Page 138 of Enthrall Shadows
Me: TBD.
Shay: Thumb’s up emoji.
Me: All good there?
Shay: Yes. You good, buddy?
Me: Thumbs up emoji.
We’d reverted to shorthand because in situations like this time was of the essence and small talk was ineffective. There’d be plenty of time for that when I arrived home. Though the threat of danger had somewhat lifted, I knew to stay alert.
If I wasn’t a billionaire, I would probably never have heard from Reese again. She wanted me again, but this time for my money.
If things went wrong now, there’d be no searching for her. She could get eaten by a fucking gator and I wouldn’t grieve. Okay, an exaggeration, but it was close to how I felt.
With Lotte, however, I’d leap into the water to save her, allowing both of us to be swallowed up in the Everglades—our happily ever after as tragic as a Shakespearean romance.
I’d need to carefully navigate where we went from here to avoid invasive journalists who wanted a pound of flesh. Especially someone ruthless enough to ruin my reputation as their career highlight.
A sudden movement in the trees caught my attention.
I leaped to my feet.
A creature stared back at me. A baby raccoon. The little guy was peeking around the stump of a tree, looking so damn cute with his big round eyes and button nose.
“Hey, little guy,” I whispered, not wanting to scare him. I scanned the leaves for his mother.
The hoot of an owl startled me.
Shielding my face, I looked up, admiring the majestic grey and white feathered owl who seemed equally as fascinated with the little fellow below.
My shoulders slumped at the realization that Reese had a point. These adorable critters were at risk. There was no doubt this location was precious to wildlife.
After I extracted my moody attitude out of the picture, I’d be able to give this issue more thought.
I glanced back one final time at the baby raccoon. Its family was around here somewhere.
I raised my watch and snapped a photo of the critter. Maybe I’d send it to Mia and Cameron, later. They’d get a kick out of it.
Discreetly, I watched one of the volunteers reappear at the entrance to the campsite. He scurried off toward a hut and disappeared inside.
I followed a hunch.
Within minutes, I’d returned to the dock we’d arrived at earlier.
The boat we’d arrived in had vanished. It was probably just a coincidence; perhaps one of the staff was using it.
But what if there wasn’t a reasonable explanation?
A chill shuddered through me.
They’d gone to a lot of trouble to get us here. Allowing our exit might not be part of the plan.
The hair on my nape prickled.
I made my way back through the trees in the direction I’d just come from.
No one seemed to notice.
