Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 39250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
I finished the last of my bread and felt bizarrely content. At peace. But there was a dose of melancholy as well. Peering out over the valley and the mountains beyond, I wondered if I was ever coming back here. These days, most of my assignments took me to South America and Africa, and they weren’t as frequent anymore.
I was the senior operator in charge of our drone defense at Hillcroft, a passion project of mine.
“What’s that one called?” Kiera pointed at the helicopter.
“It’s an AW139,” I replied. “One of my favorites for low-risk assignments. We go way back. I had to kiss a fuck-ton of ass to get my boss to buy one for our permanent fleet.”
She chuckled. “Maybe you shouldn’t leave it in Afghanistan.”
I smirked. This particular model didn’t belong to us. Once we were done with our op, this one was returning to her owner in Cyprus.
“You’re lucky we have it now, seeing as it’s apparently your new bedroom,” I said.
She pointed to the bird. “There are zero spiders and scorpions in there.”
“There’s also zero heat,” I pointed out. “You know it gets cold at night.”
Also, there were no scorpions in the cabin. I’d looked with my UV light.
I hated scorpions.
“I’d rather freeze than wake up with a spider on my face,” she retorted.
Suit yourself.
CHAPTER 5
Kiera Lane
Okay, this was ridiculous. It hadn’t been this cold last night.
Maybe because you’d slept three feet away from a fucking fire.
I gnashed my teeth and stared up at the ceiling of the helicopter. Just when I thought I’d won the lottery with my new bed, the temperature had to drop to the point where I couldn’t stop shaking.
I wasn’t going to let James think he was right. He probably knew anyway since he’d taken back his blanket and given me his sleeping bag instead, plus a hoodie.
It was a good brand that promised to keep me warm at temps above ten degrees, and I called bullshit. It wasn’t that cold out. Was it? No way. We weren’t that high up in the mountains. Probably.
Nope, new plan. I’d make a fire outside, boil up some water, jump around to get my blood pumping, and drink hot water with honey. Then I could make a fresh attempt.
I shuddered violently and sat up, and I unzipped the sleeping bag.
James’s hoodie was insanely comfortable, and it stayed on. He might never get it back.
“F-freezing f-fuck,” I breathed. Leggings stayed on too, obviously, and I snuck my popsicle feet into my shoes. Then I grabbed James’s flashlight and the bottle of honey on my way out.
Good God, it was frigid.
I switched on the flashlight at the lowest setting—as instructed—and made my way over to the firepit. James was toasty warm in the cabin, wasn’t he? I could see the glow under the door.
The fire from last night wasn’t completely dead yet, so I added some wood and poked around, sending embers flying skyward. Ohhh, that was the warmth I was looking for. I bet I could crack an egg on the rocks that I’d surrounded the pit with, and it would be ready in a minute.
After returning the pot to the made-by-James three-legged stand above the fire, I poured water in it and—
The door swung open, revealing a dark silhouette that made my heart jump up in my throat.
“Get in here, Kiera,” he bit out.
“What, why?” I asked shakily. He’d scared me again!
“You’re freezing.”
“No, I’m not,” I said stubbornly. “I woke up and wanted some honey water. Is that a crime?”
He sighed loudly and opened the door wider. “Fucking get in here already. The stovetop’s hot. Your damn water will take two minutes to boil.”
Okay, but then I was going back to the helicopter!
I swallowed the last of my frazzled nerves and grabbed the pot, and then I scurried down the final bit to the haunted spider house.
Oh my God, it was so nice and warm in here.
I exhaled unsteadily and avoided eye contact. Pot went on the stove, and I accidentally sloshed some water over the edge. The drops sizzled and jumped on the surface.
“Gimme that.” He took the honey from me as well as the flashlight. He set the honey next to the stove, then spun me around to face the stone bed. “I want you to look at this.” He directed the flashlight at the ceiling, bit by bit. “There are no spiders in here. See those cracks? Nothing is small enough to hide there.” The beam of light traced the walls too. “Nothing, nothing, nothing.”
I knew it was stupid, but I couldn’t help it. It was my one fear, aside from…well, being ambushed by rebels in a war-torn country.
“I know it’s not rational, James,” I said tiredly. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’m still gonna try to reason with you,” he told me. “I have a steel mosquito net that I usually use for fishing, but I’ll put it on the door, okay? I can’t cover the bottom part completely, because we need air in here, but I’ll put the net up right now.”