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Adela thought about Dominic’s remark about floating around the ocean for days, feeding into her hunch about them being caught in a storm. Maybe Adela could use whatever’s left of their raft to get on the other side of the island without crossing the jungle. It would make the search for Raven, Liv and Hailey much easier.
Adela wasn’t eager to stand around here any longer. This encounter with six guys at nightfall totally caught her off guard. It would have been different if they’d first met them in the daylight and it had been just one guy—or two, tops.
Jack may seem all right, but it was still the two of them against six strangers. They could be stuck on a deserted island with rapists for all she’d know.
Adela tried her best not to sound too rattled when she said, “Fine. Then we’ll leave.”
Camilla gripped Adela’s hand tight, and they scurried away from the fire they’d worked so hard on. If those guys wanted their beach, there was nothing left to do but head back into the jungle and sleep with the creepy crawlies. The little hairs on the back of Adela’s neck rose at the mere idea of doing exactly that.
“Wait! Don’t go!” Jack shouted.
“Jack, leave them! You’re making things worse by going after them! Give them time to find out for themselves they can trust us…”
Adela didn’t know which guy near the fire said this, but he sounded reasonable. His slight accent reminded her of her father. It didn’t matter how agreeable he sounded, though, Adela and Camilla still slipped into the foliage.
Adela’s long, brown hair caught in the tangled mass of tropical vegetation, but she still pushed through in her need to get as far away from these unknown men as quickly as possible.
“Wait…” Camilla said after just making their way through the first bit of prickly foliage.
Adela stopped slicing the leaves in her path and turned around. “We’re not even that far away, Cami. I can still see the fire…”
Camilla blew out a breath. “I know… But let’s sit down on this log and think things through for a sec. If we go further away from the fire, we’ll not be able to see a thing. I don’t want to stay in the jungle tonight. Let alone in the dark.”
Adela sighed. “We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place...”
Camilla waited a long moment before she said, “Maybe we should head back. I’m sure they were fine.”
“There aresixguys out there! One of them is called Jack and one is some kind of Dom. That’s all we know about them! They could be rapists. Or murderers!”
“Shh. Keep your voice down, Adi. His name is Dominic. But I’d love to call him my Dom,” Camilla said with a wink.
Adela groaned and peered through the bushes. “Of course, they tamedourfire within minutes. Argh!”
“At least we proved to ourselves that we could make a fire. That’s one positive we can take out of today…. And we also know where we can find fresh water—if we can find our way back…”
Adela watched something flitter in the humid air, coming straight at her. She waved both hands, hoping that whatever kind of bird or bat was heading for her would change its mind.
“If we don’t find our girls in the next few days, we need to think about setting up some sort of hut as a shelter. I prefer a spot on the beach. Maybe one of those guys can help—”
Adela huffed a breath in annoyance. “Let me guess: you’ll ask that Dom guy for help?”
Camilla playfully slapped Adela’s arm. “Now there’s a thought! Did you see those muscles on him? He could easily pick up this log with us still on it.”
The sound of a branch snapping had them sit up straight. Adela listened closely for signs giving away what lurked nearby. The high-pitched sound of a mosquito next to her ear made Adela even more irritable. She swept the sweat from her forehead while wistfully taking in the fire on the beach just a hundred feet away.
She imagined Jack sitting comfortably with his feet in the sand, a fine breeze blowing through his longer hair on top of his head while the smoke of their beach fire would drive away most mosquitoes.
Adela smacked her palm against her calf, hoping she’d killed whatever crawled up her leg. “I can’t believe we’re really spending the night here.”
Camilla froze suddenly, her eyes growing big. “Oh my God… sit still Adi…”
“What is it? Is it one of those guys?” Adela whispered.
Camilla’s eyes zeroed in on something over Adela’s shoulder. “No. Listen to me: on three, we’re going to run straight back to the beach. Okay? You follow me and yourun. Don’t walk…”
“Wait—”
“One…”
