Page 85 of Wild Life

“What?!” I couldn’t help the volume of my voice. Poaka was intimidating in size, but his temperament was softer than a puppy’s. “I don’t believe it.”

Malcom flashed his wrist, showing off a two-inch scab below his watch.

“Damn. Are you okay? Poaka was always a bit rough, but he never attacked me.”

He adjusted his cuff over the healing wound. “Okay, maybe I embellished. He tried to eat my watch.”

I settled back, the story now making sense. “That sounds more like the Poaka I know. Always hungry.”

“He misses you,” Malcom said.

“Poaka? I miss him, too.” He was the sweetest companion a girl could have.

Malcom’s voice turned serious. “No, Aleki.”

“Oh.” I blinked rapidly to fight away the tears. The wound was open and threatened to bleed all over Malcom’s desk if I didn’t get a hold of myself. “He said that?”

Malcom shook his head. “But he kept asking if I’d gotten permission from you to do anything with the bats.”

A smile broke through my sadness. I missed him so much.

“He smiles the same way whenever he hears your name. Never fully, like something heavy is weighing down the corners of his mouth, keeping him from doing it freely.”

“He does?” It pained me to know that Aleki was hurting like I was.

“Yeah, then it fades quickly the way yours did, as if he realized it had all just been a dream or something.”

My heart ached for him—to be with him.

Malcom closed a file to the left of his keyboard and placed it at the corner of his desk. “I wanted to talk to you about something, though.”

I pressed my hand on my chest to numb my broken heart. “Shoot.”

“This project is going to take God knows how long. And I’ll have to rework my schedule to fly out there every few months. It’ll blow a large portion of the budget, since I have to staff interns and team members out there. There’s also the matter of how much of the terrain we’ve yet to map.”

I nodded, but wasn’t quite following the direction of the conversation yet. “That sounds like a lot.”

“It is. It would be easier if we had someone who knows the geography. Who knows the wildlife, and the wild human, who lives there.”

I held my breath. “Malcom? Are you asking me what I think you’re asking me?”

His gaze narrowed at me. “Only if you’re up to it.”

I took a deep breath, and instantly, I smelled the fresh air and felt the tropical sun’s warmth kiss my skin like a fond memory.

“Plus, I think Aleki is planning to steal our boats.”

My brows pinched together so hard that my forehead tugged on my hairline. “Huh?”

“Yeah, he lurks on the beach often, examining them. Once, I even caught him inside of one, messing with the gears. If I hadn’t shown up in time, he would’ve jetted away like James Bond.”

I giggled, humor finally finding me after it had abandoned my body months ago. “Why would he want to drive a boat?”

“Maybe to go find something he lost? Or someone?”

My breath hitched. Aleki was planning to leave the safety of his island…for me.

“So, can I count on you to man the field?” Malcom tapped his finger on his desk, waiting for my answer.

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