“Yes. Thank you.” His tone was grave and even appreciative. “I’ll say a prayer for that boar.”
“Oh, no need for that. They’re a menace to the native plants. Annnyway…” God, how could she get out of this nervous chatter she’d somehow spiraled into? “How long do you think we have to stay here? Do drones run out of battery at some point?”
“Yes, they do. My educated guess is that it’s only patrolling the area around the plane. It could have been one of L—my security team’s protocols in case of a crash to fend off looters.”
“Oh.” She blinked at him. “But what about rescuers? Like me and Robert?”
“Good point. Maybe it’s a second layer of protection that only kicks in after a certain amount of time.”
None of this really made sense to her. “They don’t tell you that sort of thing?”
“I have a lot of trust in my team. They’re all the best at what they do. I don’t need to know every detail.” He looked almost…maybe embarrassed?
“Well, in that case, can’t you call them off? Wouldn’t they know not to shoot at you? Like, that should be programmed in with biometrics or something?”
“I wish I could remember that particular email,” he said—pretty evasively, she thought. “I could test the theory by walking back out there. But I’d rather not.”
“Please don’t. You must have other theories.”
“The other theory is more bleak.”
“Well, let’s hear it. I’d like to know why I’m hiding under an ironwood.”
He gave her a long look from those absurdly compelling dark eyes. “Basically, that someone’s trying to kill me.”
She drew in a sharp breath. That made a certain amount of sense, sadly. “Business competitor? Ex-wife? Someone you ripped off on your way to the top?”
He smiled wryly. “You got a pretty good list going there. Thanks for that.”
“Sorry, did that hurt your feelings? I’m not the one shooting at you.” She considered him. Maybe she should be a little nicer to him, since he had just saved her life. “Okay, new theory. You’re universally loved and no one would want to kill you. Except maybe…oooh, here’s a crazy theory. What if your pilot is faking the coma so you’ll be the one to come back out here and face the bullets? Then he’ll assume your identity, because I’ve noticed that you do look a bit alike. Instant billionaire.”
His startled jerk made her wonder if she was actually on to something. “Absolutely not.”
She eyed him with suspicion. There was definitely more going on here, something he wasn’t telling her. “How can you be so sure?”
“Rory is extremely ethical. I’d trust him with my life.”
Poor fellow, she thought. For a shark-like billionaire, he really was a bit naive. “I hate to inform you of this, but billionaires really shouldn’t trust anyone. That’s why so many require NDAs. Being around that much money can make people do crazy things.”
“Is that right? You sound like you know a thing or two about this topic.” He looked at her closely, as if trying to see right to the heart of her soul, and for a moment she lost track of their conversation.
A zing of magnetic attraction pulsed between them. She felt it in her lower belly, on the hairs along the skin of her arms, in the pick-up of her heart rate.
Damn it all, why did this particular billionaire have to be so appealing? She could get lost in those dark eyes. Swept away by those strong arms.
“Well, I do,” she said finally. “Don’t ask me how. But believe me, you can’t assume that anyone, even your A-plus, super ethical, best-there-ever-was pilot, is completely trustworthy.”
8
Complete fail. Not only had Rory not been able to search the crash site, but he’d unintentionally put Mathilda in danger. The terror that had gripped him when he’d seen the drone turn toward her was like nothing he’d ever felt before. He’d acted without even thinking.
And now she had one more thing to blame on Lincoln Kerr.
Would she at least give him credit for rescuing her from the drone? He couldn’t tell what she was thinking about him now. She’d delivered her warning about trust, then clammed up.
Shortly after that, they heard the drone leave. He insisted Mathilda stay in their little shelter while he made sure it was gone. “Coast’s clear,” he finally called to her.
She joined him at the edge of the crash site and they both listened for any signs of the murderous drone returning. The jungle was quiet, except for the usual bird calls and hum of insects. She could probably identify them, but he couldn’t.
