you’ve seen one, you can train your eye to spot them.” He gestured to another bush. “Do you see the one there?”
At first, all I saw were green leaves and thick branches, and one new leaf that was more yellow-green than the others. “Oh. There.”
He smiled and took the chameleon from Nathan’s hand, setting the lizard gently back in the tree. “Are you hungry? Our chef has prepared a fabulous meal for our guests this evening.”
There was Italian abruptly to my left, and Nathan’s grip on my wrist slid away. “You will join Mr. Abramo for dinner this evening.”
My breath caught, and I pressed my lips together to quiet any impulsive reply. “Was that a question?”
“No,” Nathan said, his face giving nothing away. “It wasn’t.”
2
ETHAN
I regretted the name I’d chosen for this op. Nathan was too similar to my real one, which I’d assumed would make it easier, but every time she uttered my cover’s name, my teeth clenched so tightly my jaw was in danger of splitting.
Captain Olivia Wallace. This job was hard enough. I didn’t need this distraction added in.
I sat motionless on the ride back to the lodge, not wanting to draw attention as I’d been trained to do. Fade all six-foot-seven-inches of myself into nothing. I’d been watching Giovanni’s phone screen but hadn’t seen anything of interest.
My gut said a deal was in the works. Not tonight, but soon. There wasn’t a chance in hell Giovanni had come here for safari alone. Hendrix, my field director, agreed, and as soon as the CIA caught wind of Giovanni’s travel plans, we’d moved quickly. Drugging his usual bodyguard had been the fastest way to get me in.