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“Yeah, true,” Beanie replied. “I don’t even take this thing off for sex.”
He fixed the hat, pulling it down to the point right above his eyebrows.
“Beanie, this is Kalina,” Rafe said.
Beanie smiled at her and said, “So, you guys coming up, or what? Hightail’s up there waiting for you. He saw you down here chatting and sent me down to get you.”
“We going up?” Rafe asked, turning his attention to Kalina.
She responded by taking his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. She was ready. Beanie led them through what looked like a recently burned field, probably the spot of another bonfire. That or it had been cleared to get rid of the dry bush and keep the area clear of snakes. As they got closer to the metal structure, Kalina saw a small metal cage lift.
“My lady,” Beanie said as he opened the door and gestured for them to enter. “Your chariot.”
“Guess this is my last chance to back out,” Kalina said.
“What would be the fun in that?” Beanie asked.
He was right. No real fun was to be had without some risk. It was one of the reasons she hit the water and patrolled with the others. She could stay on the beach and hang out with Ruby and Penny. The two pregnant women didn’t do a whole lot but sit around and gossip. Ruby had filled their days with teaching Penny about their people’s history, customs, and caveats. Recently, especially with all the trouble Evelyn had gotten them into, being one of their kind was dangerous, and Penny needed to be prepared.
Thank god Evelyn is long gone.
Kalina wondered if the woman was dead. Evelyn had remained quiet for much longer than ever before, and after the injuries she’d sustained, Kalina didn’t imagine she’d be returning anytime soon, if she were even alive. Peace was better for them all. Of course, sharks needed to keep their edge, but there were better ways of polishing their skills than going to war with their own kind. Besides, Evelyn hadn’t always been the bitch they’d come to think of her as. In fact, Evelyn and her had been good friends at one point.
Back in the day, they had practically shared Thane. He’d treated Kalina like a princess and Evelyn like his side whore. Everyone was okay with that. Evelyn seemed to prefer it. After all, that’s what she turned out to be…a hookerish human in high heels and a slutty shark with a taste for blood. Sure, they’d argued a little over their fearless leader, but Thane had made it clear to them both that he wasn’t in it for the long run. They both knew he needed to find his one true mate and even though they were sad that it wasn’t them, they accepted it and enjoyed the time they had with him.
That was until Evelyn saw one of their brothers, Cog, get harpooned. Cog had thrashed around violently and had rammed the boat hard enough to knock the human into the water. Once Evelyn had attacked him and tasted blood for the first time, that was it for her. The blood turned her into a demon of the water, constantly searching for more. Cog joined her mission, hell-bent on getting revenge on humans like the one who’d shot him. He died at the hands of a shark hunter. Not Kane, but one a lot like him. If he’d stayed away from the humans, he might’ve still been alive. That had always been the point Thane had driven home to the rest of them. Don’t start a war and there won’t be any war. Humans were vengeful beasts when provoked. They were much nastier than any shark in the water.
The steel elevator whined its complaint as they soared higher and higher into the dark sky. Kalina wondered how many tourists made this journey and how long it took for a bungee cord to get old, tired, and eventually crack or fall apart. She wondered how many people had died while partaking in this stupid pastime. She was glad to see that she wouldn’t be leaping out over the ocean the way most of these things were set up. Sometimes the jumpers would be yanked back over the ocean, right when their upper body dipped below the surface. If that happened to Kalina, they’d all have a big surprise when they saw a giant tiger shark flip through the air when the cord returned. She laughed to herself imagining what it would be like. Probably something like a giant fishing line hoisting a large catch out of the water.
As they ascended, Kalina stuck her fingertips through the cage and held on tight, watching the people below, some dancing in front of the stage like she and Rafe had done only moments before, become the size of ants. Rafe’s hand snaked around her body and his fingertips settled on her stomach
. She closed her eyes and felt the wind whip her hair around. She leaned her head back so it would rest against his chest and let him know that she was here with him and was enjoying the moment.
Finally, their cage rattled to a stop and Beanie swung the door open. The platform was large, about the size of a small living room, and a spotlight dangled overhead from a hook jutting out from the side of the steel structure. Kalina looked at it too long and was momentarily blinded, a blue dot following her gaze everywhere it went. She couldn’t even see the face of the man running the ride.
Ride? Is it even right to call this a ride? I’m going to leap through the air and plummet toward the earth.
“So, this is the wonderful woman who has stolen our best friend’s heart?” bellowed the voice of the man behind the blue dot. “I can totally see why. She’s gorgeous, brah.”
“Thank you,” Rafe said. “I made her myself.”
Kalina rolled her eyes. His humor took some getting used to.
“Are you sure you want to let this fella talk you into this?” the guy asked.
“Okay, shut up now,” Rafe warned him. “Do you know how long it took me to convince her to come up here?”
“No, I really don’t,” the guy said. “But it must have been like forever.”
“Actually,” Rafe replied. “It took like two minutes.”
Kalina laughed. It had seemed like a long time now that she thought about it, but in reality, it must have only taken a few minutes.
“Hightail,” the guy said, sticking his hand out for Kalina to shake.
The blue dot finally began to fade, and she could see that he had long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail.
Well hot damn!
