Page 69 of Heist in Paradise

I lifted the device and examined it. It was the drone's battery pack, the one we’d supposedly forgotten.

Why the hell hadn’t Ryle said anything?

“Sunshine!” I barked into my earpiece.

Ryle’s voice returned chipper: “Yeah?”

I opened my mouth when something else caught my eye. There was another device at the bottom, a burner phone. The brand was different from the one we typically used. The screen lit up, and a single message appeared.

A familiar area code.

My blood turned to ice.

“Two minutes,” Nate said urgently.

Zola’s voice followed sharply: “We’ve finished with the fuse box. Going dark in three…two…one.”

The lights went out in a single blink, plunging me into darkness. For a second, it was suffocating, my chest impossibly tight.

I tapped the screen again, squinting at the brightness, hoping I was wrong.

My fist clenched around it so hard that my knuckles cracked.

This was no longer a Hail Mary.

We were fucking doomed.

OLIVIA

It was official. Madoc wasn’t human.

At least, not completely. The way he moved was unnatural, like a jungle predator stalking through the dense rainforest, marking his territory. He even tapped on the trunks of trees we passed like he was spreading his scent. It would’ve made me laugh had it not totally freaked me out.

Thankfully, he remained intent on ignoring me. I bumbled behind him, trying to mimic his grace and failing. I was too awkward in my too-big tactical vest, and my backpack slapped against my spine with every clunky step. Twice I lost sight of him, and just when I was convinced he’d ditched me for good, he’d reappear like a jump scare. My favorite.

Eventually, the weirdo found what he was looking for. He came to an abrupt stop and looked up and around us with sharp eyes. Without so much as a nod in my direction, he climbed the nearest tree, swinging up with monkey-like efficiency. I gaped up at him from where I stood, helpless and exposed at the roots.

And then he was just gone, disappeared above the canopy. As soon as my brain registered it, I became acutely aware of the rainforest and all its hidden nasties—the humming insects, the crack of twigs, the things moving in the dark.

“Hey!” I hissed.

Nothing.

I knew he heard me, the jackass.

Cursing under my breath, I gripped the nearest branch and hefted myself over it. I’d never been so thankful for my upper body strength. I actually enjoyed the strain, my muscles engaging after days without a proper workout.

The splinters were a fun little challenge.

I persisted, gritting my teeth as I climbed up, and up, hoisting myself over branches, breaking through the first layer of canopy. I was sweating oh-so-attractively, the air hotter and stickier the higher I went. In my head, I cheered: lift, hold, pose. You got this. Gooooooo—

The fall was inevitable. I’d just gotten my hand on the branch above me when the one beneath my feet cracked loudly. There was a moment where I swayed, teetering on the edge of oblivion—not like this, not like this, not like this—when a hand shot down from above and gripped my wrist.

“Move,” Madoc snapped.

I hugged the trunk as tight as possible and used the momentum of Madoc’s grip to swing to the next branch. To my intense surprise, he didn’t release me until we were settled at the same level. Madoc was straddling his branch easily, looking perfectly content, like I’d interrupted some private meditation.

I was still catching my breath when he let me go and reached for his pack. “Idiot.”