Not that she’d ever intended to.
Despite Vautour’s commands, Miri had lingered, hiding inside the belly of a strangler fig, waiting for Vautour and his men to leave. She spied on them from a distance, unable to hear what they were saying, but their body language spoke loud and clear—Rafa wasn’t on his dad’s side. Eventually, Vautour andhis crew went one direction and Hunter and Rafa went another. She kept her distance as she followed behind Hunter, aware that getting any closer would give her position away. It was hard to keep up without revealing her presence, and she lost them. Or at least, she thought she did until she saw Hunter take off running—without Rafa.
Fuck! Where is he?She ran in the direction Hunter had fled, her head snapping every which way looking for Rafa, when she tripped and tumbled toward the forest floor. But as she braced herself for a face full of dirt, something soft and warm cushioned her fall. No, not something. Rafa, knocked out cold on the ground with blood trailing down his dirty cheek from his eye.
“Rafa! Rafa!” she said, shaking him by the shoulders. But he didn’t budge. “No, no, no,” she said, placing her ear on his heart.Bum bum. Bum bum.
Thank God. He was still breathing. But barely. Being unable to rouse him and before her panic set in, she ran back to Florestacasa to get Felix and Logan. Once they returned, Rafa was still passed out on the jungle floor but, thankfully, still alive. For the briefest of moments as Felix and Logan lifted Rafa’s arms over their shoulders, his eyes fluttered open. He stared at Miri, groggy-eyed and solemn, and mumbled, “You came back.”
Miri managed to pull out a smile before his eyes closed again. He was in rough shape. Almost as bad as Quinn had been.
The guys helped carry him back, asking all sorts of questions Miri didn’t have the answers to. She filled in the blanks as best she could, but it only led to more questions.
They made it back to Florestacasa right before nightfall. Felix agreed to do a first watch of Rafa so Miri could shower and change. She took her time, packing her things after she’d showered. By morning, they’d be gone. Never to see this place again,which was fine with her. This forest full of secrets and danger didn’t want them there. She saw that now. They were lucky they were making it out at all.
A light sprinkle began to fall from the sky. Within moments, the rain increased to a steady flow. Thunder roared through the trees. The scent of rain filled the air and calmed her nerves. Now she understood why people bought those rainforest sound CDs. It was quite soothing. If there was one thing Miri needed, it was something to soothe her soul. She listened to the rain as it hit the roof of the overhang under which she sat.
She looked out her window toward Rafa’s cabin, seeing the light flick on and Felix exit the cabin, bringing with him a chair he set by the door. She’d waited long enough. She needed to find out if he was okay. And she needed answers.
Miri marched over to Rafa’s cabin. The rain soaked through her shirt and plastered her hair on her forehead. She wiped her hand over her glasses so she could see, but it did nothing. It actually made things worse. As she approached the door, Felix stood up to greet her.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“He’s awake. He said he wanted to shower,” Felix explained.
“Are you sure he’s okay? He might have a concussion,” she said, unable to hide her concern.
“Well, I…uh…I mean, he seemed okay,” Felix said. “I can check on him—”
But Miri cut him off. “No, you go. I’ll take the next watch. Why don’t you get some sleep?”
Felix nodded, and once he was gone, she stood outside Rafa’s door, took a deep breath, then knocked.
The sound of his footsteps shuffled on the other side of the door. A moment later he opened it, staring at her in just a towel.The shower was still running and, judging by the dirt and blood on his face, he had yet to get in. After everything he’d done—and how filthy he looked—he shouldn’t have looked so handsome. But everything about him was perfect. He still had hurt in his eyes, however, and Miri wanted nothing more than to hold him, to hug him and tell him that everything would be okay. Which was ridiculous when she thought about it, because first, everything was not okay. And second,shewas the one who should get the hug. He should comfort her for what he’d done. Not the other way around.
“I need answers,” she blurted out, trying to not let her emotions get in the way of business.
He sighed, exhausted, but not as if he was going to make her leave.
“Give me a minute,” he said.
He left the door open, allowing her to follow him inside. She closed the door behind her as he went into the bathroom and turned off the shower. A moment later, he came out still in only his towel, then walked over to his bag, pulling out dry clothes.
“I can wait,” she said.
He glanced at her, clearly confused.
“If you want to shower first,” she clarified.
“Are you sure?”
What was the difference? A few minutes?
“Yes, I’ll wait out here,” she said, sitting in a chair off to the side of the bed.
“All right, I’ll be quick.”
He went back into the bathroom, and seconds later the shower started again.What am I doing?She hadn’t even waited thirty seconds before changing her mind. No, no, she couldn’t wait.
