Page 124 of Beasts of Mine

“You did.” I shifted closer to the table and flipped to an empty page in my notebook. “What happened to your original cover?”

“We found out late yesterday that the image hadn’t cleared the print rights we were promised.” Caroline explained through the speaker while papers moved faintly somewhere on her end. “We can still run the issue, but we need a replacement cover file almost immediately. The feature is on rainforest waterways and the wildlife that depend on them, so something taken along a creek or river would be ideal. We’re flexible on species if the image is strong enough.”

That was better than being asked to magically produce one particular animal.

“What orientation?” I asked Caroline while uncapping my pen and writing waterways across the top of the page.

“Vertical is best. We need room near the top for the masthead and preferably one side that isn’t too visually busy for cover lines.” Caroline answered without hesitation, sounding relieved I had asked. “A bird, monkey, small predator—anything with a strong focal point could work. If you get something today, we’d need low-resolution previews tonight and the selected full-resolution file as soon as possible afterward.”

“I have existing work I can pull when I get back, but I was already planning to spend most of today in the field.” I wrote vertical—clean upper area beneath the first note, mentally running through the places I had visited since arriving. “I can shoot with the cover in mind and send you options this evening.”

“You would save several people from having a very bad day.” Caroline said it with enough relief that I could hear some of the tension leave her voice.

“No promises until I see what the wildlife gives me.” I cautioned Caroline as I closed the notebook, unwilling to promise an image I didn’t have yet. “I’ll shoot for it, though.”

“That’s more than fair.” Caroline answered quickly, keyboard clicks sounding faintly on her end. “Mara has my email. Thank you, Evie.”

“You’re welcome.” I leaned away as Mara reached for the phone, my brain already leaving breakfast behind and moving into the field.

“Good luck with the rest of the disaster.” Mara told Caroline dryly as she lifted the phone from the table.

“Thank you. I think.” Caroline laughed before the call disconnected. Mara set her phone down and looked at me while I finished the rest of breakfast much faster than I had been eating it a minute earlier.

“You have that face.” Mara observed as she reached for her coffee, watching me pull the notebook closer again.

“What face?” I asked Mara after swallowing the last bite.

“The one that says you’re already halfway into the forest in your head.” Mara nodded toward the gear stacked beside my chair, amusement settling around her eyes. “So where are you going?”

I considered yesterday’s route before dismissing it. I already had plenty from the smaller stream northeast of the fork. If I was deliberately shooting with a magazine cover in mind, I wanted somewhere with more variation in the banks, water, and canopy. The creek where I had first found Malek had several animal paths crossing near it, patches of more open water, and enough breaks overhead that the light could be excellent if the clouds cooperated. It also meant going back to where all of this had started.

“Creek route west of the eastern fork.” I pulled the field map closer and traced the general line with one finger. “There are enough animal paths around there that something should eventually cooperate. I’ll work along the water and probably head upstream if the footing is decent.”

“Back by?” Mara asked as she opened the field log and wrote the route beside my name.

“Six initially, but I may extend if I get onto something useful.” I clipped the radio to my belt and checked that the spare battery was still tucked into the outer pocket of my bag. “I’ll call before changing it.”

“Good.” Mara closed the log and nudged it away from the edge of the table. “And congratulations on acquiring a last-minute deadline you didn’t have ten minutes ago.”

“Thank you. I hate it.” I told Mara as I shouldered my camera bag, earning a laugh from her while I headed toward the steps.

The deadline didn’t bother me as much as I pretended. A last-minute cover was exactly the kind of problem I liked solving in the field. I packed an extra memory card, checked my lenses twice, and headed out with a clearer goal than I’d had when I woke up. Malek was waiting alone at the eastern fork. I slowed for half a step before continuing toward him. He stood near the fallen log Tavian had occupied yesterday, dressed in dark field pants, sturdy boots, and a charcoal shirt with the sleeves pushed to his forearms. His thick black hair was still slightly damp, and when the breeze shifted through the trees, cedar reached me beneath the heavier scents of wet bark and soil.

“Just you?” I asked Malek as I reached the fork and stopped a few feet away, adjusting my camera strap before it could slide from my shoulder.

“Disappointed?” Malek asked as one corner of his mouth lifted, his golden-brown eyes moving over me in the quick assessment I recognized by now—boots, pack, radio, camera, no obvious injuries.

“Suspicious.” I corrected Malek as I glanced deliberately behind the nearest trees. “Tavian doesn’t usually give up an opportunity to be annoying voluntarily.”

“He and Luca are farther north today.” Malek stepped away from the log, his attention shifting briefly toward the map sleeve at my side. “They knew I wanted some time alone with you.”

I liked that more than I meant to show.

“You claimed a day?” I asked Malek, trying not to sound quite as pleased by that as I was.

“I asked for one.” Malek answered as his scent deepened slightly beneath the damp morning air. “They agreed.”

“I can work with that.” I told Malek as I pulled the map partly from its sleeve. “Especially because I have actual work today.”