Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68509 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68509 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
And all that cracking of twigs and scattering of birds sent the assassins in our direction.
I would swear that even over my own labored breathing, I could hear theirs as well.
If anything, I was sure they were catching up to us even as the sky above us darkened, the air taking on an electric feel that had me tensing.
“You feel that?” Wick asked, his breath a little ragged, making me feel better for my own labored breathing and burning lungs.
“A storm, right?”
“Thunderstorm coming, I think.”
“Are they bad here?”
The slight pause in answering told me all I needed to know.
“They can be really bad, yeah. Nonstop thunder, lightning, hard wind, and rain.”
“Well, at least we will have some sound cover, right?”
I didn’t like the tension in his shoulders, though, as we kept going, as the sky grew more and more ominous, the air feeling crackly and the rumbles of thunder drawing nearer.
Then, suddenly, the storm was right above and around us.
The thunderclap rumbled so hard it vibrated up through my feet just seconds before a bolt of lightning shot down out of the bruised sky, white-hot and furious, splitting a tree just a few yards ahead.
The scent of scorched wood and ozone cut through the heavy humidity.
The shockwave of heat hit my face like a slap. And for just a second, everything went silent. Like the rainforest itself had gone still with fear.
It was broken only by the crack as a branch the size of a telephone pole came crashing down, taking vines and plants down with it.
My heart hammered as I stumbled back, vision flickering, skin prickly with static.
“Fuck,” Wick said, panting heavily. His usually unflappable demeanor was definitely, you know, flapped.
“Do we stay here?” I asked as the thunder rolled above us again. “Lightning already struck here…”
“Yeah, that whole not-striking-the-same-place-twice thing is a myth. It frequently strikes the same place. I think we should keep moving. Oh, great,” he grumbled as the rain finally poured down, seeming to soak through us in an instant.
Ordinarily, it would have been refreshing. Given the size and ferocity of this storm, though, it was just another layer of fear.
“Go where?” I called over the roar of the rain.
The sky lit up somewhere in the distance, making my breath catch.
“Somewhere more dense. A lot of trees.”
“Doesn’t lightning like trees?”
“Yeah, but we want it to have options.”
Without waiting for an answer, Wick grabbed my hand and we were running again.
The darkness of the rainforest slowed our progress.
With our hands attached, we could each feel the way the other tensed with each clap of thunder or crack of lightning.
Beneath our feet, the ground got muddy and slick, seeming to suck our feet in with each step, slowing down our progress, or we’d risk falling on our asses.
We’d broken into an open area when, out of nowhere, all the hairs on my body stood on end.
“Wick!” I screamed.
“Get down,” Wick demanded, pulling me low down near one of the few trees in the clearing.
Not two seconds later, the lightning crashed, completely whiting out my vision with its intensity as the air sizzled.
Then, the crack.
“Fuck,” Wick said, trying to throw his body over mine as the tree we’d crouched down next to splintered.
Then I was knocked onto my ass, something coming down hard and heavy across my legs, making pain explode.
A cry escaped me as I looked down to see a tree limb, still smoking and charred, across my thighs.
Panic surged through my system, making my heart lodge up in my throat as adrenaline raced through my veins.
“Wick!” I cried. When I got no answer, my stomach twisted, searching in the darkness for him, praying that he hadn’t gotten struck.
When another bolt of lightning lit up the sky, I caught sight of his prone form on the ground a few feet away.
Passed out on his back.
But the wind was picking up, so loud that even if he were awake, it would have been impossible for him to hear my cries as I tried to free myself, tried to get to him.
To no avail.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Wick
I came awake completely disoriented, the wind whipping heavy rains into my face, making it hard to see as pain shot through my head.
It took a long second for it to come back.
The sting, the pain, the relief, the men, the storm, the last lightning strike…
I shot up, my head spinning at the change, making me wonder if I’d hit my head, if I had a concussion.
Then, as the nausea rose up my throat, I knew that I did.
Dammit.
Like we needed any more complications.
We.
Violet.
Where was she? Why wasn’t she right with me?
Another deep rumble of thunder that shook the whole ground rolled.
One, two, three…
The lightning lit up the sky, and my gaze scanned around the field, seeking Violet.
Then my heart seized in my chest as I found her a yard or so away. Her legs were pinned under a fallen, blackened tree.